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Bob Dylan's one-off new recording of Blowin' in the Wind compared to an oil painting

Bob Dylan circa 1965 - Frank Driggs Collection/Getty Images
Bob Dylan circa 1965 - Frank Driggs Collection/Getty Images

A one-of-a-kind Bob Dylan record is set to snatch up to £1m when it is auctioned off at Christie's on Thursday.

It is the first new recording of the classic Blowin' In The Wind since it was written in 1962, and has been pressed using a new format mixing CD and vinyl technology.

The recording was made in 2021 in collaboration with T Bone Burnett, a long-time collaborator who invented the new format, known as Ionic Original.

"It felt holy," Burnett told BBC News. "It always feels holy for me, playing with Bob - and I think we did it in one take, if I'm not mistaken."

The new format is said to bring better quality sound.

Burnett has described it as the “pinnacle of sound".

"We're only making one because we view this work as the equivalent of an oil painting,” he added.

Blowin' In The Wind - JOSHUA WHITE
Blowin' In The Wind - JOSHUA WHITE

Unlike the original version, the feature is accompanied by a full band live in the studio.

"This is the only copy of Bob Dylan's 2021 recording,.... that will ever be manufactured. No other versions of this recording will be released or sold,” said the Christie's catalogue.

Burnett compared the one-off method to an painting.

He said he hopes that its release will "help develop a music space in the fine arts" and stop the "devaluing of our work by the commoditisation of the internet".

"I don't know what an original recording of Bob Dylan singing one of the most important songs of the last century is [worth] today, but I know it's not point $0.001 divided by 5 billion, which is the reality that musicians face now."

The track is expected to fetch between £600,000 and £1m due to its exclusivity.

Peter Klarnet, Christie's senior specialist in Americana, said the initial estimate could be on the conservative side.