Love & Theft (Hybr) [Hybrid SACD - DSD, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered]

Bob Dylan | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (September 16, 2003)
• Original Release Date: 2001
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Hybrid SACD - DSD, Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Label: Sony
• ASIN: B0000C8AW7
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (22 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #17,270 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Tweedle Dee & Tweedle Dum

2. Mississippi

3. Summer Days

4. Bye and Bye

5. Lonesome Day Blues

6. Floater (Too Much to Ask)

7. High Water (For Charley Patton)

8. Moonlight

9. Honest With Me

10. Po' Boy

11. Cry a While

12. Sugar Baby

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "All that and more and then some", May 24, 2004

By 

Alejandra Vernon "artist & illustrator" (Long Beach, California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Love & Theft (Hybr) (Audio CD)

Like caviar and oysters perhaps this recording is an acquired taste...and it needs several hearings to fully appreciate, after which it becomes addictive; it has a down-home Mississippi muddy feel that makes it Dylan's grittiest album, and one of my favorites. His voice sounds like freshly poured gravel, adding to its charm and old time blues quality.
The musicianship is extraordinary: Larry Campbell is fabulous on guitar, violin, banjo and mandolin, as is Charlie Sexton on guitar, Tony Garnier on bass, Augie Meyers on organ and accordion, and David Kemper will knock your socks off on drums.

The songs are melodic and words poetic and powerful. The CD insert is a single sheet fold-out, so does not include the lyrics, but they are worth searching out to read and relish the brilliance, see the light and darkness, hope and affliction, and the balance of humor. "Po' Boy" even has a knock knock joke:
Knockin' on the door,
I say "who is it and where are you from ?"
Man says "Freddy !"
I say "Freddy who ?"
He says, "Freddy or not, here I come".
There is greatness in this CD, even though it might not seem so with casual listening. Plumb the depths and it will reward you. Total playing time is 57'30.

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Sonic gold, June 21, 2004

By 

Richard Nelson (Chicago, IL) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Love & Theft (Hybr) (Audio CD)

It's hard to believe the powers that be saw fit to remaster this album and not Time Out Of Mind, considering that this was only two years old when it got the super audio treatment. Nevertheless, the album does see improvement on the SACD layer. Listen to the old and new versions of "Sugar Baby" and you'll know that you're now in the presence of a superior recording, one that captures more fully the grit in Bob's voice and the tone of instruments that, in places, can't even be heard on the original pressing. The producers make another interesting choice here: rather than pulling the vocals out of the mix and running them through the center channel, as some of the other 5.1 mixes in the remastered series do, they remain on the front speakers, buried in the band as befits this, the most band-reliant Dylan album in a while.

As for the actual music, it didn't get all that critical acclaim for nothing. The passage of time may have dulled the "This could be his best ever" rhetoric, but Love and Theft is still a high point in the Dylan catalog, among his most consistent and listenable records. Despite being released on, of all days, 9/11, this isn't a socially-important record like his earliest work, but it's easier to put in the player and enjoy without so frequently pondering injustice; it isn't a stunning heartbreak record like Blood on the Tracks, but you can tap your feet and sing along to "Summer Days" and "Honest With Me." There's room for all of those sides of Bob Dylan in his catalog, and hearing him explore this side, and mine the history of American music for sonic gold, is well worth the price of admission.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great SACD from Dylan, September 11, 2007

By 

DJ Control (Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Love & Theft (Hybr) (Audio CD)

I must admit that I was not a huge Bob Dylan fan,mainly because I'd never had the time in my hectic past to fit him in to my already crammed music repertoire.I own a lot of music and it was only after upgrading to SACD that I decided to investigate the great mans catalogue by way of the career defining 16 disc SACD box set(a great way to pick up a large slab of his recorded output,you get ALL of the 2003 remastered Hybrid SACD's with original artwork in Digipak format!).Bob Dylan - Limited Edition Catalog Box Set

I've finally reached the end of the box set and found this gem of an album.Phew that's a lot of music to get through.From "The Free Wheelin'..." to "Love And Theft" is quite a listen and as so many reviewers before me have already written,Bob is not what you would call a predictable listen.This album however is definitely a standout for a couple of reasons.

Firstly,like five other titles in the box set,this album is in 5.1 surround sound as well as high def 2.1 stereo SACD and standard CD stereo.The engineers involved in the original recording did the surround mix and have made great use of the technology giving you a sense of being in the middle of the band while the sessions were put down.This recording is a must for anyone who owns an SACD player.Awesome!

Secondly,for someone like myself that does not own every sound the great one has made,it is a good way to bookend the man after hearing him start out with not much more than his voice and an acoustic guitar,then plugging in,going electric,Traveling down "Highway 61" to find "Blood On The Tracks" left by the "Infidels"{for someone who does not really like country music,"Nashville Skyline" was a real challenge}..and ending at the pinnacle of his recent output,"Love And Theft".What a way to finish off such an epic journey!

Finally,about this album,I think it finds Bob,now inducted into the Hall Of Fame,more comfortable with his position in the galaxy of great musicians/songwriters of our time,if not all time.He playfully jumps from style to style right through the album.I never thought I'd hear Bob do lounge music or swing for that matter,but he deftly handles all genres with incredible ease that leaves the listener wondering if there is any style out of range from this great songwriter.I doubt that and honestly believe that he could give any of todays maufactured Idol's a quick left hook and drop them to the musical canvas.To top it all off,the band backing him on this album,which I believe is his current touring outfit,are all great artisans in their own right.Nothing short of total professionalism all the way!

As of this moment I consider myself a Dylan convert.I immediately bought the fantastic Martin Scorsese film's "No Direction Home" and "The Last Waltz".Awesome movies!And Bob's current release "Modern Times".

I believe this album was originaly released on 9/11 2001.I find it quite amazing that,by pure coincidence,I first listened to it on that same day,six years later which compelled me to write this appraisal.

He was always there somewhere in my collection.Bryan Ferry's version of "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" is one of my faves.And being a huge Beatles/George Harrison fan,I've always owned the Wilbury albums(who could ever forget "Tweeter And The Monkey Man"}and the "Concert For Bangladesh".My other music hero,Sir Elton John,believes Bob to be the best song writer EVER.High praise indeed from rock royalty.The only draw back of the aforementioned box set is it's left out a few albums that I'm now going to have to track down.Looks like Columbia Records will be getting some of my dollars over the next year or two.

Dylan Rules!