Best Dylan Remasters

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by Scott6, Mar 7, 2017.

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  1. Scott6

    Scott6 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    UK
    Just playing the Infidels 2003 remaster. Noticeably an improvement to my ears. Not that I thought there was anything wrong with the first CD release, it is just that it sounds brighter and more alive to me, especially the drums.

    I was wondering what other Dylan remasters people feel were a significant upgrade from precious early CD releases. Street Legal is an obvious one but interested in what people think / hear?
     
    bluerondo likes this.
  2. KOWHeigel

    KOWHeigel Forum Resident

    Location:
    Manlius, NY
    The MFSL releases of the earlier Dylan stuff is just superb imho.
     
    Spencer R, bluerondo, Mr. H and 7 others like this.
  3. misterjones

    misterjones Smarter than the average bear.

    Location:
    New York, NY
    Someone recently directed me to this highly informative article discussing all of the Dylan remixes and remasters. Bob Dylan Remastered - Bob Dylan ISIS Magazine I found it invaluable, and for the most part I agree with the assessments therein. It gave me a renewed appreciation for the mono box.
     
  4. johnny 99

    johnny 99 Down On Main Street

    Location:
    Toronto
    Street Legal (remix and remaster from 1999)

    (despite what some around these parts may think, I think it's excellent and a big improvement over the muddy and dull sounding 80's first issue on CD)
     
  5. majorlance

    majorlance Forum Resident

    Location:
    PATCO Speedline
    Street Legal – 1999 remix/remaster. Light-years better than any previous version, including the original vinyl. Our gracious host notably disagrees, however.
     
    Last edited: Mar 7, 2017
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  6. majorlance

    majorlance Forum Resident

    Location:
    PATCO Speedline
    You beat me to it, J-99! Curse my stubby little fingers...
     
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  7. mpayan

    mpayan A Tad Rolled Off

    Desire mfsl
     
  8. misterjones

    misterjones Smarter than the average bear.

    Location:
    New York, NY
    I thought he didn't like either or thought that the 1999 could have been better.
     
  9. stef1205

    stef1205 Forum Resident

    The first run of the Sony SACD remasters were very good - the later MFSL may be better but they are pricey. I think New Morning is very good and a big improvement too - and I also agree with the views made above about the 1999 remix of Street Legal - a hugh improvement.
     
  10. Chemguy

    Chemguy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Western Canada
    If I could "like" your comment more than once I certainly would, that's how much I agree with it. But, I hope our cherished host doesn't see your comment, because he really likes the original.
     
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  11. Scott6

    Scott6 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    UK
    Thanks. Modern Times on vinyl sounds like a one to get.
     
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  12. C6H12O6

    C6H12O6 Senior Member

    Location:
    My lab
    With the mono box set and the MFSL SACD reissues now providing better options for many of the albums covered by the 2003 SACD's, I wound up unloading most of them.

    That leaves the following:

    Street Legal - only if you want the 1999 mix, and want it on an SACD, but I would not say it was a must-own to a fan. I prefer the original mix on the old CD. The mix ain't good ("New Pony" being by far the worst) but it has a lot less compression and a much softer, natural sound than the very hard sounding 1999 mix.

    Slow Train Coming - I though it was better, but I haven't compared it to the old CD in a long time.

    Infidels - I agree, it is indeed better

    Oh Mercy - really comes down to taste. I prefer the old CD. This was discussed before, same exact mastering engineer for both releases. A PCM master was created for this album, so the original CD release was a spot-on straight transfer of it. For the SACD, Calbi tried something different rather than duplicate his previous mastering, bringing the master into the analog realm and make some new mastering choices with analog tools before doing a DSD transfer of that.

    Love & Theft - only if you want this on SACD, which is preferred over the CD, but a MFSL SACD is supposed to be forthcoming
     
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  13. tlake6659

    tlake6659 Senior Member

    Location:
    NJ
    Mostly agree with this, but I prefer the original CDs for Infidels and Slow Train.
     
  14. C6H12O6

    C6H12O6 Senior Member

    Location:
    My lab
    Truth be told, for Infidels I wound up doing a little EQ work. I can't remember but I think it was taken out at either 8k or at 6k and 10k. It's not a favorite of mine, I actually burned a what-could-have-been CD, dropping "License to Kill," "Neighborhood Bully" and "Union Sundown" and replacing them with "Foot of Pride," "Blind Willie McTell" and the bootlegged version of "Someone's Got a Hold of My Heart," and since I was doing all of that, I figured I might as well 'remaster' the rest as well.
     
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  15. misterjones

    misterjones Smarter than the average bear.

    Location:
    New York, NY
    I had a hard time hearing much of a difference between the CD and the vinyl, but I haven't listened to both in awhile. There's certainly nothing wrong with the CD. I think my ears are more vinyl-friendly (or CD-adverse) now, so I'd be interested in what I would hear with a new listen.
     
  16. millbend

    millbend Forum Resident

    Location:
    North America
    Beware that it's factually incorrect about a few things. For instance, the stereo versions of Blood On The Tracks, Slow Train Coming, and "Love And Theft" are not remixes, and the remixed 5.1 versions do not appear on the standard CD layers.
     
  17. Scott6

    Scott6 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    UK
    I seem to recall people raving about the vinyl version. The CD sounds great to me. Full of life and energy. So I was always a bit sceptical of how good the vinyl really is. Saying that I have not bought it (and won't be) so can't really comment.

    Agree the Mono Box Set is great. Beautiful package as well.

    Love and Theft oftens gets mentioned as a nice upgrade, even though it is in Dylan years quite a recent album.
     
  18. All of them! None of the 80's era CD's were remastered properly from the original master tapes, discounting the 1980's albums themselves, but then even those have been improved by Sony. For the 60's (by far his best and most important decade) I'd go with the MONO box anyway. Unless you want to pay serious money for MFSL remasters, I'd stick to the Sony Legacy era remasters. None are bad, most are great BUT they aren't the last word either. MFSL better them all but at a heavy price.
     
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  19. tspit74

    tspit74 Senior Member

    Location:
    Woodridge, IL, USA
    Mono box is perfect. Sony SACD box is a mixed bag. Original cd's can sound dull. Only heard good things about the Mofi's but just can't afford to go there based on price and how many times I've bought this stuff. It's a big catalog and I've gotta spread the love to other artists.
     
  20. misterjones

    misterjones Smarter than the average bear.

    Location:
    New York, NY
    The same applies to Modern Times. I've heard everything from the vinyl being a different, superior mix - I couldn't detect any difference - to the LPs sounding obviously better. I didn't detect that either, but I will be giving that CD-LP another go at some point. Here's the assessment of the LP from the article I cited:

    This album was available also as a 2-LP vinyl release in the USA and in the Europe (Columbia 82876 87606 1). This vinyl release sounds much better than the CD. You only need to compare the first two tracks, ‘Thunder On The Mountain’ and ‘Spirit On The Water’, to hear the difference.
     
  21. Jeffczar

    Jeffczar Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
    I'm in the minority here but overall like the Street Legal remix a lot, although a little less compression would have made it better. Generally I like all of the MFSL Dylan releases, but I only bought the vinyl releases. The first Columbia SACDs are my go to copies though on digital. I don't know why but the mofi stuff is really really hit and miss. I thought the James Taylor and Billy Joel stuff was nothing to get exited about. The original CBS CDs and vinyl to me are still the best I've ever heard those.
     
  22. Musicisthebest

    Musicisthebest Exiled Yorkshireman

    Location:
    Manchester, UK
    For Slow Train Coming & Oh Mercy I prefer the originals to the remasters. The originals have better dynamics & sound far more natural, although the remasters don't sound bad.

    For albums where you prefer the remasters, you might want to investigate the Blu-Spec CD2 versions. These sound better than the Sony SACDs, to my ears & on my system anyway.
     
  23. Lonson

    Lonson I'm in the kitchen with the Tombstone Blues

    I think the Blu-Spec CD2s sound amazing.
     
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  24. I'm not sure about the equipment you're using but on two different systems I've had I would honestly say the difference between the compressed, harsh CD and the rich, open and dynamic sounding LP could not be any bigger in any way! The LP has an incredibly detailed sound with subtle nuances coming through that are almost inaudible on the horrible compressed CD. I believe it was about the time of Modern Times that Dylan complained about the "static" sound of CD. I always thought that was quite ironic as MT sounds as bad as any compressed CD whilst the vinyl LP is a complete revelation. I'm not really an audiophile so I think many will notice the improved sound of the LP?
     
    entropyfan likes this.
  25. Have you heard Empire Burlesque on Blu-spec 2 CD?
     
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