Moody Blues on SACD

[jaybird100]

This was something I had looked forward to... my favorite group in all its surround glory. I ordered most of the titles, and so far I got "A
Question of Balance". The digipak case has a sticker which claims a 5.1 mix. WRONG!!! It's a 4.0 mix, exactly the same as the quad tape! No
center channel, no subwoofer. While having the Moodies in surround is great, I think Universal's mislabeling of the content is very misleading. I hope enough people complain loudly enough to force Universal to re-do these.

 

[rusinurbe]

Isn't it be better to have the original QUAD mix than no surround at all.
There are loads of good QUAD mixes around which have been bypassed in favour of a new mix or just a stereo SACD
Look at the controversy over dark side of the Moon, Alan Parsons 4.0 mix verses James Guthries 5.1 mix, You cant please all of teh people all of the time.
From what i have read so far it appears that the DTS versions are better sounding that these new SACD's because someone has futzzed the sound Noise reduction etc.. That is what you should be copmplaining about.

Personally i would have preferred these as DVD-A original quad is fine with some contemporary Video content, i have seen Promos for nights in white satin . It just makes for a better collection in my book.

 

[Cai Campbell]

I would much rather have the original 4.0 mixes than 5.1 remixes. The problem is, we get the worst of both worlds. Not only are these not 5.1 remixes, they are not even the original 4.0 mixes. They're close, but they've been futzed with and stepped on. They are, in effect, sub-par 4.0 remixes of the original quad tapes.

Then there are the booklets for these releases that reference SQ quad, which has absolutely NOTHING to do with any of the Moodies albums released in any format in any country. Did anyone involved in the surround aspect of these releases have a clue? I don't think so... Somebody should tell these guys about a little ol' thing called RESEARCH... Even a grade-schooler can spend 30 seconds on Google and tell you that SQ and Moody Blues have nothing to do with one another.

 

[ss9001]

Not .

I've listened to all of "Q of B" last night and today. My sub, which has a signal-sensing turn-on feature, did activate and did have output. But the output was very low. In fact, I needed to turn the sub's volume up to above 50% to make sure I was hearing it and not the mains.

But I agree there is no center channel. So it seems this could qualify as a 4.1 mix.

Also, Cai, I read your comments about NR in another thread. I could tell NR was used on Question. There were times I could hear a distinct volume change on some of the vocals or instruments, a momentary decrease then back to normal. Reminded me of the effect of using an expander. I have all but one of these as MFSL CD's and to my ears, this SACD was not as bright as the MFSL stereo release, and so is much more listenable. Regarding the actual SACD mixes, supposedly Justin Hayward himself was involved in them. To be honest, I prefer at least this version of QOB to some of the 4 track originals. Some of the original mixes had extreme un-natural positioning of vocals, like all in the rear. I think the blend with some tasteful use of the rears for only some of the vocals makes it more enjoyable. But that's my opinion.

Overall, I'm very pleased these were finally released; I'm enjoying them a lot, even the bonus alternate mixes on the disc. With the present state of multi-channel releases, we should be happy we got these.

ss9001

 

[Quadro-Action]

I have ordered 4 of the M.B. SA-CD's. I think, they will reach me tomorrow. Because I have all of the Q4 of M.B. I will then make the test, if the SA-CD's have the original mix of the quadraphonic tapes. I mean, that is also written in the booklets and is to read in the webside of M.B.

 

[JonUrban]

It's funny. We've been waiting for these releases for years. We are the target audience. They will probably quickly disappear from the retail channel by next year, becoming an eBay staple. Yet, it's hard not to be disappointed. If they only left them alone, or just added a .1 channel.

Why did they have to mess with the mixes if they were not going to create brand new mixes?

It's hard to complain, heck, we should be amazed that we got these at all.

 

[bizmopeen]

I just ordered these online and am looking forward to hearing them, but my enthusiasm is somewhat tempered by what I've read here, specifically about the application of noise reduction. I do agree that we're kind of lucky to see these at all and I'm looking forward to the bonus tracks, so I'm sure it'll be worth it. This ought to be interesting...

 

[Cai Campbell]

Despite all the nitpicking, they really do sound great; there is no denying that. At some point you have to say "fuc|< it" and just enjoy the music! We are definitely lucky to have these. I have a tendency to be overly analytical, which usually happens on the first and second listen of a legacy "conversion". After that, I can usually put my qualms aside and enjoy the music, which has been the case here. I think these titles are definitely worth getting!

 

[mandrix]

Despite all the nitpicking, they really do sound great; there is no denying that. At some point you have to say "fuc|< it" and just enjoy the music! We are definitely lucky to have these. I have a tendency to be overly analytical, which usually happens on the first and second listen of a legacy "conversion". After that, I can usually put my qualms aside and enjoy the music, which has been the case here. I think these titles are definitely worth getting!

Well Said! I have DOFP, OTTOAD, and have QOB on the way.
I have some disappointments with DOFP, there is so much potential there
(providing it's on the masters). Looking forward to listening to QOB next
week. As for non-5.1 sound, well I've got the DSOTM DVD-A 4.1 mix and
I love it. It gets equal time with my SACD DSOTM.

 

[bmoura]

It's funny. We've been waiting for these releases for years. We are the target audience. They will probably quickly disappear from the retail channel by next year, becoming an eBay staple. Yet, it's hard not to be disappointed. If they only left them alone, or just added a .1 channel.

Why did they have to mess with the mixes if they were not going to create brand new mixes?

It's hard to complain, heck, we should be amazed that we got these at all.

Well, it's usually about the sales. And they must be moving because Universal Music Group in the U.S. is bringing 2 of the Moody Blues SACDs into America next Tuesday.

See the story on High Fidelity Review at http://www.highfidelityreview.com/news/news.asp?newsnumber=12690123 for more details.

 

[JonUrban]

Well, that's good news for folks who don't know about the "import" route. Most of "us" already have them. Will that affect sales here in the USA? I wonder if they'll show up in the Best Buys, etc. I hope they do.

It will be very interesting to see how these do. Will they advertise, will they appear in stores? Interesting that they only chose two titles to start with, and one was not DOFP.

It's nice that they are finally available here, but would it have killed them to release them all at the same time as they were available in Europe?

 

[timbre4]

Tis odd not to go ahead with all five as the already exist! I don't expect the packaging to change one iota. Naturally they picked two of three I already bought.

Seriously, if they were monitoring the import sales to judge sales potential, then I'm pleased to have done my part to get the party going again. :

 

[quadtrade]

All about costs, they chose the single disc issues, which cost them a buck or so less, at least.

 

[soundboy]

Seriously, if they were monitoring the import sales to judge sales potential, then I'm pleased to have done my part to get the party going again. :

I think Universal must've been happy about the sales of these titles and wanted to "jump start" its SACD program here in the States. After all, Universal's last pop/rock SACD release was The Carpenters SACD, IIRC. Personally, I haven't purchased any of the MB SACDs, but I will get these as domestic releases to show my support. I will just have to get the other 3 titles as imports if they're not release soon in the future. I hope this is a sign that Universal will consider releasing more pop/rock SACD titles in the States.

 

[JonUrban]

Jump Start? What happened to the now infamous "150 titles" that were supposed to follow the Carpenters SACD last year? THAT would have been a "jump start".

So would releasing the Steely Dans and the Elton John second round. We know these masters are done.

I supposed we should be happy they are releasing these two, but it seems a bit late to me.

 

[bmoura]

I supposed we should be happy they are releasing these two, but it seems a bit late to me.

We'll see what happens next. The appearance of a new Classical Music SACD title later in the year suggests that they may follow other labels as using SACD as a Classical Music release medium as a starter.

 

[JonUrban]

Brian,

Do you think they will ever repress the existing titles? It seems the "Layla" sold out, or was not printed in large numbers. The fact that a title sold out should indicate a demand. I would love to see another batch of pop/rock SACD titles from UMG. It's a helpless feeling when you support a product and have no way of knowing if the manufacturer even notices.

Petitions are fine, but sales is what gets a companies attention.

 

[elmer]

There is not a lot of manufacturing capacity in the US - not much when SACD was first introduced and even less now. BMG's few titles are all manufactured in Germany via Sonopress Guetersloh - Universal's European titles are even manufactured via Sonopress- some with Viva in France. Sonopress US never manufactured SACD. Sony DADC and Crest are the 2 primary manufacturing facilities in US. It is likely that the domestic Moodies titles are being manufactured in Europe as well - note that the only 2 titles being offered are single disc titles - minimizing packaging, mfg. and freight costs.

The cost to convert a CD line to SACD is not insignificant - close to $75K. There would have to be a significant shift in domestic SACD sales to see increased capacity - it's a miracle that any SACD is being manufactured in the US at the current state.

 

[bmoura]

It's a miracle that any SACD is being manufactured in the US at the current state.

Actually all of the Telarc SACDs are made in the U.S. by Sony's DADC facility in Terre Haute, Indiana.

 

[elmer]

Yes - Telarc has been manufacturing SACD at DADC for quite some time - but is that because it is their best option or their only option? Telarc has released more new SACD product this year than Sony and Uni combined - that is hardly enough volume to generate any serious interest in the format from other manufacturer's.

I happen to be a fan of the Telarc/Heads Up releases and as a matter of fact, have been enjoying two recent titles, Word is Out by the Jaco Pastorius Big Band and Wrapped in A Dream by Spyro Gyra - both excellent, discrete 5.1 recordings. Having said that, the Jazz genre is a small blip on the screen in regards to the overall recorded music marketplace -at least in the US and will not drive any significant change in the eyes of the the labels.