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MUSIC<br />
MUSIC<br />
AUDIOPHILE<br />
Pressings<br />
By Jeff Dorgay<br />
Bob Dylan<br />
Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits<br />
Mobile Fidelity, 180g 45RPM 2LP set<br />
FBob Dylan<br />
or some, Bob Dylan is<br />
a polarizing artist, with<br />
many listeners unable<br />
to look past his nasal<br />
voice to uncover <strong>the</strong><br />
genius within, while<br />
for o<strong>the</strong>rs, he can be<br />
an acquired taste. Because of his<br />
diverse catalog that includes dozens<br />
upon dozens of albums, debates<br />
still surround which Dylan album<br />
represents <strong>the</strong> best introduction to<br />
his prodigious (and divisive work).<br />
Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits was<br />
released as Dylan’s ninth album in<br />
1967 and ultimately achieved fivetimes<br />
platinum status. For my money,<br />
<strong>the</strong>re’s no better primer to this<br />
legend’s music.<br />
©Photo by Jerry Schatzberg<br />
Featuring tracks like “I Want<br />
You,” “Blowin’ in <strong>the</strong> Wind,” “Like<br />
a Rolling Stone,” and seven o<strong>the</strong>rs,<br />
<strong>the</strong> compilation primarily<br />
consists of album cuts ra<strong>the</strong>r<br />
than single versions originally<br />
released on 7-inch 45RPM records.<br />
Split up into two albums<br />
cut at 45RPM, Mobile Fidelity’s<br />
analog reissue is spectacular.<br />
Blowing <strong>the</strong> dust off an original<br />
Columbia pressing reveals a high<br />
degree of compression, with<br />
tipped high frequencies and diminished<br />
bass—no doubt to play<br />
better on <strong>the</strong> radio and record<br />
players of <strong>the</strong> day.<br />
Merely sampling “Like a<br />
Rolling Stone” will convince<br />
<strong>the</strong> analog aficionado and<br />
newcomer how much care has<br />
gone into this version. Whereas<br />
<strong>the</strong> recent Steve Hoffman<br />
remaster is warm, rolled-off,<br />
and distant, <strong>the</strong> MoFi edition<br />
brilliantly captures <strong>the</strong> delicacy<br />
of Dylan’s instrumental work and<br />
overall depth of <strong>the</strong> recording.<br />
The extra body present through<br />
<strong>the</strong> midrange gives Dylan’s<br />
voice a fullness that previous<br />
fans might not know if <strong>the</strong>y’ve<br />
only experienced <strong>the</strong> original<br />
Columbia LP and CDs. The<br />
perfectly silent surfaces on<br />
all four sides of this pressing<br />
astonish. It’s honestly hard to<br />
believe <strong>the</strong>se recordings were<br />
made in <strong>the</strong> mid-60s.<br />
Whe<strong>the</strong>r you are a completist<br />
collector, newly exposed to<br />
Dylan, or merely need a desertplate<br />
worth of this icon, MoFi’s<br />
pressing of Bob Dylan’s Greatest<br />
Hits should be in your collection.<br />
120 TONE AUDIO NO.75<br />
November 2015 121
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