I would appreciate thoughts on buying the mono Dylan box as well as this complete set (which I have on order at Amazon ca). As background - I like Dylan a lot, but I am not as 'crazy' about him as I am for the Beatles; where I have bought the 2009 set and mono versions. Money is a bit tight for me just now as well. So - what do folks think? Is it an important accompaniment to the full box, or could I wait a bit (I don't want to wait if it is limited release and the price skyrockets)?
If you really like the early folk singer and rock band surrealist poet personas then the mono albums would be indispensible IMO. Based on what you say above however, I think that you should aim to get the mono box but keep your eyes open for a good deal.
I would say if you're not as crazy about Dylan as the Beatles (I myself am about thirty times more crazy about Dylan) then forego the mono box. It should be around quite a while in my estimation should you become fabulously wealthy a few years from now and need to fill your house with discs. (Hey, I'm filling mine!) And the complete box is a better value.
The mono box is not a necessity if you're a more casual listener. The music is all the same, and in the end, I think you've already answered the question yourself. Whereas you were compelled to buy the Beatles in mono and stereo, you seem a bit more hesitant to get Dylan's set. If you do change your mind and go for it, I'm sure it's going to be available for quite a while. In the meantime, enjoy the complete collection!
If budget is a concern I would also wait. First of all, and some people will get mad at my saying this, the acoustic albums sound SO similar unless you are using headphones and making comparisons the appreciable difference is negligible. These recordings can't really be "mixed" in the traditional sense of a multitrack. Live vocal, guitar and harmonica. Secondly the 1965-66 electric trilogy do sound fat and fantastic in mono. HOWEVER, unlike some of The Beatles records (and other British albums), the American stereo mixes of the period tend to be really, REALLY good. Blonde On Blonde is one fantastic piece of stereo in my opinion. The heavy blues tracks lack the bass and punch of the mono versions but overall the ambience is most enjoyable. Get the mono eventually but enjoy the stereo for what it is for now - they are fine recordings in any guise. These albums have long been considered classics before the subject of out of print mono mixes became relevant to the market place. John Wesley Harding. At the risk of contradicting myself if THIS album is important to you the mono is vastly superior to the current stereo master available which many people find excessively shrill. Mono really is the only way to fly with this title. I went through all of this recently and bought the box. It wasn't an easy decision, particularly when I learned some of the "Original Mono Recordings" could not be found and were newly remixed while others used second generation tapes. Finally the track "Positively Fourth Street" is only available in this box as a mp3 download. The track is on the compilation "The Best Of The Original Mono Recordings" but a hard copy is not on the box. Same applies to the other non-album singles and it seems absurd to me the box doesn't have a disc for the non-album mono tracks a la The Beatles Mono Masters (or Past Masters in stereo). At the moment I am more of a Dylan fanatic than a Beatles fanatic. The Beatles mono box is perfect, a no-brainer. The Dylan box, not so much. Maybe the single CD compilation "The Best Of The Original Mono Recordings" which can be found very cheaply would be a worthwhile investment to find out if you need to go all the way or not.
I am getting both sets for Christmas (thank you wife!), but if I had to choose one it would be the complete collection. Remember the Mono box only features Dylan's first 10 albums, which are wonderful of course, but not a satisfying overview.
Dylan is here for Christmas too, thanks to the wife also. After the Complete Album Collection I was worked up enough to buy the Mono box, The Box Of Vision Archive, The bootleg Series 1-3 (Longbook version), Another Self Portrait Deluxe. It Must Be Santa
I have the ASP deluxe sitting on my shelf, still shrink wrapped, and I've had it for months. I have the ASP 2 disc edition, and Isle of Wight elsewhere. So no reason to unwrap, and I figure it might increase in value over the next couple years.
Thanks for all the great replies on my question re the mono box. I have decided to wait a bit for now and shop around the local 2nd hand shops for other Dylan at a low price in the meantime. Today I managed to get the No Direction Home DVD and the 4 disc Together Through Life set quite cheaply. I had been looking at the radio show CDs and so it's nice to get two of them among the bonus discs for the album. From years ago I have the Unplugged DVD, the Other Side of the Mirror DVD and the Masterpieces 3xCD set - so I think with the complete box I will be busy for a while.
I admire your restraint but it sounds like you have got the bug! What is the 4 disc Together Through Life? Mine is 2cd + 1 DVD
It has 3CDs: The album, one called Radio Bob and one called Friends and Neighbors; both are Theme Time Radio Hour CDs. The first has 15 tracks and seems a compilation, the second has 14 tracks and suggests it is an episode. Then it has the DVD for 4 discs all up, plus a sticker and poster.
You might have a rarity there. The "regular" Deluxe edition has only the episode disc of Theme Time Radio Hour.
I think the person who sold the set to the shop may have just put it in there to store it with the other Radio Hour disc. This is what it seems to be: http://www.discogs.com/Various-Radio-Bob/release/2184173 "Free CD with TAKE 123, the August 2007 issue of Uncut magazine, issued July 2007."
[quote="Matt Ellers, post: 9805130, member: 1329"...John Wesley Harding. At the risk of contradicting myself if THIS album is important to you the mono is vastly superior to the current stereo master available which many people find excessively shrill. Mono really is the only way to fly with this title...[/quote] The remaster is very shrill, mainly the harmonica. The mono mix is wonderful, but I recently picked up a used copy of the 1980s stereo CD version, and it sounds great, to my ears, much like the standard vinyl stereo version. It was a small group that Dylan used on the sessions, and not much sonic detail appears to have been lost from the analog master tape that they probably used for the older CD.
If it's any consolation, you may not realize how poor the stereo mix of JWH is until you hear the mono. I had only the stereo mix for about a year and I enjoyed it just fine, but now that I've heard the mono, I can't go back to the stereo. This is certainly not the case for the rest of the albums. In fact, the stereo mixes are better sometimes (for example, I'd say Highway 61 Revisited goes about 50/50 between which mixes are the better ones)
The mono box has better, more consistent masterings than the stereo albums. You really need the MFSL SACDs for the best digital masterings of the stereo albums.
My replacement Hard Rain arrived today. Just in time for the Complete Album Christmas morning unwrapping. Good things come to he who waits.
Right. The box is best kept around for those titles you don't listen to that often. For the major releases you should get the MFSLs and Steve's DCC HWY 61, GH & GH II. If you get those and the mono box, you are set! Well then there's the bootleg series too.
Okay, thanks for posting this. I, too, am missing Disc #2 of Before The Flood. Plus, my copy of Hard Rain has the noticeable drop in sound. Additionally, I realized after reading the posts on this board that my "Another Self Portrait" CD #4 has the dropout in Copper Kettle. What is the email address that I should be using and can I request all (3) discs through the same email address? Do I have to provide a receipt of some sort? Thanks for any help. I am locating in Canada and purchased everything from Amazon.ca.
On the other Complete Collection thread (http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threa...llection-vol-1-remasters.337578/#post-9809353) someone has asked for a summary of the various flaws on this and Another Self Portrait, I'm re-asking it here as it's clearly still under discussion...
Anyone else missing Times They Are A Changing??? Just received the set brand new and sealed for Christmas and this entire disc and sleeve is missing!! Any email address that can help with this? VERY bizarre
Wow - so many errors in the Dylan set and it is less than 50 CDs. I have a 170 CD Mozart set sitting here and don't have the heart to check it.
