What's the BEST Dylan SACD 5.1 track for Surround?

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JonUrban

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I am putting together a compilation disc for a friend who just got an Acura (DTS only), and he's a Dylan guy. I am not. I do have the SACD box from 15 or so years ago, so I have the discs. Can some of you Dylan guys suggest one or two tracks from these SACDs that are great examples of 5.1, if there are any?

Thanks!
 
I am putting together a compilation disc for a friend who just got an Acura (DTS only), and he's a Dylan guy. I am not. I do have the SACD box from 15 or so years ago, so I have the discs. Can some of you Dylan guys suggest one or two tracks from these SACDs that are great examples of 5.1, if there are any?

Thanks!

Tangled Up in Blue, from Blood on the Tracks, for sure.

Edit: I should qualify this by saying that Blood on the Tracks is the only one of these I have heard.

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What a great project you have going. My vote for Dylan tunes would all come from Blood On The Tracks and Planet Waves. The magic of 1974 with the Band backing Dylan and the great follow-up album from 1975 (Grammy winner I think).

Here's what I think would be good on a compilation disc to highlight surround sound and excellent music:

Blood On The Tracks:
Tangled Up In Blue
Simple Twist Of Fate
If You See Her, Say Hello

Planet Waves:
On a Night Like This
Tough Mama
Something There Is About You
 
To broaden the time frame & album titles, submitted for your consideration:
These three stay at the top of my "Dylan in Surround" pile:

Bringing It All Back Home (1965) ~ She Belongs To Me
Electric band, Bruce Langhorne electric guitar LR
Bass + hi-hat RR

Blonde On Blonde (1966) ~ Absolutely Sweet Marie
Bob's vocal - C
JR Robertson trademark Tele LF+R
Drums, Al Kooper organ RF+R
Harmonica FULL QUAD IMMERSION

Edit / Rant: Low poll scores for this title, IMHO, reflects a basic misunderstanding of the 1966 vision of the mix, and a misguided application of Steven Wilson discrete, isolated, non-simultaneous tracking prog standards to a record of one-take live cuts that sound like you're in the room with the band.

At Dylan's request, Johnston removed the baffles—partitions separating the musicians,
so that there was "an ambience fit for an ensemble".
Buttrey credited the distinctive sound of the album to Johnston's re-arrangement of the studio,
"as if we were on a tight stage, as opposed to playing in a big hall where you're ninety miles apart".


Historian Sean Wilentz observed that "with the sound of 'Sweet Marie', Blonde on Blonde entered
fully and sublimely into what is now considered classic rock and roll."


Love And Theft (2001) ~ High Water (For Charley Patton)
Acoustic gits, banjos Fronts
Augie Meyers” discrete pumping Tejas accordion RR
Atmospheric ambient backing vocals LR
Thunderous bass bombs LFE
-> Moonlight
Brushes on drums mid-tempo ballad, acoustic & electric guitars,
immersive atmospheric surround , less raspy & nasal crooned vocal

:hi
 
Last edited:
To broaden the time frame & album titles, submitted for your consideration:
These three stay at the top of my "Dylan in Surround" pile:

Bringing It All Back Home (1965) ~ She Belongs To Me
Electric band, Bruce Langhorne electric guitar LR
Bass + hi-hat RR

Blonde On Blonde (1966) ~ Absolutely Sweet Marie
Bob's vocal - C
JR Robertson trademark Tele LF+R
Drums, Al Kooper organ RF+R
Harmonica FULL QUAD IMMERSION

Edit / Rant: Low poll scores for this title, IMHO, reflects a basic misunderstanding of the 1966 vision of the mix, and a misguided application of Steven Wilson discrete, isolated, non-simultaneous tracking prog standards to a record of one-take live cuts that sound like you're in the room with the band.

At Dylan's request, Johnston removed the baffles—partitions separating the musicians,
so that there was "an ambience fit for an ensemble".
Buttrey credited the distinctive sound of the album to Johnston's re-arrangement of the studio,
"as if we were on a tight stage, as opposed to playing in a big hall where you're ninety miles apart".


Historian Sean Wilentz observed that "with the sound of 'Sweet Marie', Blonde on Blonde entered
fully and sublimely into what is now considered classic rock and roll."


Love And Theft (2001) ~ High Water (For Charley Patton)
Acoustic gits, banjos Fronts
Augie Meyers” discrete pumping Tejas accordion RR
Atmospheric ambient backing vocals LR
Thunderous bass bombs LFE
-> Moonlight
Brushes on drums mid-tempo ballad, acoustic & electric guitars,
immersive atmospheric surround , less raspy & nasal crooned vocal

:hi

Great post and I agree completely. I'll add that I love most of Love & Theft's mixes, with Mississippi, High Water and Moonlighta the three highlights.
 
While expanding, maybe one track from Desire, although muddy in comparison to others that we're discussing....Romance in Durango benefits from the open space. Maybe.
 
Weren't the surround mixes only on the Columbia SACDs? I know the MOFIs are 2ch. Only. Just curious if there was something i was missing.

According to Discogs, the 2003 Sony / Columbia SACD box set:

Each title was packaged as a digipak, containing the full original artwork.
Five of these titles also had 5.1 Surround Sound mixes.

Another Side of Bob Dylan
Bringing It All Back Home
Blonde on Blonde
Blood on the Tracks
Love and Theft
 
...I would go rogue and add a Quad LP track from Planet Waves...

Wow, that's coloring pretty far outside the lines, but the Planet Waves reunion between Dylan & The Band is a favorite of mine.

Since I acquired my new Sony media player, I can now play surround FLACS.
If a kind soul with a path to the files would reach out privately, I'd be most grateful.

:hi
 
There are also these rarities on the promo sampler, thanks QuadLinda.


Unknown.jpg


Dylan SACD 5.1 Sampler. All I Really Want to Do from Bootleg Series Volume 6/Live 1964 and Cold Irons Bound from Masked and Anonymous are 5.1 mixes unique to this sampler. Masked and Anonymous also had a deluxe edition with a different SACD sampler, though the album itself was only a CD.
View attachment 8214
View attachment 8215
 
Jon, you could just hand your buddy a copy of the above. 33 minutes of quality surround Bobness.
A true sampler from multiple years and albums.

I'd forgotten how much of it is rare and unreleased.
Gotta Serve Somebody is another great Dylan surround track found nowhere else AFAIK.
 
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