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

Highlighted for truth and accuracy. I played the disc in THE COMPLETE ALBUM COLLECTION for the first time recently and was suitably impressed. It's the best digital mix and the most representative of the original sound on vinyl. I wish it could be bought individually of the box-set so that I could stock up on a couple of playing copies.

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

 

After the listening to the remix of Street Legal in THE COMPLETE ALBUM COLLECTION for the first time recently I've had to reconsider my opinions(s). I have concluded that it's the only digital version. It accurately represents the original sound and mix on vinyl only with more clarity, separation and presence. I wish it could be bought individually of the box-set so that I could stock up on a couple of playing copies.

I recommend everyone listen to Street Legal in THE COMPLETE ALBUM COLLECTION, compare it to earlier remixes / releases, and then come back in here and tell us what you think. I'm willing to bet a lot of you will change your opinions of what's what.

I'm curious to know what Steve Hoffman thinks of it.

 

Lots to read, but I think that will have everything I'm looking for. Thanks. I especially like SH's comment about getting over the initial shock of the low-fi sound, which was a bit of a challenge for me. I'll need to read through all of the comments and give the two another listen.

 

CD/Remix all the way!

The 1978 vinyl/cassette is one of the worst things I've ever heard. When I first heard it - on a tape borrowed from the library - I thought the tape had been damaged. Only later, when I heard the vinyl, did I realise it always sounded like that!

 

Wish they'd issue this mix as an LP.

 

Dylan is no audiophile but is there any significance in the fact that this was the last of his albums to be produced by Don DeVito?

 

The Street Legal in Complete Album Collection is not a remix. It is a remaster of the original mix.

I personally also am partial to this release as well.

 

78 mix is muck have uk first pressings . I have the simple vinyl remix from 2002 sounds like a completely different album much more enjoyable

 

Thanks for straightening that out, makes sense now that I've heard it.

The Street Legal available only in COMPLETE ALBUM COLLECTION box-set is a remaster of the original mix and, therefore, true and authentic.

Go straight to it, everybody.

 

You will find that Mr. Hoffman is not impressed with the CD Remix from 15 or so years ago. He far prefers the original recording , muddiness and all, as he says if this is truer to the intended sound.

I continue to respectfully disagree, as the remix, to these ears, is just so much better.

 

Completely agree. You get the original artist intent but with cleanup of the glaringly bad things on the original

 

the remix was a good sonic improvement

what's the problem?

 

Regardless of your preference on 'original/remix', we've clearly established that the 'Street Legal' in the CCAC box is a very different animal than the last individual commercial release of this CD.

So, are there any other gems of this sort hiding in the CCAC box? I'd just assumed this was a (massive) rebundling of all of the most recent remasters, but obviously not.

 

So if mofi release this on 45 rpm which remix will they use even when it was reviewed in 1978. production was shabby

 

My thoughts exactly. The original LP was horrid as were all the reissue Lp's. The original CD was also horrid. The remix from 1998 (only on CD) opened up the mix slightly to let it breathe and you could hear all the individual component parts of the bundled instrumentation very clearly for the first time. It had a little life in it and a slight faint richness hitherto absent from the original mix. Mind you, you can also hear all the mistakes and missed cues more easily than ever before and Dylan's voice was just plain awful in places and brought ever closer to the front to expose it further. Overall the remix wins by a large margin as it makes a near un-listenable sounding album at least listenable. The thought of an over-priced "audiophile" vinyl LP reissue of this particular album makes me smile with bewilderment; the least audiophile album gets an audiophile reissue. Okay.......

 

I've always had the SACD remix and thought it was superb. It wasn't until the complete album collection when I heard the remastered 'original' mix, I equally like them both in different ways. Great under-rated album regardless.

 

IMO remixing on an analogue console and analogue tape would preserve the original sound/vibe better than a digital workstation and ITB processing.

 

Can somebody please explain....

On the original LP Senor segues into True Love Tends to Forget.. There is no gap between the songs.

There was a gap between the tracks on the first CD, and it was not even in the right place. There is a split second of the start of True Loves to Forget before the silence!

1. Why could they not just transfer the master onto the CD ?

( Even on the remix, they chose to split the tracks with silence. )

2. On the Complete Albums Collection, which I don't have, has the original mix been mastered correctly or is there still a gap? Please could somebody listen closely and confirm ?

They did not insert a gap into the CD on Desire between Romance in Durango and Black Diamond Bay, so why here on Street Legal ???

 

More or less my view (though I only have the vinyl and the 1999 remaster). I appreciate the separation on the remaster, but I detect reemphasis on certain aspects - especially the background vocals - that I think might have gone too far. Perhaps there's no such thing as a remix that does not create reemphasis. But to me the vinyl sounds like a warmer mono version. I suspect I'll listen to both.

 

Thanks for checking Mark87, that's really helpful.
I know I shouldn't get hung up on this, but I always found the gap annoying on the CDs.

 

I wonder if Steve Hoffman has heard the remastered STREET LEGAL in THE COMPLETE ALBUMS COLLECTION and what he thinks of it?

 

even as a 15 year old I remember listening to the record and thinking it was horribly produced. didn't stop me from 'where are you tonight' at top volume - nearly off the rails and a mess but still great

 

Not sure any Bob Dylan album, particularly with regard to recording or production, could be considered to reflect his original intent!

 

I just picked up the lp with the original mix, never heard it before. Much prefer the remix, especially for the drums sound. This appears to be a Philippine pressing, maybe that's an additional problem .

Anyway, one of my Dylan favorites.