Customer Reviews

John Wesley Harding (Hybr)

5 star:		(9)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(5)

 

 

Maybe I've got a tin ear. Or maybe I've got low end equipment. Or maybe I just don't know my posterior from a hole in the ground. But this new remaster sounds fine to me.

I had no idea there were so many people who were unhappy with the sound, but after reading all the negative reviews I thought, maybe I wasn't paying attention. So I listened to both the CD layer and the SACD layer. Loud.

It sounds great! The bass is rich and fat, the harmonica crisp and brilliant. I've been listening to this album for 37 years; to be fair, this recording has some odd characteristics to the sound (particularly the drums). This new remaster certainly doesn't sound worse than the vinyl, and while it may not provide the blow-your-socks off sonic experience of the Highway 61 remaster, I can't detect any problems. Both layers are an improvement over the original CD release.

If you're a true audiophile, maybe it would be a good idea to find a store where you can listen to the disc before buying it. If you own the original CD, there's no urgent need to rush out and buy the hybrid. But if for some reason you find yourself without a copy of one of the great masterpieces of popular music, this edition should do nicely.

This is my favorite Bob Dylan album, and I admit that I may be a bit more sensitive to the mix than some, but my my my - this remix is just awful. It's not 'just' a bad mix - it is so unbalanced that it nearly borders on unprofessional.

For example, "John Wesley Harding," the song, is totally overpowered by the bass and drums. The acoustic guitar is mixed way too low and nearly disappears completely at times, especially during the harmonica solo. And on the LP and first edition CD, the drums on "All Along the Watchtower" really crack, but in the remix, they are mixed far too low and sound like cardboard. If the whole remix was too bass-heavy, or too drum-light, you could figure they had some particular issue in the studio. But the bad mix is not just inconsistent with the original LP, it's inconsistent with ITSELF! It just doesn't make any sense.

As if that wasn't enough, the sound is very peaky and sometimes even distorted. It's as if they tried to preserve the levels of the original mix without compensating for the increased fidelity of the format and without sending it through the same limiters that they used first time around. It sounds like they processed the mix through a very 'digital' sounding reverb. And some of the bass distortion may be on the master tape, it's true, but when you pump up it up in the mix, and then give it a nice crisp remastering - you gotta shake your head and wonder.

There are usually only three instruments playing at a time (acoustic guitar, bass, drums, plus the occasional piano and steel guitar) with vocals and harmonica. How hard is it to properly mix three instruments together? Seriously, did anyone at Columbia listen to this remix before they released it? This CD doesn't sound balanced in the car, on the boom box, on a Bose WaveRadio or on my home system.

I also have the new Hybrid SACDs of 'Freewheelin' (which has fewer instruments to mix) and 'Blonde on Blonde' (which has many more instruments to mix) and I think they sound fantastic. What happened here?

The best thing I can say about the sound is that the mastering of this tragic mix is nicely crisp, with good sonic definition and separation. This "John Wesley Harding" is listenable if you don't pay close attention to the sound, but then so was the original CD version. And isn't 'paying attention to the sound' what a fancy reissue is all about? Nice packaging, though. Five stars for the music, one for the mix.

I won't bother reviewing the album -- it is amazing. Instead the remaster is worth talking about. It's true -- it is not as good sounding as some others, such as Blonde or Bringing It All Back Home. Sometimes instruments aren't high up enough or are too high. Harmonica does sound shrill at times -- but we also must remember that his harp playing on this record is VERY high. He doesn't play shrill, but sometimes, especially if its a bit too high in the mix like this is, it will sound shrill at times. It's not horrendous, it just comes with the territory when you have an instrument playing notes this high.

In summary, this is still a good buy. We must remember that the people who have the STRONGEST opinions against this album are more likely to pen a review than those who are on the fence about it. That's why these reviews may not be a fair representation of everyone's opinions. Still very enjoyable, I say go for it.

This is unquestionably one of Dylan's best albums, the last one before people started realizing in the 60s that yes, he was a fallible human being just like the rest of us. Groundbreaking, timely, humble, etc. etc.

The problem with the reissue is not so much the poor mix. The reissue is faithful to the original mix, which was perverse on one specific point to begin with, most likely at the behest of Mr. Zimmerman, or Mr. Johnston, or both. Bass and drums? A bit low, but acceptable. Vocals? Solidly centered. Stereo separation? Not generally obtrusive. Harmonica? Mixed forward to the point of a piercing klaxon, practically eliminating the possibility of enjoying what is a sublime masterpiece owing to the cringe factor in anticipating another interruption from the proverbial mouth harp of doom. Why, gentlemen, why?

The real problem was that no one at Sony realized that they had a perfect opportunity to correct this situation. A new mix, with drums and bass increased and harmonica generously decreased would have turned the album into what it should be, a thoroughly enjoyable listening experience. Considering their excellent work on various other reissue projects, such as the Byrds' reissues, the notable Armstrong Complete Hot Fives and Sevens box, and the beautiful Lady Day box, it's a shame that they didn't ask the right questions on this particular Dylan reissue.

So Sony, please don't blow it on Springsteen, Sly and the Family Stone, and the other remastering projects you may have in the pipeline. You're hardly a poor company, you have resources to spare, although your executives may not know this (they're all MBAs which means they don't know anything about anything except for how to invent and apply business models - why do you think they never do anything without checking with 100 consultants first?) remember that running a business really does involve more than just checking the bottom line every twenty seconds. Columbia Records has quite a legacy, as you well know from the name of your reissue division; please also remember that a certain responsibility accompanies that legacy, and that in the future, no one will judge you on how much money you made this quarter.

Whoof! I have to agree with the other reviewers on this one. The sound "upgrade", if it can be called that, is a major disappointment. In the first week of the new Dylan remasters' release, I went out and bought four of my favorite albums for replacement, including this one, "John Wesley Harding". Compared to the others, the sound on this one is really poor. I get practically nothing from my surround sound speakers; it's almost monaural. Instruments rise up in the mix and then drop down again, with no consistency, from song to song and even within songs. Bob's harmonica, which is on many, many of the songs is way up in the mix, sounding piercing and shrill (and I don't mean his playing). Was there a problem with the original master? There just does not seem to be the clarity and fullness of sound on this remaster as there is on the others I've listened to, particularly "Bringing It All Back Home" and "Blood on the Tracks". I understand that, in order to make the release deadline for these Dylan remasters, Sony hired a variety of producers and engineers, assigning them in teams to different albums. I believe that that has led to some inconsistencies in the remixing, but what went wrong on "John Wesley Harding"? Folks, save your money if you haven't bought this one. Maybe Sony will note these responses and "re-upgrade" this album.

'John Wesley Harding' must have been a shock to those who were getting used to hearing the 'Rainy Day Women #12 & 35', 'Like A Rolling Stone' and 'Subterranean Homesick Blues'-era Bob Dylan. After a life-threatening accident following the release of 'Blonde On Blonde', Bob Dylan went back to the basics with a simple, folk masterpiece. Despite its sparse instrumentation and its flagrant avoidance of the esoterica of a lot of his earlier lyrics, this is one of Bob Dylan's most intriguing works. Lyrically, the album is very much fables and country ballads, just as clever and as well-written as say 'Visions Of Johanna' or 'Mr. Tambourine Man'. 'John Wesley Harding', as a work of art, stands toe-to-toe with just about any of Bob Dylan's peak 1960s work. This is simple guitar, bass, and drums (sometimes replacing the guitar with a piano), with harmonica, nothing fancy-schmancy. 'All Along The Watchtower' is probably the most famous recording on this album, but 'The Ballad Of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest' is some of Dylan's best pure storytelling, and 'Down Along The Cove' functions very well as the album's most rockish, upbeat tune.

This was the fourth of the Dylan re-issues I've bought and have grown a huge liking to this side of Bob Dylan. I gave the release five stars because this is a work of integrity, though this re-issue definitely does not deserve five stars. The sound is listenable, and far from being too awful, but after listening to the superb remastering on 'Highway 61 Revisited', I know Sony could have done a much better job with this. Basically everything other reviews have said is right, though maybe a bit too harsh and picky. The guitar is tragically buried much, much too low in the mix, and his harmonica is up much, much too high. Most of all though, the mixing is very erratic. The opener, 'John Wesley Harding' is probably the truest-sounding of all the songs, but in other songs there are all kinds of unusual audio problems. The mix, from song-to-song is inconsistent, with some drum tracks being louder on certain songs, oddly loud bass (or very muffled), and always Dylan's guitar being shoved way too low in the mix. The remastered 'All Along The Watchtower' from the Sony 'Essential Bob Dylan' release from a few years ago sounds much, much better in comparison with this 2003 remaster. I'm never one to complain too much about remastering, but at times the way this re-issue was handled is downright puzzling.

The reviews on website definitely shouldn't prevent anyone from buying this album, however. The main problem with the sound is that it's muffled and a bit patchy, the music is still great and worth the time to listen to it. 'John Wesley Harding' is ESSENTIAL to any Dylan enthusiast and is easily among the finest albums of the tail end of the 1960s. Coincidentally, this was released the same year as 'The Doors', 'Are You Experienced?', 'Their Satanic Majesties Request' and 'Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band'.

Props to Sony. After waiting 15+ years for a nicely (or even acceptable) remastered version of this exceptional album, we are treated to a John Wesley Harding with buried guitars & piano, an EXTREMELY shrill-sounding harmonica (NOT Bob's fault), and a truly inconsistent mix. I understand that this may have been a rush
job, that they had a deadline to meet for these SACDs, but then one has to realize that the've had YEARS to work on this title. Obviously Bob is a low priority. If there is no recall on this cd, I will never buy a Sony product again.

Most of the reviews here are focused on the poor re-mix done by Sony, and I agree. But some historical background on this album, and a comment on the songs would be helpful. When released in January 1968, it was the first new music released by Dylan since the '66 motorcycle accident (the Great White Wonder remained unreleased and available only in bootleg for years.) Many people were expecting some sort of psychedelic release from Bob that went beyond Blonde on Blonde, and would be his answer to Sgt. Pepper, Satanic Majesties, Mr. Fantasy, Are You Experienced? etc. As usual, he fooled them all. Instead, he reverted to his roots, and became Johnny Cash, Roger Miller, and Hank Williams with a good deal of Biblical storytelling. This album almost single handidly killed psychedelic music. It influenced the Beatles to simplify with their "Lady Madonna" single (with its Little Richard influence) and their White Album. It influenced the Stones to simplify with "Jumpin Jack Flash" single and Beggar's Banquet. It influenced the Byrds and Roger McGuinn to evolve country rock with their Sweetheart for the Rodeo LP. And it probably helped make Creedence Clearwater Revival's popularity possible. The songs are simple, and the lyrics less LSD influenced (like his 3 previous albums) and more Bible influenced. "Ballad of Frankie Lee and Judas Priest" is a masterpiece, as "Drifter's Escape" is a gem. Of course, "All Along the Watchtower" is probably one of Bob's 3 best songs ever, with his great lyrics "Businessmen they drink my wine, plowmen dig my earth, none of them along the line know what any of it is worth." Good stuff.

all i can really say is that i don't find the mix "terrible", but it wasn't expected. perhaps it will grow on me... :)
in any case, if sony does upgrade this upgrade, i hope that they will consider a 1-1 trade with people who have already bought this disc. as i said, i don't think it's as bad as other people do, but i would like a cleaner and more balanced mix. the drums sound like they're behind a thin sheet of foam or gel, despite their being in front of the other instruments; and the harmonica *is* pretty shrill at times (almost unbearably so). the most embarassing part of it is that this is still an improvement over the cd release.
as for the music, well... anyone who knows anything knows that it doesn't even need discussion.
music = 5 stars
mix = 2 stars... i do appreciate the clarity in the bass, even with the occasional (mild) distortion.

hmmm... could use some work.

Yes, the remastering is awful! On Dear Landlord the piano is way down and the drums much too in the foreground. Almost every song is the opposite of what it should be. This is really sad because this is my favorite Dylan album. The drums are often too loud, and the guitar (some of Dylan's finest playing) are dwarfed. Wicked Messenger is in shambles. The harmonica is still not sounding the way it should. The original cd release is also awful but better than this failed attempt.