Shot of Love - Recording Sessions

Recording Sessions

Throughout 1980, Dylan was still focused on religious-oriented music in what was dubbed as his 'Born Again' period. This period was marked by prolific songwriting, and it continued through the summer, when Dylan began work on his follow-up album to Saved. "Property of Jesus," "Yonder Comes Sin," and new arrangements of older material like "Ain't Gonna Go to Hell (For Anybody)" were composed during this time, but the three most important works written that summer were "Every Grain of Sand," "Caribbean Wind," and "The Groom's Still Waiting at the Altar"; each of these marked a dramatic change in Dylan's lyrical direction, with the latter two "contrast his troubled sexual relations with the demands of a higher calling," according to author Clinton Heylin.

Then, sometime in mid-September, Dylan reassembled his standing band at Rundown Studios in Santa Monica, California, where they recorded a number of his new songs, including "Every Grain of Sand". A rough recording of "Every Grain of Sand" dating from this period was eventually released on The Bootleg Series Volumes 1–3 (Rare & Unreleased) 1961–1991.

Dylan then embarked on another tour during the fall of 1980 before returning to his songwriting in the winter. In March 1981, Dylan held more informal sessions at both Rundown and Studio 55, rehearsing some of his new compositions while auditioning a potential producer, Jimmy Iovine. These sessions focused on "Caribbean Wind," an ambitious work that was performed once during the fall tour. Already generating interest in the rock press, "Caribbean Wind" was seen as a potential centerpiece for his upcoming album, but it was not quite considered finished. Numerous attempts at recording "Caribbean Wind" during the Iovine sessions proved disappointing, with Dylan growing increasingly pessimistic about the song's prospects. Another new composition, "Angelina" was recorded with much greater success, and Dylan was satisfied enough to mark it for inclusion.

In the meantime, Dylan concluded that another producer was needed, but after relieving Iovine of his duties, Dylan struggled to find an appropriate producer, as well as an appropriate studio. Various sessions were booked across Los Angeles, including sessions at Cream Studios and United Western Studios. None of these places provided the sound Dylan had in mind but had difficulty creating. The sessions did provide an opportunity to rehearse new compositions, including "In the Summertime," as well as experiment with new ideas.

Dylan resigned himself to Rundown, where he and his band worked through his songs over a period of several weeks. Sometime in late April, veteran producer Bumps Blackwell stopped by to see Dylan. Blackwell was best known for producing Little Richard's most celebrated recordings, and though the purpose of his visit remains unclear, Blackwell ultimately produced that day's session, supervising recordings of "Trouble", "Magic", and "Shot of Love" that were later selected for the album. The experience gave Dylan an enormous amount of satisfaction, as he would later reveal in subsequent interviews, but Blackwell did not return for further work, possibly because of health issues.

Chuck Plotkin, who had experience working with Bruce Springsteen, was eventually hired by Dylan on the suggestion of a friend, Debbie Gold. Five sessions were scheduled for Plotkin's Clover Studio, beginning on April 27 and ending on May 1, and work proceeded on songs like "Property of Jesus", "Watered-Down Love", "Heart of Mine", "Lenny Bruce", "Dead Man, Dead Man", "In the Summertime", and "Every Grain of Sand", all of which received usable takes that were marked for the album. An extensively rewritten and rearranged version of "Caribbean Wind" was also recorded at Clover, but once again, Dylan was disappointed with the results; it was ultimately set aside for an indefinite amount of time.

On May 12, Dylan and Plotkin sequenced a preliminary version of Shot of Love, but after listening to it the following day, Dylan decided to remove "Angelina" and "Magic" from the final sequence. The remaining nine songs were retained, but Dylan decided to re-record several of those songs. Three re-recordings were eventually used for the final sequence: "Trouble", "Dead Man, Dead Man", and "Heart of Mine", all of which were taped two to three days after the preliminary sequence was approved.

The mixing process proved rather tense as Plotkin and Dylan had conflicting ideas on how to mix the songs. Plotkin made numerous prototype mixes, delivering each one on cassette dub over to Dylan at Rundown Studios. Most, if not all of them, were rejected. "Chuck to get a nice mix at the end of each song," recalls Jim Keltner, "and Bob wouldn't have any of the nice mixes. Most everything you hear on that Shot of Love album turns out to be the monitor mixes." Plotkin spent another month mixing and overdubbing over the nine songs selected for Shot of Love. Mixing was finally completed on June 7, with overdubbing continuing through June 16.