Infidels (Reis) [Original recording remastered]

Track Listings

1. Jokerman

2. Sweetheart Like You

3. Neighborhood Bully

4. License To Kill

5. Man Of Peace

6. Union Sundown

7. I And I

8. Don't Fall Apart On Me Tonight

Tracks:

Jokerman
Sweetheart Like You
Neighborhood Bully
License To Kill
Man Of Peace
Union Sundown
I And I
Don't Fall Apart On Me Tonight

Customer Reviews:

Almost a masterpiece.......2007-05-13

Infidels contains fast rockers, slow ballads and moving blues. This one is not as overtly spiritual as the preceding 3 albums, but there is still a devotional undertone throughout and potent religious imagery in some of the songs. Jokerman is one of those, a lengthy rumination with an appealing tune and gently lilting beat. Sweetheart is a slow conversational song reminiscent of some of his classic 1960s work.

A highlight of the album is the fast rocking tour de force titled Neighbourhood Bully, quite striking in its urgent uptempo beat and perceptive lyrics. This track about media bias against Israel definitely stands as one of Dylan's most powerful songs of all time. The next, License To Kill, is a slow mournful ballad with lovely harmonica that becomes more prominent towards the end, whilst Man Of Peace is a slab of potent mid-tempo rock that warns against deception and brainwashing.

The album impresses with its variety of styles, like the galloping rock of Union Sundown which is followed by the musically and lyrically intricate I And I, a tender blues number with stirring imagery. The album closes with the tuneful Don't Fall Apart On Me Tonight, a love song in a country-folk style, also with moody harmonica. Infidels is not on a par with masterpieces like Oh Mercy or Time Out of Mind but still a strong album with more than enough classic tracks.

Saved

Shot of Love

What could have been..........2006-12-31

In his excellent study, "Bob Dylan: the Recording Sessions (1960-1994)," Clinton Heylin suggests that there is a "great lost album" that was created in the Power Station recording sessions during the spring of 1983. The cuts that were selected and ultimately released as this album are a shadow of what could have been. Heylin opines that if an alternate set of cuts had been released it would have been Dylan's "one true masterpiece" of the 1980s.

I was in my final year of high school when "Infidels" came out. It was the first Dylan album I purchased and I almost foolishly dismissed him based on my initial exposure to what I heard. The presence of former Stones' guitarist, Mick Taylor, and Dire Straits' lead man, Mark Knopfler (who co-produced this with Dylan), were what drew me to seek out the album. Instead of the raw organic rock and roll sound I expected, I heard the lifeless overproduced sound typical of many recordings of the era. Also, as other reviewers have noted some of the cuts that were released strike one as being politically naive at best, offensive at worst.

In spite of the above problems, Dylan's brilliance as a songwriter does come through on a couple of songs on the released album ("Jokerman" and "I and I" are great songs). However, based on the tracks I heard years later that could have been on here, it's apparent that Dylan has to be one of the poorest judges of his own work.

The album that should have been released is as follows (mostly consistent with Heylin's preferences):

1. Jokerman (unreleased alternate cut)
2. License To Kill
3. Man of Peace
4. Lord Protect My Child (released on "the Bootleg Series")
5. Tell Me (one version released on "the Bootleg Series" but another unreleased version is equally good)
6. Don't Fall Apart On Me Tonight
7. Blind Willie McTell (the still unreleased electric version not the acoustic one on "the Bootleg Series")
8. Someone's Got a Hold of My Heart (alternate version that remains unreleased)
9. I and I
10. Foot of Pride (released on "the Bootleg Series")

Underrated.......2006-12-16

I like this album a lot. It's not perfect, but who cares? There's good stuff on this album, and lots of it. Jokerman and Sweetheart Like You are widely considered to be the high points of the album, and you won't hear any argument from me; the pro-Israel Neighborhood Bully (all-too-obvious lyrics aside, it's a rockin' tune); I And I and especially Don't Fall Apart On Me Tonight (the latter being my second-favorite on the album, behind Jokerman) are lesser-known, but might end up on your Dylan favorites list sometimes. Union Sundown; License to Kill and Man of Peace are fillers, but can be ignored, and Bob's voice is arguably at its peak. Shame nobody thought of adding Blind Willie McTell, Dylan's best song of the '80's, because that would've made this album even better.

Some very good songs but a baffling and perplexing album.......2006-09-10

I have a love-hate relationship with this album. On the one hand, there are several absolutely marvelous songs, some of the best that he wrote after BLOOD ON THE TRACKS. On the other, there are some songs that express the most conservative, reactionary positions of his career. For instance, "Neighborhood Bully" is an astonishingly ill-informed and almost willing one-sided defense of Israel, though it must be conceded that Dylan wrote the song before Israel intensified the building of settlements on the West Bank in Gaza in the eighties, a process that turned many former supporters of Israel against it. Even so, at the time Dylan wrote the song the world had seen over thirty years of Israeli territorial expansion into Palestinian areas. Yet, at the end of the song Dylan asks what Israel has done to incur the world's disapproval, and seems unable to come up with a single charge on the side of the prosecution. The song is disingenuous at the very least. Even stranger is "Union Sundown," which takes a very ambiguous stance on the ongoing decline of the union in the United States. For someone who sang songs about Joe Hill early in his career, it is an odd song indeed. And there is the equally strange "Man of Peace," which tells us that sometimes Satan comes as a man of peace, but gives no clue as to when that is the case. Surely Dylan isn't saying that all men of peace are tools of Satan. One wonders what the real point of the song is or if it makes any point at all.

So, I have some serious misgivings about the album. Nonetheless, there are many stunning moments on the album. Despite my doubts about the overt Zionism of "Neighborhood Bully," it is a driving, powerful song with many wonderful lines. And "Union Showdown" is one of the hardest rocking songs of Dylan's career. But there are also a string of really great gentler songs. "Jokerman" is one of Dylan's finest songs of the eighties and possibly the highpoint of the album. "I and I" is a truly beautiful song, embellished by some wonderful guitar work by guest player Mark Knopfler. And "Sweetheart Like You" is one of Dylan's most ironic and sardonic conversations between a man and a woman. These are some powerful songs and while I think he has done a couple of albums since that are as good or better, I wouldn't argue too strongly against those who consider it his best post-BLOOD ON THE TRACKS album.

Luckily, the hints of conservativism that popped up on this album didn't persist. His next several albums saw him going back more and more to songs that focused on everyday individuals and not political powers or reactionary opinions. And while some saw him as perhaps influenced by Reagan, he had completely shuffled that off only a few years later. During the Bush years he has become almost as political as in his early years, choosing to perform a blistering version of "Masters of War" on the MTV Awards during the beginning of the invasion of Iraq. Which is in a way another factor that makes this album so confusing. It is like he decided for a few months to take a more reactionary view of things. He didn't stay there, but its remarkable that he went there at all.

just missed a 3.......2006-08-28

the opening song here was the epic "jokerman".its really a beautiful and wonderful song.then the raspy dylan comes out for another great song,"sweetheart like you".those 2 songs saved this album from a 3 star rating due to thier masters in awesome.

Average customer rating:

Dylan at his mystical best
ALMOST SOUNDS LIKE A BOB DYLAN RECORD...
Some very good songs but a baffling and perplexing album
Dylan has an 80's moment
Bob Dylan Rocking Out at his Very Best

Infidels
Bob Dylan
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Oh Mercy
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ASIN: B0000C8AV3
Release Date: 2003-09-16

Tracks:

Jokerman
Sweetheart Like You
Neighborhood Bully
License To Kill
Man Of Peace
Union Sundown
I And I
Don't Fall Apart On Me Tonight

Customer Reviews:

Dylan at his mystical best.......2006-11-07

I like the Dylan songs where you have to work to unravel the meaning. You certainly have to do that with the songs on Infidels. This is Dylan's first secular record in five years (or maybe it's better tosay it's his first record in years that isn't overtly Christian).

The opening cut is Jokerman, and it is a mystical pop masterpiece, probably about Dylan himself. "Sweetheart Like You" is about meeting a beautiful woman in an unlikely place. It is lovely ballad, and it was recently featured in the movie "North Country." "Neighborhood Bully" seems to be about the political unrest in the Middle East. The rocking blues tune "Man of Peace" is about how Satan comes to us in many disguises, though the disturbing last verse might be a reference to Christ, and if this is true, than it fits the idea that Dylan himself is one of the infidels on this album.

"I and I" uses a Rastafarian saying to describe the Jewish Dylan's coming out of Christianity into the light of Judaism. Yet if I'm interpreting the song correctly, Dylan credits a stranger (Christianity) for teaching him to "look into Justice's beautiful face (his own Jewish tradition).

If you are a believing Christian, and you buy into these interpretations, you might find the album disturbing. Dylan has become an infidel to the Christian faith.

But if you like good musical art, this is one of Dylan's best efforts of the 1980s. I recommend it, and see if you agree with the way I interpret it.

ALMOST SOUNDS LIKE A BOB DYLAN RECORD..........2006-09-13

My problem with most of Dylans output of the 1980's (beggining with 1978's Street Legal) is the fact that it doesn't sound like Dylan. For numerous reasons, I guess. Dylan himself most of the time is hidden behind a huge band, or too many backup singers, or awful eighties style production.
If 1983's INFIDELS has one problem, it would only be the eighties production. And really, this is quality work for Bob Dylan, who manages to showcase himself, even though the music industry was obviously trying to destroy him. (They did this to just about every rock and roller who was cool in the sixties and seventies- electric drums? Synth?)
DYLAN is one of history's all time Jokermen, and he busts a nut all over the place on this bit. Opening with JOKERMAN, we see that Dylan has taken an almost R&B vibe this time around, it may take some getting used to, but this tune is chock full of classic Dylan lines. SWEETHEART LIKE YOU is another R&B type song, but good. The last track DONT FALL APART ON ME TONIGHT is very R&B, and these days may be compared to a Dylan style Boy Band song..."Come over here from over there, girl..." but with a lot more Dylan depth, so be aware.. I really like that tune actually.
Dylan rocks on this peice too though. MAN OF PEACE, is an excellent song, with it's Satan metaphor in the chorus. I like. UNION SUNDOWN was one I didn't care for at first but really rocks if you just let the album play. The band he had with him in '83 was pretty ace kickin' anyway, and had they made this album before the eighties drum echo craze, it probably could have been a top shelf Dylan. Check out LIVE 1984 to see how this three peice band really tore it up. I AND I has more great lyrics about his dealings with the ladies and (I saved the best for last) LICENSE TO KILL, a very mellow, but awesome Dylan track.
Mark Knopfler of Dire Straits is very evident on this disc also. Funny that early Dire Straits stuff sounds so Dylan influenced, this Bob Dylan actually sounds Dire Staits influenced... but I've never seen that as a bad thing. Still gets five stars in my book. Any Dylan fan should be able to appreciate this album.

Some very good songs but a baffling and perplexing album.......2006-09-10

Dylan has an 80's moment.......2006-09-09

This is one of my favorite Dylan releases. I recently purchased it after being a longtime fan of 'Jokerman', one of the most interesting songs Dylan ever wrote.

The instrumentation and sound are pure products of the 80's but the songs are not simplistic in the least. And let's face it. As much as I loved the music of the 80's the lyrics were usually simple and silly.

This is a great cd that remains a pleasure to hear and has all the confusion of rubik's cube when you start to try and figure out what Bob's trying to tell us.

Bob Dylan Rocking Out at his Very Best.......2006-08-27

I really like the way "Infidels" rocks out. I also like the imagery in the songs, especially in "Jokerman." The just keep coming after you, burning themselves into you eyes, etching themselves into your hear, impinging themselves on your mind. Once heard "Jokerman" is never forgotten. Dylan has had several bands throughout his long and prolific career, but I think the group he has on "Infidels" is the best ever. You really feel that they click as a unit and the music is all the better for it. Some other songs I really like on "Infidels" are "Man of Peace," "Sweetheart Like You" and the album's closer, "Don't fall apart on me Tonight." "Infidels" is Bob Dylan at his very best.

The Collection, Vol. 3: Blonde on Blonde/Blood on the Tracks/Infidels

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Here are the Songs that Paint Pictures on the Inside of Your Eyeballs
Three Masterpieces in This Collection
Three Records for the Ages
Three Dylan Rockers that will Knock the House Down
Raw Rock and Roll Power

The Collection, Vol. 3: Blonde on Blonde/Blood on the Tracks/Infidels
Bob Dylan
Manufacturer: Sony
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Binding: Audio CD

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Highway 61 Revisited
Bringing It All Back Home

ASIN: B000AAIXS6
Release Date: 2005-08-30

Tracks:

Rainy Day Women #12 & 35
Pledging My Time
Visions of Johanna
One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)
I Want You
Stuck Inside of a Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again
Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
Just Like a Woman
Most Likely You Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine
Temporary Like Achilles
Absolutely Sweet Marie
4th Time Around
Obviously 5 Believers
Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands

Tracks:

Tangled Up in Blue
Simple Twist of Fate
You're a Big Girl Now
Idiot Wind
You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go
Meet Me in the Morning
Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts
If You See Her, Say Hello
Shelter from the Storm
Buckets of Rain

Tracks:

Jokerman
Sweetheart Like You
Neighborhood Bully
License to Kill
Man of Peace
Union Sundown
I and I
Don't Fall Apart on Me Tonight

Customer Reviews:

Here are the Songs that Paint Pictures on the Inside of Your Eyeballs.......2006-08-27

Close your eyes and listen to "Blonde on Blonde." Every song on the album is so jammed with imagery that they paint pictures on the inside of your eyeballs. Though "Blonde on Blonde" was recorded way back before I was even a twinkle in my daddy's eyes, you can still listen to it today and be amazed. From the first note all the way to the end of "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" this is a record so full in imagery, power and raw poetry that it will never cease to stun. Sooner or Later, if you play Bob Dylan records, you're going to have to admit that this is one of his best.

"Blood on the Tracks" is one of Bob Dylan's better known records and one I really love. I've been listening to it as long as I can remember, thanks to my dad, who is a huge Dylan fan. I am as well. How can you not be. Just give a listen to "Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts" with your eyes closed. If that eleven minute long cowboy ballad doesn't paint pictures on the inside of your eyeballs. A couple other picture painters are "Tangled Up in Blue" and "Idiot Winds," though I must say, I prefer the version of "Idiot Winds" on the official "Bootleg Series." Then there is the pain of Dylan's separation from his wife Sara throughout this album. Bob Dylan has always been right out front with his feeling on his albums, especially so on "Blood On the Tracks." I've read that this is considered one of the best albums ever made and I have to say that I agree.

I really like the way "Infidels" rocks out. I also like the imagery in the songs, especially in "Jokerman." The just keep coming after you, burning themselves into you eyes, etching themselves into your hear, impinging themselves on your mind. Once heard "Jokerman" is never forgotten. Dylan has had several bands throughout his long and prolific career, but I think the group he has on "Infidels" is the best ever. You really feel that they click as a unit and the music is all the better for it. Some other songs I really like on "Infidels" are "Man of Peace," "Sweetheart Like You" and the album's closer, "Don't fall apart on me Tonight." "Infidels" is Bob Dylan at his very best.

Three Masterpieces in This Collection.......2006-06-02

Three Masterpieces in This Collection

I own the record, the cassette and the CD of "Blonde on Blonde." The album was a double gatefold with a startling, good looking picture of Dylan on the cover. From looking at this cover, you get the impression of a young Brando. And like the defiant Brando of those early years, we see a defiant Dylan here, making music his way and damn the critics. This is a rocker, just witness the lead off song. It's also got the long "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" taking up the whole last side on the second disc of the double record. That must have really blown some minds back then. There is dynamite organ work, terrific piano work, knock 'em dead guitar work on this record. Every song is a gem and every song seems to redefine Dylan, a man who has been defined and redefined so many times in his career. Not only is this record one of his best, but it's one of the best records ever made. I know that's been said before, but it's true.

From the first chord of "Tangled Up In Blue" on "Blood on the Tracks" you know you're listening to something special. The song draws you in, sends chills up your spine, it's so good. Then it chews you up and spits you out right into "Simple Twist of Fate", another chiller of a song. I've read that Dylan was going through rough times when he recorded this record and in typical Dylan fashion he's put his life on his sleeve for all to see. He's in pain and you really feel it when you listen to these songs.

Like my friends, I just love the pulsating power of "Infidels." I also appreciate the way Dylan gets his spiritual message across without jamming it down your throat. "Jokerman" for me is reminiscent of "Subterranean Homesick Blues" and I can just picture a younger Dylan with those signs tossing them away during the singing of "Jokerman" the way he did in "Don't Look Back." I'm not a very spiritual person, but the biblical references in "Jokerman" did have me going to my Bible (everybody has one, religious or not, right?) and checking them out. Then there is "Sweetheart Like You," a song covered so well by Rod Stewart, but even more sentimental when you hear it sung by the writer himself. This is just a super rock and roll record, every song a gem.

Three Records for the Ages.......2006-06-02

"Blonde on Blonde" opens with "Rainy Day Women Nos. 12 & 36" and I can remember driving from LA to TJ with that record on the cassette player. I was riding with three friends and we played that record all the way there. Over and Over listening to that refrain, "Everybody must get stoned." We were college girls out for a good time. We did tequila shooters south of the border, but we were back Stateside by dark, I guess we weren't quite as daring as we thought we were. In the motel in Chula Vista we played the whole album on my portable cassette player. We cried during "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands" even though it's probably not a crying song. "Vision of Johanna" is just the best. "I Want You," is a gripping rocker. "Just Like a Woman," is just like this whole record, Just outstanding, superb, really.

"Blood on the Tracks" is an album of broken love. There is so much sadness here. But there is also the best cowboy ballad on this record since Marty Robbins' "El Paso" and "Big Iron." "Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts" just goes on and on, seemingly without end, then poof, it's over and the Jack of Hearts has gotten away with all the cash. You need a refreshing, uplifting song like this to balance out all the heartbreak. Once again, Bob Dylan has proven that he is the absolute best at whatever he attempts. Once again he's turned out a record that once listened to, becomes a part of you. It seems he's done that a lot, is still doing it.

On "Infidels" I just love the way Dylan says, "They say that patriotism is the last refuge to which a scoundrel clings" in the song "Sweetheart Like You." That phrase is timeless, more true today than ever. But than that's the way with a lot of Bob Dylan's songs, they never seem to age. I saw Dylan when he was touring for this record and he did a rocking version of "Masters of War," that is just ripping. "Neighbor Hood Bully" on this record is performed pretty close to the way he did that song, "Sundown On the Union" is too. This is a rock and roll record and I just love it!

Three Dylan Rockers that will Knock the House Down.......2006-06-02

"Blonde on Blonde" builds on the excellent "Highway 61 Revisited" enhancing not only Dylan's musical genius, but his mystique as well. What is he here? I mean what did they think of him back then, back when this record came out. Rock and Roll star, sure. Poet, sure. No longer involved in the politics of the day, but involved in so much more. Mr. Jones didn't get it on the last record and he's probably not getting it now. However lots of folks did get it, or thought they got it. I like to think I would've, but I don't know if I understand this record even now, after all this time, but I plan on listening to it over and over till I do finally understand this musical masterpiece, because I know it's important and it is just so very good, so wonderful.

I must have worn out a dozen copies of "Blood on the Tracks on record before I got the CD and I've gone through a couple of those. This record simply never gets old. It's as fresh now as the day Bob Dylan recorded it. It sends chills up my spine every time I hear it and I can't hear it enough. I play it in the car, at home, have it on my iPod and on my iBook. This is the kind of record that sets the standards for all the rest. It's on the top of the heap, rivaled only by Dylan's own "Highway 61 Revisited", "Blonde on Blonde," the Rolling Stones powerful bootleg "LiveR Than You'll Ever Be and the Beatles' two wonderful records, "The White Album" and "Abbey Road." That's a pretty powerful group of records. You should own them all, "Blood On the Tracks" especially.

Supposedly "Infidels" is another in a series of comeback records for Bob Dylan. It seems many thought he'd abandoned them when he did the Gospel flavored "Slow Train", "Shot of Love" and "Saved", but there are those like me who thought he never went away. I thoroughly enjoyed those records. This one I like better though as I think it's one of the best Dylan has done. Perhaps it's ex Rolling Stone henchman Mick Taylor's driving guitar, I don't know, but this record is a rocker through and through. It just makes you want to get up and jump. It's got that raw rock and roll power my friend Sara is always going on about.

Raw Rock and Roll Power.......2006-06-02

Listening to "Rainy Day Women Nos. 12 & 36" on "Blonde on Blonde" one almost gets the sense of Bob Dylan rolling on the floor laughing as he's singing. You really get the sense that Dylan is feeling pretty good about himself, even though there were many of his fans who were upset with the fact that he'd gone all electric on them. This ain't no folk record, that's for sure, but then again, the last couple weren't folk records either, but they came so close together and the some of the folkies of the day were apparently a little slow in getting the picture. From "Rainy Day Woman" Dylan seques right into the rockin' bluesy "Pledging My Time," which is my favorite song on the record, though I really like rollickin', rockin' "Leopard Skin Pill Box Hat" as well. Oh heck, I like the whole bloody record. What's not to like?

Bob Dylan pulled out all the stops when he made "Blood on the Tracks." His voice is as good as or better than it is on anything he's ever done. Both bands play their hearts out (He pulled the record just before release and rerecorded half the songs with a different band) and Dylan sings like he's singing the blues and means every line. There is not a misstep on this record. It is just impossible to have a favorite song, they are all so good. This album is just too good for me to describe. I just don't have the words.

Supposedly "Infidels" is another in a series of comeback records for Bob Dylan. It seems many thought he'd abandoned them when he did the Gospel flavored "Slow Train", "Shot of Love" and "Saved", but there are those like me who thought he never went away. I thoroughly enjoyed those records. This one I like better though as I think it's one of the best Dylan has done. Perhaps it's ex Rolling Stone henchman Mick Taylor's driving guitar, I don't know, but this record is a rocker through and through. It just makes you want to get up and jump. Like all three records in this set, Infidels has that raw rock and roll power.

Average customer rating:

Beautiful and perplexing lyrics, but this album is something more...
Some very good songs but a baffling and perplexing album
Bob Dylan Rocking Out at his Very Best
As Always, Dylan is Timeless
Spiritual Overtones on this Super Rocker

Infidels
Bob Dylan
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Oh Mercy
Empire Burlesque
Saved
Street Legal
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ASIN: B0000025VU
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

Jokerman
Sweetheart Like You
Neighborhood Bully
License To Kill
Man Of Peace
Union Sundown
I And I
Don't Fall Apart On Me

Customer Reviews:

Beautiful and perplexing lyrics, but this album is something more..........2007-05-13

I agree with reviewers who find Infidels to be Dylan's return to from the Christian wasteland of soft lyrics he was lost in for the previous three albums. And I agree this is perhaps his best album since Blood on the Tracks, and better than several that came since. His lyrics and voice returned to a sharp critiques and soulful poetry with this album.

While all that is true, this album to me is something more, and its greatness is not found in its lyrics. This was the best band Bob Dylan had put together in many years. Dylan's band for these studio sessions was: Sly Dunbar on drums with Robbie Shakespeare on bass (Bob Marley's Wailers rhythm section), and Mick Taylor on guitar (the blues, rock and roll guitarist who played lead on those brilliant Rolling Stones albums of the early 70's). Hand this band a backlog of well crafted Dylan songs that were waiting for their day after his brief muted period of Christianity, and you end up with a Bob Dylan who sounds more excited and alive than he had in years.

This band lifted these songs and produced the kind of driving groove that Dylan's albums had been missing for years. You can hear Bob's voice and spirits lifted by the groove. Put this in your CD player, put it on repeat, and leave it there. You will have a great day.

Some very good songs but a baffling and perplexing album.......2006-09-10

Bob Dylan Rocking Out at his Very Best.......2006-08-27

As Always, Dylan is Timeless.......2006-04-02

I just love the way Dylan says, "They say that patriotism is the last refuge to which a scoundrel clings" in the song "Sweetheart Like You." That phrase is timeless, more true today than ever. But than that's the way with a lot of Bob Dylan's songs, they never seem to age. I saw Dylan when he was touring for this record and he did a rocking version of "Masters of War," that is just ripping. "Neighbor Hood Bully" on this record is performed pretty close to the way he did that song, "Sundown On the Union" is too. This is a rock and roll record and I just love it!

Spiritual Overtones on this Super Rocker.......2006-04-02

Like my friends, I just love the pulsating power of this record. I also appreciate the way Dylan gets his spiritual message across without jamming it down your throat. "Jokerman" for me is reminiscent of "Subterranean Homesick Blues" and I can just picture a younger Dylan with those signs tossing them away during the singing of "Jokerman" the way he did in "Don't Look Back." I'm not a very spiritual person, but the biblical references in "Jokerman" did have me going to my Bible (everybody has one, religious or not, right?) and checking them out. Then there is "Sweetheart Like You," a song covered so well by Rod Stewart, but even more sentimental when you hear it sung by the writer himself. This is just a super rock and roll record, every song a gem.

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Dance of the Infidels

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ASIN: B000AIM096
Release Date: 2006-11-07

Collection 3: Blonde on Blonde / Blood Tracks / Infidels

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5 Star music but note "new" packaging format
Three Astonishing Records in One Collection

Collection 3: Blonde on Blonde / Blood Tracks / Infidels
Bob Dylan
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Collection 2: Freewheelin / Times Changin / Another Side of Bob Dylan
The Collection, Vol. 4: Nashville Skyline/New Morning/John Wesley Harding
The Collection: Oh, Mercy/Time Out of Mind/Love and Theft
Modern Times

ASIN: B0007X9UJW
Release Date: 2005-04-05

Tracks:

Rainy Day Woman #12 & 35
Pledging My Time
Visions of Johanna
One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)
I Want You
Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again
Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
Just Like a Woman
Most Likely to Go Your Way and I'll Go Mine
Temporary Like Achilles
Absolutely Sweet Marie
4th Time Around
Obviously 5 Believers
Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands

Tracks:

Tangled Up in Blue
Simple Twist of Fate
You're a Big Girl Now
Idiot Wind
You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go
Meet Me in the Morning
Lily, Rosemary and the Jack of Hearts
If You See Her, Say Hello
Shelter from the Storm
Buckets of Rain

Tracks:

Jokerman
Sweetheart Like You
Neighborhood Bully
License to Kill
Man of Peace
Union Sundown
I and I
Don't Fall Apart on Me Tonight

Customer Reviews:

5 Star music but note "new" packaging format .......2005-07-17

Rather than review these 3 cd's by Bob Dylan (it's been done well here and in numerous other places on Amazon)....I'm gonna let you know about the way this 3-fer is packaged.

All 3 cds are included here but this is not the preferred (IMO) slip box with individual jewel cases.

This is a book style long box made of cardboard and molded plastic, where the 3 cds are housed on 3 separate "nubs", and a 4th square indent houses the 3 COVER inserts which would normally fit ina jewel case and probably were on the original cd releases.

The overall effect is a bare-bones packaging format for the 3 previously released albums. I suppose this is cheaper for Sony, and though it suffices for me I still get the overall impression that a regular jewel case would offer more (liner notes, pix, etc).

Mercury records is also repackaging several music acts with a 3cd long box of preselected albums (rod stewart, Kiss, for example) called the 'Chronicle Series', but I am unsure of the quality of their 'long box' packing.

If this series has a name I suppose it would be called 'The Collection Series'...and Sony has the same format for another Bob Dylan 3-fer which contains: Oh Mercy/Time Out of Mind/Love and Theft.

Though I prefer the jewel cased originals, I will admit that these cds are identical to what Sony had released individually. These are NOT remastered however.

Three Astonishing Records in One Collection.......2005-05-07

Blonde on Blonde - Thin Wild Mercury Music

Blonde on Blonde came out as a double album in May, 1966. Two months later Bob Dylan broke his neck in a motorcycle accident. Till then, every album was better than the last except this one. Blonde on Blonde just about equals Highway 61, which in my opinion is the best rock album of all time. I guess that would make Blonde number 2. Still with the Beatles, Stones, Zep, Eric and the Boss out there making music, having the number 2 record is pretty good, especially if you already hold the number one spot. Rolling Stone Magazine calls the record number ten, but hey, what's eight places when you're talking about the hundreds of thousands of rock records out there.

This amazing record was the third electric album done by Dylan and by now he'd won over many of his fans, though some did boo him when he toured in Europe in Sixty-six, but those Europeans, what do they know? And do any of us know what would direction Dylan's music would have taken, had he not been in that accident, would he have built on this record, delivering more of the same? Who knows? But what I do know is that this record opens with a dynamite song. Can you imagine what it must have been like for those establishment types hearing the lyrics, "Everybody must get stoned," blaring from their car radios.

The backing band on this record is both tight and loose, if that makes any sense, ripping through songs like "Stuck Inside a Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again," like a meteor streaking across a desert sky. This record is Thin Wild Mercury Music at its very best. Just incredible.

Blood on the Tracks - It's Like Bob Dylan Burst Upon the Scene All Over Again

It seems Bob Dylan's career has been studded with comebacks. "JWH" after the motorcycle accident. "Blood on the Tracks" after the lapse into country. "Infidels" after the lapse into religious territory. "Oh Mercy" after all those records with the girly backup singers (some of them were pretty good though). However, "Tracks" was so much more than a comeback. It's like Bob Dylan burst upon the scene all over again.

And now I'm going to say something that may or may not make any sense. I believe "Highway 61" to be the best rock & roll record ever made, but I think "Blood on the Tracks" is the best record Dylan has ever done. I know it doesn't make sense, kind of oxymoronic, but "Tracks" to me is more than just a rock record, more than poetry put to music, more than fine musicianship. It's chocked full of emotion, mostly tears. It's gritty and rough and it's got the best damned cowboy ballad ever sung on it to boot.

Infidels - Good Old Fashioned Rock 'n' Roll, this Record is

Mike Taylor's fine guitar work on this record is reminiscent of the work he did with the Stones on five studio and one live record. Mark Knopfler, another fine guitarist plays on this record too, as well as Sly Dunbar, Robbie Shakespherre and Alan Clark. This excellent band is backing a Dylan who is in fine voice on an album that marks Dylan's return to good old fashioned rock `n' roll. No more religion, no more God stuff, no more Bible. Well, okay I'll admit there are biblical references here, but boy what a record.

I know a lot of people have panned this record, called it pop, called it inferior. Well, their wrong. "Jokerman" is about as hard driving a rock song as you could ever find. "Sweetheart Like You," an infectious ballad, "Neighborhood Bully" a commentary, ala Dylan of the Sixties, about Israel and her problems with her neighbors who would like to stamp out her existence.

And I know others have complained about "Blind Willie McTell" not being on this record, but there were hours of these sessions, lots of songs left off. Dylan had to choose and fortunately he later chose to give us "Willie McTell" and some of the other outtakes on "The Bootleg Series, Vol. 1-3". This record, however, is whole without those outtakes. It's always been one of my favorites and if you give it a listen, I think it'll be one of your favorites, too.

Jack Priest, Writer from the Darkside

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Basic Alternature Stuff

Lullabies for Infidels
Smart Brown Handbag
Manufacturer: Stone Garden
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD
ASIN: B000005T7I
Release Date: 1997-10-07

Tracks:

Solid Gold
I Forgot To Call
Stretching Out
Brightest Star
Diminishing Return
No Decision Yet
Cucumber Vodka
Cleo In Her Sputnik
So What's Wrong?
Force Fields

Customer Reviews:

Basic Alternature Stuff.......2003-04-08

Smart Brown Handbag sound surprisingly like a 90's version of The Psychedelic Furs. Deadpan vocals, mildly alternative sounds and predictably maudlin lyrics add up to a not wholly unpleasant experience. There is nothing groundbreaking here, just the expected angst and unthreatening music. Proof that obscurity is no guarantee of greatness. "Cleo In Her Sputnik" is the standout

Average customer rating:

Bob Dylan Rocking Out at his Very Best
As Always, Dylan is Timeless
Spiritual Overtones on this Super Rocker
A Must Have Dylan Record
A Comeback Record for Someone Who Never Went Away

Infidels
Bob Dylan
Manufacturer: Sony Japan
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Street Legal
Planet Waves
Slow Train Coming
Bringing It All Back Home
Another Side of Bob Dylan

ASIN: B0002J54KK
Release Date: 2004-10-04

Tracks:

Jokerman
Sweetheart Like You
Neighborhood Bully
License to Kill
Man of Peace
Union Sundown - Bob Dylan, Clydie King
I and I
Don't Fall Apart on Me Tonight

Album Description

Japanese remastered reissue packaged in a limited edition miniature LP sleeve. CBS/Sony. 2004.

Album Details

Digitally Remastered Japanese Limited Edition in an LP-STYLE Slipcase.

Customer Reviews:

Bob Dylan Rocking Out at his Very Best.......2006-08-27

As Always, Dylan is Timeless.......2006-04-03

Spiritual Overtones on this Super Rocker.......2006-04-03

A Must Have Dylan Record.......2006-04-03

This record has the driving power you'd expect from a Rolling Stones record. It just makes you want to raise your hand in a fist and shake it, especially during "Neighborhood Bully" and "Man of Peace," a song I really love, but must admit to having a hard time understanding. Sometimes I think it means one thing, sometimes another. Sometimes Bob Dylan can be sort of ambiguous and I suppose that's why millions of people dissect everything he's ever done. This record is simply a must have for any Dylan, Rock and Roll or even an Rolling Stones fan.

A Comeback Record for Someone Who Never Went Away.......2006-04-03

Supposedly this is another in a series of comeback records for Bob Dylan. It seems many thought he'd abandoned them when he did the Gospel flavored "Slow Train", "Shot of Love" and "Saved", but there are those like me who thought he never went away. I thoroughly enjoyed those records. This one I like better though as I think it's one of the best Dylan has done. Perhaps it's ex Rolling Stone henchman Mick Taylor's driving guitar, I don't know, but this record is a rocker through and through. It just makes you want to get up and jump. It's got that raw rock and roll power.

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Rah Rah's lyrics are deep. Tight cd from this newcomer!!!!

Into the Heart of the Infidels
Rah Rah
Manufacturer: Triad Music
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00000J7PI
Release Date: 1999-05-18

Tracks:

Intro
Don't Stare Me in My Eyes
Ghetto Child
My Mamma Told Me
Let's Get It On
Last Days - Rah Rah,
When Can I Call It Quits
Cali Connection (Interlude)
That's Dat Shit
One Day We All Got to G - Rah Rah,
I'll Be Home Soon
Mo Haters Than Soldiers
Code of Silence - Rah Rah,
Maybe Someday
Ghetto Child II
Into the Hearts of the Infidels

Customer Reviews:

Rah Rah's lyrics are deep. Tight cd from this newcomer!!!!.......1999-06-15

This album is smooth. The way the music transitions makes me want to put it in the cd player and keep it on repeat. The things that Rah Rah talk about really relate to everyday life. I think this rapper is one of the up and coming new artists. I recommend everyone check it out because if you haven't heard it yet you are definitely missing out!!!!!!

Average customer rating:

Your Hidden Skeleton
Infidels
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000FTKH4A
Release Date: 2006-03-14

Tracks:

Satellite in My Brain
7 & 7
Laughing at Yourself
Our Lady of Snows

Music Review:

Music Review

Music Review

1. Jokerman
2. Sweetheart Like You
3. Neighborhood Bully
4. License To Kill
5. Man Of Peace
6. Union Sundown
7. I And I
8. Don't Fall Apart On Me Tonight