Best Dylan Remasters

When it stops being fun is when you stop searching.
Personally I haven't reached the point of "no-fun", and so I have replaced quite a few of my Sony remasters with the MoFi SACDs that sound a bit better.

 

Thank you!

 

Out of interest how much does anyone expect to pay for the CAC today? I note the BS 2 CD's are about £15 each here plus post.

 

£90 + shipping on Discogs: Bob Dylan - The Complete Album Collection Vol. One (Vinyl, CD)

 

I paid £97.09 delivered from Base.com early January 2016, at the moment they're selling it at £97.69 delivered whereas Amazon is selling it for £123.63...

 

I'm amazed that we've gone 3 pages without mentioning the gold standard for Dylan remasters — namely, our gracious host's Highway 61 Revisited on DCC.

 

I think the gold standard is now the MFSL mono reissue series. The 45 rpm vinyl is stunning and unbeatable but their SACD of Love & Theft is one of the greatest ever!

 

Ooh, under 100, I'm tempted to get it to fill in the 80s gap even though I'll probably never play those albums again. It looks good as a set and might go out of print one day soon
Thank you for your tip off. My credit card has left my wallet already!

 

The 2004 remasters are all excellent, to my ears.

 

Wow, I disagree. To my ears, the mono CD sounds much more natural than the
2005 "narrow stereo" CD.

 

I'm stunned that anyone would prefer the almost unlistenable original mix of Street Legal. It must be nostalgia frankly.

 

It’s not the mix so much as the mastering. The Complete Album Collection version proves that.

 

I prefer the Sony SACD for Love and Theft.

 

I was in two minds myself, then I thought I'd have probably paid for those exclusive (to the box) remasters separately anyway which would've set me back around a tenner apiece clocking up to the £100 mark. So I ordered it. I figured I'd keep my originals and the box as well but over time I never touched my originals, so aside from a couple for posterity, I sold the lot. Just recently I've imported the whole box into iTunes and took the opportunity to give them all a good solid re-listen. Of course, ones mileage may vary, but I reckon you won't be disappointed, I mean, if nothing else it's such a particularly nifty looking collection anyway with those card sleeve replicas!

 

Will you just boy The Complete Album collection and listen to Street Legal? Just listen to it? Then you'll get it.

Or buy this, it's exactly the same thing as in The Complete Album Collection:

BOB DYLAN-STREET LEGAL-JAPAN MINI LP BLU-SPEC CD2+BOOK Ltd/Ed E51 | eBay

BOB DYLAN STREET LEGAL JAPAN Replica TO ORIGINAL LP Sealed IN A RARE OBI CD | eBay

BOB DYLAN STREET LEGAL JAPAN REPLICA IN A RARE OBI CD PLAY 1 BACK UP 1 CD SET | eBay

 

Erm… I'm good thanks. I've got the Album Collection version and the 1999 remix. Oh, and a CBS 'Nice Price' record from the late eighties. More than enough 'Street Legal' to go around...

 

Apologies, @Richard--W is quite correct. I’d forgotten about the Japanese CD.

 

You think that’s bad? The Street Legal situation is child’s play next to the history of Blonde on Blonde on CD, with its myriad mixes, edits, and masterings.

And even after that, making sense of it’s convoluted vinyl history still awaits.

At least with Blonde on Blonde, Roger Ford has done all the heavy lifting for us on his superb Electric Dylan website.

Electric Dylan

 

Are you absolutely sure that the Blu-Spec CD2 is the same as in The Complete Album Collection?

I've not heard the Blu-Spec CD2 but someone whose views I trust has assured me that the Blu-Spec CD2 is the remix.

After my experiences with Blu-Spec CD2 I'm sure that the Blu-Spec CD2 sounds better that the standard remixed CD but that doesn't mean it's not the remixed CD.

 

Thanks Lonson that is interesting to hear. I have the old USA Empire Burlesque cd and the Sony albums box set version. I have all the Blu-Spec 2 cds in mini sleeves but sorry I never played them save Nashville Skyline as I assumed they would be very similar to the box set.
Music on Vinyl recently put out a vinyl of Empire but I do not yet have it - waiting for the price to drop or the We Are Vinyl Sony bunch to put it out again. I assume it would be/is the latest digital remaster on vinyl.

 

Lonson is that correct? Very odd if it is as I would assume the mini sleeve blu specs would be based on the complete albums cd box set. Ah well Bob on cd is getting more complicated like all the other acts I follow - multiple digital (never mind vinyl that is another minefield) release of the same album but different!

 

Much misleading info here. The BS2 CD is the remix, not the original mix, so you're right to question the previous statement.

 

I no longer have the box set to compare, but when I did I determined the Blu-Spec CD2 is the remix, not the original mix. This is verified by others.

 

Thank you. Maybe MFSL will do Street Legal one day. The received wisdom on this album in the UK is that at the time it did not sell that well in the USA compared to Desire which I believe was a bit hit.
I like all the cds of this album - original, 99, 2003 sacd and the box version.

 

I too hope MFSL would do a version, as theirs seem to be "the keepers." It's not one of my top ten Dylans, but I would like to have a copy of the original mix in great mastering.