This page lists mono releases of this regular Bob Dylan album. These LPs were
listed here because the mono versions of Dylan songs were
unavailable on CD until the release of the first eight Dylan albums in mono as
The Original Mono Recordings in 2010. Mono LPs with rare tracks (e.g. mono versions with
significant differences from the album tracks, such as different mixes, edits or
fades) are listed in the main chronological pages. Mono singles up to 1976 have their
own pages, see the links above. Thanks to David Burgess for the UK catalogue numbers - all my mono LPs were stolen when my Manchester flat was burgled in May 1968! For stereo releases of this album, see International Album Releases (Regular). |
If you have any entries to add to the list or additions/corrections to existing entries, please let me know! Please note I cannot value your Dylan rarities - see the Mission page for reasons why. Contact the dealers on my Trading page for assistance!
Revised: 16 September, 2024.
Vinyl Releases
"John Wesley Harding" - mono vinyl LP, Columbia CL 2804 (USA),
5 Jan 1968:
For details of how I arrived at this release
date, see this album's entry in
International Album
Releases (Regular). The front photograph is by John Berg, another Columbia staff photographer.
The picture has promoted much discussion, such as who are the people shown (the Bauls of Bengal), and whether or not you can see faces of The Beatles in the
trees! For more information, see the EDLIS "Things Twice" page
. The promo album below left may have
been
released in Dec 1967.
This was the last US mono album, and is now very rare! The mono version was for a long time thought just to be a reduction of the stereo mix, but Bob Irwin of Sundazed confirmed in 2003 there is a separate mono mix-down tape. Sundazed released a mono version on vinyl in Nov 2003 (see below).
The labels have the final mono design used by Columbia with "MONO" at bottom centre in white without the "360º SOUND"/arrows logos on either side (see the mono versions of earlier Dylan albums for examples). Gerd Rundel's first copy has handwritten matrix numbers: Side 1 - XLP-135309-1A, Side 2 - XLP-135310-1A. Gerd Rundel's second copy with variant labels has handwritten matrix numbers: Side 1 - XLP-135309-1C, Side 2 - XLP-135310-U.
Renaud Depierreux has two promo copies without timing strips: the first has a price sticker ("Special Value $1.59"), a promo sticker and a promo punched hole, the second is still in the original shrink wrap with a price sticker on top of the shrink wrap, a gold promo sticker under the shrink wrap but no punched hole.
Sergio Mariano Romay has a copy of this album where the record has the first variant labels. The inner sleeve shows details of contemporary albums by other Columbia artists. The record of this copy has handwritten matrix numbers: Side 1 - XLP -135309-1C, Side 2 - XLP-135310-1C.
Tormod Aas has a commercial copy with a yellow sticker with black text "THIS HI-FI RECORD CAN BE PLAYED ON A STEREO PHONOGRAPH". The record has first variant labels with "B. Dylan" credits on both sides. The matrix numbers of this copy are: Side 1 - XLP-135309-1A, Side 2 - XLP-135310-1A.
Roberto Mento owns a record shop in Florence, Italy, and has two copies of this mono album. On one the text at rear bottom right "© 1968 by Bob Dylan" is missing, and on the other it is present. This is the same as for the rear sleeves of the US stereo albums.
Justin Hickerson has a copy where the record labels are the second variant with no credit on Side 2. The sleeve also has no credit on the rear lower right corner. The record of this copy has matrix numbers handwritten except "B", "J", and "P" which are stamped: Side 1 - o XLP 135309-1C BM B J P, Side 2 - o XLP 135310-1C Bm P. On Side 2, "Bm" is etched directly above the catalogue number. "m" is also lower cased on Side 2 but is capitalized ("M") on Side 1. Discogs.com records this pressing as from Pitman, NJ.
Troy Saldana has a copy of CL 2804 that is very similar to Justin Hickerson's. The album front cover has "Stereo 360 Sound"" centred above Bob Dylan, which means it's a stereo sleeve. The back has "©1968" by Bob Dylan. The record has the second variant labels with the Side 1 credit to "B.Dylan" up high. Side 2 is missing the credit. The matrix numbers are: Side 1 - o XLP 135309-1C BM, Side 2 - o XLP 135310-1C Bm. On Side 2, "Bm" is etched directly above the catalogue number. "m" is also lower case on Side 2 but is capitalised ("M") on Side 1. This record does not have "B J P" on Side 1 nor a "P" on Side 2. Instead it has an upside down capital "V" and a "C" above the "A" in "COLUMBIA".
Giorgio Bosio has an unlisted sleeve and label variant that comes with a Columbia advertising insert. Like the stereo album rear sleeve variants and one of the mono albums owned by Roberto Mento mentioned above, "© 1968 by Bob Dylan" is missing at rear bottom right. This time both labels have the "B. Dylan" credit higher. The record has handwritten matrix numbers: Side 1 - o XLP-135309-1A BM A5 T; Side 2 - o XLP-135310-1A Bm A4 T | (At the beginning of both there is a small letter "o". On Side 1 letters "BM" are in upper case, on Side 2 letters "Bm" are in upper/lower case. On Side 2 the last character is a bar).
Ian Woodward has a Columbia US catalogue from late 1968 with a tear-off portion so dealers could order albums to stock for Christmas. The only two Dylan albums listed are Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits and John Wesley Harding, both in four stereo formats: LP, 4-track stereo, 8-track stereo and stereo reel-to-reel tape. This indicates that by late 1968 Columb8ia US had stopped promoting mono LPs.
Thanks to Hans Seegers, Peter Lindberg, Gerd Rundel, Renaud Depierreux, Sergio Mariano Romay, Tormmod Aas, Roberto Mento and Giorgio Bosio for information and pictures.
"John Wesley Harding" - mono vinyl LP reissue, Sundazed/Columbia LP 5123 (USA), 25 Nov 2003:
This is a unique mono mix rediscovered by Sundazed's founder and engineer on many Dylan records, Bob Irwin. The label reproduces the original US mono design as above. For more information see Sundazed's web-site .
Thanks to Robert Kornovich, Patrick Helfrich and Gerd Rundel for information and scans.
"John Wesley Harding" - mono vinyl LP reissue, Columbia 88697761051-8/CL 2804 (USA), 7 Dec 2010:
Columbia 88697761051-8/CL 2804 (USA) - front scan by Manuel García Jara (2010 release) |
This heavyweight vinyl mono release is part of the LP version of the 2010 9LP set The Original Mono Recordings, see International Album Releases (Multi-Packs) 2010s, sold separately. |
Columbia 88697761051-8/CL 2804 (USA) - rear scan by Manuel García Jara (2010 release) |
Columbia 88697761051-8/CL 2804 (USA) - Side 1 scan by Manuel García Jara (2010 release) |
Columbia 88697761051-8/CL 2804 (USA) - detail of Side 1, scan by Manuel García Jara (2010 release) |
Columbia 88697761051-8/CL 2804 (USA) - Side 2 scan by Manuel García Jara (2010 release) |
The record labels reproduce the style of the original 1965 mono labels. As well as "CL 2804" the record sides are also numbered "88697761051-8A/B".
This album was also sold in Europe by the Dutch company Music On Vinyl as MOVLP 246, see below.
Thanks to Manuel García Jara for information and scans.
"John Wesley Harding" - mono vinyl 2LP 45 rpm reissue, Mobile Fidelity MFSL 2-464 (USA), 7 Dec 2016:
More scans required!
Thanks to Éamonn Ó Catháin and Gerd Rundel for information and scans.
"John Wesley Harding" - mono vinyl LP, Columbia CL 2804 (Canada), Jan 1968:
The Canadian album has the same
sleeve as the US release except for the words "LITHO IN CANADA" on the
spine. The rear sleeve is the same as the US release except that "PRINTED IN
U.S.A." is missing. The record labels have "PRINTED IN CAN." on the bottom
line. This was the only
Canadian mono release. Gerd Rundel is sceptical that this Canadian mono release existed, he thinks that copies were imported from the USA. Confirmation required! |
"John Wesley Harding" - mono vinyl LP, CBS BPG 63252
(UK), 23 Feb 1968, re-released 1969:
For the equivalent stereo album, see International Album
Releases (Regular).
CBS BPG 63252 (UK), 23 Feb 1968 (first release):
The sleeve of Hans Seegers' copy was printed by the Upton Printing Group and is laminated on the front only. The sleeve of the mono commercial release was also used for the stereo release by putting a stereo sticker on the back. The record has orange CBS labels which come in two variants: the second release (below) has "MONO" and the arrows symbol to the left of the centre hole underneath the Side number, the first release does not. Gerd Rundel's has a first release copy where the record (above) has stamped matrix numbers: Side 1 - 63252 A2, Side 2 - 63252 B2. Thanks to Ian Woodward for finding a mono copy on www.eil.com with first release labels with matrix numbers: Side 1 - 63252 A2, Side 2 - 63252 B1.
CBS BPG 63252 (UK), 1969 (second release):
Thanks to Hans Seegers, Jean-Pol Hiernaux, Gerd Rundel and Éamonn Ó Catháin for information and scans.
"John Wesley Harding" - mono vinyl LP releases, CBS 63252 (Spain),
1968, re-released 1969:
Contrary to previous reports this album was not banned by the Franco regime. Before CBS was established in Spain,
CBS records were released in Spain by Discophon under license from CBS France. For
this reason, all Discophon records have the "BIEM" logo instead of "SGAE". "SGAE"
was the only Spanish copyright organisation and all records released there
had to have its logo unless the recording company was not established in Spain. Although Discophon was a small company,
it had its own pressing plant: the Dylan Spanish EPs released in
1966 (see Mono 7" Singles & EPs 1966) were made by Discophon itself. For some reason, John Wesley Harding was
first made in the pressing plant of another company (Fonogram, the manufacturer of three
Dylan records in 1970, when CBS was just established in Spain: Bob Dylan's
Greatest Hits, Nashville Skyline and Self Portrait).
The rear sleeve has a biography of Bob in Spanish instead of the liner notes. The song titles are given in English and Spanish. There is an inner sleeve with song lyrics in English with the demo copy below only, not with any commercial releases of the album, which have plain white inner sleeves. The outer sleeves are identical for all variants.
The record was in mono only, and apparently the first variant is in poor quality, the sound quality of the other variants is good. All variants have orange CBS labels. The song titles on the record labels are listed in English and Spanish. There are six different variants of record labels for this Spanish album! Four of them were made by Fonogram of Madrid for Discophon and two were made by Discophon itself. The first release of this album in 1968 in Spain is very rare, as according to Juan B. Heinink only 250 were produced, 125 of which were apparently sold by one record shop in Bilbao (although Manuel García Jara's father bought his copy in Madrid).
Most of the tracks have different Spanish translations on the rear sleeve and on the record labels!
John Wesley Harding: untranslated
As I Went Out One Morning: "Me marché una mañana" (rear sleeve) "Cuando salí una mañana" (record label)
I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine: "Soñé que vi San Agustín" on both but grammatically incorrect: it should be "Soñé que vi a San Agustín"
All Along The Watchtower: "A lo largo de la atalaya" (rear sleeve) "En la torre de vigilancia" (record label)
The Ballad Of Frankie Lee And Judas Priest: "La balada de Frankie Lee y Judas Priest" (both)
Drifter's Escape: "Escapada a la deriva" (rear sleeve) "La huida del errante" (record label)
Dear Landlord: "Querido Landlord"! (rear sleeve) "Querido patrón" (record label)
I Am A Lonesome Hobo: "Soy in vagabundo solitario" (both)
I Pity The Poor Immigrant: "Compadezco al pobre inmigrante" (both)
The Wicked Messenger: "El malvado mensajero" (rear sleeve) "El mensajero malvado" (record label)
Down Along The Cove: " Por la ensenada" (rear sleeve) "Allí en la cala" (record label)
I'll Be Your Baby Tonight: " Seré tu chico esta noche" (rear sleeve) "Seré tu baby esta noche"! (record label)
The record matrix numbers are: Side 1 - "850 63252" plus "s" (an inverted triangle) plus "A=1"; Side 2 - "850 63252" plus "s" plus "B=1". These matrix numbers are the same for all variants of this album.
Made by Fonogram for Discophon:
The Fonogram record labels have catalogue numbers 63252 E.1
and 63252 E.2 on Sides 1 and 2.
1 Demo copy with sticker of Cadena SER.
CBS 63252 E.2 (Spain) - detail of rear, scan by Manuel García Jara (all
variants)
2 Commercial copy of variant 1.
3 Third variant also made by Fonogram, S.A.
4 Fourth variant also made by Fonogram, S.A.
The next Fonogram variant has the text "Fab. por Fonogram SA..." to the left of the centre hole on Side 2 instead of Side 1, again above "33 rpm". The Side 2 label has the same mistakes on the song titles as variant 3. Dr. Hanns Peter Bushoff has a copy of this variant in the same sleeve which has the text elements to the left and right of the centre hole positioned much lower than those of the first Side 1 label. As far as I can see the Side 2 labels are the same.
Made by Discophon:
The following two variants were released in 1969, the typeface of labels is identical to the Discophon mono edition of Nashville Skyline.
5 First variant made by Discophon itself:
6 Second variant made by Discophon itself.
Gerd Rundel's copy is the sixth variant and the last made by Discophon. There are still two song titles above the centre hole, but the song titles are now in upper case. "BIEM" is missing from the Side 2 record label. The two previous errors on the Side 2 record label are corrected, but a new error has been introduced - the Side 2 label has “DEARD LANDLORD” instead of DEAR LANDLORD. One side of the plain inner sleeve of Gerd's copy has small numbers at bottom right – Manuel thinks this may just be a previous owner's reference.
One year later this album was released again in Spain, this time in stereo and it was made by COFASA for CBS itself.
Thanks to Juan B. Heinink for information and to Hans Seegers, Manuel García Jara, Lars M. Banke, Gerd Rundel and Hanns Peter Bushoff for further information and scans.
"John Wesley Harding" - mono vinyl LP, CBS BP 233498 (Australia),
1968:
For the equivalent stereo album, see International Album
Releases (Regular). Scans required of the New Zealand mono release CBS BP
473489!
CBS BP 233498 (Australia) - front scan by Stuart Moore |
|
CBS BP 233498 (Australia) - side 2 scan by Peter Lindberg |
The record of this release has orange CBS labels with the Albert's logo.
Early Australian release labels had the text "MADE IN AUSTRALIA BY A REGISTERED USER OF THE TRADE MARKS" without a CBS copyright. This is because up to 1977 all Australian records were manufactured by the Australian Record Company (Pty) Ltd. (A.R.C.) on behalf of CBS.
Thanks to Chris Denyer for information and to Stuart Moore and Peter Lindberg for the scans.
"John Wesley Harding" - mono vinyl LP, Columbia/CBS
CL 2804 (Philippines),
1968:
For two variants of the equivalent stereo album, also
with the US catalogue number, see International Album
Releases (Regular).
Columbia/CBS CL 2804 (Philippines) - detail of rear,
scan by Lars M. Banke
Thanks to Lars M. Banke for information and scans.
"John Wesley Harding" - mono vinyl LP, CBS ALD 8124 (South
Africa),
1968:
For the equivalent stereo album, see International Album
Releases (Regular).
"John Wesley Harding" - mono vinyl LP, CBS CL 4128 (Colombia), 1968:
This rare album has a standard front sleeve with Spanish sleeve notes on the rear. These are a short biography of Bob, not a translation of the English sleeve notes. They end: "Se le ha preguntado un million de veces a Bob la causa de su popularidad. El contesta: 'No tengo idea; es la verdad y yo siempre digo la verdad.'" A rough translation is: "Bob's been asked a million times why he's so popular. He says: 'I have no idea. It's the truth and I always tell the truth.'" Sergio Mariano Romay says the text has wrong data and does not follow a chronological line with the facts related. Hans Seegers says "The sleeve quality is poor and fragile, they used a cheap kind of card, folded it and glued a front insert on it. The rear is rough and fragile."
The front sleeve has the mono number only, but the rear sleeve also has the stereo catalogue number "CLS 4128". The promo release has white CBS labels, and the commercial release has orange labels. I don't know if this is a unique mono mix or a reduction from stereo. The spine text reads: “CLS 4128 BOB DYLAN – JOHN WESLEY HARDING CBS, S.A. Logo CBS CL 4128”. The sleeve was printed in Colombia by Intergráficas Ltda. The record of Sergio Mariano Romay's copy has matrix numbers: Side 1 - XLP-135309-1C BM (faintly) - all text handwritten, Side 2 - XLP135310-1D (stamped) P1 (faintly handwritten).
Thanks to Bob Paxon for initial information and to Hans Seegers and Sergio Mariano Romay for further information and scans.
"Bob Dylan: The Original Mono Recordings" - 9LP set in 12" box, Columbia/Legacy/Sony Music 88697761051 (USA), 21 Dec 2010; Columbia/Legacy/Music On Vinyl MOVLP 239-246 (NL), 7 Dec 2010:
For full details see The Original Mono Recordings 2010.
Columbia/Legacy/Sony Music 88697761051 (USA):
Thanks to "Isis" Newsletter 153½ for information about the vinyl box set - this was remixed by a different engineer from the CD set below and the sound is noticeably warmer. The records were mastered at Sterling Sound, Edgewater, NJ.
The eight albums (9 LPs) have sleeves reproducing the original Columbia US mono sleeves. The records have labels reproducing original Columbia US 1960s first issue mono records labels.
Columbia/Legacy/Music On Vinyl MOVLP 239-246 (NL), 7 Dec 2010:
Thanks to Gerd Rundel, Manuel García Jara, Ronald Born, William Henry Prince and Andreas Volkert for information and pictures.
"John Wesley Harding" - mono vinyl release, Columbia/Legacy/Sony Music 889854516918 (Europe), Nov 2017:
Thanks to Éamonn Ó Catháin for information and pictures.
CD Releases
"Bob Dylan: The Original Mono Recordings" - 9CD set in 5" box, Columbia/Legacy/Sony Music 88697761042 (USA/Europe), 19 Oct 2010; Sony Music SICP 2951-59 (Japan), 10 Nov 2010:
For full details see The Original Mono Recordings 2010.
Columbia/Legacy/Sony Music 88697761042 (USA/Europe), 19 Oct 2010:
This set of Bob's first eight albums in the original mono mixes comes in a cutaway card box inside an outer box. The CD albums are in thick card sleeves reproducing the original mono album artwork, in this case Columbia CL 2804. The CD comes in a plain inner sleeve and its design is based on the original Columbia design (see above).
Sony Music SICP 2951-59 (Japan), 10 Nov 2010:
The Japanese CD also comes in a plain inner sleeve with a Japanese language booklet and three inserts: the original 1965 US sticker promoting "Like A Rolling Stone" (see above); a second sticker promoting the limited edition print (also see above), and the reproduction of the limited edition print.
Thanks to Éamonn Ó Catháin for information that this album can be downloaded in MP3 format from Play.com in the UK for £6.99 or £0.89 per track. For full details of the set, see here.
Thanks to Anthony Perry for scans of the Japanese album.
"The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" - mono hybrid SA-CD release, Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab UDSACD 2183 (USA), Oct 2016:
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab UDSACD 2183 (USA) - front of card sleeve with sticker, scan by Gerd Rundel |
Thanks to Éamonn Ó Catháin for information about this mono hybrid SA-CD release from the US audiophile company Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab. It comes in a limited edition of 3000 and a folded card sleeve. There was a simultaneous release on hybrid SA-CD and vinyl of seven Dylan mono albums excluding Blonde On Blonde. Because Highway 16 Revisited is "2182" and John Wesley Harding is "2183", it would appear there was never any intention to release a mono hybrid SA-CD release of Blonde On Blonde. This hybrid SA-CD mono release of this album is the first time the mono version has been remastered in audiophile quality. It is therefore also listed in 2016. The disc was made in Austria. |
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab UDSACD 2183 (USA) - front sticker scan by Gerd Rundel |
|
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab UDSACD 2183 (USA) - rear of card sleeve with Italian "SIAE" sticker, scan by Gerd Rundel |
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab UDSACD 2183 (USA) - outside of unfolded card sleeve, scan by André Wilbers |
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab UDSACD 2183 (USA) - inside of unfolded card sleeve, scan by André Wilbers |
|
Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab UDSACD 2183 (USA) - detail
of rear
of card sleeve, scan by Gerd Rundel
Gerd Rundel's copy was sold in Italy and therefore comes with an "SIAE" sticker on the rear. The limited edition number at bottom left of the rear of both copies shown is obscured.
For the Mobile Fidelity 2015 stereo SA-CD release, see International Album Releases (Regular).
Thanks to André Wilbers and Gerd Rundel for information and scans.
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