Columbia/Legacy Records has released the first 15 albums in the long awaited Bob Dylan Revisited Reissue Series – both as individual albums and as a 15 album boxed set. Each of the albums in the reissue series appears on a single inventory, Hybrid Layer SACD disc that is packaged in a digipak album cover. Some of the titles feature not only Stereo SACD and Stereo CD tracks but also a new 5.1 Surround Sound SACD mix on the disc.
According to officials at Columbia/Legacy, the new Dylan Revisited Reissue Series involved pulling the original album master tapes of each album, listening to the prior vinyl LP and CD editions of the album and then remastering the album with the best available technology to maxmize the quality of each release. Each of the digipaks has a yellow sticker on the front of the album that says “Bob Dylan Revisited: The Reissue Series” along with bullet point highlights of the songs on that album.
The sticker also notes that each album has been “spectacularly remastered from original source tapes” and plays on all SACD and CD players. The first 15 Dylan Revisited Reissue SACDs and the boxed set release list is as follows:
Surround Sound SACD/Stereo SACD/CD Audio Discs
- Another Side of Bob Dylan (Columbia/Legacy CH 90327)
- Blonde on Blonde [Specially Priced 2 Disc Set] (Columbia/Legacy C2H 90325)
- Blood On The Tracks (Columbia/Legacy CH 90323)
- Bringing It All Back Home (Columbia/Legacy CH 90326)
- Love and Theft (Columbia/Legacy CH 90340)
- Slow Train Coming (Columbia/Legacy CH 90322)
Stereo SACD/CD Audio Discs
- Desire (Columbia/Legacy CH 90318)
- Free Wheelin’ (Columbia/Legacy CH 90321)
- Highway 61 Revisited (Columbia/Legacy CH 90324)
- Infidels (Columbia/Legacy CH 90317)
- John Wesley Harding (Columbia/Legacy CH 90320)
- Nashville Skyline (Columbia/Legacy CH 90319)
- Oh Mercy (Columbia/Legacy CH 90316)
- Planet Waves (Columbia/Legacy CH 90339)
- Street Legal (Columbia/Legacy CH 90338)
Box Set of All 15 Dylan Revisited Reissue Albums
Bob Dylan Revisited: The Reissue Series – The Limited Edition Hybrid SACD Set (Columbia/Legacy CXH 90615)
Dylan Reissue Series Credits
As noted in our earlier coverage of the Dylan Revisited Reissue Series, the reissue series work was headed up by Steve Berkowitz of Legacy Recordings A&R Division. The CD and SACD Stereo tracks were mastered by Greg Calbi at Sterling Sound while the 5.1 SACD Surround Sound tracks were mastered by George Marino at Sterling Sound. Tape research of the Dylan master tapes was handled by Didier Deutsch at Sony Music Studios.
Early reaction to the first 15 Dylan Revisited Reissue Series SACDs has been very positive. I had a chance to listen to the new version of Blonde on Blonde. I was impressed by the improved sonics of the disc as well as the tasteful 5.1 Surround Sound mix that the new edition has. If the other albums in the series are like this, Dylan fans will find these very enjoyable.
Availability & Pricing
Since the new Dylan Revisited Reissue Series are single inventory Hybrid SACDs, they should be available through most record stores and outlets. Locally this proved to be the case with copies appearing today in a number of stores and store ads including Best Buy, Borders, Circuit City, Fry’s Electronics, Media Play and Tower Records. The discs are also available from web sites that sell SACDs including Acoustic Sounds, CD Universe, Elusive Disc, Music Direct and Red Trumpet.
Dylan and SACD fans would be advised to check prices on the albums to get the best deal. Locally, Tower Records was offering the individual albums at $13.99 each (sale price through October 6th) and the 2-disc Blonde on Blonde disc for a dollar more ($14.99). On the other hand, Best Buy was apparently unaware that the Blonde on Blonde disc carries a $19.98 list price and had it stickered at a price of $25.99!
There was a similar disparity on the pricing of the 15 album boxed set entitled Bob Dylan Revisited: The Reissue Series – The Limited Edition Hybrid SACD Set (Columbia/Legacy CXH 90615). Tower Records was selling the box set for $229.99 in store while web retailer CD Universe offered a much better deal, selling the box set for $174.98. A clear case where it pays to shop for the best deal.