Sony to release 15 Bob Dylan Hybrid Discs. (1 Viewer)

[Marc Colella]

SONY MUSIC ANNOUNCES NEW BOB DYLAN SUPER AUDIO CD (SACD) SERIES


15 Classic Titles On Hybrid SACD To Lead Enhancement of Dylan Catalog



LAS VEGAS (CES, Booth #N109), Jan. 10, 2003 -- Sony Music Entertainment (SME) today announced it will be releasing a new series of classic albums by Columbia Records artist Bob Dylan on hybrid Super Audio CD (SACD) this Fall. The announcement was made by Jeff Jones, Senior Vice President, Legacy Recordings during a special SACD reception sponsored by Sony and Philips at the 2003 Consumer Electronics Show (CES).


The Bob Dylan titles mark the beginning of an ongoing program to enhance and upgrade the sonic quality and packaging elements of the Dylan catalog. These 15 titles are also the first Sony Music recordings to be released on hybrid SACD and will be produced on a new hybrid disc replication line that is scheduled to be launched in May, 2003 at Sony Disc Manufacturing's U.S. flagship facility in Terre Haute, Indiana. The 15 titles comprise many iconic titles from Dylan's canon: Free Wheelin'; Another Side of Bob Dylan; Bringing It All Back Home; Highway 61 Revisited; John Wesley Harding; Nashville Skyline; Blood On The Tracks; Desire; Slow Train Coming; Infidels; Oh Mercy; Time Out Of Mind; Love and Theft; Royal Albert Hall and Street Legal.


"The release of these classic Bob Dylan albums on hybrid SACD will extend the benefits of this exciting format to a much wider audience," stated Jeff Jones. "Each of these Dylan titles will be reissued in stereo, and they will be carefully remastered and reproduced to the highest quality standards." The entire series of reissues will be remastered by Greg Calbi, Senior Mastering Engineer at Sterling Sound in New York, whose credits include John Lennon's Walls and Bridges and Bruce Springsteen's Born to Run albums.


To date, Sony Music has released approximately 200 SACD titles including nearly 60 in multichannel surround sound. During the first quarter of this year, Sony Music will be releasing a variety of other stereo and multichannel SACD titles including Aerosmith's Toys In The Attic; James Taylor's Flag and Dad Loves His Work; and a new album by Macy Gray.

 

[Lee Scoggins]

Great news and I am also excited about the James Taylor as well...let's hope they all sound as good as the recent JT album.

 

[KeithH]

During the first quarter of this year, Sony Music will be releasing a variety of other stereo and multichannel SACD titles including Aerosmith's Toys In The Attic; James Taylor's Flag and Dad Loves His Work

Very cool. I will be buying these. I especially can't wait for the Aerosmith disc since it has the long intro to "Sweet Emotion". I honestly don't remember if the two-disc compilation has the long intro.

 

[Marc Colella]

Good thing they're hybrid, or I wouldn't even bother.
I'm planning to pick up Highway 61 Revisited, Blood on the Tracks and possibly John Wesley Harding.

 

[KeithH]

Hopefully Sony will put some effort and money into heavy advertising of the Dylan hybrid SACDs. Sony should push them harder than the Stones remasters, especially the SACD capability. This not to say that Dylan is bigger than the Stones, but Sony needs to put a strong marketing campaign behind the Dylan hybrids. I suspect that like the Stones remasters, the Dylan hybrids will replace the current CDs.

 

[Rich Malloy]

Let's take a look at those titles in list format:
* Free Wheelin'
* Another Side of Bob Dylan
* Bringing It All Back Home
* Highway 61 Revisited
* John Wesley Harding
* Nashville Skyline
* Blood On The Tracks
* Desire
* Slow Train Coming
* Infidels
* Oh Mercy
* Time Out Of Mind
* Love and Theft
* Royal Albert Hall
* Street Legal
Oh my god, it feels like Christmas!
This is huge, like the ABKCO Stones catalog on SACD, except IMO the Dylan catalog is several times more important (and a thousand times more personally appealing). It is the feast that the "Dark Side" appetizer anticipated, the deepest catalog in rock history, the towering giant looming over even the Police and Peter Gabriel combined. Only the Miles Davis catalog compares.
I haven't been this excited since the very early days of DVD, when titles like "The Seventh Seal" and "Seven Samurai" were being presented in a quality I'd never seen from a company I'd never heard of (I was too young and LD too pricey for me to have known better).
I have only two questions: (1) Fall? :frowning: and (2) where's "Self Portrait"?

 

[Greg_Y]

and Blood on the Tracks will be a 2 disc set with the original version of the album, right!? Hey, I can dream!

This is such good news for me and such bad news for my bank account.

I'd also buy the first Dylan album....I love that one. And why is The Times They Are A-Changin' absent from that list?

 

[KeithH]

All,
Regarding missing titles, I am just hopeful that Sony will release the other later on. Let's hope so, and let's not complain about the 15 titles we are getting.
The major question surfacing already on Steve Hoffman's forum is whether the early Dylan titles will have both stereo and mono tracks. Most people figure they will just have stereo tracks, which wouldn't surprise me. I'd love to see Sony approach those early Dylan titles like Warner did with The Beach Boys Pet Sounds and give us both stereo and mono tracks.
Rich,
So, how do you feel about Sony releasing Dylan hybrid SACDs? You came off a bit subdued.

 

[Michael St. Clair]

Where are the mono mixes of these Dylan albums? They have recently been re-released on audiophile vinyl!
When it comes to artists like Dylan, The Beatles, and Hendrix - where there are original mono versions that are of particular interest to diehard fans, new hi-res releases should always include the original mono version. There is definitely room for original mono on these Dylan SACDs!
The upcoming 'Pet Sounds' DVD-A is doing it right. Other hi-res producers and publishers need to take note.

 

[Ryan Spaight]

The press release called this the beginning of a Dylan reissue program. If these do well, I think we can safely assume more are coming.

There's certainly room to offer mono -- I hope they do.

Ryan

 

[LanceJ]

Pssst, hey Warner, you awake?
Who else do you have in the works for your own hi-rez format?
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HelLLLOOOO...........anybody there?!
LJ

 

[Joe Cole]

Hopefully Sony will put some effort and money into heavy advertising of the Dylan hybrid SACDs

So Keith, these are truly Sony products? Then this is very huge! :star: :star: Sony's first Hybrids!
This news is good news indeed. A few of these are enticing to me. But, I need a new car.....
Hey, since they are hybrids.......

 

[KeithH]

Joe, yep, these Dylan hybrids will be released by Sony. The only problem is that it looks like Sony will not be including mono tracks. I don't get that. Still, I am looking forward to these discs.
As for a car, I'd forget it. Walk and buy the SACDs.

 

[Rich Malloy]

All,
Regarding missing titles, I am just hopeful that Sony will release the other later on. Let's hope so, and let's not complain about the 15 titles we are getting.

I was sooo joking about "Self Portrait" - I'd have to question their basic commitment to the format if they'd actually announced that title!
And, Keith, maybe I'm wrong, but it's my understanding that Dylan & Co. control such aspects of his releases as the inclusion of alternative tracks, outtakes, contemporaneous singles, and the like. I don't believe this is Sony's decision to make.
But Sony's been pretty good about this, at least as regards the Miles Davis catalog. Left to their own devices, they'd likely include more rather than less. (It's Universal, I believe, that's not including all their "deluxe edition CD" material on their SACD releases.)
Also, it's my understanding that Dylan had a large degree of control over the mono mixes on those early albums in question - it seems likely that he prefers them and may wish to see them included. I also think it'd be a great opportunity to release both versions of "Blood on the Tracks" (or at least the alternate versions of the 4-5 different tracks), and as most of these have come out on the Bootleg Series already, it's not as though someone's adverse to their commercial release.
I think what may auger against this possibility more than anything is the likelihood that these SACD/CD hybrids will be marketed to the general public. Is there room for all versions on the CD layer, or would Sony more likely default to the stereo mixes of the original track lineup? Would they include all the goodies and the various mixes only on the SACD layer? How would they note the various track-listings and mixes on the packaging? Would they actually refer to an SACD layer unlike the Stones releases? Could this be an opportunity to champion the SACD format by teasing the CD-only crowd with "value-added" extra features on the SACD layer, or would this garner resentment and confusion?
Obviously, it could be done and in a way that wouldn't confuse those of us reading this thread. Unfortunately, when they try to make a product that both appeals to and doesn't confuse the masses, there may be concessions made.
But, in the end, I think it's Bob's decision.

 

[Ryan Spaight]

And, Keith, maybe I'm wrong, but it's my understanding that Dylan & Co. control such aspects of his releases as the inclusion of alternative tracks, outtakes, contemporaneous singles, and the like. I don't believe this is Sony's decision to make.

Yes, Bob (and/or his his management) have complete control over what gets released.

Ryan

 

[Henry Gale]

Lots of Dylan SACD threads to choose from. I pick this one.
Gonna sound dumber than a box of nails here.....of these 15 albums, 6 offer a 5.1 surround mix. Is that on the SACD layer only?
Who has SACD anyway? 23 of us?
It's been 5 years this month since I dropped a bundle to get DTS surround, along with AC3 which I already had. Lots of folks have DTS now, why isn't that an adequat surround process for these CD remixes?
I'll hang up and listen on the air for my answer.

 

[Sam Owens]

In answer to your questions:

1) Yes

2) Me and quite a few others (the Pioneer 563 has lowered significantly the main barrier to entry of the SACD club, price, to c. $US179).

3) DTS CDs sound pretty good but can't offer the sound quality or flexibility of hybrid SACDs, being compressed, limited to 5.1 and not being able to be played in standard CD players.

 

[Lee Scoggins]

You can purchase the sampler as a bonus to the limited edition Masked and Anonymous soundtrack. I bought this three or so weeks ago.
The sampler is simply fantastic. Sony has done a great job remastering these albums so I think that Dylan fans will be impressed.
I think they are due out soon.

 

[Marty M]

Who has SACD anyway? 23 of us?

Count me as one of the "23" who has SACD. I purchased the Sony SACD/DVD player a year ago for $250. I now wish I had the Pioneer combo, but I know my wife would go "apeshit" on me. She couldn't understand when I wanted to replace my old DVD player that was still working.

SACD or DVD-A will not replace redbook CDs. They will just stay a niche format. I enjoy the multichannel SACDs I own.

There is no doubt that AV equipment is being driven by marketing, now. I had a 2-channel receiver that lasted me for over 15 years. It seems new receiver technologies are coming out every 6 months.

 

[Henry Gale]

(the Pioneer 563 has lowered significantly the main barrier to entry of the SACD club, price, to c. $US179).

If I was into buying the Circuit City version of everything updating every 6 months would not be a problem. I just can't get it through my head that I'm NOT in the income bracket that can buy the really good equipment....and still keep up.
My preamp/processor was a "best" 5 years ago, and is still a real contender. My Pioneer Elite DVD player was out of date (no progressive) about a week after I got it.

Aarrgg!