Mobile Fidelity - MFSL 2-426 - 180 Gram Vinyl Vinyl 

 Numbered Limited Edition - Pressed at RTI   

Mastered by Kreig Wunderlich 

1/4" / 15 IPS / Dolby A analog copy to DSD 64

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.

It's always a pleasant surprise when a reissue of any kind surpasses the original release.MoFi's reissue of "Before The Flood" does exactly that. paired with the incredible job by the MoFi staff has done at mastering this set is remarkable. There is so much more you now hear from The Band on this LP that it actually makes it sound like you are hearing it for the first time. A brilliant tribute offered  by Mobile Fidelity for the 40th anniversary of this historic tour. Get it, turn it up and enjoy! 5/5 Lpreview

Live 1974 Set Documents Acclaimed Reunion of Bob Dylan and The Band Mobile Fidelity's Reissue Gives You a Prime Seat for the Historic Performances

The live reunion of Bob Dylan and The Band during 1973-74 yielded one of the decade's most celebrated, dynamic, and astonishing tours. Captured on Before the Flood, the results portray the two artists' shared chemistry as well as Dylan's instinctive ability to challenge audiences, his group, and himself via inventive rearrangements of classics that simultaneously ward off nostalgia and renew with meaning. Said by noted critic Robert Christgau to be "at its best, [the] craziest and strongest rock and roll ever recorded," Before the Flood crackles with intensity, relevance, and unhinged performances. 

Mastered on Mobile Fidelity’s world-renowned mastering system and pressed at RTI, this restored analog version cracks wide open the ceiling previously obscuring many of the tonal details, revealing microdynamics, and vocal nuances on the recording. Distinguished with an immediately recognizable sound, The Band comes across in three-dimensional form, while Dylan takes center stage, feet from your listening chair. The two artists play like two souls in communion, a facet displayed here courtesy of the increased airiness, enhanced soundstage depth, and lifelike imaging. 

There’s so much new information here, this already-iconic album only gains in stature. As experienced on Mobile Fidelity,Before the Flood unquestionably takes its place as one of the ten-best concert releases ever made. Notes are rounded, Garth Hudson’s organ claims a tube-like glow, Levon Helm’s drumming possesses its own space, voices are perceptible all the way down the singers’ throats, and Dylan’s awe-inspiring phrasing resonates with palpable urgency. Audiophiles and Dylan fans, prepare to be astonished. 

Arriving at a crucial time for both Dylan and The Band, Before the Flood is the furthest thing possible from a nostalgia trip.It’s where Dylan begins his now-trademark feat of turning songs upside-down, taking risks, surprising and challenging expectations, leaving audiences riveted to the edge of their seats in anticipation of what might come next. He sings with unabated passion, the moods spanning bitterness to jubilation, his willingness to play fast and loose with the music giving way to compelling shifts, under-the-surface textures, complementary intricacies, and a sense of newness and discovery on par with that of an adventurer embracing total freedom.

Before the Flood buries any notion of limits, safeguards, or borders. It is an open map, each song a route begging for exploration without need or concern for exactness or an appointed leader. Collaborative in every sense, it’s a portrait of six inimitable musicians feeding off one another, trusting in their past history as they hurdle towards uncharted territory, using soulfulness as a compass and opportunity as their vehicle. 

Wholly different than the live episodes heard on Bob Dylan Live 1966, The “Royal Albert Hall” Concert, Before the Floodis equally seminal and, from the perspective of witnessing an artist dare not only his audience but himself to break through to a new plane, even better. Utterly astounding.

Bass – Rick Danko
Clavinet – Garth Hudson
Design – Barry Feinstein
Drums – Levon Helm, Richard Manuel
Electric Guitar – Robbie Robertson
Electric Piano – Richard Manuel
Engineer  – Phil Ramone, Rob Fraboni
Guitar – Bob Dylan
Harmonica – Bob Dylan
Mixed By – Village Recorders
Organ – Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel
Photography – Barry Feinstein
Piano – Bob Dylan, Garth Hudson, Richard Manuel
Vocals – Bob Dylan, Levon Helm, Richard Manuel, Rick Danko, Robbie Robertson

1. Most Likely You'll Go Your Way (And I'll Go Mine)
2. Lay Lady Lay
3. Rainy Day Women #12 & #35
4. Knockin' on Heaven's Door
5. It Ain't Me Babe
6. Ballad of a Thin Man
7. Up on Cripple Creek
8. I Shall Be Released
9. Endless Highway
10. The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down
11. Stage Fright
12. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
13. Just Like a Woman
14. It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)
15. The Shape I'm In
16. When You Awake
17. The Weight
18. All Along the Watchtower
19. Highway 61 Revisited
20. Like a Rolling Stone
21. Blowin' in the Wind