"Blonde on Blonde"- Almost 50 years old? No way!

For sure...Dylan is very unique

 

It's just an incredibly beautiful album that everyone should find for themselves. At any age.

 

To me - stereo or mono - it's always going to sound like it was recorded in 1966, nothing wrong with that. Now The Basement Tapes, that sounds timeless, like a radio station you're listening to that fades in and out as you're driving along a dark road late at night.

 

Still not understanding completely. If the album was released in both mono and stereo then wouldn't both mixes be valid? I get that maybe it was remixed but unless it was changed dramatically the original stereo shouldn't sound that much different than the one I listened to tonight which is the HDTracks 96/24 version...

 

Are you sure you want to open the Gates of Hell about the mixes and the mono/stereo issues? Ok, read this:
http://www.rdf.pwp.blueyonder.co.uk/BobPart1/BobPart1.htm

 

And think about it -- he was only 25 years old then...

(For more insight, find Al Kooper's interviews -- he was there.)

 

(in slow motion) "Nooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!"

 

Wow.. forgot he was 25. As an artist in my own arena I feel very depressed now.

 

Don't worry -- many artists don't hit their stride till long after they're 25. Dylan was just a prodigy, like Mozart or somebody.

(P.S. I almost posted the youtube clip of Jack Black in High Fidelity, showing a record store customer Blonde on Blonde, but it's got cussin'.)

 

That's very thoughtful of you to hold that back from us...not to mention seriously rock and roll!

 

Every three or four years I try to read thru that page and make sense of a paragraph or two.

 

I had heard a few song from this album over the years, but I have to admit that I had never sat down and listened to it in its entirety until I bought the original SACD release. I was blown away by how much this is a perfect album. A classic in every sense.

Oh, and thanks for reminding me how old I am...

 

I'm listening again right now, yes it's great.

So if both stereo and mono were out at the same time, did somebody go into record stores and see the choice presented to them ?

 

The mixes don't sound dramatically different but they are different. The modern remix is crisper and more forward. You may well prefer the modern one but it is not the same.

Tim

 

Never really could get into this album until I gave it listen last night and "got" most of it pretty much without making an effort. Everything just fell into place and suddenly started making sense. Absolutely Sweet Marie (oh boy, that harmonica solo!), Just Like A Woman, Pledging My Time, Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands, Visions of Johanna are probably my favorite tracks.

Still not my favorite Dylan album but definitely in my top 5 by him.

 

I think it DOES sound very '1966'. Probably the last time Dylan sounded 'cutting edge' soundwise (the sound on Empire Burlesque was tagging onto an already moving bandwagon).

I've been listening to this album since I was fifteen years old. I don't listen to it that much these days, but I still love it and can't be objective about it.

 

That was an interesting read -- this is one I've been considering picking up on vinyl, but have been totally confused y the Sundazed and 45 rpm versions available. Not that I'm any less confused, but this helped answer come of my questions on the different mixes.

 

Since the original posting in September 2014, Blonde on Blonde has become even more almost 50 years old.

 

The one sing that sounds dated at least for me is the excessive harmonica playing. I like it, of course, but it tended to place the album firmly in the '60s, when everybody and his mom was using it, certainly Dylan's albums from the '60s had more harmonica than in any other decade of his long carreer.

 

Amazing record. One of my fave Bob Dylan albums ever. "Visions of Johanna" is one of THE best songs of all time... Man... I love listening to that song, particularly on a chilly winter evening with snow on the ground outside... I don't know... something about that song. There's a live version in Sheffield 1966 that is just breathtaking... he enunciates the end of every word... best live version I've ever heard.

 

ONE of the best songs? I'm tempted to give it the crown overall. But I'm not sure which studio or live version to propose to make the case.

 

I was just reading that he's never performed Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands at any of his concerts. That's pretty strange, considering how good of a song it is.

 

Way!

 

There is a rehearsal version of it from the '75 Rolling Thunder tour.

 

yeah there's a version from RenaldoClara movie.