| Review by vonwegen February 28, 2004 (3 of 3 found this review helpful)
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I'm rather shocked this hasn't been reviewed sooner--it's definately an essential SACD surround release, not the least because it has always been a great album of Dylan at his 1960s peak.
In most cases, the surround speakers are used for room ambience, with Rainy Day Women 12 & 35 being an obvious exception--it literally sounds like you're in the middle of a drunken Salvation Army march rolling down the French Quarter of New Orleans. The MC mix is the best of the three available (if you include the RB CD layer). It _is_ a vintage 4-track recording, so do not expect miracles, but the vox and instruments are intelligently placed in the front, and center speakers--mostly, Dylan's voice is hovering above the listener, while his guitar is in the center.
Previous CD mixes of this classic were shrill & lacked bass. This SACD corrects all that, and you get to hear all sorts of details (inclusive screw-ups) that the older mixes obscured. Great stuff & worth buying again, even if you owned the previous stereo-only SACD version, like I did.
And if you don't like harmonica, you shouldn't be listening to Dylan in the first place, period.
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| Review by eesau October 18, 2004 (1 of 5 found this review helpful)
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Performance:  Sonics:  |
| This is maybe my favourite Dylan record. The music is superb. The sound is no high fidelity at all. Multi-channel sounds somewhat better, though. But I don't see any reason to re-release Dylan's records in SACD. There is no sonic improvement compared to the earlier CD's at all.
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| Review by Doctor_Rock December 19, 2004 (6 of 8 found this review helpful)
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Performance: Sonics:  |
The SACD release of this album finally restores what's been missing from the the original CD release. When Sony first released "Blonde on Blonde" on compact disc, the overall sound was bright and lively but it was not faithful to the original LP. The organ is completely missing from "Sad Eyed Lady of the Lowlands". Other tracks suffer from missing or de-emphasised intruments as well.
Sony released a "gold" disc CD later which did wonders for resolving these issues, but this disc was hard to find and expensive too much of an investment for many collectors.
Both the stereo and the SACD stereo layers sound very good. The stereo version is equal to the gold disc but might sound livelier since it plays at a louder volume level. Adjust the volume and compare, both recordings sound great.
The SACD stereo layer brings new joys to the listener. The overall effect is incredibly life. Pay attention especially to the acoustic guitars and harmonica.
All that has been missing from the original LP is restored. The enhancements are transparent and do not distract from the album's original sound. It's a joy to listen to my favorite Dylan album reproduced so nicely.
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| Review by FivePointOne May 17, 2005 (4 of 4 found this review helpful)
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| An upgrade over the previous SACD single-disc version, this boasts sound that is much more lush, and a softening of the harmonica solos which were too harsh on the earlier version. Great album. Very good sound.
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| Review by StyleAndEntertainmen May 22, 2005 (2 of 14 found this review helpful)
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Let me preface this review by saying I am not a Dylan fan. This is my first (and last) Dylan album. I bought it because A) I should give him a fair shake and B) it was rereleased on SACD. The bottom line is neither the music or the sonics are good enough to encourage me to play the CD for a second time. If you love Dylan then you already have this album. If you are looking for a great sounding SACD, this is not it... it's not bad, but it's not exceptional in any way either. Given the above I cannot recommend this album. Apologies to all you Dylan heads out there.
StyleAndEntertainment
PS The harmonica - somebody please, please stop the harmonica!
PSS What the heck did he just say?
PSSS If you like the harmonica, you might also like Weird Al Yankovic as he plays a mean accordian and has sold many plantium albums. Seriously, would I compare Weird Al to Dylan? Yes, I would. And since you asked, I'd give the nod to Al 'cause at least I can understand his lyrics and they make me smile :)
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