Despite this impressive array of guest stars, the album is musically homogeneous. It includes ballads, blues, boogie, and rock, like that heard in Memphis’s smoky clubs. Dylan’s timeless and engaging voice was not enough to generate a critical and commercial success. Released on September 11, 1990, Dylan’s twenty-seventh studio album did not have the same prestige as Oh Mercy, even if the LP reached number 38 on the US Billboard charts and number 13 in the United Kingdom. In the end, the album was relatively underrated.
The Recording
Accurate information about dates and exact recording studios of the various sessions is hard to confirm. Nevertheless, the production truly began on January 6, 1990, probably at Ocean Way Recording in Hollywood. This was a fabled place that saw the coming and going of a number of artists, including Michael Jackson (Thriller), Frank Zappa, Supertramp, and the Beach Boys. Between February and April, the rhythm tracks were recorded in various studios, presumably the Complex Studios and the Record Plant in Los Angeles, but also Sorcerer Sound Recording Studios in New York, where Norah Jones would later record her first hit record Come Away with Me (2002) and where Lou Reed had worked. On March 2, a promotional version of “Most of the Time” (Oh Mercy) was recorded with the Record Plant’s portable digital twenty-four-track recorder at Culver City Studios in California. Between April 30 and May 25, ten overdub sessions were held, most likely, at Ocean Way Recording.
Under the Red Sky was not a major hit. Dylan said that at that time he had a poor relationship with the recording industry, and that there were too many musicians involved on the album. “I like Don and David, but let’s face it, neither one of them knew anything about American folk music or gut level arrangements that come out of the world of simplicity.”144
The Instruments
According to David Lindley, Dylan borrowed his Japanese Teisco guitar to record one of the songs on the album, “And he particularly liked the nasty twang to it.”145 The songwriter played his harmonica (in A) for only one song.
On January 30, 1990, Bob Dylan was awarded the medallion of commandeur of the Order of Arts and Letters Ordre des Arts et des Lettres) by Jack Lang, the French minister of culture.
ANOTHER BOOTLEG
In December 1990, Dylan sang on Brian Wilson’s album Sweet Insanity. Unfortunately, this album was rejected by Sire Records, the Beach Boys’ record company. Since then the album has circulated in a bootleg version.
Wiggle Wiggle
Bob Dylan / 2:09
Musicians: Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar; Slash: guitar (?); David Lindley: guitar; Jamie Muhoberac: organ; Randy Jackson: bass; Kenny Aronoff: drums / Recording Studios: The Complex Studios (?) / The Record Plant (?), Los Angeles: February–March 1990; Ocean Way Recording, Hollywood, California (Overdubs May 1–2, 9–10, 14, 1990) / Producers: Don Was, David Was, and Jack Frost (Bob Dylan) / Sound Engineer: Ed Cherney
Genesis and Production
“Wiggle Wiggle” could be a metaphor for the decadence of modern times—the unconscious dance of men at the edge of the cliff. Or it might be a simple funny children’s rhyme with no real meaning, a nice amusing piece of nonsense. However, with Dylan it is hard to tell. “Wiggle Wiggle” is a lot of fun, but “Wiggle ’til you vomit fire” suggests that it is not meant for children.
As the opening track of the album, “Wiggle Wiggle” plunges immediately into a world radically different from Oh Mercy. No more hypnotic and sophisticated ethereal atmospheres; here the sound is plain and simple, a rock band and a singer. Dylan’s performance is relaxed, but the icing on the cake is the solo at the end played by Saul Hudson, better known as Slash, the guitarist of Guns N’ Roses. “They asked me to play a song with a pretty silly title, ‘Wiggle, Wiggle,’” he later recalled. “I just learned it on the spot… When I went to play the lead, Bob came up and asked me to play like [jazz guitarist] Django Reinhardt! I couldn’t figure out where he was coming from. I didn’t hear that at all! So basically, I just laid down the part I thought should be there. Everybody seemed to be happy with it.”146
Dylan took Slash’s solo off at the last minute. David Lindley played the solo at 1:55.
Under The Red Sky
Bob Dylan / 4:10
Musicians: Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar, accordion; George Harrison: slide guitar; Waddy Wachtel: guitar; Al Kooper: keyboards; Don Was: bass; Kenny Aronoff: drums / Recording Studios: The Complex Studios (?) / The Record Plant (?), Los Angeles: April 1990; Ocean Way Recording, Hollywood, California (Overdubs May 1, 3–4, 1990) / Producers: Don Was, David Was, and Jack Frost (Bob Dylan) / Sound Engineer: Ed Cherney
Genesis and Production
“Under the Red Sky” gave the album its title and shows one of the most exciting facets of Dylan’s songwriting. At first glance, it is a nursery rhyme that seems to draw its message from the Bible. The heroes are “a little boy” and “a little girl” who “[live] in an alley under the red sky,” which evokes a sign from heaven referred to in the Gospel according to Matthew (16:1–3): “It will be stormy today, the sky is red and lowering.” “Under the Red Sky” may possibly be the last long night before the apocalypse—in this case, due to the pollution of the earth. Dylan told Don Was that the song did not have an ecological theme, but “it’s about people who got trapped in [my] home town.”112 Still, the town may well be Hibbing, where the iron ore mines tinted the sky red.
“Under the Red Sky” seems to have been influenced by the Beatles in the harmony. This is probably not a coincidence, as Dylan’s friend George Harrison played a slide guitar solo. Don Was remembers the cooperation between them: “Before George had even gotten a sound on his guitar or heard the song, Bob sat down behind the board in the engineer’s seat, hit the record button and said, ‘Play!’” Harrison played, and “it was a respectable solo, but the guitar was way out of tune.” At the end, Dylan “indicated that that the solo was perfect, and we were done.” George, incredulous, turned to Was to ask, “What do YOU think, Don?” Embarrassed, the producer, after a few seconds, told him, “It was really good, but let’s see if you can do an even better one.” Harrison thanked him, Bob laughed, and George redid his solo, this time impeccably.143
FOR DYLANOLOGISTS
For the first time on a recorded song, Bob Dylan plays accordion.
Unbelievable
Bob Dylan / 4:07
Musicians: Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar, harmonica; Waddy Wachtel: guitar; Al Kooper: organ, piano; Don Was: bass; Kenny Aronoff: drums / Recording Studios: The Complex Studios (?) / The Record Plant (?), Los Angeles: February–March 1990; Ocean Way Recording, Hollywood, California (Overdubs May 3–4, 1990) Producers: Don Was, David Was, and Jack Frost (Bob Dylan) / Sound Engineer: Ed Cherney
Genesis and Production
Far from Dylan’s major works of the 1960s, “Unbelievable” is nonetheless a poetic song full of contempt for materialism and misinformation. In the second verse, Dylan sings, “They said it was the land of milk and honey / Now they say it’s the land of money.” The narrator’s regrets are painful and ironic. He no longer recognizes the pioneers and does not particularly appreciate the America of Wall Street: “It’s unbelievable you can get this rich this quick.” According to Dylan, the evils of society, as it has drifted, are greed and lies, and since there is no real answer, the only way out is nonsense. The song echoes the main idea of “I Shall Be Free No. 10” (Another Side of Bob Dylan).
“Unbelievable” is an excellent boogie song with a very strong rhythm section. Don Was and Kenny Aronoff (who played with Santana, John Fogerty, and on Oh Mercy) give the song its irresistible groove. Al Kooper plays great keyboard parts, reminiscent of Steve Winwood’s work with Traffic. Waddy Wachtel, the talented guitarist who had played with the Everly Brothers and the Rolling Stones, provides a good rockabilly guitar phrase, the only saturated guitar part of the song. Dylan plays acoustic. The guitar riff in the introduction bears a slight resemblance to “Honey Don’t” by Carl Perkins (1957). Dylan delivers a fine vocal performance, maybe l
acking energy in his bluesy harmonica solo (in A).
The song, unfortunately, lacks something. The base rhythm track was taped in February or March, and keyboard and guitar overdubs were done on May 3 and 4. Until the last moment before recording, Dylan constantly changed the lyrics, just as he did in the majority of his songs. “Unbelievable” was released as a single with “10,000 Men” on the B-side in September 1990. The single reached the very respectable number 21 on the US Billboard charts the year of its release. Dylan has sung “Unbelievable” onstage twenty times since a concert at Lansdowne Stadium in Ottawa, Canada, on August 22, 1992.
FOR DYLANOLOGISTS
The music video for “Unbelievable” is a surreal road movie, starring actresses Molly Ringwald and Sally Kirkland. Kirkland makes only a brief appearance.
Born In Time
Bob Dylan / 3:39
Musicians: Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar (?), accordion; David Crosby: vocal harmonies; Robben Ford: guitar; Bruce Hornsby: piano; Randy Jackson: bass; Kenny Aronoff: drums; Paulinho Da Costa: percussion / Recording Studios: The Complex Studios (?) / The Record Plant (?), Los Angeles: February–March 1990; Ocean Way Recording, Hollywood, California (Overdubs May 2 and 8, 1990) / Producers: Don Was, David Was, and Jack Frost (Bob Dylan) / Sound Engineer: Ed Cherney
Genesis and Production
“Born in Time” was left over from the previous year’s album Oh Mercy. Bob Dylan integrated melancholy impressions to express all the sadness of a man who loves, but is not loved in return. The song was left off the track listing of Oh Mercy. “Born in Time” was entirely transformed when Dylan rerecorded it, presumably at the Complex Studios in Los Angeles. On May 2, the excellent Paulinho Da Costa recorded percussion, and on May 8, Robben Ford added a great guitar part. Don Was: “At the session, he just sat down at the piano and played it for everyone. Once the groove was established, Bob yielded the piano bench to [Bruce] Hornsby and picked up an acoustic guitar for the take. There was so much going on at that moment that I didn’t really focus properly on the lyrics as they were going by. It took years for me to realize how deep that song is.” He added, “There is a world-weariness in Bob’s vocal that is integral to the song…”143 The version of “Born in Time” found on The Bootleg Series Volume 8: Tell Tale Signs has a rather different but equally strong vibe.
T.V. Talkin’ Song
Bob Dylan / 3:03
Musicians: Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar; Robben Ford: guitar; Bruce Hornsby: piano; Randy Jackson: bass; Kenny Aronoff: drums; (?): tambourine / Recording Studios: The Complex Studios (?) / The Record Plant (?), Los Angeles: February–March 1990; Ocean Way Recording, Hollywood, California (Overdubs May 2, 8–9, 10, 1990) / Producers: Don Was, David Was, and Jack Frost (Bob Dylan) / Sound Engineer: Ed Cherney
Genesis and Production
In the first verse, Dylan sings, “One time in London I’d gone out for a walk / Past a place called Hyde Park where people talk.” He references a London tradition: orators at Speakers’ Corner, located in the northeast corner of Hyde Park.
On the artistic level, “T.V. Talkin’ Song” is an opportunity to reconnect with a genre in which the songwriter excelled early in his career: the talking blues. “T.V. Talkin’ Song” sounds like a new version of “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” which appeared on Dylan’s 1965 album Bringing It All Back Home, but with less of a Beat influence. Guitarist Robben Ford said: “And Bob has a table in front of him, with pages and pages and pages of lyrics, and he would just start some kind of a thing going on the guitar, and we’d all fall in behind him, and just start jamming. And as soon as he kinda liked what was happening, he’d start picking up lyrics, going through the pages, and just start trying to sing it over whatever we were doing. If he didn’t care for that one after a while, he’d put it down, pick up another page, and start trying something with that. So, literally, we just jammed.”147 “T.V. Talkin’ Song” is a sort of funky rhythm and blues song based on a single chord. The excellent musicians, especially the rhythm section of Jackson and Aronoff, give full strength to the song. Hornsby on piano and Ford on guitar add a good musical groove, offering a well-marked highway for Dylan’s “talk over.”
IN YOUR HEADPHONES
At 0:25, the end of a syllable is poorly erased at the beginning of the third line of the second verse, just before “It’s too bright…”
10000 Men
Bob Dylan / 4:21
Musicians: Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar; Stevie Ray Vaughan: guitar; Jimmie Vaughan: guitar; David Lindley: slide guitar; Jamie Muhoberac: organ; Don Was: bass; Kenny Aronoff: drums; (?): tambourine / Recording Studios: The Record Plant, Los Angeles: January 6 (?), 1990; Ocean Way Recording, Hollywood, California: January 6 (?), 1990 (Overdubs April 30/ May 14 and 25, 1990 / Producers: Don Was, David Was, and Jack Frost (Bob Dylan) / Sound Engineer: Ed Cherney
Genesis and Production
The song “10,000 Men” is based on the English children’s nursery rhyme “The Grand Old Duke of York,” about the futile leadership of the legendary prince Frederick Augustus, Earl of Ulster and Duke of York and Albany (1763–1827). Dylan took the idea as a springboard and improvised on it. The ten thousand men of the grand old Duke of York became “Ten thousand women all dressed in white / Standin’ at my window wishing me goodnight,” “Ten thousand women all sweepin’ my room”—it is all just nonsense. Dylan ends the song singing, “Baby, thank you for my tea! / It’s so sweet of you to be so nice to me.”
“10,000 Men” is a blues-rock improvisation, recorded just after “God Knows” on January 6 (?), 1990. In October 1990, Don Was told Reid Kopel, “The engineer was hip to what was going on and he stopped the playback of the other thing, threw on some new tape and started recording a minute into it… That one starts real abrupt.” Indeed, the band starts slowly and the musicians begin with hesitation. Dylan gives the impression of just having woken up when he sings the first few lines. Once again, he does not take advantage of the extraordinary ability of the musicians who accompany him, including Stevie Ray Vaughan, one of the most influential electric guitarists in the history of blues (overdub on April 30). Fortunately, he makes up for it on other tracks of the album.
FOR DYLANOLOGISTS
Soon after the recording of “10,000 Men,” Stevie Ray Vaughan was killed in a helicopter crash (August 27, 1990).
2 × 2
Bob Dylan / 3:39
Musicians: Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar; David Crosby: harmony vocals; David Lindley: bouzouki; Elton John: keyboards; Randy Jackson: bass; Kenny Aronoff: drums; Paulinho Da Costa: percussion / Recording Studios: The Complex Studios (?) / The Record Plant (?), Los Angeles: February–March 1990; Ocean Way Recording, Hollywood, California (Overdubs May 1, 3–4, 9–10, 14, 1990) / Producers: Don Was, David Was, and Jack Frost (Bob Dylan) / Sound Engineer: Ed Cherney
Genesis and Production
At first glance, “2 x 2” looks like a fairly impenetrable children’s nursery rhyme, without any real meaning. Some see an interpretation of Genesis 6 and 7, in which God commands Noah to make an ark for himself, his family, and living creatures of every kind, to “take and store every kind of food that can be eaten.” Says God, “I will send rain on the earth for forty days and forty nights, and I will wipe from the face of the earth every living creature I have made.”
In this song, Dylan is accompanied by superstars David Crosby and Elton John. After “Born in Time,” this is the second song backed by Crosby and the first by John. And, for once, Dylan lets his guests shine: listen to Elton John’s amazing piano solo. In this funny song, the group creates a perfect groove. David Lindley plays bouzouki and Dylan revises his multiplication table.
God Knows
Bob Dylan / 3:03
Musicians: Bob Dylan: vocals, piano; Stevie Ray Vaughan: lead guitar; Jimmie Vaughan: guitar; David Lindley: slide guitar; Jamie Muhoberac: organ; Don Was: bass; Kenny Aronoff: drums; Paulinho Da Costa: percussion / Recording Studios: The Record Plant, Los Angeles: January 6 (?), 1990; Ocean Way
Recording, Hollywood, California: January 6 (?), 1990 (Overdubs April 30/May 2, 1990) / Producers: Don Was, David Was, and Jack Frost (Bob Dylan) / Sound Engineer: Ed Cherney
Genesis and Lyrics
“God Knows” was originally recorded for Oh Mercy. The theme of this song, a favorite of Dylan’s (particularly in his Christian trilogy), is about God as omnipotent and omniscient (God seeing what all of us do and knowing our secrets). What is interesting is the evolution of the rhetoric between the original version and the one on Under the Red Sky. Of the seven verses of the first version released on The Bootleg Series Volume 8, the songwriter kept only one verse. He wants to be less categorical. Thus, instead of singing “God knows there’s an answer,” he sings “God knows there’s a purpose /… God knows there’s a heaven.” There are several possibilities, not just one.
Production
The version of “God Knows” recorded for Oh Mercy has a different structure and harmony than the alternate version officially released on Under the Red Sky. Admittedly, the official version is better than Daniel Lanois’s version. This blues-rock song has a distinctive strength and charm, due to the progression of the vibe during the recording of the song, but also due to Stevie Ray Vaughan’s excellent solo on electric guitar; he plays with abandon on his six-string (overdub on April 30). But before getting this result, Don Was remembers that it was not so simple: “The first take was a mess—too many musicians. For take two, we began with just Bob and Stevie Ray and built up the arrangement very, very slowly. His singing was great. It was a keeper take. The rough mix from that moment is the mix that appears on the album.”143 Indeed, Dylan sings with feeling, making it the high point of the song. Another strength is Kenny Aronoff’s drumming, reminiscent of Mitch Mitchell, which really makes the song take off. In addition, David Lindley plays on a Weissenborn slide (as on “10,000 Men”). It is difficult to determine the studio used for the first recording session on January 6, 1990. On the record sheets, Michael Krogsgaard mentions Ocean Way Recording in Hollywood, but during the interview with Uncut, Don Was cites the Record Plant.
Bob Dylan All the Songs Page 78