A day after his 81st birthday, Bob Dylan has re-recorded his 1962 classic “Blowin’ in the Wind” with longtime collaborator T-Bone Burnett and will auction the only copy of it July 7 in London through Christie’s’ “The Exceptional Sale” event. The catch is that “Blowin’ in the Wind” has been immortalized on a new form of recording medium developed by Burnett’s NeoFidelity Inc. called Ionic Original, which is playable on existing turntables.
According to a release, Ionic Originals leverage “advances in nanotechnology, material sciences and materials to develop a new physical audio format in which purpose-engineered coatings and underlying composite polymers are applied to a traditional acetate substrate specifically designed for the superior reproduction and preservation of analog sound.”
The format is said to “offer superior sound reproduction, foreign particle resistance, durability, excellent signal-to-noise ratio, longevity, portability and compatibility with existing playback equipment.” Dylan’s new recording will exist only on this solitary Ionic Original incarnation and has been estimated at a value of between 600,000 and 1 million pounds, according to Christie’s.
Says Burnett, “Sixty years after Bob first wrote and recorded ‘Blowin’ in the Wind,’ he is giving us a new recording of his song — one that is both deeply relevant for our times and resonant with decades of the artist’s life and experience. We’re grateful to Christie’s for their belief in the ‘Ionic Original’ and for presenting Bob’s masterful recording to the world in a unique and meaningful way.”
As previously reported, Dylan’s career is now immortalized at the Bob Dylan Center in Tulsa, Okla, which opened on May 10. The Center “houses and exhibits exclusive cultural treasures created and owned by Bob Dylan over seven decades. These include handwritten lyric manuscripts to some of the world’s most treasured songs, previously unreleased recordings, never-before-seen film performances, rare and unseen photographs, visual art and other priceless items spanning Dylan’s unparalleled career as one of the world’s most important cultural figures.”
Dylan will be back on the road in North America this spring and summer, beginning Saturday (May 28) in Spokane, Wa.
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