Bob Dylan / Blonde On Blonde Remixed & Sessions / 2CD

Bob Dylan / Blonde On Blonde Remixed & Sessions / 2CD / Non Label

Columbia Studio A, 799 Seventh Avenue, New York, October – November 1965 & January 1966 &

Columbia Music Row Studios, Nashville, Tennessee, February – March 1966

Play sample :

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Since Bob Dylan’s rare masterpiece remix version “HIGHWAY 61 REMIXED” was released, many enthusiasts should have hoped to release the remix version of the next work “BLONDE ON BLONDE”. This is also possible, of course, as a new mix was created with the release of the 2015 Session Collection Collector’s Edition. In the first place, “BLONDE ON BLONDE” is simply called the masterpiece, and it boasts an exceptionally long-selling Dylan album. Because of that, the album master released in 1966 quickly became worried about its deterioration. It’s also an unusual album in which the mix was occasionally remade. In the first place, new mixes were made as early as the era of LP, and several remixed versions were also made on CD.
Most conventional mixes were created with the aim of reproducing the original mix of 1966, and the stereo images are not so different. In other words, even in the CD era, old stereo mixes with extreme separation like the 1960s continued to be made. Even in the current mix, which was made in 2003 with the SACD, the image was followed.

In that respect, the new stereo mix made for the 2015 session collection box has a bold difference in the stereo image and the finish of the mix itself. It is one of the representative songs in the album, “I Want You”, that you can understand this difference in one shot. In the conventional mix, each instrument was extremely easy to understand on the left and right, and the drum fluttering sound was noticeable. However, when it came to the 2015 mix, the separation of the instruments weakened all at once, and the arrangement was changed to a balance centered on Dylan’s singing voice. And yet, the overall sound quality is summarized, so the impression is finally different from the conventional mix. And for this release, it’s also valuable to use the version before the lead guitar was overdubbed, which I could hear only with that huge collector’s edition.
As the same song tells, it has a completely different feel from the conventional mix, while the overall texture is solid, yet the finish of the Dylan singing voice is the charm of the 2015 version mix. For example, “Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat,” which was particularly thin and sound quality was not good in the album, was transformed into a heavy mix. As I said at the time of “HIGH WAY 61 REMIXED”, the 2015 version has a great sense of using analog technology rather than digital technology with the latest technology.
”Another song whose performance image itself has changed is “Obviously Five Believers”. Originally, it was a song that the guitar riff growled, so it was a balance that made the guitar stand out more or less in the conventional mix, but it is interesting because the keyboard sound is more noticeable in the 2015 version. And “Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine)” is recorded in the version before the intro was edited. This is also a valuable thing that I could only hear in the collector’s edition. As a final note, the official stereo mix includes the single “Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?”, which was released for the first time in 2015, as a bonus.

However, it is not the only one. This time, the original album was in the format of two discs, so it will be released with two press CDs. Taking advantage of this volume, we have put together another take and session on the second disc. Thanks to this editing, an alternative album that allows you to listen to all the different takes of all the recorded songs in the same order as the songs in the album has been realized. Of course, in the editing, we carefully selected rare takes that could only be heard in the Collector’s Edition, which was not recorded in the 2- or 6-disc set that is still available. Of course, the finale is another take of “Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands” (By the way, take 3).
For example, “One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)” takes take 15 with different tempo arrangements, “Temporary Like Achilles” take 1 and “Absolutely Sweet Marie” rehearsals take different arrangements. And so on. Still, for the famous songs “I Want You” and “Just Like A Woman”, two different takes with different singing styles and arrangements are adopted. The editing was thoroughly done so that you could enjoy a different sense of take that you can understand at a glance. The initial take of “Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat”, which was recorded in addition to sound effects, was also included. And these are all rare sound sources that can only be heard in the Collector’s Edition.
In this way, after the alternate album, which thoroughly summarizes the different takes of the songs on the album, it covers sessions of unreleased songs of the same period. Above all, “She’s Your Lover Now” is an excerpt from a rare take of the collector’s edition only, which is a session scene of a ballad arrangement that is totally different from the take I heard before. In this way, the content is far superior to the previous “HIGH WAY 61 REMIXED”. First, while the remix version can be heard on the first disc, another take is arranged in the same order as the album songs. Amazing content. Not to mention the sound quality. The recording data of each take and the details of the participating members are also posted without fail, and another take photo of the album is used for the cover shot. Introducing the ultimate alternate version of Dylan’s masterpiece album that you can enjoy from beginners to enthusiasts!

ボブ・ディラン稀代の名盤のリミックス・バージョン「HIGHWAY 61 REMIXED」がリリースされたからには、次作「BLONDE ON BLONDE」のリミックス・バージョンのリリースを期待したマニアは多いはず。こちらも2015年のセッション集コレクターズ・エディションのリリース時に新たなミックスが作られましたので、もちろんそれは可能です。そもそも「BLONDE ON BLONDE」は最高傑作とまで称されているだけのことはあり、ディランのアルバムの中でも別格のロングセラーを誇っている。そのせいで1966年リリース時のアルバム・マスターはあっという間に老朽化の憂き目を見る羽目に。そこで折に触れてミックスが作り直されていたという異例のアルバムでもある。そもそもLPの時代に早くも新たにミックスが作られ、さらにCDでも数回のリミックス・バージョンが作られていたのです。
もっとも従来のミックスはすべて1966年のオリジナル・ミックスの復刻を目指して作られたものであり、ステレオ・イメージが大きく異なるものではない。裏を返せばCD時代でも60年代っぽい極端な分離の古臭いステレオ・ミックスが作られ続けていたということになる。2003年になってSACDとの兼用で作られた、現行ミックスですらそのイメージを踏襲していたほど。

その点2015年のセッション集ボックス用に作られた新たなステレオ・ミックスはステレオ・イメージやミックスそのものの仕上がりが大胆に違う。この違いを一発で理解出来てしまうのがアルバムの中でも代表曲である「I Want You」。従来のミックスは各楽器が左右で極端に解れており、なおかつドラムのパタパタとした音が目立っていた。ところが2015年版ミックスときたら、楽器の分離が一気に弱まり、ディランの歌声を中心としたバランスに配置換え。それでいて全体的にずっしりとした音質にまとめられているので、いよいよ従来のミックスとは印象が異なる。そして今回のリリースに際して、あの膨大なコレクターズ・エディションのみで聞けた、リードギターがオーバーダビングされる前のバージョンを採用した点も貴重かと。
同曲が物語っているように従来のミックスとまるで感触の違う仕上がりであり、全体的にずっしりとした質感にまとめつつ、それでいてディランの歌声を前面に出した仕上がりというのが2015年版ミックスの魅力。例えばアルバムの中でも特に薄っぺらくて音質がイマイチだった「Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat」に至っては重厚なミックスへと豹変したほど。「HIGHWAY 61 REMIXED」の時にも言えたことですが、デジタル感よりもアナログ感を最新技術で活かしてみせたセンスが2015年版の素晴らしいところでしょう。
他に演奏のイメージそのものが豹変した楽曲としては「Obviously Five Believers」。元々ギターリフが唸りを上げる曲でしたので、従来のミックスで大なり小なりギターを目立たせたバランスとなっていましたが、2015年版ではキーボードの音の方が目立っているから面白い。そして「Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine)」はイントロが編集される前のバージョンにて収録。これもまた例のコレクターズ・エディションでしか聞けなかった貴重なもの。とどめとして公式ステレオ・ミックスは2015年版が初めてのリリースだったシングル「Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window?」をボーナスに収録。

しかしそれだけではありません。今回はオリジナルのアルバムがディスク二枚組というフォーマットだったことに従いプレスCD二枚でのリリースとなっています。このボリュームを活かし、二枚目のディスクに別テイクやセッションをまとめました。この編集のおかげで何とアルバムの曲順のままで収録曲すべての別テイクが聞けるというオルタネイト・アルバムが実現してしまったという。もちろん、その編集に当たっては現在も手に入る二枚組、あるいは六枚組セットには未収録だった、コレクターズ・エディションのみでしか聞けないレアな別テイクを厳選。当然フィナーレは「Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands」の別テイク（ちなみにテイク3）。
例えば「One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later)」はテンポの違うアレンジで演奏されたテイク15、「Temporary Like Achilles」のテイク1 や「Absolutely Sweet Marie」のリハーサルはキーの違うアレンジで演奏されるといった具合。それでいて名曲「I Want You」と「Just Like A Woman」に関してはそれぞれディランの歌い方やアレンジが違う別テイク二種類ずつ採用。一聴して解るほどの別テイク感を楽しんでもらえる編集を徹底したのです。効果音まで加えて録音されたのにお蔵入りした「Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat」初期テイクなどもしかり。そしてこれらもまた、コレクターズ・エディションでしか聞かれないレアな音源ばかり。
このようにアルバム収録曲の別テイクを徹底してまとめたオルタネイト・アルバムの後には、同時期の未発表曲のセッションまで網羅。中でも「She’s Your Lover Now」は旧来聞けたテイクとはまるで違うバラード・アレンジのセッション風景をこれまたコレクターズ・エディションのみのレアテイクから抜粋。こうして前回の「HIGHWAY 61 REMIXED」をはるかに凌ぐ充実の内容となっており、まず一枚目のディスクでリミックス・バージョンが聞けつつ、二枚目ではアルバムの曲順そのままで別テイクがずらりと揃った驚異の内容。もちろん音質に関しては言うまでもありません。そして各テイクのレコーディング・データや参加メンバーの詳細も抜かりなく掲載し、ジャケ写にはアルバムの別テイク写真を使用。ビギナーからマニアまで文句なしに楽しめるディラン最高傑作アルバム究極のオルタネイト・バージョンの登場です！

Disc 1 (77:52)
REMIXES

1. Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 – Take 1 (10th March 1966)
2. Pledging My Time – Take 3 (8th March 1966)
3. Visions of Johanna – Take 4 (14th February 1966)
4. One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later) – Take 24 (25th January 1966)
5. I Want You – Take 5 (10th March 1966) without guitar overdub
6. Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again – Take 15 (17th February 1966)
7. Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat – Take 1 (10th March 1966)
8. Just Like a Woman – Take 18 (8th March 1966)
9. Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine) – Take 6 (9th March 1966) with unedited intro
10. Temporary Like Achilles – Take 4 (9th March 1966)
11. Absolutely Sweet Marie – Take 3 (7th March 1966) with unedited ending
12. Fourth Time Around – Take 19 #2 (14th February 1966)
13. Obviously Five Believers – Take 4 (10th March 1966)
14. Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands – Take 4 (16th February 1966)

BONUS TRACK
15. Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window? – Take 10 (30th November 1965)

Disc 2 (77:57)
SESSIONS

1. Rainy Day Women #12 & 35 (10th March 1966) Rehearsal
2. Pledging My Time (8th March 1966) Rehearsal
3. Visions of Johanna – Take 2 (14th February 1966) Breakdown
4. One of Us Must Know (Sooner or Later) – Take 15 (25th January 1966) Complete
5. I Want You – Take 1 (10th March 1966) Complete
6. I Want You – Take 2 (10th March 1966) Breakdown
7. Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again – Take 13 (17th February 1966) Breakdown
8. Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat – Take 13 (14th February 1966) Complete
9. Just Like a Woman – Take 3 (8th March 1966) Complete
10. Just Like a Woman – Take 16 (8th March 1966) Complete
11. Most Likely You Go Your Way (And I’ll Go Mine) – Take 3 (3/09/1966) Rehearsal
12. Temporary Like Achilles – Take 1 (9th March 1966) Complete
13. Absolutely Sweet Marie – (7th March 1966) Rehearsal
14. Fourth Time Around – Take 5 (14th February 1966) Complete
15. Obviously Five Believers – Take 2 (10th March 1966) Breakdown
16. Sad-Eyed Lady of the Lowlands – Take 3 (16th February 1966) Complete

BONUS OUTTAKES
17. Medicine Sunday – Take 2 (5th October 1965) Incomplete
18. I Wanna Be Your Lover – Take 3 (5th October 1965) Complete
19. Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window? – Take 8 (30th November 1965) Complete
20. She’s Your Lover Now – Take 3 (21st January 1966) Breakdown
21. She’s Your Lover Now – Take 4 (21st January 1966) Incomplete
22. I’ll Keep It with Mine (instrumental) – Take 5 (15th February 1966) Rehearsal