Classic Records To Reissue Dylan's Freewheelin' on vinyl*

Definitely good news.

 

There is a great film clip in The Beatles "American A Hard Days Night" when Paul McCartney calls into a NYC Radio show, asks for a cut off Freewheelin' and the DJ is unable to cue up the right track, tries t ofind the cut several times and can't, most likely because the promo copy had the deleted tracks and different track order. I think maybe the cover, lable or timing strip might have had the songs on the re-edited album. Unfortunately, when the film was re-edited and released by Apple as "The Beatles First US Visit" this footage was not used in that version of the film.

 

Interesting to see how it will sound.

 

Yeah, I have an "import" CD of the original BOOT, and I love the acoustic "Lilly, Rosemary, and the Jack of Hearts". The entire album is in that beautiful open E tuning...

 

Huh...I thought it only made it to test pressing stage, no?

 

Haven't all the withdarwn tracks from Freewheelin' already been released officially? If so, it's just the allure of having a replica of the original, right? I'd like to see this spread out over a double album or a set of 45 rpm discs, with all the tracks from both versions of the albums included. Better sound that way.

Oh, wait. I checked the link, and they are doing a double. Whoopee!

 

Except it looks like they are doing both complete versions at 33 RPM, not spread out over two records at 45 RPM, which BTW, would be the way to go AFAIC. We'll have to wait for more info to be sure.

 

I kid you not, this record must have been a mistake. It's a regular pressing with the first cover (black text) and regular labels but the 1A test pressing on side two. Side one has a regular stamper. I have no idea how rare it is but I doubt it's the only one. I would like to find out more about this if anyone knows. I like the two alternate tracks more than the released tracks.

 

It appears that only one track has been officially released in its original form as this quote from searching for a gem website states.

If any of the others have been released please let me know.

 

That seems kind of wasteful to me. Why repeat most of the material twice? It's not the way I'd do it, anyway. I suppose sequencing is an issue with vinyl.

 

Isn't this a little anti-climactic after Sundazed already released the mono version? I was wondering if Classic was going to release the recent Neil Young live albums.

 

Not for me. This is huge because It's the original unreleased version. Besides, my copy of the Sundazed doesn't have "the breath of life" stuff they always rag on around here. I have to listen to my scratched up original mono right now.

 

Wish they would release the Bootleg Series Vol 1-3.
It goes for silly amounts of cash and is hard to get with a box in nice condition.

 

Unveiling at Classic Records press conference:

 

How much of a difference in sound quality would it make if Classic did Highway 61 on 2 LP's?

 

You've got to remember that the artist (or his reps) have a lot to say in how things are released. Sometimes re-issue companies must either accept the terms or not do the project at all. Artists like Dylan, The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Neil Young, and Led Zeppelin have a lot of control over re-issues.

 

It looks like the stereo version. That's a shame.

Considering that, IIRC, Dylan asked that the S/T album and "the Times" be released in mono on CD, this has to be Classic Records' decision.

 

Is the mono on Sundazed OOP? Usually it is not allowed for two re-issue companies to have competing releases at the same time. Mono and stereo are probably different enough to allow two companies have rights at the same time.

 

I believe it was noted at the press conference that this is the first of the Stereo Dylan versions being presented, and (if I recall correctly) approved by Dylan's camp.

 

It's still available for sale everywhere, but I would imagine that the license is due to expire soon.

 

If that's the case then I can see them doing the stereo simply because the market is saturated with 180 gram mono re-issues. Maybe they'll do the mono later when the Sundazed LPs are all gone.

 

Plus, it has never received a vinyl release in the United States.

 

The stereo version is the Holy Grail among Dylan collectors. Only two copies of the original are known to exist. Also, unlike all the known mono copies, the two known stereo copies have the original track lineup on their labels.

Oddly, though, even with the labels reflecting the original track lineup, the songs on Side 1 don't appear in the order they are listed on the label.

 

And it has that lame long box booklet also, a Classic re-issue with a proper book of Vol 1-3 is in order.

The ultimate re-issue of Freewheelin' would be the un-released Mono and Stereo set.

 

Absolutely!!

But for those that did not read Fremer's announcement... "The original track listing and the version that was released will come from Classic as a double 200g LP."

I think its logical to assume at this point both will be stereo.