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Bob Dylan's latest, Together Through Life sucks on CD

75.73.53.172
Posted on November 4, 2009 at 15:46:24
AudioDoctor
Audiophile

Posts: 665
Location: Minnesota
Joined: March 25, 2008
 but on Vinyl is spectacular.

If you have only heard this album digitally, and did not like it, I suggest giving it a listen on vinyl, you may change your mind.

Happiness is a clean record, and warm tubes!
Compression strikes again..., posted on November 6, 2009 at 09:07:27
rebop
Audiophile

Posts: 1869
Joined: January 11, 2003
 The CD is far more dynamically compressed than the LP. I did a needledrop of the LP and compared it to the CD and the difference in dynamic range was huge. So yes, this is a digital recording, but that doesn't mean that the LP won't sound better anyway, the LP and CD were mastered entirely differently, and the LP sounds better. The same was true of Modern Times, possibly to an even greater degree. The CD was dynamically squashed, but the LP--mastered by Greg Calbi, I think--had much better dynamics. There are probably EQ differences that make a difference as well. I found this rather ironic because it was around this time that Dylan was complaining how CDs sounded bad--like white noise--of course they do if you master them like that!

I would not write these albums off because they were recorded digitally. #1 the music is fantastic. #2 the LPs sound much better than the CDs, even though they were recorded digitally with Pro Tools. These aren't my go-to albums to demo stereo equipment, but then neither is Highway 61 Revisited!

RE: Compression strikes again..., posted on November 6, 2009 at 14:23:39
kentaja
Manufacturer

Posts: 3116
Joined: March 26, 2001
 Yes that is the sad irony of it all. Dylan has made many comments as of late on this very subject. And then we find him doing exactly the same thing. Is hyprocrite to strong a word? Or he simple does not care but likes to run his mouth? Perhaps his hearing is shot and he justn't know what good sound is anymore?

Maybe I am being too hard on Bobo(nah!), but there is really no excuse for this. He certainly could do much better. While they are certainly not sonic turkeys, getting close however, they are certainly nothing to get all excited about, sonically speaking.

RE: Compression strikes again..., posted on November 6, 2009 at 14:54:55
AudioDoctor
Audiophile

Posts: 665
Location: Minnesota
Joined: March 25, 2008
 I really think you should at a minimum, listen to the LP... Don't you?

Happiness is a clean record, and warm tubes!
RE: Compression strikes again..., posted on November 6, 2009 at 17:04:16
blake
 Not to belabor the point, but I have listened to both the CD and the LP (of Together Through Life).

It is a decent enough sounding digital recording (on either medium-CD or LP). I think that what some of the other posters (including myself) have been suggesting is that if Bob and the musicians went into the studio and recorded live to 2 track analog tape that this record could have sounded phenomenal, instead of just decent by today's crapped out standards.

Now that would require no editing, processing, etc. and there would be the odd mistake that might make it into the final product. But the music is, by its very nature, conducive to mistakes (hell there are a few even in the digitized product that Bob obviously didn't have a problem with!) and the final product could have been so much more.

Frankly, I don't think that Bob would have a problem with that if, in fact, he knew it could be done. To give him the benefit of the doubt, I'm not so sure he does know that it can be done, and it is probably not as easy to do as some might suggest. He'd have to go out of his way to do it, as opposed to recording in what are the conventional standards of the day.

Frankly, if you look at what he does, his focus is on performing, and as much as I'd like some great recordings of recent Dylan, I'm happy that he is still making the rounds live at affordable prices.

RE: Bob Dylan's latest, Together Through Life sucks on CD, posted on November 4, 2009 at 20:40:31
Lethegoodtimesroll
Audiophile

Posts: 93
Location: Denver
Joined: August 13, 2004
 A buddy, visiting from good ole Woodstock, was simply transfixed on the first side of the LP (first disc). He is one that dismisses anything I play for him.

I will remember this moment, due to this post.

Thanks
C Evans

RE: Bob Dylan's latest, Together Through Life sucks on CD, posted on November 4, 2009 at 16:01:45
kentaja
Manufacturer

Posts: 3116
Joined: March 26, 2001
 That may be true with this release, but all of Dylan's efforts lately are pretty bad sounding be it CD or vinyl. Well perhaps not bad, but certainly nothing that great. Sonics at best are a C.

Huge Dylan fan here, and I believe he has commented about the poor sound quality in the recording industry in the past few years. A good lesson that one should practice what they preach.

Sad really. I find his musical output has been great in the last decade. Just wish the sonics were as good as the music.
RE: "I believe he has commented about the poor sound quality in the recording industry in the past few years", posted on November 5, 2009 at 05:15:21
1973shovel
Audiophile

Posts: 2364
Location: Greenville SC
Joined: February 25, 2007
Contributor
  Since: June 17, 2009
 If that's true, then why the hell doesn't he do something about it? He's freakin' Bob Dylan, for God's sake!

It's not like he's some nobody. He can walk into any recording studio and specify what he wants and how he wants it done. Analog recording, tube equipment, these microphones, that wire, engineered by this guy, produced by that guy etc. Why would he have to settle for poor sound and then bitch about it?

I'm just askin'.

RE: "I believe he has commented about the poor sound quality in the recording industry in the past few years", posted on November 5, 2009 at 07:28:42
AudioDoctor
Audiophile

Posts: 665
Location: Minnesota
Joined: March 25, 2008
 That's a very good question.

Happiness is a clean record, and warm tubes!
RE: "I believe he has commented about the poor sound quality in the recording industry in the past few years", posted on November 5, 2009 at 06:54:34
kentaja
Manufacturer

Posts: 3116
Joined: March 26, 2001
 Good question. Would love to ask Dylan why he does not do this? He certainly could.

So it appears that Dylan can talk-the-talk, but he does not care to walk-the-talk.

Dylan has always been a contradiction. His rhetoric on the recording industry and the poor sound quality is just another one of his contradictions I suppose.

Oh well. The music is still wonderful and I guess we just have to accept the less than stellar sound quality. While I have not heard the latest album, I would be shocked if the sound quality is anything better than average. No one is going to convince me that the sound quality on any Dylan effort in the last decade is great. It ain't be it CD or vinyl.

RE: Bob Dylan's latest, Together Through Life sucks on CD, posted on November 4, 2009 at 17:24:46
AudioDoctor
Audiophile

Posts: 665
Location: Minnesota
Joined: March 25, 2008
 In my opinion, and mine only, the CD is damn near unlistenable where the vinyl is much more involving and pleasant to listen to.

Happiness is a clean record, and warm tubes!
RE: Bob Dylan's latest, Together Through Life sucks on CD, posted on November 4, 2009 at 18:55:29
kentaja
Manufacturer

Posts: 3116
Joined: March 26, 2001
 No argument here. I have not listened to the latest album either on CD or vinyl. I just wanted to point out that one will not get great sonics with anything from Dylan in the last decade be it CD or vinyl. A real shame IMO.

Respectfully disagree on quality...., posted on November 5, 2009 at 10:20:41
cactuscowboy@bresnan.net
Audiophile

Posts: 2879
Location: Powell, Wyoming
Joined: July 23, 2007
 kentaja wrote:

"No argument here. I have not listened to the latest album either on CD or vinyl. I just wanted to point out that one will not get great sonics with anything from Dylan in the last decade be it CD or vinyl. A real shame IMO."

My three most recent Bob Dylan vinyl acquisitions are:

Modern Times
Tell Tale Signs (4x LP "bootleg" box set)
Together Through Life

I just listened again to Tell Tale Signs and Together Through Life. From my perspective and in my opinion (as a collector for 40+ years with over 20,000 records in my collection) these records do indeed have "great sonics." They are well recorded, very clean sounding, full of detail, and are pressed on thick, heavy vinyl with below average surface noise.

Now I suppose if a fellow were comparing these Dylan records to a small collection of a few hundred "audiophile" LPs, they might not rank in the upper echelon, but let's keep things in perspective. They are, by any reasonable standard, excellent records.

RE: Respectfully disagree on quality...., posted on November 5, 2009 at 12:16:16
kentaja
Manufacturer

Posts: 3116
Joined: March 26, 2001
 We will have to just disagree on this point. Of the list I only have 'Modern Times' on vinyl. I too have been collecting vinyl for about 40 years but only have 5,000 in the collection.

'Modern Times' is compressed, flat as a pancake and really lacking in resolution. Sounds more like a low-rez download. Does it sound awful? No. But it is far from a great sounding record. I could name dozens if not hundreds of pop/rock recordings that simple blow this title away sonically. Musically it is top notch, like most of Dylans recent output. Yes the vinyl is thick, little surface noise, etc., but the recording itself is average at best. I would never drag out any of this Dylan stuff to show folks what great hi-fi is about, at least sonically. Now musically? You bet. Dylan is incredible.

In the last few weeks I have picked up Spencer Day 'Vagabond', John Mayer 'Where The Light Is', John Mayer 'Continuum', Keith Urban 'Golden Road' and Jackie Ryan 'Doozy' all on CD. While the sonics vary on these discs, every one of them simple blow away Dylan at least sonically. I could waste a great deal of bandwidth with more examples and I haven't even listed the recent vinyl acquisitions.

Actually I was listening to 'Love & Theft' this morning, on CD no less. Much better sonically versus 'Modern Times', but still no great shakes.

I have no issue with one enjoying the music of a given artist, especially someone like Dylan. And perhaps his music transcends the sonic issues of his work. But great sounding they are not. Average at best.

My observations are not an attack on the musical merits of Dylan for he is a genuis and in many ways is only getting better with age. My observations are an attack on the sonics. It is a shame that the sonics of his work do not match the greatness of the music. Given this I must point out the contradiction of the two and the contradiction of his own statements regarding this subject.

Agreed..., posted on November 5, 2009 at 19:12:51
blake
Audiophile

Posts: 363
Joined: May 25, 2000
 I think Modern Times actually sounds a bit better than Together Through Life on vinyl. Both are basically pretty "flat" as you say.

I do not have Love and Theft on vinyl (only on CD) but interestingly, that record was supposedly recorded originally in analog.

I don't have Time Out of Mind on vinyl either, but on CD, although I like some of the performances, it is one horrible sounding recording, significantly worse than both Modern Times and Together Through Life IMO.

A fine example of how truly crappy digital recording and heavy handed production can be.

RE: Bob Dylan's latest, Together Through Life sucks on CD, posted on November 4, 2009 at 16:00:34
blake
 I find myself listening more and enjoying this more on CD in the car than I do on vinyl in the house. Perhaps the low-fi environment of the car is just more suitable to the recording for me.

It's a digital recording that's spent a lot of time on the hard drive and being run through pro tools. I don't find it to be spectacular on vinyl at all. Maybe it sounds better than the CD but it's certainly not a great recording on vinyl.

I have third row centre seats for Bob's show on Saturday night. Now that should be spectacular!

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