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Rating: THE REVIEW
Chronicle of a Missed Masterpiece
Dylan hadn't made an album up to his standard since "Street Legal". Six years pass and Dylan writes magnificent songs. He records them, actually he records an industrial quantity of them during those years. An album comes out, it's called "Infidels", some see it as a return to Judaism. But where have the masterpiece songs gone? They are not here. You have to wait for the "Bootleg Series" to hear them. Here there is an excellent album victim of bizarre track list choices.
It opens with "Jokerman", excluding "Every Grain Of Sand" the first great song in seven years. This is a wonderful piece, with Dylan's voice humming like in the old days and a cryptic text perhaps full of references to Christ but of striking beauty and with stunning imagery. "Sweetheart Like You" is a nice piece, "Neighborhood Bully" a pro-Israel piece, a bit rhetorical but not bad. Then, following, two masterpieces of the new-style Dylan, that is "License To Kill" (Man thinks ‘cos he rules the earth, he can do with it as he please
) and "Man of Peace" (You know, sometimes Satan comes as a man of Peace
). "Union Sundown", the first piece in world discography about globalization (I believe…), is not a masterpiece, while the next "I And I" is a jaw-dropping piece, a luciferian text that makes it an unforgettable song, one of the highest points of the album and Dylan. The concluding "Don’t Fall Apart On Me Tonight" is cute. The overall sound is clear and crystalline, very clean and well-orchestrated. The voice also does not disappoint.
The album, as it is, is good. 4/5. Why a missed masterpiece? Because the best songs of Dylan from that period are left out, and inferior things are included. It's not the first time Dylan's choices leave people amazed, but here it comes to the exclusion of masterpiece songs like "Blind Willie McTell", "Foot of Pride", "Lord Protect My Child", the original version of "Tight Connection To My Heart", better than the rewrite, and the lesser "Tell Me". Three excluded masterpieces! What on earth is going on!
What album could we have had without "Union Sundown" and "Don’t Fall Apart On Me" but with the other gems? It would have been a record worthy of "Highway 61" or "Desire"! Instead, Dylan goes his own way, and he might even have his good reasons: he leaves us to weep over a missed masterpiece, postponed by five years ("Oh Mercy!") and followed by three truly poor albums, which will even see the inexplicable revisiting of the horrible "Death Is Not The End", an outtake from Infidels. But why, for heaven's sake? Why does Dylan force us to build his albums ourselves? Why didn't he include "Blind Willie McTell", which is one of his best tracks, among the top ten-twenty, along with "Foot Of Pride"? Perhaps because he's Dylan. Oh, rage!
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Summary by Bot
The review considers Bob Dylan's 1983 album Infidels a strong work with excellent songs like "Jokerman" and "I And I." However, it's described as a missed masterpiece due to poor tracklist choices that exclude better recordings from the same sessions. The album's sound and Dylan's vocals receive praise, yet frustration is expressed over the absence of iconic songs like "Blind Willie McTell." Overall, the reviewer rates the album 4 out of 5 but laments the potential lost.Tracklist Lyrics Videos
Bob Dylan
American singer-songwriter Robert Allen Zimmerman, known as Bob Dylan, is a major figure in 20th-century popular music, noted for pioneering songwriting and continual reinvention across folk, rock, country and blues.127 Reviews
Other reviews
By Zimmy
Infidels is the album where Dylan seems to finally remove all masks and come to terms with himself and the world around him.
"I and I" is one of the rare songs where Bob Dylan lays his soul bare and finally presents himself with his weaknesses, insecurities, and sufferings.
