I bought the Bob Dylan mono box set the other day, and am surprised how much better some of those 60s albums sound in mono, 'Blonde On Blonde', especially. In fact i have yet really to pay much attention to the others, i am so engrossed with 'Blonde On Blonde'. I can't help but feel the stereo separation robs some of these songs of their power. Those blues songs 'Pledging My Time' and 'Temporary Like Achiles' especially benefit from mono's tougher, and more cohesive sound. Same with the Beatles 'Revolver' and 'Rubber Soul' which are contained in the Beatles mono box set i bought a few months back. There is a lot to be said for listening to a lot of those 60s sounds in mono.

Thanks Edward! I can't wait to get back to the US for Christmas and get my hands on that box set! Did you pre-order from Amazon? Did you get the bonus live disc? If so, how is it?

That's the way I grew up hearing them, and as we know now, the Beatles' early stereo mixes were done almost as an afterthought - the mono was considered the important one because of radio, and most people did not have stereo record players back then. Having said that, I always really liked the wide stereo separation of Rubber Soul, Revolver, etc. I know I'm not supposed to admit it, but I prefer the stereo mixes. I like to have all that space in which to pick out the different instruments.

Here's a whole thesis on the mono Blonde on Blonde.

[www.two-riders.co.uk]

Holy shit I can't read all that now. But man I am going to! What I did read was just fascinating. Oh boy this cat is smart and INTO it. Thank you bigtime. I listen to a lot of my fave stereo albums on cassete in mono. This is a subject that fascinates me.

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whitem8
Thanks Edward! I can't wait to get back to the US for Christmas and get my hands on that box set! Did you pre-order from Amazon? Did you get the bonus live disc? If so, how is it?

No whitem8, i wasn't aware of a bonus live disc. Yes, i did order the box set off amazon. I have always loved 'Blonde On Blonde' to a degree, but have always had reservations, without really being able to put my finger on the reasons why. However, listening to the mono mix, the reasons become so much clearer. The mono mix has a much more cohesive sound, and the songs pack much more of a punch, because the instruments (and singing) are not separated. 'One Of Us Must Know' become incredibly more powerful, and very majestic, and '4th Time Around' no longer seems swamped in the loudness of the drums, the mix is just so much better, where all the elements truly compliment each other.

As for the Beatles, i grew up listening to 'Revolver' in mono, in fact i had the original 1966 release. On buying my first cd player, 'Revolver' in stereo was one of my first purchases, and to my ears it hardly sounded like the same recording, the music had been separated into different components, and a number of guitar parts had actually been erased, especially on 'And Your Bird Can Sing' and 'Here, There And Everywhere'. 'Eleanor Rigby's mix, and especially McCartney's vocal was terrible. 'Rubber Soul' was even worse with all the singing coming from the one speaker, and all the music from the other. You have to sit dead centre of the two speakers to be able to listen to it, and even then there's never any cohesion. I think the stereo mix on 'Rubber Soul', really couldn't be much worse. In my opinion both the stereo mixes on 'Revolver' and 'Rubber Soul' rob the songs of some of their power, although, admittedly, 'Rubber Soul' is far more at fault in that regard, than 'Revolver'.

It's a shame the mono mixes are not available individually, as single album purchases. It seems an awful lot of money to splash out for those box sets, and anyone other than die hard fans are likely to be put off. For the real fan, however, i think they're pretty much essential.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2010-11-07 10:06 by Edward Twining.

Thanks Edward for the great posts. Yes, if you pre-ordered the Dylan box set from Amazon you get a bonus unreleased live disc...a collectors item, but you had to pre-order, which I did. I am interested in hearing it. I agree completely about Blond on Blond and The Beatles Stereo pre Pepper. I am a huge Beatles fan and love Revolver and Rubber Soul, and grew up only hearing them on Stereo. And while they were favorites of mine, I was never completely satisfied by the stereo mixes of both, and thought they lacked the power to match the quality of the songs. So imagine my surprise when I finally heard the mono mixes from the box set. In fact I prefer all the mono pre Pepper. There are parts of Pepper I like better in Mono, and parts I like better in Stereo, as with The Beatles (White Album)... I am really looking forward to hearing Blond on Blond! COme on December!

Fascinating stuff, now this album has been my favourite Dylan album for ever and I love listening to it now as much as when I first bought that double vinyl back in the mid 60's, never realised it had such a chequered history I just love it for the music, but now I need to have the BEST version available ,so which one do I buy.

Is there anybody here who has both the "sundazed re-issue" and the "new pressing" of Blonde On Blonde ?
I'm wondering how they compare to eachother. Is the sundazed version worth upgrading?

And yes.....it sounds much better in the original mono mix.

[www.play.com]
Is this live cd the same one that was available with the pre orders of Widmark Demos and therefore is this set worth having ,given the information supplied about the mono mixes

yeah, this is the same live CD. kinda... wished for more.

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Edward Twining
I bought the Bob Dylan mono box set the other day, and am surprised how much better some of those 60s albums sound in mono, 'Blonde On Blonde', especially. In fact i have yet really to pay much attention to the others, i am so engrossed with 'Blonde On Blonde'. I can't help but feel the stereo separation robs some of these songs of their power. Those blues songs 'Pledging My Time' and 'Temporary Like Achiles' especially benefit from mono's tougher, and more cohesive sound. Same with the Beatles 'Revolver' and 'Rubber Soul' which are contained in the Beatles mono box set i bought a few months back. There is a lot to be said for listening to a lot of those 60s sounds in mono.

Agree 100%. Its hard to improve on the perfect album, but with 'Blonde on Blonde', theyve done it.

the rest of the mono reissues sound great as well - most notably the electric albums, naturally.

I 2nd that - especially in reference to the electric ones. Highway 61, Blonde On Blonde, and John Wesley Harding all have an immediacy, more of a "room sound" than a tarted up studio etch-a-sketch. What I REALLY like about the DYLAN mono set, the BEATLES mono set, and the few STONES in mono I have on CD is that they all contain MANY subtle differences. Maybe a different guitar sound here, an instrument mixed down, or out, of the stereo mix, and for example "YESTERDAY'S PAPERS" on the UK MONO has an extra repeated verse, extending the time of the song obviously.

What sucks is when you are that into it, well, ya just gotta have everything!

SAVE YOUR MONEY, I BUY THE SINGE CD OF THE MONO BOB DYKLAN, BUT THE STEREO IS MUCH MUCH BETTER IN SOUND, FOR ME THIS IS ONLY COMMERCIAL OPERATION TO SELL AGAIN THE SAME TITLES WITH NEW (POOR) DRESS FOR CHRISTMAS....

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RICCARDO
SAVE YOUR MONEY, I BUY THE SINGE CD OF THE MONO BOB DYKLAN, BUT THE STEREO IS MUCH MUCH BETTER IN SOUND, FOR ME THIS IS ONLY COMMERCIAL OPERATION TO SELL AGAIN THE SAME TITLES WITH NEW (POOR) DRESS FOR CHRISTMAS....

Um, nope. I disagree, in detail, in my above post. The casual fan probably can skip it - I couldn't, and I'll have to skip a poor dress or something.

I have the Sundazed mono vinyl releases of Highway 61 and Bringin It All Back home - they are really great. I was going to get Blonde on Blonde as well but may wait for the new release instead. Are these vinyl LP's going to be released separately 'cos I'm not paying out for that full box set.

Andy

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Edward Twining
I bought the Bob Dylan mono box set the other day, and am surprised how much better some of those 60s albums sound in mono, 'Blonde On Blonde', especially. In fact i have yet really to pay much attention to the others, i am so engrossed with 'Blonde On Blonde'. I can't help but feel the stereo separation robs some of these songs of their power. Those blues songs 'Pledging My Time' and 'Temporary Like Achiles' especially benefit from mono's tougher, and more cohesive sound. Same with the Beatles 'Revolver' and 'Rubber Soul' which are contained in the Beatles mono box set i bought a few months back. There is a lot to be said for listening to a lot of those 60s sounds in mono.

I got the Dylan Mono box set a few days ago and I can wholeheartedly confirm your impressions concering Blonde on Blonde. It was the first time I heard it in mono and to me it's a different album now, much leaner and grittier, and - as Greil Marcus put it in his essay describing the whole of the mono recordings - much more "in your face". Especially the Blues orientated titles like "Pledging My Time" or "Leopard-Skin Pill Box Hat", which I considerd as being mere "workouts" only have won in stature.

I also like the concept of that whole box set - not overdone, strictly sticking to CD (as opposed to those lavish and sometimes overpriced album deluxe packages à la Live At Leeds).

I also second your observations concerning the mid-phase Beatles albums in mono, although I can only judge by the versions from the second Capitol box set (e. g. the American Rubber Soul in mono). So far I couldn't get myself to buy the new Beatles Mono box set as it's considerably more expensive than even the Stereo box set (which even contains some further albums the mono box set doesn't include).



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 2010-12-06 16:23 by Greenblues.

I was very lucky (for a change) and bought the Mono box set a week ago on "Cyber Monday" (big Holiday sale day for internet stores like Amazon) for about half price (half of Amazon's already discounted price). It was only on 1/2 price sale for an hour (should have actually posted the info here on IORR) and to the best of my knowledge they didn't even sell out, still had some left at the end of the hour). Box came a day later and it's fantastic - in sound AND design. Those early albums sound SO MUCH better in Mono. Fuller, warmer, more powerful.

I have 5 out of the 8 on my 5 disc CD changer in the bedroom and listen to them a lot. Beautiful design on the box also. Maybe Amazon will have another crazy sale but this set is really worth it if you are a major Dylan fan (there's also a single sort of "best of" for $9.99 but it's definitely not my "best of" - just the most popular songs basically.... Go for it !!! (the complete box set that is) Le Mind

Hm..really...Then I go and buy it..

2 1 2 0

i listen to these mono versions and the beatles ones, too and i really don't hear much difference from the stereo counterparts. i should add that i'm quite old.

.......looking back ..........Highway 61 ..............






ROCKMAN

i'm fuller and pack more of a punch than my stereo counterpart....

....fulla anyway ....



ROCKMAN

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Rockman
....fulla anyway ....

aren't we all