Best LP version Moody Blues DOFM ?

[McIntosh]

Comments on the best sounding version of this album ??

Just wanna look for the right one!

[Humorem]

For my 200th post, I proudly present:

The best you will ever hear is the heavy vinyl version from Speaker Corner.


Warmly, TP

[Humorem]

Word for word from the September 1998 (!) catalog:

In my twenty-odd years of record collecting (twenty odd years of record collecting) I've found exactly one mint original British copy of this album. The stampers are 1W/1W, pretty darn original I'd say.

And this new reissue beats it!

You could have knocked me over with a feather when I cracked open the seal and apprehensively placed the 180 gram slab on the turntable—surely they had boosted the high end and ruined the damn thing, I thought—when lo and behold that glorious, rich, smooth sound came out of the speakers. And I was hooked.

This album is 30 years old for god's sake! In those 30 years I'd forgotten how good it is. Tuesday Afternoon is the perfect pop song, with the whole of side one flowing effortlessly from it as each song (each day) is linked by means of the surrounding orchestrations, until it reaches its zenith with the climax of Nights in White Satin.

The sound is very much a part of the entire experience. The strings of the orchestra sound as sweet as any Decca, the soundstage wide and deep as a symphony. For those of you who still think Mobile Fidelity is the king on this one, here's a record that demonstrates what truly natural highs really are. The Moodies used Decca's classical engineers, not their pop ones, and those guys know what actual acoustic instruments are supposed to sound like.

And the amazing thing is this new pressing is even slightly more transparent than my original! (Hoffman did it with Madman Across the Water and Never a Dull Moment and others but he's in a league of his own; I can't expect these other labels to do the kind of work he does.)

Now someone may have a better sounding original (or reissue for that matter) than mine. I can't judge records I've never heard. But this record sounds so right in all the right ways that I would be surprised to hear a better one. And that's as strong an endorsement as I can make.

TP

[Sckott]

I agree with Humorem here. Great issue. Most DOFP originals, from previous owners, are often abused like redheaded step-children. :( The SC issue is really done well.

[David R. Modny]

Another thing to consider is that when Derek Varnals (sp?) remixed the album in the 70's, due to the deteriorating master tape, there were some differences from the original album...if that sort of thing bothers you. Both the Mo-Fi and the remaster use this mix (though I just realized, after I dragged it out, that an 80's cassette reissue I have uses the original LP mix for some inexplicable reason).

The easiest way to tell the difference between the two is that on the original mix - the middle section of "Evening" (Time To Get Away) has an additional vocal harmony line. "Peak Hour" has some differences too.

I, personally, never had any problems with the first pressing, domestic brown and white label Deram originals. Considering that you can probably find a zillion clean copies at garage sale prices if you look around - it's a miniscule investment to check it out!

[Steve Hoffman]

Anybody ever play the 1974 Open Reel Quad tape? At the time, I thought that ruled!

[Sckott]

I have that on DTS (Q4). Basically the same mix they used for the commercially available DTS CD, supposedly. I thought that ruled too! I love listening to that one, especially "Nights In White Satin".

I loved the Q4 of "On The Threshold Of A Dream" (7 1/4IPS) You'd never believe that sound came from open reel!

[Dave B]

Days Of Future Past would have to be among the top ten albums I would like to see Steve do. I love this LP! One of my favorites for a Sunday morning.

[mcow1]

I'd vote for In Search Of the Lost Chord myself. Days being right up there though