Moody Blues Boxset with 5.1 DVD

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thank you for the info on the DTS CDs of these Moodies albums, Ed :)

I'd skipped them before as I had the SACDs but I've just ordered both discs now (before the usual happens and the QQ-effect kicks in when everyone sees this thread and the prices sky-rocket!) :eek:
 
I don't have the DTS 5.1 version of DOFP, but I do have Seventh Sojourn. I just went downstairs to compare it to the SACD. To my ears, the highs on the DTS version have way too much sizzle particularly on the track "You and Me." The SACD version also sounds smoother than the DTS, which it should. I decoded both through my deck and through my receiver with the same result.

For those of you who have or are getting the DTS version, please let me know what you think.
 
I don't have the DTS 5.1 version of DOFP, but I do have Seventh Sojourn. I just went downstairs to compare it to the SACD. To my ears, the highs on the DTS version have way too much sizzle particularly on the track "You and Me." The SACD version also sounds smoother than the DTS, which it should. I decoded both through my deck and through my receiver with the same result.

For those of you who have or are getting the DTS version, please let me know what you think.

willy do! :) the DTS of Seventh Sojourn I just bought from a UK seller should be here soon. I will fast-track it to the top of my (growing larger and larger by the day! eek!) pile of surround/Hi-Rez "to listen to" and report back.

I will say this.. of the 25 DTS Entertainment CDs I currently own, some sound very bright (on my system, at any rate, Billie Myers' "Growing Pains" in particular is bright to the point of agony, which is a shame as the music and surround mix are great)...others lack detail or just have "issues" I can't get past (there is something very iffy about the vocals on the Johnny Mathis "First Time Ever" DTS - they have odd distortion yet everything else on the disc sounds great.. both the Wings DTS discs have very lifeless treble, though I imagine that's more a limitation of the quad source tapes.. the 461 OB Clapton has similarly recessed-sounding top end.. just horrible, especially compared to the absolutely stunning SACD)..

..and then there are at least 10 DTS CDs that I have that are absolutely amazing and sound "Hi-Rez" good (Lyle Lovett Joshua Judges Ruth, the 2 x Ohio Players quads, Don Henley End of Innocence, Edgar Winter Jasmine Nightdreams, Clapton One in Every Crowd, Poco Crazy Eyes, Freddie Ravel, the 3 x Sting 5.1's DTS's).
 
Sucker that I am, I have gone for this as I do not have any of the SACD.

if you haven't got the SACDs it makes sense to get this box I spose.. though the SACDs still seem relatively cheap/easy to get for the most part.. especially in the scheme of OOP SACDs.. maybe not DOFP nowadays though, which seems to be the pricey one of all the Moodies SACDs right now.
 
Regardless of the 5.1 manipulation and more, the missed opportunity was to release bluejays in the quad mix. Plus whatever they found that is unreleased is dubious also, they had that chance with the sacds and came up with very little material. This is a retirement fund boxset. Wait and it will be heavily discounted a year from now.
The dts cds were made so the center channel and sub can be turned off, like it is supposed to be
.
 
Thinking about why I've always dug the Moodies and so many of my friends--and most critics--have not, it occurs to me that where Mike Pinder was the wings that allowed the band to fly, Hayward & Lodge were the engine, which is why they are still around performing today. They've taken a lot of whacks and hits and stayed tough, the basic ingredient of survival. Which is why I'm surprised that BLUE JAYS, which is a might-as-well-be-Moodies album, has yet to have a decent, deluxe reissue with the quad mix included. It sold respectably, so they can hardly be ashamed of it. Yet they've also ignored it, and I don't remember that the band has played any of its material in concert since...well, I'm not sure they ever have (and to be honest, I'm too lazy to research and find out if they ever did). They got two minor chart hits out of the album, and it's a very nice, pleasant listen that, at the time, gave hope that the band would get back together (which they did, though to what result is something out of the scope of this thread). This is made all the more curious by the fact as, IIRC, "Forever Autumn" has been played by the band somewhere along the way, even tho it's a solo Hayward recording. They've also, in general, at least in recent years, ignored material from OCTAVE as well, and on the main, don't do any of Mike's songs anymore although one of Ray's (he co-wrote "Are You Sitting Comfortably" with Justin) is still occasionally performed.

The other aspect of the SACD reissues that bugged me is that the ISOTLC reissue didn't include any quad mixes at all. We know at least some of its tracks were remixed for quad, while others, due to lack of sufficient parts, were not. There was enough to pull off DOFP (the last quad of the original 7 released) but it was missing enough elements to be obvious, but enough so as to not sound too strange. Like the recent ELP album reissue, I'd rather hear whatever MC mixes were possible rather than not have any at all. That is, an incomplete LOST CHORD in quad, while not sensible for a release back in the '70s, would make sense in a modern, deluxe package. My regret in this regard is not asking Tony Clarke about what mixes he and Derek Varnals did manage to finish when I had the chance. Sigh...

ED :)
 
if you haven't got the SACDs it makes sense to get this box I spose.. though the SACDs still seem relatively cheap/easy to get for the most part.. especially in the scheme of OOP SACDs.. maybe not DOFP nowadays though, which seems to be the pricey one of all the Moodies SACDs right now.

And that is it in a nutshell - I do not have the SACD's.
 
Sorry to not complain here - but never having owned a Moodies album before (my friends had them, heard them there) I have been delighted to hear the SACD mixes. I bought one and really enjoyed it and have been collecting the rest bit by bit. (No 7thS or DOFP $! yet) I was just listening to TOCCC yesterday and was digging it deeply. Several great instances of multiple guitar layers emerging from different parts of the room. Nicely trippy!

All that said... I would dearly love to have heard the original quad mixes. I generally prefer quad to 5.1 anyway. Thrilled to have what I have though.
 
From http://www.spincds.com/timeless-flight-17-disc-box-set

• 3 DVD Audio Discs containing the long deleted 5.1 Surround Sound mixes of Days of Future Passed, On The Threshold of A Dream, To Our Children’s Children’s Children, A Question of Balance, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour and Seventh Sojourn.

does anyone have any idea where the long deleted 5.1 Surround Mixes were deleted from ?

.
 
The SACD deluxe editions, though 'long deleted' they're not, since it's only been about five years since they went OOP.


ED:)
 
According to the official Universal site, the set contains "DVD audio" discs, not "DVD Audio" discs:

http://www.moodybluesboxset.com/
Good god! It the never-ending word game that the distributors love to play. Never come out and explicitly state what the exact format is. No...just keep the buyer guessing. Man these guys tick me off.
 
Record company folks don't know the difference between a DVD audio-only disc and a DVD-A. After all, they only make them. duh!

I greatly enjoy the SACD's. I've owned the Q8's & DTS discs since they were released. I'd gladly trade advanced res for the low-fi Q8's, although I'd love to hear the CD-4's and/or Q4's.
 
Good god! It the never-ending word game that the distributors love to play. Never come out and explicitly state what the exact format is. No...just keep the buyer guessing. Man these guys tick me off.

EMI and UMG have called their DTS/DD DVDV's "Audio DVD" as well as "DVD A/audio" before.. bloody idiots.
 
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