Thank you for buying this record. What follows is its documentation: the pressing identified, the matrix / runout transcribed by hand from the dead wax, and the condition as assessed before it was listed. It is yours to keep with the record.

— Paul, Vinyl Curator

Bob Dylan

Infidels

1983 · Columbia QC 38819 · Stereo · US · LP · 33 1/3 RPM

Pressing details

Label	Columbia
Catalogue number	QC 38819
Year	1983
Mono / Stereo	Stereo
Country	US
Format	LP
Speed	33 1/3 RPM
Genre	Rock - Folk Rock/Singer-Songwriter
Producer	Bob Dylan, Mark Knopfler
Musicians	Bob Dylan (guitar, harmonica, keyboards, vocals), Mark Knopfler (guitar), Mick Taylor (guitar), Sly Dunbar (drums, percussion), Robbie Shakespeare (bass), Alan Clark (keyboards)

Matrix / Runout

Side A:  AL38819.1F MASTERDISK BK P
Side B:  BL 38819-A1 MASTERDISK.BK A

Condition

Cover: NM
Vinyl: NM

Variant chronology

1983 - US Columbia QC 38819, Pitman pressing with matching P plant-etch on both sides (earliest documented stamper)
1983 - US Columbia QC 38819, Pitman pressing, side B runout lacking the matching P plant-etch (later stamper generation of the same pressing run)  <- this copy
1983 - Canada Columbia QC 38819 / QCT 38819 pressing - no price band established
1983 - UK CBS 25539 pressing - no price band established
1983 - Japan CBS/Sony 25AP 2690 pressing - no price band established
modern - 180-gram Legacy reissue, new from the specialist dealers

This Pressing

1983 US stereo pressing - Columbia red label, Pitman-plant P etch on side A, side B lacking that matching etch, indicating a later stamper of the same 1983 Pitman pressing run rather than the earliest documented stamper pairing.

The Album

Infidels marked Bob Dylan's return to secular songwriting after three gospel-themed albums, and found him reckoning with politics, faith and romance in a leaner, more worldly voice than the records that preceded it. The sessions were cut at a New York studio with a band built around reggae rhythm section Sly Dunbar and Robbie Shakespeare, guitarist Mark Knopfler, and former Rolling Stones guitarist Mick Taylor, giving the songs a tighter, more contemporary sound than Dylan's recent work. Knopfler, fresh off his success with Dire Straits, co-produced, bringing a polish that was unusual for a Dylan record of the period. The sessions produced more material than made the final cut, most famously the outtake

Tracklist

Side 1

1. Jokerman
2. Sweetheart Like You
3. Neighborhood Bully
4. License To Kill

Side 2

1. Man Of Peace
2. Union Sundown
3. I And I
4. Don't Fall Apart On Me Tonight

The Label

The labels are red with yellow rim text reading "COLUMBIA" repeated around the perimeter, each repetition separated by a small square logo mark, with "SIDE 1"/"SIDE 2", the AL/BL 38819 side numbers, catalogue number QC 38819, "STEREO", a 1983 CBS Inc. copyright line and "MARCAS REG. PRINTED IN U.S.A." at the foot; no plant address is printed on the label. This is the standard Columbia red-label design the company used through the early-to-mid 1980s. The side A runout carries the Pitman (P) plant etch, while the side B runout does not carry a matching P etch, placing this copy among the later stamper runs of the same 1983 US Pitman pressing rather than the earliest stamper pairing.

Fidelity

The album was recorded at the Power Station in New York and mastered by Ian Taylor and Bill Kipper at Masterdisk, with a digital mixing/remix stage noted on the jacket credits. Collectors generally regard the original Columbia pressing as a solid, unremarkable-sounding product of early-1980s mastering rather than an audiophile-grade cut, with some noting the digital involvement softens the analog character prized on Dylan's 1960s and 70s Columbia originals. No audiophile specialty reissue (Mobile Fidelity, Analogue Productions, Classic Records) of this title is in circulation; a standard-weight modern reissue exists but is not regarded as a fidelity upgrade over a clean original pressing like this one.

Notes

This is a 1983 Columbia stereo pressing of Infidels manufactured at the Columbia Records Pressing Plant in Pitman, New Jersey. The side A runout carries Masterdisk mastering codes and the Pitman plant's P etch, but the side B runout does not carry a matching P etch, indicating this copy was pressed from a later stamper generation within the same 1983 US pressing run rather than the first stamper off the lacquer. The printed barcode on the jacket places the pressing in 1980 or later, consistent with the 1983 release date. No deep groove or other label-design feature further refines the pressing generation.

Documenting collections

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