Thank you for buying this record. What follows is its documentation: the pressing identified, the matrix / runout transcribed by hand from the dead wax, and the condition as assessed before it was listed. It is yours to keep with the record.

— Paul, Vinyl Curator

Bob Dylan

Oh Mercy

2020  ·  Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab MFSL 2-488  ·  Stereo  ·  US  ·  2xLP, gatefold, 45 RPM · 33 1/3 RPM

Bob Dylan - Oh Mercy: Front Cover
Back Cover Other Side 1 Label Side 1 Vinyl Side 2 Label Side 2 Vinyl Side 3 Label Side 3 Vinyl Side 4 Label Side 4 Vinyl Side 1 Matrix Runout A1 Side 1 Matrix Runout A2 Side 1 Matrix Runout A3 Side 2 Matrix Runout B1 Side 2 Matrix Runout B2 Side 2 Matrix Runout B3 Side 3 Matrix Runout C1 Side 3 Matrix Runout C2 Side 3 Matrix Runout C3 Side 4 Matrix Runout D1 Side 4 Matrix Runout D2 Side 4 Matrix Runout D3

Pressing details

LabelMobile Fidelity Sound Lab
Catalogue numberMFSL 2-488
Year2020
Mono / StereoStereo
CountryUS
Format2xLP, gatefold, 45 RPM
Speed33 1/3 RPM
GenreRock - Folk Rock/Blues Rock
ProducerDaniel Lanois
ComposerBob Dylan
MusiciansBob Dylan (vocals, guitar, piano, organ, harmonica), Daniel Lanois (dobro, guitar, lap steel, omnichord, bass), Malcolm Burn (keyboards, tambourine, bass), Tony Hall (bass), Willie Green (drums), Mason Ruffner (guitar), Brian Stoltz (guitar), Cyril Neville (percussion), Daryl Johnson (percussion), Rockin' Dopsie (accordion), John Hart (saxophone), Larry Jolivet (bass), Alton Rubin Jr. (scrub board/drums), Paul Synegal (guitar)

Matrix / Runout

Side A:  MFSL2-488 Ar3 33249.1 (3) KW@MOFI
Side B:  MFSL2-488 Br2 32943.2 (3) KW@MOFI
Side C:  MFSL2-488 Cr2 32943.2 (3) KW@MOFI
Side D:  MFSL2-488 Dr2 32943.4 (3) KW@MOFI

Condition

Cover
NM
Vinyl
NM

Variant chronology

1989 - US Columbia original stereo LP (OC 45281/C 45281)
1989 - worldwide CBS/Columbia LP, cassette and CD releases
2004 - Columbia/Legacy remastered CD reissue
2020 - Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab numbered 180g 45 RPM 2LP gatefold reissue (MFSL 2-488)  <- this copy

This Pressing

2020 Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab numbered 45 RPM reissue, identified by its own series, catalogue number and 2018-dated copyright line - a later audiophile pressing, not an original.

The Album

Oh Mercy arrived in 1989 after a decade in which Dylan's own standing as a songwriter had grown shaky in the eyes of critics and, by his own later account, in his own estimation of his craft. He brought his new songs to New Orleans and handed production to Daniel Lanois, whose atmospheric work with U2 and Peter Gabriel gave the sessions a murky, swampy sonic signature very different from Dylan's earlier records. Recorded in a mobile studio set up in a rented house on Soniat Street with a cast of local musicians including Tony Hall, Willie Green, Mason Ruffner and Brian Stoltz, the album married Lanois's atmospheric production to some of Dylan's most direct and confessional writing in years. Songs like

Tracklist

Side 1

1. Political World
2. Where Teardrops Fall
3. Everything Is Broken

Side 2

1. Ring Them Bells
2. Man In The Long Black Coat
3. Most Of The Time

Side 3

1. What Good Am I?
2. Disease Of Conceit

Side 4

1. What Was It You Wanted
2. Shooting Star

The Label

This copy is the Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab numbered 45 RPM reissue, catalogue number MFSL 2-488, barcode 821797248815, carrying a copyright line that reads both 1989 and 2018 - a date that places manufacture in 2018 or later regardless of the period-style label art. Side one reproduces a deep-groove ring as part of its faithful period styling, a design touch carried over from the vintage Columbia labels it echoes rather than evidence of an early pressing. Mobile Fidelity issued this numbered 45 RPM audiophile edition in 2020 as part of its ongoing catalogue series, placing it as the current audiophile pressing standing below the 1989 Columbia originals in the release chronology.

Fidelity

This cut was remastered by Krieg Wunderlich at Mobile Fidelity from the analogue tapes using the Gain 2 Ultra Analog chain and cut at 45 RPM across four sides for lower noise and wider dynamics than the original 33 1/3 pressing. Pressed by Record Technology Incorporated on 180g vinyl, it is well regarded among collectors as a significant sonic improvement over the 1989 Columbia LP and the standard CD, with the 45 RPM cut's quieter surfaces and more spacious imaging frequently singled out as the superior way to hear the Lanois production's atmosphere. Among Oh Mercy's pressings, this numbered Mobile Fidelity edition sits at or near the top of the album's fidelity hierarchy, with the original Columbia LP and the Legacy CD remaster both ranking below it.

Notes

This is Mobile Fidelity's numbered, 180g 45 RPM gatefold reissue of Oh Mercy (MFSL 2-488), mastered by Krieg Wunderlich on the Gain 2 Ultra Analog system and pressed by Record Technology Incorporated. The labels carry a 2018 copyright line alongside the original 1989 date, which means the record was not pressed before 2018 regardless of the vintage-style label art or the original catalogue history it reproduces. The etched runouts carry this edition's stampers; the runout on side C reads a mother/stamper digit that differs from the stamper figure carried on side B.

Documenting collections

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