LONDON.- Christie’s will auction Bob Dylan’s first new studio recording of “Blowin’ in the Wind” since 1962, from a special session with multi-Grammy winning producer T Bone Burnett, on the recently announced groundbreaking Ionic Original disc. The first recording to utilise his patented technology from Burnett’s company, NeoFidelity, Inc., this unique lot will be offered in The Exceptional Sale on July 7 as a highlight within Classic Week London (estimate: £600,000-1,000,000). A first in music history: this opportunity to acquire a new recording of Bob Dylan’s seminal song is a landmark moment and Burnett notes that the technology used to create the Ionic Original disc “advances the art of recorded sound and marks the first breakthrough in analog sound reproduction in more than 70 years, achieving dramatic improvements in listening experience and durability.” The auction of this historic lot – in Bob Dylan's 60th anniversary year as a recording artist – presents a unique opportunity for international collectors, music fans, historians, aficionados and audiophiles. Exclusive in-person listening experiences of the “Blowin’ In The Wind” Ionic Original will take place in advance of the auction: by-appointment in Los Angeles (8 June) and New York (15 June) and as part of the public pre-sale exhibition in London (2-7 July).

Peter Klarnet, Christie’s Senior Specialist, Americana, Books and Manuscripts commented: “Christie’s is excited to be offering this unique recording of Bob Dylan’s ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’, one of the most important songs written in the last century, on this groundbreaking new ‘Ionic Original’ format. I very much share T Bone Burnett’s passion for the sonic excellence of analog sound and it is fitting that this important development is being offered as a stand-out lot in The Exceptional Sale, London on 7 July 2022.”

T Bone Burnett, Founder of NeoFidelity Inc. and multi-Grammy-winning producer, commented: “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."

BLOWIN’ IN THE WIND

This year marks not only the 60th anniversary of Bob Dylan as a recording artist, but of one of the most iconic and profound songs written in the last century, “Blowin' in the Wind.” Debuted on the diminutive stage of Gerde's Folk City in Greenwich Village in April 1962, Bob Dylan's “Blowin' in the Wind” was an instant classic, and is today woven firmly into the fabric of American culture.

Dylan first recorded the song for Columbia on 9 July 1962 for his second album, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. He entered the studio again in 2021 to re-record the song with his friend, Joseph Henry ‘T Bone’ Burnett III, the Grammy and Oscar winning composer, musician and producer. Unlike Dylan's 1963 release which achieved platinum status, only a single copy of this new recording of “Blowin' in the Wind” will be offered on the groundbreaking new audio medium: Ionic Original.

The cultural impact of “Blowin' in the Wind” cannot be overstated. Covered by hundreds of artists since the words and music first appeared in print in May 1962, the song not only brought Bob Dylan to the world stage, it gave new voice to the burgeoning social movements of the 1960s.

T BONE BURNETT

Multiple Grammy and Oscar winner Joseph Henry ‘T Bone’ Burnett is a producer, musician and songwriter. Burnett most recently released Acoustic Space, the first full-length instalment in The Invisible Light trilogy, an experimental song cycle which explores the idea that society has been subject to a programming pandemic which is causing us to lose our ability to differentiate fact from fiction. Burnett also composed and produced the music for critically acclaimed HBO series True Detective, and his film work includes the five-time Grammy winning soundtrack for O Brother, Where Art Thou?, The Big Lebowski, Cold Mountain, The Hunger Games, Crazy Heart and Walk The Line, among others. He has collaborated with numerous artists including Bob Dylan, Elvis Costello and Roy Orbison, and won Album of the Year and Record of the Year Grammy Awards for Robert Plant and Alison Krauss’ Raising Sand.