What Was It You Wanted? MoFi Announces Deluxe Vinyl Reissues of Bob Dylan's "Pat Garrett & Billy The Kid," "Oh Mercy," "'Love and Theft'"

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The long-awaited next volumes in Mobile Fidelity's successful series of Bob Dylan albums have been announced: a 2-LP 45rpm edition of Oh Mercy is available now, and a further 2-LP 45rpm configuration of Love and Theft is due later this month. This follows a 33rpm remaster of Pat Garrett and Billy The Kid, already available. (All three titles are also available on hybrid stereo SACDs from MoFi.)

1989's Oh Mercy represented something of a return-to-form for Bob Dylan, who, after a few consecutive uninspiring albums, linked up with producer Daniel Lanois for an album that, as MoFi puts it, "mesmerizes with brilliant songwriting, inspired performances, atmospheric feel, and visionary production." In short, it's the kind of album that can really benefit from the label's widely praised 45rpm remaster treatment. For Oh Mercy, MoFi has utilized their "world-renowned mastering system," though they haven't represented that the original master tape was used for this reissue. Still, MoFi notes that "at 45RPM speed...the music benefits from a spaciousness, tonality, and surrealism no prior edition delivers. The extra groove space, too, seemingly gives each note its own physical dimension...[it] simultaneously immerses and surrounds you. Its clarity, dynamics, and extension also reach new heights throughout."

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Meanwhile, 2001's "Love and Theft" - due August 28 - has been mastered from the original master tapes, pressed on dead-quiet vinyl at RTI, and presented at 45rpm across two LPs. It's limited to only 3,000 copies, all hand-numbered. The remaster "reveals the you-are-there immediacy of Dylan's production and the colorful textures inherent to every passage." The 45rpm presentation "permits the extraction of more information, the songs possess a sense of swing and naturalism so sure-footed that they seem to float, with Dylan and his crack ensemble setting up as a live band taking down the house in a deep-in-the-woods Louisiana shotgun shack. Prized aural traits such as presence, imaging, separation, and soundstaging depth don't come better. This is the very definition of sonic chemistry." If prior albums in the series are anything to go by, this will no doubt be a joy to listen to.

At this time, you can order Oh Mercy and "Love and Theft" from Music Direct. The former is currently unavailable directly from Amazon. It's on back order from Music Direct, but more copies are coming from the manufacturer. You'll find Amazon links for "Love and Theft," arriving August 28, below.

Bob Dylan, "Love and Theft" (Columbia CK 86076, 2001 - reissued Mobile Fidelity, 2020) (Amazon U.S. / Amazon U.K. / Amazon Canada)

Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum
Mississippi
Summer Days
Bye and Bye
Lonesome Day Blues
Floater (Too Much to Ask)
High Water (For Charley Patton)
Moonlight
Honest with Me
Po' Boy
Cry a While
Sugar Baby

Sam Stone

Sam Stone has been obsessed with catalog music ever since his folks gave him a Contours best-of collection for his fourth birthday. He quickly began to learn all he could about rock and roll history and beyond, a passion that continues to this day. Sam followed his love for music to the classroom, earning a B.A. from Towson University in Electronic Media and Film, concentrating on radio and audio production, as well as an M.A. in Audio Arts from Syracuse University. He has put his knowledge and skills to work at prominent reissue labels and is excited to bring his perspectives on catalog music to a broader audience. When he’s not writing for The Second Disc, Sam can be found researching about music, talking about Joni Mitchell’s career, and adding another box set to his Amazon wish list.

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