Dylan's Time Out of Mind remix is Stunning

Dylan was VERY involved in the new TOOM mixes. I read an interview with the engineer involved, who said Dylan approved every mix, rejecting the engineer’s mixes that didn’t create the sound Dylan was looking for (he never liked the sound of the original TOOM).

One thing Lanois did in recording TOOM was tape Dylan’s voice in two manners: one track directly from Dylan singing into a microphone, a second with the mic’s signal sent to a guitar amplifier, the sound of Dylan’s voice coming out of that amp recorded on a separate track. Lanois then used both tracks when doing his mix back in ’97, blending the two to create a single sound.

As an aside: This information perfectly illustrates why Harry Pearson’s command that a hi-fi shall reproduce the sound of live music is absurd when it comes to studio recordings of Popular---i.e-non Classical music (excluding perhaps Jazz recorded in the 1950’s and 60’s). What do you high-end audiophiles think of a recording made in this fashion?

Spend as much as you want on your system; it will never sound any better than do the recordings you play through it. The majority of my favorite music doesn’t really justify having a high-end system. To reproduce what---a low-fi recording? My Hank Williams LP’s and CD’s sound like sh*t, yet the music still manages to thrill me. Luckily, some was well recorded, like The Everly Brothers, Buddy Holly, Roy Orbison, and early RCA Records Elvis (his Sun Records recordings are not good, but the music of course is).

The new remiix engineer did something similar to what Lanois did, but somewhat different. He originally used only the direct mic track, and Dylan didn’t like the result (guess Bob is as critical of his voice as are his detractors ;-) . The engineer came up with the idea of sending the mic track to a cassette deck (the identity of the deck undisclosed ;-), playing the cassette recording on monitor speakers (again, undisclosed. Hopefully not the dreadful Yamaha NS-10 ;-) and recording the sound coming out of the speakers, then mixing that track with the direct-mic track. Dylan liked it! THAT is what you are hearing in the new mix.

@bdp24 

As I said Dylan approved the mixes but was not involved in their production.

But thanks for the additional information and comment, most of which I didn't have.

As to well recorded early rock, the Stones were very lucky to be signed to Decca.  Or at least their fans were.  My original Aftermath still sounds brilliantly clean, despite running for close to 30 minutes per side.  No wonder these early/mid 60s Stones original LPs are now priced well above my willingness to pay.

@clearthinker:

Some other well-recorded "Rock", and the record labels involved:

- Vertigo Records. Their early releases (on which the center paper label on the LP’s is filled with a drawing of 3 concentric circles. When the LP is spinning the circles create a.....you guessed it---vertigo effect. I hear collectors talking about many Vertigo’s which I don’t have, as the music they contain is not to my taste. The one I do have is the s/t album by Manfred Mann Chapter Three, which is the British Invasion group Manfred Mann with only Manfred and drummer Mike Hugg (by now switching to piano and vocals) remaining from the original line up. The music is Rock/Jazz Fusion, a genre I don’t normally like. This is the rare exception, and the sound quality is quite good.

- Amongst the very best sounding Popular music albums ever recorded is Tea For The Tillerman (Cat Stevens, of course). It’s on Island Records (in the UK, A & M in the U.S.), and the Island Records "pink label" pressing has long been known for it’s sound quality (brought to the attention of audiophiles by Harry Pearson). I had an Island "sunray" label (the second pressing of the album) copy, but the reissue by Analogue Productions is (imo, and that of others) even better than either (thanks to mastering engineer Bernie Grundman. For one thing, Bernie found there had been a very serious mistake made in the mastering of the Island original: it was done with a Dolby A noise reduction circuit engaged. Problem is, the recording was not made with Dolby A!).

- The only other pink label Island I own is the 2nd album by Traffic (their best, imo. Dave Mason was still in the group), and it too sounds mighty fine. Good music too.

Actually, the original production’s overall sonic ambience is what drew me to the music in the first place. No issue w/the original recording at all ( Album Of The Year, c’mon). Too, much of the "ethereal" sound was instigated by Dylan himself. Lanois recalled in one interview how Dylan asked him if he could make the harmonica on one specific song sound "more electric". Lanois ended up using a Tube Screamer overdrive/distortion pedal (for the guitarists out there, you’ll recognize this very widely-used effects pedal (Stevie Ray Vaughan, Lee Ritenour, Trey Anastasio, John Mayer and Gary Moore are/were among its users). Dylan liked the sound so much, he had Lanois use it on every song on the album. Add in the fact that the album's recording was started (and finished) in an old, circa 1940s Mexican porno cinema in Oxnard California that Lanois transformed into a studio, and.........there you go. Instant ambience.

So one could say the original production is closer to what Dylan heard in his head, and so...........is what HE really wanted us to hear.

@hartf36:

Yeah, I read about that recording of the harmonica too. But that was just a single, isolated incident. The TOOM recording sessions became very tension-filled, Dylan and Lanois butting heads throughout the making of the album. And Dylan has long let it be known he didn’t like the sound of the album.

You may note that Dylan didn’t want or ask for any of the previous Bootleg Series albums to be remixed. It was HE who instigated the remixes of the studio recordings in Volume 17, to create the sound he long wished the album had possessed (George Harrison did the same with his All Things Must Pass album, the sound of which he came to seriously dislike. I completely agree. Maybe it’s just the case of a musician’s view of recordings versus a fan/listener?). If Dylan liked the original, he would have left it as it was.

You should also note that since TOOM, Dylan has done all his own producing. "To Hell with ’em all. I’ll do it myself." ;-) I REALLY wish he’d have Buddy Miller produce him (Buddy has long served as Emmylou Harris' guitarist, harmony singer, and bandleader). For great production, listen to Buddy’s albums. And the album he produced for the duo with the unlikely name of War & Treaty. Absolutely fantastic!