Willie Nelson / 4:25
SINGLE
DATE OF RELEASE
I and I / Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground
November 1983
on CBS Records
(REFERENCE A-3904)
Musicians
Bob Dylan: vocals, guitar, harmonica (?)
Clydie King: vocals
Mark Knopfler: guitar (?)
Mick Taylor: guitar
Alan Clark: piano
Robbie Shakespeare: bass
Sly Dunbar: drums
Recording Studio
The Power Station / Studio A, New York: May 2,
Technical Team
Producers: Bob Dylan and Mark Knopfler
Sound Engineer: Neil Dorfsman
“Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground” was written by Willie Nelson. Jerry Seltzer, the manager who organized musical events in the San Francisco Bay Area for Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings, said the song might be about a member of the Hells Angels from Austin called Charlie Magoo who died in an accident. The song was used in the soundtrack to a 1981 film directed by Jerry Schatzberg, Honeysuckle Rose, starring Willie Nelson as a country singer, along with Dyan Cannon, Amy Irving, and Emmylou Harris (as herself). Nelson’s hit was released as a single with “I Guess I’ve Come to Here in Your Eyes” on the B-side. The tune “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground” peaked at number 1 on the US Billboard Country chart.
During the sessions for Infidels, Dylan recorded several songs by other composers, including a superb version of “Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground” on May 2, 1983. Dylan’s cover is somewhat far from the original spirit of the Willie Nelson hit. The country tone of Nelson’s ballad is replaced by a blues-rock sound moving from a slow to a faster tempo by the end. Dylan’s voice is loaded with emotion. On this occasion, he was accompanied on harmony vocals by Clydie King, who, after “Union Sundown,” is performing on her second song for the Infidels sessions. Mick Taylor probably plays lead guitar, most likely his Stratocaster (Telecaster?) instead of his Gibson Les Paul. The style does not bear the mark of Mark Knopfler (right channel in stereo). The other guitarist on rhythm (left channel) does not seem to be Knopfler, either, but Dylan himself.
Twelve takes were made under the working title “Angel.” Dylan was satisfied enough with the last take to decide to use it as the B-side for the single extracted from Infidels. Depending on the country, this single was either “Union Sundown,” “Jokerman,” or “Sweetheart Like You.”