Bob Dylan's "Street Legal" album - Original mix vs. Remix?*

Are there 4 different masterings?
The original, 1999, the SACD, and the recent release on the Complete box set?

I think that the Complete version is a remastered version of the original, not the remix. I prefer this one.

 

Really ! I have been misinformed. I read somewhere years ago they were destroyed in a fire and that was the reason all digital issues were the remixed version. Sure would love to have an SACD of the original mix of this album. I guess hope is still alive !

 

That's my (foggy) understanding. I have the 1999 which I like - yet to listen to the one in the box.

 

Just for the sake of clarity and completeness, the recent (post Album Collection) Japanese reissue of (Cardboardsleeve/BluSpec2) is the 1999 remix. I bought it expecting the original mix, and it is isn't. The other CD's released in this series include the remasters from the Album Collection, this one doesn't which is a bit of a shame in my opinion. It isn't marked as a new remaster which should have been a giveaway.

 

Same mistake here. A shame.

 

Oh really? That's interesting! I must admit that was an assumption on my part because, as you said the others are from the 'newest' versions, which is Sony policy whenever a new remaster is made.

 

Well said.

On release the album, in England anyway, was lauded as being a superb collection very poorly captured on record. Live performances from the summer 78 European tour validated that view.

It is not coincidence that this is the only Dylan album completely remixed, Dylan and his team new that the original mix was just not good enough.

We can all argue the merits and de merits of the 99 mix but imho it is far superior to my original lp or cd and does re capture some magic from summer 78.

 

I have the mix and the remix but I wasn't aware that Street Legal had received the SACD treatment. I just did a search and didn't find an SACD of this title. Am I missing something?

 

It's now out of print but it certainly exists http://www.discogs.com/Bob-Dylan-Street-Legal/release/3018968

 

Thanks. I reviewed this thread and understand the situation now. Turns out I already have the SACD and didn't know it was an SACD.

Street Legal used to be an obsession with me and I'm still fond of it. It's a cold clinical sounding album now, which isn't right, but it does have the advantage of making the voice and instruments more distinct. Yet I miss the alchemy of the original sound. I wish the mix could be brightened without losing the original alchemy, if that makes any sense. One can't argue with the general consensus that it's a problematic recording to begin with, or can one? To me Street Legal has always sounded like what it is: a live recording in the studio that gains vitality, spontaneity and urgency by being played live. Whatever the Dylan crew were listening to in the control home, it doesn't come across on the album. If the opportunity ever arises to remix Street Legal again I hope Steve Hoffman will get a chance to take a whack at it.

 

I don't know guys....
This is one of my favourite albums but the original mix seems so muddy to me.
I guess I fell into that trap Steve was talking about when hearing the SACD. you know.......that on first listen it sounds awesome...
well.....I guess I still feel it sounds better after all this time.

I think Dylan just gets so frustrated in the studio and he always wants to "get the thing done and out!"

maybe the engineers were high as well?
whatever.....the original mix seems
kind of lifeless.

the horns have a more lifelike bite
and the bottom end sounds much more defined in the sacd. but the vocals are a tad disembodied from the mix...

 

It is not the only Dylan album to be completely remixed. For example, Another Side Of Bob Dylan, Bringing It All Back Home, and Blonde On Blonde have all been remixed (the latter multiple times, in fact).

 

True, but in those cases it was due to lost or damaged original mix tapes & the idea of those remixes was to get close to the original sound of the released LP.

With Street Legal the intention was to create something different, so Street Legal is the only 'intentional' remix.

 

Okay, I just bought a near-mint copy of the CK35453 from 1986. Throughout the 1970s and 1980s I listened to the vinyl, but I don't have that any longer. Now I want to hear the original vinyl mix again on the CD that Steve Hoffman recommends.

Hold the fort!
Which is what here?
Let's get this nailed.
If I buy the Complete Album Collection box-set or the Japanese BluSpec2, do I get a remaster from a) the original master tape, b) the 1978 LP cutting master used for the original 1986 CD, or c) the 1999 remix as it appears on the CK65974 and the CH 90338 SACD? Assuming the Complete Album Collection box-set and the Japanese BluSpec2 are remastered from the original tape, wouldn't that be preferable to the 1978 LP cutting master?

I can't buy the Complete Album Collection box-set at this time, but would someone kindly link me to the Japanese BluSpec2?

 

The pre-1999 CDs have the original mix. The 2013 Complete Albums Collection has it too. (I can't speak to the source tapes used.) Everything in between (1999, 2003 SACD, and the subsequent redbook version CK 92403) has the remix. From what has been said here (though I don't have it myself) the Japanese Blu-Spec has the remix as well. So with any of the 1980s or early 1990s releases you have the original mix, but the only version with that mix from 1999 to now, as far as I know, is the one in the Complete Albums Collection.

 

If you buy the Complete Album Collection you get what is probably the 1978 master.

If you buy the Bluspec2 you get the remix, exactly the same as the 1999 remix or 2003/4 SACD. This is here:

http://www.amazon.co.jp/ストリート・リーガル-...TF8&qid=1453026563&sr=8-8&keywords=ストリート・リーガル

Save your money if you have any other iteration post 1999, unless you really like mini-lp's.

 

There's a post somewhere, I can't find it now, that states that the Blu-Spec CD2 has far better DR figures than the SACD, even though it's thought they're from the same mix. I really like the Blu-Spec CD2 version but sadly I no longer have the SACD to compare it to.

 

I had this album as a cassette that I taped from a nephew's LP copy. So I knew the album pretty much by heart, but that tape was long gone when I bought the 1999 remastered CD. It immediately struck me that it sounded much better than the murky mess that I remembered, but I always blamed that on the low quality of the tape that I listened to in the 70s. It wasn't until an SH forum member pointed out that the 1999 issue was a full-blown remix.

Usually I'm a sucker for the original version that I grew up with (see also the case of Days of future passed that was mentioned upthread), but in this case I didn't mind too much. Loved the album back in the day, but I consider the remix as a huge sonic improvement without distracting all that much from the original version that I was familiar with.

 

Street Legal is one of my top five Dylan records. I grew up listening to the original (78) mix and fell in love with the new (99) mix immediately and got rid of my old copy. I'm not even sure how I remember the original mix - to my ears, it was always flawed, there was very little separation on the instruments, and the new one was just "an improvement" - end of story. Reading Mr. Hoffman's comments on this and another thread make me wish I had my original to listen to for a comparison, because I definitely appreciate some of the points he and others are making regarding "feel" and "groove"... However, I'm listening to the 99 mix as we speak and I think some of the criticism of it from those who prefer the 78 mix is harsh. Regardless of preference, it is of high-quality and nothing can possibly take away from these songs, which is why many of us consider this album a favorite regardless of which cut we got to know first.

 

I was just playing my MiFi Desire SACD tonight and decided to go right into Street Legal. I chose the original vinyl.

I own original vinyl, original CD, the Sony SACD (1999 remix) and the new complete album collection CD (original mix)

Despite the wonky bizarre sound, I gotta go with the original vinyl...the original mix just has that Street Legal "feel" that you miss out on with the remix. The remix is "cleaner" for sure, but it just lacks the magic you get on the original

 

Is there a way to purchase a seperate CD of the new remaster of the original mix that is featured in the "Complete Albums" box set? I had a listen to it on Apple Music this evening and it was by far the most enjoyable and listenable version I've heard.

I've been a fan of Street Legal for about 15 years, and I've covered "True Love Tends to Forget" with a local Dylan tribute band. I love the intensity of Bob's vocals and the ramshackle rehearsal quality of the musical performances. I've always felt the original CD with the original mix was very muddy and murky sounding, and the remix, while improved in clarity, sounds a bit harsh and too straightforward, no ebb and flow in the groove. Someone said the new CD is from the master, as opposed to the LP master used for the original CD. I'm not sure what extra magic the mastering engineer had up their sleeve, but talk about making a silk purse out of a sow's ear! The band sounds vibrant and all the instruments just gel in the mix, and Bob's voice sounds very warm and detailed, and when it sometimes disappears or cuts off, it's clearly due to the rehearsal quality of the recording.
The worse mix offender is tragically for the best song on the album, opener "Changing of the Guard". Nothing will ever fix those missed sax cues, the out of sync backing vocalists, or the awkward fade-in. I guess the engineer of the original record must have missed the start of the song, or perhaps the intro evolved from aimless jamming and had to be faded up at a more appropriately musical spot. Either way, the quality of recording and performances improves dramatically (if not perfectly) after that song, and I wonder if maybe that opening cut perhaps deters listeners from giving the whole album a chance and dismissing the rest of the record as unlistenable?

Anyway, had a great time listening to "Street Legal" tonight and thumbs up to everyone enjoying the various versions out there. Use your ears and have fun!

 

There's not a standalone CD, as far as I know, of the remastered original mix, but it looks like the Pono store is selling the new version.

 

I have the original vinyl which I bought the day the album came out, I have the French press, the US press, then I bought the CD, then the "remix", etc... it's in my top 4 Dylan albums (with Infidels, Blonde on Blonde, Slow Train and Desire and Blood on the tracks, and.... a couple of others!!!)

Anyway, I find the remix very similar to the original, the only thing interesting is the longer fade out on "Changing of the guards" but yes it's a tad cleaner but is not dramatically altering the original.

Anyway, I dont care at all if the sound is this or that. I started listening to the album when I was 15 on a cheapo turntable/stereo. I find the songs fantastic, period. They are my teenage years, before I became a Reggae fan, it's all that counts.

Generally speaking, I find these discussions pointless: sometimes, one has to accept a record as it is, and stop the what if, the shoulda woulda coulda. Who the heck are we? Bob Dylan? No. So what do we know of his artistic intentions, of his producer's intentions? NOTHING so it's best to stay silent and enjoy the thing as is.

 

The problem is it was badly recorded to begin with - all sorts of bleed-through, etc. making it almost impossible to get a decent mix. I'm sure with technology these days, you could do some jiggery-pokery with the sound of each track and make something much better - its just not a significant enough work to warrant that kind of attention.

The only track on here I like is Where Are You Tonight?