Bob Dylan

I'm still waiting for sony to do a decent re-mastering job on the Dylan catalogue-I hadn't realised how poor the quality was on some of the CD's until I picked up some original vinyl pressings-Blonde on Blonde sounds like a different record-half the instruments are lost on the CD mix.
Several tracks from B.O.T.T are featured in alternate form on The Bootleg Series box from several years back.Don't know of an album dedicated soley to BOTT though...

The original US mastertapes for Blonde on Blonde are apparently missing. The same goes for a few other of Bob's albums. The Gold mastersound CD is a re-mix from the original multitrack tapes, done wiothout Bob's knowledge or concent. Bob hated the result.

Your best bet from a best bet from a sound quality point of view is a original US vinyl copy or the rather nice Simply Vinyl version (which is made from the original analogue British copy master).

Bob has assisted in the re-mix of Blonde on Blonde for SACD. It is said that this version is the vesrion to have. Hopefully CBS will release this on CD and Classic on vinyl.

Sundazed have released Highway 61 revisited in mono on vinyl from the original analogue master. The quality of sound and clarity of the mono mix are superb (for H61R that is...). It is highly recomended by me and relatively chaep (about $14 in the US).

Happy listening.

Thanks for that information Martin. I’m intrigued where you sourced these details from…?.I know my son would be very interested.

Dave

Michael Fremer in the Tracking Angle. A great, but now sadly defunkt, magazine. Michael knows his stuff (or at least knows someone who knows his stuff). He did articles on many great musicians and is in a position where actually knows the original engineer and/or mastering engineer, so he can ring them up and ask questions.

He does write in Stereophile but he doesn't really get the chance to talk about the music very much.

If you have the turntable, get Sundazed Highway 61. Its rather good.

Martin.
Yes I do,but not used for a while.
An LP12 which needs it's Koestu Black replacing.
I'm hoping to get it serviced and another MC before xmas.Once done I'll search this version of H61R out.

thanks once again

Dave

I have a list somewhere of which Simply Vinyl Dylan releases are analogue and which are digital. The analogue ones are worth having, the digital ones will sound just like the CD but with more distortion so are not.

I'll dig it out sometime and list them here.

The wonderful mid seventies classic, "Blood on the Tracks" has been the subject of much speculation amoung Dylan fanatics. Apparently, Dylan has been approached about issuing a deluxe version of the album that would collect in one place the album as released, and the complete sessions for the album. Amoung Dylan collectors, there are some, including British writer Clinton Heyland, who have heard bootleg versions of the "original" version and feel it is superior to the album as it was released. In the recording sessions, Dylan had finished the album with less instrumentation than the release we all know and love. This version is said to be more emotionally immediate and revelatory. After listening to the master tapes, Dylan decided to schedule additional sessions with the band that appears on the record. Thus there are two different sets of takes generated from different sessions, perhaps even two complete versions of the album. So, there may be a release at some point in his Bootleg series that showcases this material officially.

To date, there are outakes from Blood on the Tracks on both the "Biograph" box set, including the wonderful "Up To Me", as well as some tracks that were included on the Bootleg Series Volumes I-III box set. As far as sonics go, I would endorse finding a vinyl copy from the US, which is a bit harder for our British friends, but should be easily available in used record stores in the US due to the sales volume of the record in the 70's.

If you enjoy this title, you might try his earlier acoustic based "John Wesley Harding" album, which is a real favorite of mine.

I seem to remember a really good acoustic, possibly live, version of this. Am I on acid or does this exist somewhere?

-John

Was that the title of a bootleg I used to have?
I seem to remember it was really good, around the time of the acoustic to electric shift. Can you still get it? Maybe it just sounded sizzling on my autochanger

-John

I assume this track from the film "Wonder Boys" would be on any sound track CD, but does anybody know if it was released in some other format.

Thanks

Dave

It was released in the uk as a limited edition 7" vinyl single(Columbia 6693797-which plays at 33 rather than 45 as the label says).The B side was a live recording of 'Blind Willie Mctell' from jones Beach 1997.It was also issued as a CD single as well(Columbia 6693792)in radio edit form.
I don't know how hard it would be to find a copy but I can't imagine they are that rare.

Dave & Von,
Thanks for that information. It looks like a visit to HMV next week.

Dave