Dylan's Time Out of Mind remix is Stunning

@russ69 

I thought the original CD sounded better than most.

Me too. 

With tons and tons of atmosphere, bandwidth and reverb on it, Time Out of Mind was a huge Grammy winning album for Dylan, I loved it.

Let's not also forget that the 1989 Lanois produced Oh Mercy was the great comeback album for Dylan after a rather lengthy barren period.

I've not heard this new remix, not am I in any hurry to do so, but no doubt I will at some point but there will be some who prefer hearing precisely recorded individual instruments instead of a sonic painting of the kind that Lanois is famous for.

I get that, but that's not what Daniel Lanois does.

Some would argue that Daniel Lanois was the Phil Spector of the 80s and the 90s and his work with everyone from U2 to Robbie Robertson to Emmylou Harris to Brian Eno as well as Dylan himself made him the producer of those 2 decades.

As far as the removal of 'sonic muck' goes, I don't think that can apply here. However if we're talking about the 1990s Don Devito remix of Street Legal, well, that's another story...

@stuartk 

That's cool, we all have different tastes in production.

For example I could never stand what Steve Lillywhite did to the Pogues third album, If I Should Fall from the Grace of God. For sure it sounded clean and tidy, but it also sounded small and squeezed and squashed.

It just wasn't the Pogues and it just didn't breathe.

A massive disappointment after the Elvis Costello produced Rum, Sodomy and the Lash 2nd LP that was everything it's successor wasn't.

I guess production style, like guitar playing is mostly a matter of taste. Some like Hank B Marvin some prefer Hendrix. Some might even like both.

I'm sure that this remix will become an interesting adjunct to the original, but it's hardly likely to replace it, is it?

@rpeluso 

I find it impossible to accept Dylan being intimidated by anyone in a studio.

Me neither.

Virtually right from the start of his recording career, like the Beatles were, he's been very much his own man. The other great thing is that he does seem to care about sound quality and he's forever chasing that perfect sound in his head.

His comments from a few years back about the large sonic losses from studio to CD/LP were interesting too.

I wonder if he still feels the same way today?

@asctim

For myself I can’t think of any re-mixes that I whole heartedly prefer over older mixes.

Me neither.

Once the initial hullabaloo wears off I usually go back to the original mastering.

The recent Beach Boys Sounds Of Summer: The Very Best of The Beach Boys box set sounded promising initially but after a few plays it became obvious it would never replace the originals.

None of the Beatles remixes can replace the original mixes either.

The one true exception for me was Dylan’s own Bootleg Series Vol. 12: The Cutting Edge 1965–1966.

Now that one is something every Dylan fan ought to check out.

As for the new Time Out of Mind, I just don’t find it to have any worthwhile difference for me to go and buy it again. I can easily imagine it remaining unplayed on my shelf for years and years if I did.

Others may disagree.