HiRez Poll Moody Blues - DAYS OF FUTURE PASSED [SACD]

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Rate the SACD of Moody Blues - DAYS OF FUTURE PASSED


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    56

JonUrban

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Please post your thoughts and comments on the SACD release of this classic Moody Blues album, currently only available in the UK. (y) :phones (n)

If you feel so inclined, please let us know where you got yours and approximatly what you paid - to use as a reference for other members.

THANKS!
 
I ordered mine from Elusive Disc ($129.99 for the set), and all 5 showed up today (Friday April14). Haven't listened, but here are the scans:
 

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Interesting thing about the packaging. Days, Search, and Childrens are in the thick, "Deluxe Edition" packaging, which is pretty much standard for the Deluxe releases. However, Threshold and Question are not, being that they are single discs I suppose!
 

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JonUrban said:
Interesting thing about the packaging. Days, Search, and Childrens are in the thick, "Deluxe Edition" packaging, which is pretty much standard for the Deluxe releases. However, Threshold and Question are not, being that they are single discs I suppose!

Just listened to DOFP and noticed that disc two is NOT SACD?
Why in the world is it not in SACD/Stereo for god sake?
 
Just found four out of the five Moody Blues SACDs waiting for me in the mailbox today, one yet to arrive. I listened to ISOTLC first (since it is stereo only). I was pleasantly surprised, it sounds great! I never knew that this album was so good (too bad it's not 5.1). Then on to DOFP. It's funny but back when I bought this on LP, I must have listened primarily to side two. So the first few tracks were (almost) new to me. I found this entire recording totally satisfying. The mix is very good, the rear speakers are frequently used discretely. I have never heard the Quad version, so I cannot make a comparison there. The thing I notice the most is the clarity of the sounds. I love listening to an old recording and being able to pick out nuances not heard before. When I ordered all five titles, I thought, oh man I am gonna be so sick of hearing Moody Blues. But so far that hasn't happened. I went right into OTTOAD, and by the way I did not previously know this title at all, but it's great. I might have tired of the stereo versions back when I was twenty, but not now. My tastes have changed over the years. Now I listen to many types of music. These recordings just hit the spot. In this case, the sweet spot. If these are taken from the Quad masters, I must say they did a great job back then. I did not hear the bonus tracks yet. I will go back for them. But so far I'm just happy as a clam (whatever that means?). And I have two titles to go. As far as DOFP is concerned, I am sure just about everyone has heard this one at one time or another. If you liked it then, you will love it now. There is just nothing not to like, So I am giving it a ten.(y)
 
Well, the DOFP SACD sounds pretty good, but...

It definitely suffers from too much noise reduction. It doesn't have the obvious artifacts inherent in some overly noise-reduced albums, but there is a definite lack of air and shimmer. There is no natural decay of sounds, especially apparent with the cymbals. The snare drum whacks die quickly with an almost hollow thud. The fine resolution and emotion of Justin Hayward's vocals is clouded and restrained. The whole album lacks dynamic depth and breadth. The bass comes across muddy and bloated. These problems are NOT inherent on the original quad reel tape.

I'm necessarily overstating these problems... the album still sounds great, but it could have been so much better. Don't throw out your quadraphonic reel tapes, indeed.

I'm happy to see this legacy quad release make it to SACD but I can't help but be disappointed with the final product. Why is there so much emphasis these days on squashing the sound down below any and all media artifacts? It's absurd. These recordings are 40 years old. We should expect glitches and live with them so as to allow the intrinsic and fully realized beauty of the recorded music to shine through.

The music is a 9, the surround mix is an 8, the production of this release is a 5. I'll give it 7 points overall.
 
Ed Bishop said:
Cai,

How does the SACD compare to the DTS edition? Just got the former, forgot to bring the latter along.

ED :)
I didn't compare to the DTS CD. I would like to, but all my DTS discs are packed up and in storage. We're rebuilding our house and currently my sound system and media collection are stripped down to a minimum...
 
A '7' here...and my hunch is that the DTS is a more honest rendering of the tape's sonics, even factoring in the possiblity that NR was used on that mastering, also.

I'd rate it higher, but while there is great separation, the missing parts of a few cuts have bugged me for over 30 years, still do. Nothing to be done, and it's a fun listen, but...

ED :)
 
I'd be interested in reading a comparison to the DTS version as well. I have the DTS disk, and I'm wondering if the SACD is worth the price of repurchase.
 
Dylan Berichon said:
I'd be interested in reading a comparison to the DTS version as well. I have the DTS disk, and I'm wondering if the SACD is worth the price of repurchase.
Again, I don't have the DTS here to compare it with, but the overall sound of these reissues is a bit on the 'processed' side...I hesitate to say 'tampered with,' since I've no idea what equipment or Eq adjustments(or whatever)might have been done. But something is 'just off,' if that makes sense. A lack of 'naturalness,' perhaps? Hard to put a finger on, really.

This said, the Disc 2 extras are great fun, and certainly worth the price of the set IF you're a diehard Moodies fan..and, of course, the superior mono mix of "Cities" is finally on CD, a big bonus.

ED :)
 
Ed Bishop said:
..and, of course, the superior mono mix of "Cities" is finally on CD, a big bonus. ED :)

Is there an inferior mono mix as well then Ed? :)
 
No, Tony Clarke got it right the first time, the stereo is so limp and empty it shoulda been left in the vaults...:D

There IS, however, a folddown mono mix of DOFP. Supposedly there was a US pressing, but damned if I've ever seen one. I do have a UK pressing on the DSS Deram label(as well as LOST CHORD), but both are folds, so no biggie if you don't have them.

ED :)
 
DTS beats the heck out of the new SACD! 5, at best
Listened on a Goldmund system; nuances, in the surround mix are non-existant!
It's like they removed instruments; can't explain, except to say the DTS version rocks!(n)
 
There IS, however, a folddown mono mix of DOFP. Supposedly there was a US pressing, but damned if I've ever seen one. I do have a UK pressing on the DSS Deram label(as well as LOST CHORD), but both are folds, so no biggie if you don't have them.

I always found it funny that there was a mono pressing of DoFP at all considering that the album was recorded purely as a demonstration record to demonstrate stereo.

The only reason it got released was because Decca had spent so much money on the recording process, they decided to release it to recoup some of their cost.

I've never heard for certain whether the mono was just a fold-down or if it was a genuine mono mix, but I'd have a VERY hard time believing they'd mix that album to mono from the multi-tracks, since it was recorded specifically for stereo. So I'm sure it's fold down. A US pressing is going to be pretty hard to find because that album did absolutely nothing in the US until 1972. By then, the mono album was long out of print. As a rule, mono records were not discontinued to the general public in the US until 1968. Since DoFP came out in 1967, there is almost definitely a US mono pressing. I'm sure when one comes up on eBay, it'll fetch major amounts of cash.

From 1968 onward, mono LPs may have been pressed, but they were promo only. Case in point: Frank Zappa's We're Only in It for the Money and The Velvet Underground's White Light/White Heat, both released in 1968 had unique mono mixes and mono LPs were pressed, but they were promo only. There were never stock US mono copies that you could buy in stores. Another example was The Beatles' White Album, released in 1968. There is a mono mix, but it was never released in the US, only in the UK. (y)
 
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Do they use the centre channel on this SACD?. The only one that I have that does is OTTOAD. Don't have DOFP on SACD only DTS. Is this lacking a centre also?. Are the mixes different?. Now that might get me to pull the trigger on these two but not for the Hi Rez reason. Can't beleive I just wrote that. Sad but true. Reading form others it seems its better to stick with the 2 DTS versions but of course get the rest on SACD (mabe not the 2 CH ISOALC) as we have no choice. This SACD set suffers from too many inconsistencies for me to risk another purchase. They don't deserve my money for something that could have been a lot better despite the source material.
 
The sonics on this SACD are OK considering it's a dense, heavily layered recording from the late 60's but they aren't stellar either.
Found it a bit fatiguing overall with ther worst culprit, sadly, being Nights in White Satin.
Highs more pronounced, and bass less prominent than on the rest of the album.

Surround mix was on the subtle side for the most part except Evening:The Sunset and parts of Nights.

I'nm giving it a 7

Despite 2 of their biggest hits it's never been by favorite Moodies album content wise.
 
Music/content-10/10
Sound - 6/10
Mix - 4/10

Overall - 7
 
I LOVE this album. Not only does it feature the Moodies' two biggest hits in "Tuesday Afternoon" & "Nights in White Satin", but other tracks like "Dawn is a Feeling" and "Evening: Time to Get Away" rank as some of my other favorites too!
The surround presentation does little to disappoint, though "Twilight Time" comes off as a bit thin. The orchestra has never sounded better than on this surround SACD, and it's a must own for anyone with an SACD player & surround system. :)
 
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