The Dylan SACD Remasters

[mikenycLI]

Here is the text of the bobdylan.com article on the releases...

Fifteen Classic Bob Dylan Albums to be Released on Hybrid Super Audio CD
Every Phase of A Legendary Career Is Represented In The First Major Sonic Upgrade of His CD Catalog

All titles arrive in stores August 19, 2003


On August 19, 2003, Columbia/Legacy will release fifteen classic albums by Bob Dylan in the hybrid Super Audio CD (SACD) format. These discs—the first recordings by any Sony Music artist to be issued in this format—will also feature restored artwork based on original album packaging.

Hybrid Super Audio CD discs feature a high-density layer which can provide high-resolution, multi-channel surround sound in addition to a separate two-channel stereo SACD version of the same music, and a layer with a CD version of the recording. The result is a hybrid disc whose full audio potential can be realized by the new generation of SACD players, and which is fully compatible with all other existing CD players on the market today.

These fifteen titles mark the start of a long-term program to enhance and upgrade the sonic quality and packaging elements of one of the most important album catalogs in popular music. Only one Bob Dylan album, Blonde on Blonde, has been released previously in the standard Super Audio CD format. Blonde on Blonde, along with five other titles—Another Side of Bob Dylan, Bringing It All Back Home, Blood On The Tracks, Slow Train Coming, and "Love and Theft"—will now be issued as 5.1 multi-channel releases with accompanying stereo mixes, in addition to their hybrid SACD versions.

Here are the fifteen hybrid Super Audio CD titles by Bob Dylan, in chronological order:

1) The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan (released May 1963)—Includes "Blowin' in the Wind," "Masters of War," "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right," and "A Hard Rain's a-Gonna fall." Freewheelin' was Dylan's second Columbia album, but his first collection of all original songs. Produced by John Hammond.

2) Another Side of Bob Dylan (released August 1964)—Includes "All I Really Want to Do," "Spanish Harlem Incident," "Chimes of Freedom," "My Back Pages." "A rich, complex album" (Paul Williams, Crawdaddy). Produced by Tom Wilson.

3) Bringing It All Back Home (released March 1965)—Includes "Mr. Tambourine Man," "Gates of Eden," "It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)," "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue." The first Dylan album to include accompaniment by an electric band, and his first Top Ten LP. Produced by Tom Wilson.

4) Highway 61 Revisited (released August 1965)—Includes the No. 2 hit single "Like a Rolling Stone," "Ballad of a Thin Man," "Highway 61 Revisited," "Desolation Row." Produced by Tom Wilson and Bob Johnston.

5) Blonde on Blonde (released May 1966)—Includes "Rainy Day Women # 12 & 35," "Visions of Johanna," "Just Like a Woman," "I Want You." This landmark double LP was the first Bob Dylan album recorded in Nashville. Produced by Bob Johnston.

6) John Wesley Harding (released December 1967)—Includes "John Wesley Harding," "All Along the Watchtower," and "Drifter's Escape." With the inclusion of "I'll Be Your Baby Tonight," Dylan returned rock to its country roots. Produced by Bob Johnston.

7) Nashville Skyline (released April 1969)—Includes "Lay Lady Lay," "To Be Alone With You," "I Threw It All Away," "Country Pie." Produced by Bob Johnston.

Planet Waves (released January 1974)—Includes "On a Night Like This," "Going, Going, Gone," "Forever Young," "You Angel You." With instrumental backing by The Band, Planet Waves became Dylan's first Number One album. Produced by Bob Dylan, Robbie Robertson, and Rob Fraboni.

9) Blood On The Tracks (released January 1975)—Includes "Tangled Up in Blue," "Simple Twist of Fate," "If You See Her, Say Hello," "Shelter from the Storm." "The writing is the source of the record's powerÉThere are times when he sounds closer, more intimate and more real than anyone else." (Jon Landau, Rolling Stone) Produced by Bob Dylan.

10) Desire (released January 1976)—Includes "Hurricane," "Black Diamond Bay," "One More Cup of Coffee," "Oh, Sister." Desire features violinist Scarlett Rivera and songs co-written with Jacques Levy. Produced by Don Devito.

11) Street Legal (released June, 1978)—Includes "Señor (Tales of Yankee Power)," "Changing of the Guards," "Baby, Stop Crying," and "Is Your Love in Vain?" Produced by Don Devito.


12) Slow Train Coming (released August 1979)—Includes the Grammy Award-winning single "Gotta Serve Somebody," "I Believe in You," "Slow Train," "When He Returns." Produced by Jerry Wexler and Barry Beckett.

13) Infidels (released November 1983)—Includes "Jokerman," "License to Kill," "I and I," "Sweetheart Like You." Dylan's sidemen include Mick Taylor (guitar), Mark Knopfler (guitar), Sly Dunbar (drums), and Robbie Shakespeare (bass). "Eight vigorous songs that teem with self-effacing introspection and witÉ" (Christopher Connelly, Rolling Stone). Produced by Bob Dylan and Mark Knopfler.

14) Oh Mercy (released September, 1989)—Includes "Political World," "Everything Is Broken," "Ring Them Bells," "Man in the Long Black Coat." Recorded in New Orleans with Louisiana musicians including Cyril Neville (percussion), Rockin' Dopsie (accordion), Willie Green (drums), and Mason Ruffner (guitar). Produced by Daniel Lanois.

15) "Love and Theft" (September, 2001)—Includes "Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum, "Mississippi," "Summer Days," "High Water (for Charley Patton)." "All pop music is love and theft, and in 40 years of records whose sources have inspired volumes of scholastic exegesis, Dylan has never embraced that truth so warmly. Jokes, riddles, aperçus, and revelations will surface for years... Grade: A Plus." (Robert Christgau, The Village Voice)

"The release of these classic Bob Dylan albums on hybrid SACD will extend the benefits of this exciting format to a much wider audience," says Jeff Jones, Senior Vice President, Legacy Recordings. "Each of these Dylan titles will be painstakingly remastered and reproduced to the highest quality standards."


http://bobdylan.com/updates/index.html

[Rspaight]

will now be issued as 5.1 multi-channel releases with accompanying stereo mixes, in addition to their hybrid SACD versions

Boy, that's sure a weird way to phrase it. Those words make it sound as though there will be a single-layer multichannel version as well as a stereo hybrid version. I'm sure that's not the case, though. Must be the first time the press release writer has dealt with a hybrid announcement.

Ryan

[mikenycLI]

Why do they release ALL of the titles at the same time ????

Is there some kind of strategy there ?


Mike

[Xenu]

It pushes the old versions out of the racks.

Other than that...

[Ed Bishop]

I'm still not sure if any of the titles are going to be multichannel or not. My hunch is we're dealing with stereo hybrids. A shame the mono mixes of certain albums aren't going to be included. There's space on the discs for them, but that kind of scholarship is too much to expect.

ED

[Rspaight]

The six titles reported above are going to be multichannel -- there have been several ads published to that effect, in addition to the press releases.

I agree, though, that it's a shame the mono mixes aren't on there.

Ryan

[Ed Bishop]

I know, Ryan, and that's why I'm baffled by the inclusion of ANOTHER SIDE as a 5.1 title. For one thing, it's never been in real stereo. Produced by Tom Wilson, it was a minimalist affair, with basically Dylan, a guitar, and two main mics: one for the guitar, one for Dylan, his voice and harmonica. There may have been ambient setups in the studio, but how they can make 5.1 out of that I can't even begin to imagine, other than to think of certain Silverline disasters. The others are more intriguing, esp. BRINGING IT, BOB and BOTT. But why not HIGHWAY 61? JWH? NASHVILLE SKYLINE(we don't need SELF PORTRAIT or DYLAN, thanx anyway).

Of course this also puts a financial burden on those who want all 15 but can't afford them right away. A real pain, I've always been an advocate of staggered release dates, giving everyone a chance to collect as they go along.

ED

[Rspaight]

Yeah, a 5.1 Highway 61 would be a lot of fun.

As for Another Side, it'll probably be somewhat like 5.1 of Kind Of Blue, mostly just added ambience and stuff. I fail to see the point of doing that versus releasing, say, the quad mixes that already exist, but what do I know?

Ryan

[lukpac]

Of course this also puts a financial burden on those who want all 15 but can't afford them right away. A real pain, I've always been an advocate of staggered release dates, giving everyone a chance to collect as they go along.

How is it any more of a burden? You just buy a few at a time. It's not as if they are going out of print right away or something. Nobody is making you buy them all at once.

[mikenycLI]

Luke, Though no one is "making you buy them", the marketing implication that's there, isn't a coincidence. Tower would love every penny it could get !

You know what would be a REALLY novel marketing strategy, for say, a "mom and pop" cd store (how about an FYE/Coconuts ?), that wants the business ?

How about an exchange/credit program...your old Dylan CD title(s), discounted for purchasing the "new" remasters. with, say, a 20% discount towards your new Dylan CD.

Just enough to take care of the tax, and a little off for the CD(s).

Makes too much sense, right ?

[Xenu]

Ehh, for some titles it wouldn't really make sense, though (say what you will about the sound, the fact remains that some of the standard Dylan stock discs are remixes, and consequently will be unique as compared with the reissues).

I think I'll buy Bringing, Highway 61, BoB (maybe), and Blood on the Tracks. Yesiree.

[Ron]

I think I'll buy Bringing, Highway 61, BoB (maybe), and Blood on the Tracks. Yesiree.

Glad to hear that you'll be purchasing those particualr titles. Now don't go 'un forget who your friends are [wink].

[Ed Bishop]

Of course this also puts a financial burden on those who want all 15 but can't afford them right away. A real pain, I've always been an advocate of staggered release dates, giving everyone a chance to collect as they go along.

How is it any more of a burden? You just buy a few at a time. It's not as if they are going out of print right away or something. Nobody is making you buy them all at once.

Not a problem for me, but then I can see titles there I'm not too enthusiastic about. But for the diehard, must hurt like hell to have to buy just a few at a time. It's also no accident, from a marketing standpoint, that DVD box sets of TV shows are staggered, to maximize immediate sales by offering one at a time after several months, though the companies could easily have issued, say, all 9 seasons of THE X-FILES at once. That just doesn't make sense. The Stones SACD situation was a bit different, since that was, in essence, a statement that the catalog was being replaced. Not so with the Dylan SACD's; I'm not getting the impression these are going to replace the redbook titles, at least not right away.

ED

[Patrick M]

I received an email from Roger Ford today that states the forthcoming BonB hybrid is going to include the same remix as used on the existing single-layer SACD. This information came directly from Michael Brauer.

You heard it hear first, folks!

[Ed Bishop]

I received an email from Roger Ford today that states the forthcoming BonB hybrid is going to include the same remix as used on the existing single-layer SACD. This information came directly from Michael Brauer.

You heard it hear first, folks!

Any word on the 5.1 mix? This is one of those listed as multi-channel, right?

ED