After three albums of gospel music that left many Dylan fans disappointed, and very likely hoping he would one day snap out of it, he released the appropriately titled Infidels.
Infidel noun
1. a person who does not accept a particular faith, especially Christianity.
His three albums of Christian/gospel music (Slow Train Coming, Saved, and Shot of Love) were not altogether bad. They may have been a little bland and flat, especially by Dylan standards, but hey did contain a few bright spots. Namely, “Gotta Serve Somebody”, “Every Grain of Sand”, “Property of Jesus”, and “Pressing On”.
So, by the time he ended his run of faith based albums, Dylan himself felt as those he was behind the times production-wise and wanted to give his music a jolt. He considered hiring musicians like Frank Zappa and David Bowie to produce the next album. Someone who has kept up with the changing musical landscape.
In the end, he turned to the very person who played lead guitar on the album that kicked of his Christian based albums….Mark Knopfler.
Knopfler co-produced Infidels with Dylan, in addition to playing lead guitar on the album with former Rolling Stone guitarist Mick Taylor.
It worked. Dylan fans everywhere breathed a sigh of relief as he dropped Infidels, which at the time was considered his best album since Blood on the Tracks.
