Dylan Remasters
The Dylan Remasters. I must have been asleep at the wheel last month, for Columbia records has reissued a ton of classic Bob Dylan records. I own a number of these already, albeit the horribly dull original CD issues, but I would definitely consider replacing them with these.
Interestingly, they are all SACD Hybrids (Super Audio CDs), which I don't know a whole lot about, and frankly don't feel like upgrading an entire stereo system to support. I'm sure they sound fantastic (I've read elsewhere they separate Dylan's voice to an up-front, center channel and flank instruments to the sides for an up-close, intimate sound), but since I listen to music in the car and on my Mac, there's little need.
That said, the first one I'd buy, without hesitation, is Blood on the Tracks -- an album I didn't 'discover' until college when a friend brought it with him on a spring break trip. How such a gloriously dark, painful, melancholy record hit a nerve with me on beer-soaked beaches in the springtime is beyond me. But it did.
Of all the Dylan CDs I own, Blood has dual honors of being my all time favorite, and the one with the worst sound quality. You literally have to crank your stereo to get any sound out of that flat little disc, and when you do, your tweeters emit a high-pitched hiss that ruins the quiet solitude of songs like "Simple Twist of Fate," "You're Gonna Make Me Lonesome When you Go," and "Shelter from the Storm."
Blood is one of those albums I'll still be playing, and enjoying, for many years to come. And with these new remasters, I can't wait to rediscover it again. [What Do I Know]
4:16:43 PM 
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