Sundazed Freewheelin'

[Ted Bell]

Well I'm back into vinyl. Encouraged by Steve's post, I'm going to stick my neck out and voice an opinion. I just got the Mono Sundazed Freewheelin' Bob Dylan and I absolutely love it. I'm ready to order all the other Zimmerman Monos and consider other titles on the Sundazed label.
OK, I'm braced in for the responses (Tom?
;) )

Jay N.

[Ben]

Hey, Ted....

Well, I have 'em all and they're all damn good!


My kids have now "discovered" Bob Dylan...we're all looking forward to seeing him tonight on the Grammy's!


I love the work Sundazed is doing with the early Dylan catalogue...


Best,

Ben

[Ronflugelguy]

I have Simply Vinyl's Bob Dylan "Freewheelin", and I thought it to be one of SV's better titles. Since the last time Ilistened to it, I have made several upgrades to my system, so I'll go and play it again. Sundazed did such a good job on "Times" that I'll have to check it out!

[Humorem]

Freewheelin' IS good, give it a 8.7.
Times is amazing. 9.7!
Highway 61? Ouch. 2.4.

To the guy who likes them all: even Highway 61? That one doesn't sound thin and bright to you? Just asking...

TP

[Ronflugelguy]

Yes,hwy 61 is basically is thin and terrible. Anyone out there have a DCC CD?

[Ben]

You know, "Highway 61" doesn't sound as "full"as the others....but I still like it....I have the DCC Gold CD too and I like that one a lot!


Hey, Tom - what's your opinion of MFSL's "Chicago Transit Authority" LP? I have the chance to pick up a mint copy from a friend cheap...thanks in advance....


Ben

[feinstein]

I thought that all of the Sundazed Dylan mono titles were less "full" sounding than the original Columbia 1A or 1B pressings.

[FabFourFan]

Originally posted by Ben
My kids have now "discovered" Bob Dylan...we're all looking forward to seeing him tonight on the Grammy's!Yeah, was he magnificent or what tonight?!
Wow, what a blast! :cool: :cool: :cool:
And he won a Grammy, too! :)

[Ben]

GREAT performance...

Did he look wild....like always?

How about that set?


Dylan = amazing / everytime.....



Ben

[Paul L.]

Highway 61 Revisited:

What are we referencing the Sundazed to?

It certainly is bass-shy compared to the DCC gold disc. Every other H61R is.

But the Sundazed has better bass than the standard stereo CD.

The Sundazed has a little less bass, at least on some tracks, than the mono CDRs I have of early mono LPs. But it has more bass than the H61R acetates.

Dylan may have approved the acetates instead of the test pressings. If so, and nobody knows for certain, the Sundazed may be truer to Dylan's desired sound than previous mono editions.

It's an impossible situation when we don't know what Dylan's intent was. What did he listen to, the mono final mix on tape, acetates, or test pressings? What did he hear playback through?

The first mono pressings are not necessarily definitive if we base the word on Dylan's intent.

Most of us here probably like Steve's version best, but he's the first to tell you that that the lowest bass response on the DCC gold is not on any LPs. He went with what the master sounded like before it was necessarily reduced for the inherent limitations of vinyl playback. Maybe this is actually closest to what Dylan heard at the time, maybe not.

And it doesn't matter what Dylan approves now as far as attaining the definitive. His ears in 2002 are not what they were in 1965. And he's hearing playback on different equipment. And he is changed, the product of all his life experiences in between.

[Humorem]

Originally posted by Ben

Hey, Tom - what's your opinion of MFSL's "Chicago Transit Authority" LP? I have the chance to pick up a mint copy from a friend cheap...thanks in advance....
Ben

Don't do it! If he sells you that record he's not your friend, audio wise anyway.

I'm your only real friend when it comes to records. Never forget that.

Warmly,
TP

[Humorem]

Originally posted by Paul L.
Highway 61 Revisited:

What are we referencing the Sundazed to?

It certainly is bass-shy compared to the DCC gold disc. Every other H61R is.


It is? When did you find the time to play all of those records? There must be at least 50 of them.

More to the point, I don't own a copy that sounds as bad as their version. The two versions I sell on LP, Columbia and SV, are certainly better, though no great shakes by any stretch of the imagination.

We are talking LPs here, right?

TP

[Paul L.]

Tom,

I said in my post what I was referencing the Sundazed to.

I have not heard 50 different H61R records. There's probably one person on the planet who has heard 50 different pressings of it. And if you can remember that pressing 42 sounded better in one particular interlude in one particular song in one particular way than pressing 6 did, you definitely should be given a Grammy or something.

I've got 3 different CDRs of mono H61R pressings. I've got the vinyl from Sundazed. I don't have the Simply Vinyl release.

But the point is, there is no vinyl pressing of H61R that has the low bass response of the DCC gold. Ask Steve, since you don't want to believe me.

Anyway, you are choosing to ignore the more philosophical aspect of my post, namely, that there is no way to know definitively which pressing or release best represents Dylan's original intent. Maybe the one you hate, the Sundazed, is the closest to what Dylan's wishes were in 1965. Maybe Steve's stereo gold disc is what Dylan would have liked everyone to hear. No one can say.

[Andy]

I was going to buy the SV to compare to the Sundazed, but I don’t I’m qualified.

[Todd Fredericks]

Is the SV mono or stereo? If it's stereo then I think it wouldn't be a fair comparison because they're different mixes (not just different mastering and possible sources)...

Todd

[Paul L.]

The Simply Vinyl Highway 61 Revisited is stereo.

[Sckott]

Originally posted by Ben

Hey, Tom - what's your opinion of MFSL's "Chicago Transit Authority" LP? I have the chance to pick up a mint copy from a friend cheap...thanks in advance....

Ben

I've got an early pressing, <=360=> with 1a & b stamper numbers on em (don't have it here to make sure - but I remember looking noticing it was an early bird). A buddy in here was very happy to send me the record. I think he paid $4 for it, or less, and it was just a tad under mint.

The MFSL sounds a bit strange, but ok...not as good as this pressing performed.

[Todd Fredericks]

Paul,

Don't shoot me for this but I'd recommend maybe getting a stereo US first pressing of this album instead of SV. You could probaly track one down for not that much more than SV prices. Ony a suggestion...

Todd

[Paul L.]

Todd,
I've got a CDR or two of early stereo H61R LPs and an actual later stereo LP. But I never listen to them except for the alternate From A Buick 6.

I much prefer Steve's gold disc.

[Todd Fredericks]

Yes, Steve's disc is superb...

Todd

[JohnnyK]

Originally posted by Ben
GREAT performance...

Did he look wild....like always?

How about that set?


Dylan = amazing / everytime.....

Ben

Ben,

I agree that he looked as wild as ever, and the set was cool, but what the Hell was with his voice? I couldn't understand a word he sang? He writes great lyrics, it would be nice if people could understand them.

John

[Todd Fredericks]

John,
Bob does what Bob does...
Todd

[Paul L.]

Johnny K,
Here is what Dylan sang:

http://bobdylan.com/songs/cryawhile.html

[JohnnyK]

Originally posted by Paul L.
Johnny K,
Here is what Dylan sang:

http://bobdylan.com/songs/cryawhile.html

Paul,

I have that CD and I am familiar with the song. My wife is not a Dylan fan and after he finished the song she said that she could not understand a word that he sang. I wonder how many other people said the same thing? I just think it is unfortunate that it is impossible to understand one of the greatest song writers of our time. It would be nice to understand what he sings because his phrasing is so unique.

John


Ludwig Drums----The beat goes on.

[FabFourFan]

Originally posted by JohnnyK
My wife is not a Dylan fan and after he finished the song she said that she could not understand a word that he sang.The lyrics were there in the closed captions while he was singing.
They were there for everybody's vocals, of course, not just Dylan's. :p