''The Original Mono Recordings'' is a

box set A box set or (its original name) boxed set is a set of items (for example, a compilation of books, musical recordings, films or television programs) traditionally packaged in a box and offered for sale as a single unit. Music Artists and bands ...

compilation album A compilation album comprises tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one or several performers. If by one artist, then generally the tracks were not originally intended for rel ...

of recordings by

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

, released in October 2010 on

Legacy Recordings Legacy Recordings is an American record label that is a division of Sony Music. Formed in 1990 after Sony's acquisition of CBS Records, Legacy originally handled the archives of Sony Music-owned labels Columbia Records and Epic Records. In 2 ...

, catalogue 88697761042. It consists of Dylan's first eight studio albums in

mono Mono may refer to: Common meanings * Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease" * Monaural, monophonic sound reproduction, often shortened to mono * Mono-, a numerical prefix representing anything single Music Performers * Mono (Japanes ...

on nine

compact discs The compact disc (CD) is a digital optical disc data storage format that was co-developed by Philips and Sony to store and play digital audio recordings. In August 1982, the first compact disc was manufactured. It was then released in October ...

, the album ''

Blonde on Blonde ''Blonde on Blonde'' is the seventh studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released as a double album on June 20, 1966, by Columbia Records. Recording sessions began in New York in October 1965 with numerous backing musicians, ...

'' being issued on two discs in its original vinyl format. It does not include the

singles collection A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

'' Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits'' released during the same time span. The set includes a 56-page booklet with photographs, discographical information, and an essay by

Greil Marcus Greil Marcus (born June 19, 1945) is an American author, music journalist and cultural critic. He is notable for producing scholarly and literary essays that place rock music in a broader framework of culture and politics. Biography Marcus wa ...

. It peaked at on the ''Billboard'' 200.

Content

Mono was the playback medium for most

record players A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

car radios Vehicle audio is equipment installed in a car or other vehicle to provide in-car entertainment and information for the vehicle occupants. Until the 1950s it consisted of a simple AM radio. Additions since then have included FM radio (1952), 8-t ...

, and

transistor radios A transistor radio is a small portable radio receiver that uses transistor-based circuitry. Following the invention of the transistor in 1947—which revolutionized the field of consumer electronics by introducing small but powerful, convenient ...

during the 1960s.

Stereo Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...

playback systems had been available since the late 1950s, but the equipment and the albums mixed to play on them were expensive, and the music industry continued to manufacture mono albums and singles through the decade. Monophonic as a format would not be discontinued in both the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

and the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

until approximately 1969. As stated in the liner notes by Marcus, Moreover, the mixing of the album in mono was the chief priority of Dylan and his producers. Stereo was almost an afterthought. Producer Steve Berkowitz, who supervised the reissue of ''The Original Mono Recordings'' was told by

Bob Johnston Donald William 'Bob' Johnston (May 14, 1932 – August 14, 2015) was an American record producer, best known for his work with Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Leonard Cohen, and Simon & Garfunkel. Early days Johnston was born into a professional mus ...

about the mixing of ''Blonde on Blonde'': "We mixed that mono probably for three or four days, then I said, 'Oh shit, man, we gotta do stereo.' So me and a coupla guys put our hands on the board, we mixed that son of a bitch in about four hours!... So my point is, it took a long time to do the mono, and then it was, 'Oh, yeah, we gotta do stereo'." A similar box set compiling LP mono records by

The Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

had been released in 2009 to respectable sales results, awarded a

platinum record Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

by the

RIAA The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/ ...

. This may have been impetus for

Sony , commonly stylized as SONY, is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Minato, Tokyo, Japan. As a major technology company, it operates as one of the world's largest manufacturers of consumer and professional ...

to issue this set. Bob Dylan Remastered , Bob Dylan ISIS Magazine. (n.d.). Retrieved March 3, 2021, from https://www.bobdylanisis.com/bob-dylan-remastered/ Most of the albums were mastered from the original, first-generation master tapes. Only two albums were not: '' The Times They Are A-Changin''' and ''

Highway 61 Revisited ''Highway 61 Revisited'' is the sixth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on August 30, 1965, by Columbia Records. Having until then recorded mostly acoustic music, Dylan used rock musicians as his backing band on eve ...

''. The original master tape for the former could not be found so a new master was mixed from the original three-track tape, using the original vinyl pressing as a guide. ''

'' was mastered from a second-generation overseas copy of the mono mix.Bob Dylan – The Original Mono Recordings by Roger Ford
The genuine mono mix for ''

John Wesley Harding ''John Wesley Harding'' is the eighth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on December 27, 1967, by Columbia Records. Produced by Bob Johnston, the album marked Dylan's return to semi-acoustic instrumentation and fol ...

'' was presumably released only in the U.S., whereas the original mono LP issued in the UK was apparently a fold-down of the stereo master. For ''The Original Mono Recordings'' box set, the producers used the genuine mono mix issued in the U.S. Initial purchase of the box allowed for free download of the non-album single " Positively Fourth Street" in mono, as well as the entire set in

MP3 MP3 (formally MPEG-1 Audio Layer III or MPEG-2 Audio Layer III) is a coding format for digital audio developed largely by the Fraunhofer Society in Germany, with support from other digital scientists in the United States and elsewhere. Origin ...

. "Positively Fourth Street" was also included on the simultaneously released single-disc collection, ''The Best of the Original Mono Recordings.'' The original recordings were produced by John Hammond, Tom Wilson, and

Album listing

;''

'' (originally released March 19, 1962) ;''

The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan ''The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' is the second studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan, released on May 27, 1963 by Columbia Records. Whereas his self-titled debut album ''Bob Dylan'' had contained only two original songs, this album ...

'' (originally released May 27, 1963) All songs written by Bob Dylan, except where noted: ;'' The Times They Are a-Changin''' (originally released January 13, 1964) All songs written by Bob Dylan. ;''

Another Side of Bob Dylan ''Another Side of Bob Dylan'' is the fourth studio album by American singer and songwriter Bob Dylan, released on August 8, 1964, by Columbia Records. The album deviates from the more socially conscious style which Dylan had developed with his pr ...

'' (originally released August 8, 1964) All songs written by

. ;''

Bringing It All Back Home ''Bringing It All Back Home'' (known as ''Subterranean Homesick Blues'' in some European countries; sometimes also spelled ''Bringin' It All Back Home'') is the fifth studio album by American singer-songwriter Bob Dylan. It was released in Apri ...

'' (originally released March 22, 1965) ;''

'' (originally released August 30, 1965) ;''

'' (originally released May 16, 1966) All songs written by Bob Dylan. ;''

'' (originally released December 27, 1967) All songs written by

Collective personnel

–

vocals Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or withou ...

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

harmonica The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica in ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Mu ...

police car A police car (also called a police cruiser, police interceptor, patrol car, area car, cop car, prowl car, squad car, radio car, or radio motor patrol) is a ground vehicle used by police and law enforcement for transportation during patrols a ...

;Additional musicians * Bill Aikins – keyboards (''Blonde on Blonde'') * George Barnes –

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

(''The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'') * Mike Bloomfield – guitar (''Highway 61 Revisited'') *John Boone – bass guitar (''Bringing It All Back Home'') * Harvey Brooks – bass guitar (''Highway 61 Revisited'') * Wayne Butler –

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

(''Blonde on Blonde'') *

Kenneth A. Buttrey Aaron Kenneth Buttrey (April 1, 1945 – September 12, 2004) was an American drummer and arranger. According to CMT, he was "one of the most influential session musicians in Nashville history". Buttrey was born in Nashville, Tennessee, became a ...

–

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...

(''Blonde on Blonde'' and ''John Wesley Harding'') *Howard Collins – guitar (''The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'') *

Rick Danko Richard Clare Danko (December 29, 1943 – December 10, 1999) was a Canadian musician, bassist, songwriter, and singer, best known as a founding member of the Band, for which he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994. During ...

or Bill Lee – bass guitar (''Blonde on Blonde'' New York sessions) * Pete Drake –

pedal steel guitar The pedal steel guitar is a console-type of steel guitar with pedals and knee levers that change the pitch of certain strings to enable playing more varied and complex music than any previous steel guitar design. Like all steel guitars, it can ...

(''John Wesley Harding'') *

Leonard Gaskin Leonard Gaskin (August 25, 1920 – January 24, 2009) was an American jazz bassist born in New York City. Gaskin played on the early bebop scene at Minton's and Monroe's in New York in the early 1940s. In 1944 he took over Oscar Pettifo ...

– bass guitar (''The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'') *Al Gorgoni – guitar (''Bringing It All Back Home'') *

Bobby Gregg Robert J. Gregg (born Robert Grego; April 30, 1936 – May 3, 2014) was an American musician who performed as a drummer and record producer. As a drum soloist and band leader he recorded one album and several singles, including one Top 40 singl ...

– drums (''Bringing It All Back Home'', ''Highway 61 Revisited'', and ''Blonde on Blonde'' New York sessions) * Paul Griffin – piano, keyboards (''Bringing It All Back Home'');

organ Organ may refer to: Biology * Organ (biology), a part of an organism Musical instruments * Organ (music), a family of keyboard musical instruments characterized by sustained tone ** Electronic organ, an electronic keyboard instrument ** Hammond ...

, piano (''Highway 61 Revisited''); piano (''Blonde on Blonde'' New York sessions) * John P. Hammond – guitar (''Bringing It All Back Home'') *

Jerry Kennedy Jerry Glenn Kennedy (born 10 August 1940)Cusic, Don. (1998) "Jerry Kennedy". In ''The Encyclopedia of Country Music''. Paul Kingsbury, ed. New York: Oxford University Press. pp. 277–278. is an American record producer, songwriter and guitar pla ...

– guitar (''Blonde on Blonde'') *

Al Kooper Al Kooper (born Alan Peter Kuperschmidt; February 5, 1944) is a retired American songwriter, record producer and musician, known for organizing Blood, Sweat & Tears, although he did not stay with the group long enough to share its popularity. ...

– organ, piano (

Hohner Hohner Musikinstrumente GmbH & Co. KG is a German manufacturer of musical instruments, founded in 1857 by Matthias Hohner (1833–1902). The roots of the Hohner firm are in Trossingen, Baden-Württemberg. Since its foundation, and though known ...

pianet) (''Highway 61 Revisited'');

, guitar (''Blonde on Blonde'') *

Bruce Langhorne Bruce Langhorne (May 11, 1938 – April 14, 2017) was an American folk musician. He was active in the Greenwich Village folk scene in the 1960s, primarily as a session guitarist for folk albums and performances. Biography Early life Langhor ...

– guitar (''The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'' and ''Bringing It All Back Home'') *

Sam Lay Samuel Julian Lay (March 20, 1935January 29, 2022) was an American drummer and vocalist who performed from the late 1950s as a blues and R&B musician alongside Little Walter, Howlin' Wolf, Paul Butterfield, and many others. He was inducted into ...

– drums (''Highway 61 Revisited'') * Bill Lee – bass guitar (''Bringing It All Back Home'') *

Herb Lovelle Herbie Lovelle (1 June 1924 - April 8, 2009) was an American drummer, who played jazz, R&B, rock, and folk. He was also a studio musician and an actor. Lovelle's uncle was the drummer Arthur Herbert. Lovelle began his career with the trumpeter ...

– drums (''The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'') *Joseph Macho Jr. – bass guitar (''Bringing It All Back Home'') *

Charlie McCoy Charles Ray McCoy (born March 28, 1941) is a Grammy-winning American session musician, harmonica player, and multi-instrumentalist. In 2009, he was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame. Based in Nashville, McCoy's playing is heard on r ...

– guitar (''Highway 61 Revisited''); bass guitar, guitar, harmonica,

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

(''Blonde on Blonde''); bass guitar (''John Wesley Harding'') *

Wayne Moss Wayne Moss (born February 9, 1938 in Charleston, West Virginia, United States) is an American guitar player, bassist, record producer and songwriter best known for his session work in Nashville. Moss was one of the founders of Area Code 615 and Bar ...

– guitar, vocals (''Blonde on Blonde'') *Frank Owens – piano (''Bringing It All Back Home'' and ''Highway 61 Revisited'') * Gene Ramey –

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

(''The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'') * Kenny Rankin – guitar (''Bringing It All Back Home'') *

Hargus "Pig" Robbins Hargus Melvin Robbins (January 18, 1938 – January 30, 2022), known by his nickname "Pig," was an American session keyboard player. Having played on records for many artists, including John Stewart, Dolly Parton, Connie Smith, Patti Page, Lor ...

– piano, keyboards (''Blonde on Blonde'') *

Robbie Robertson Jaime Royal "Robbie" Robertson, OC (born July 5, 1943), is a Canadian musician. He is best known for his work as lead guitarist and songwriter for the Band, and for his career as a solo recording artist. With the deaths of Richard Manuel i ...

– guitar, vocals (''Blonde on Blonde'') *

Russ Savakus Russell Savakus (May 13, 1925 – June 26, 1984) was an American session bass player (both electric and stand-up), violinist and singer. Savakus recorded with numerous artists in and around the 1960s folk and folk-rock movement in New York. Earl ...

– bass guitar (''Highway 61 Revisited'') * John B. Sebastian – bass guitar (''Bringing It All Back Home'') *Henry Strzelecki – bass guitar (''Blonde on Blonde'') *

Joe South Joe South (born Joseph Alfred Souter; February 28, 1940 – September 5, 2012) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer. Best known for his songwriting, South won the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 1970 for " Ga ...

– bass guitar, guitar (''Blonde on Blonde'') *

Dick Wellstood Richard MacQueen Wellstood (November 25, 1927 – July 24, 1987) was an American jazz pianist. Career He was born in Greenwich, Connecticut, United States. Wellstood's mother was a graduate of the Juilliard School who played church organ. Wellst ...

– piano (''The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'') ;Technical personnel *John Berg – cover photo (''John Wesley Harding'') *Charlie Bragg –

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

(''John Wesley Harding'') * John H. Hammond –

production Production may refer to: Economics and business * Production (economics) * Production, the act of manufacturing goods * Production, in the outline of industrial organization, the act of making products (goods and services) * Production as a stati ...

(''Bob Dylan'', ''The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'') *

Nat Hentoff Nathan Irving Hentoff (June 10, 1925 – January 7, 2017) was an American historian, novelist, jazz and country music critic, and syndicated columnist for United Media. Hentoff was a columnist for ''The Village Voice'' from 1958 to 2009. Fo ...

–

liner notes Liner notes (also sleeve notes or album notes) are the writings found on the sleeves of LP record albums and in booklets that come inserted into the compact disc jewel case or the equivalent packaging for cassettes. Origin Liner notes are des ...

(''The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'') *

Don Hunstein Donald Robert Hunstein (November 19, 1928 – March 18, 2017) was an American photographer. Life He studied at Washington University in St. Louis, graduating in 1950. Later he served in the United States Air Force in England. He returned to t ...

– album cover photographer (''The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'') *

–

(''Highway 61 Revisited'', ''Blonde on Blonde'', ''John Wesley Harding'') *Daniel Kramer – photography (''Bringing It All Back Home'' and ''Highway 61 Revisited'') * Jerry Schatzberg – cover photographer (''Blonde on Blonde'') * Tom Wilson –

(''The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan'', ''The Times They Are a-Changin, ''Another Side of Bob Dylan'', ''Bringing It All Back Home'', and "Like a Rolling Stone" on ''Highway 61 Revisited'')

Chart positions

References

External links

Dylan's site on the albums
{{DEFAULTSORT:Original Mono Recordings, The 2010 compilation albums Albums produced by Bob Johnston Albums produced by John Hammond (producer) Albums produced by Tom Wilson (record producer) Bob Dylan compilation albums Columbia Records compilation albums Legacy Recordings compilation albums