Bob Dylan – Fragments (Time Out Of Mind Sessions (1996-1997))

My first impression is that the outtakes are so-so, but the new version of the album is incredible. I love Time Out of Mind, and it has never sounded better. Highly recommended.

Great sounding remix of the original Time Out of Mind album. The outtakes and alternatives are great selections but wish we had gotten Dreaming of You on this set. I guess that will remain exclusive to the 10LP Deluxe box set. Still, this set is well worth it. Pairs perfectly with a glass of Heaven’s Door whiskey while listening to Highlands!

Same as below I've now run through this box twice. That's what she said. Similarly I'm preferring this to the original Lanois mix. As much as I dig his work, and have many, gotta go with this new mix. The vox are way more up front. The murky stuff is gone. Now sounds like a band playing in my room.

The outtakes? I dig them but it's all new stuff. ymmv.

It's a bit early but I'm going to go ahead and, after two times through, declare a preference for this mix over the original. Part of that could be because I'm comparing it to the most immediate other source I have, the 2014 vinyl repress, which Ive never felt particularly inspired by. Nevertheless, I like the cleaner mixes with less filters. Not every song benefits from the cleaner, less muddied/mysterious sounding mix, but even in those cases, the focus shifts more to the lyrics which was perhaps the catalyst for presenting the album this way.

Outside of the album remix, the 2 LPs of outtakes included here are entrancing, even when the shifts aren't 180 degrees. Only a couple of these I prefer over the album cuts, but none are uninteresting. Love having Red River Shore on vinyl, even if the version here isn't arranged as smoothly as the one on Tell Tale Signs. 'Water' is beautiful.

Records themselves are clean with minimal noise, great dynamics. Packaging is excellent. Booklet I haven't looked at yet.