Mobile Fidelity - MFSL2-421 - 180 Gram Virgin Vinyl

Numbered Limited Edition - 45RPM - Two Disc -  Pressed at RTI  

Mastered by Kreig Wunderlich

SIDE ONE: 1/4" / 15 IPS analog master to DSD 64 to analog console to lathe
SIDE TWO: 1/4" / 15 IPS / Dolby A analog copy to DSD 64 to analog console to lathe

Winner of a Gruvy Award, chosen by AnalogPlanet's editor, Michael Fremer, for vinyl records that are musically and sonically outstanding and are also well mastered and pressed

Sound 93% Mofi has done it again , performed a fantastic service for fans of the Zim Astonishing! Ken Kessler Hi Fi News

The Bard Addresses Issues Such as Equality, Racism, and Poverty and Helps Ignite 1960s Political Movements

Stark, Austere, Acoustic Record Dylan's First With All-Original Material Title Track, "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll," "With God on Our Side" Establish Dylan as Voice of Social Consciousness The Bard Addresses Issues Such as Equality, Racism, and Poverty and Helps Ignite 1960s Political Movements Faithful to the Source: Information-Rich 45RPM Pressing Brings the Simple Sounds of Dylan’s Voice, Acoustic Guitar, and Harmonica into Lifelike Perspective

Immediately distinguished by the you're-either-with-us-or-against-us messages of the landmark title track, Bob Dylan's The Times They Are A Changin' sounds an unmistakable clarion call on behalf of progress and its unstoppable advancement. One of the Bard's trademark songs, it remains a timeless anthem with a clear sense of common purpose, a musical line in the sand that helped unite various social movements and multiple generations. The reverential 1964 record feeds off the opening tune and its unmistakable sentiments, marching forward to confront racism, poverty, injustice, and upheaval in a stark, immediate manner unlike few albums before or since. 

Mastered on Mobile Fidelity’s world-renowned mastering system and pressed on 180g LP at RTI, this restored 45RPM analog version delivers the landscape-shifting music in reference-quality sound that practically transports you to Columbia’s Studio A. Reflecting the austerity of the topics and Dylan’s mood, the sonics are direct and unadorned—each word hitting with weight, each phrase lingering until it pulls you under, each storyline echoing as fact. The hollow body of Dylan’s guitar, internal mechanisms of his harmonica, and graininess of his throat come across in full-on detail. Wider grooves mean more information reaches your ears.

Marking a shift from the looseness and comedy that pepper  the preceding The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, The Times They Are A-Changin’  attempt at humor, sarcasm, or goofiness in favor of utmost seriousness and severity. Seemingly anticipating the dark events surrounding President Kennedy’s assassination and the turmoil that followed, Dylan eliminates with conjecture and disguise. Akin to dispatches from the typewriter of literary icons John Steinbeck and William Faulkner, his songs give voices to the voiceless, challenge cultural precepts, upend traditional beliefs with rapier wit and truths, and underline tragedies swept under the rug. 

In doing so, Dylan creates stinging protest music that rallies against unchecked authority, discrimination, brutality, and division. A testament to the power of great art, The Times They Are A Changin'  is a righteous assault on ignorance and agent for sweeping action, a necessary impetus for transformation and enlightenment. Via bold originals such as the nonfiction “The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll,” assertive “Restless Farewell,” and semi-autobiographical “North Country Blues,” Dylan casts hardships, greed, and victimization in such relatable terms it’s impossible to turn away and ignore their implications. 

As correctly relayed by Dylan expert and cultural critic Greil Marcus, “[The record] forever fixed Bob Dylan in the popular imagination: the protest singer, the young man ‘able to see through metal’ (again, from Chronicles), to see through the lie and find the truth, then to hammer the truth into words and send them out with a voice that would never break.”

• Numbered Limited Edition
• 45rpm 
• Mastering by Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab
• Specially Plated and Pressed on 180 grams of High Definition Vinyl
• Special Static Free - Dust Free Inner Sleeve
• Heavy Duty Protective Packaging
• Mastered from the Original Master Tapes
• Double LP
• Pressed at RTI

1. The Times They Are A-Changin'
2. Ballad of Hollis Brown
3. With God on Our Side
4. One Too Many Mornings
5. North Country Blues
6. Only a Pawn in Their Game
7. Boots of Spanish Leather
8. When the Ship Comes In
9. The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll
10. Restless Farewell

GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ is a proprietary cutting system built and designed by legendary design genius Tim De Paravicini, with consultation from one of MFSL’s founding fathers – Stan Ricker, an audio engineer responsible for many of MFSL’s most heralded past releases.

The GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ system is comprised of a Studer™ tape machine with customized reproduction electronics* and handcrafted cutting amps that drive an Ortofon cutting head on a restored Neumann VMS-70 lathe. (*It is worth noting that independent studies have confirmed that the GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ system can unveil sonic information all the way up to 122kHz!)

First and foremost, we only utilize first generation original master recordings as source material for our releases. We then play back master tapes at half speed enabling the GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ system to fully extract the master’s sonic information. Our lacquers are then plated in a specialized process that protects transients in the musical signal. (Due to this process, there may be occasional pops or ticks inherent in initial play back, but as the disc is played more, a high quality stylus will actually polish the grooves and improve the sound). We further ensure optimum sound quality by strictly limiting the number of pressings printed for each release. These limited editions, in addition to being collectors’ items, ensure that the quality of the last pressing matches the quality of the first.

As you can imagine, all these efforts involve a tremendous amount of time, technology, cost and effort. The introduction of GAIN 2 Ultra Analog™ maintains Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab’s position as the world’s leading audiophile record label, where a passion for music with extraordinary sound quality matters most.

RTI
 
Record Technology is a world class record pressing plant located in Camarillo, California. We have been operating since 1974, pressing for most audiophile record labels and for many quality minded independent and major record labels from around the world.