Moody Blues Days of Future Passed Question

When I was CD shopping yesterday, I came across three copies of the West German pressings of Days of Future Passed. They have the white spine with the blue and red square towards the top of it, as well as the white back insert.

Are there any sonic differences between this issue and the later '80's issue (with the gray J-card inserts, both spine and back)? I passed on buying one for the time being because I've already got the later '80's pressing and didn't want to spring for another version until I got some confirmation as to any differences in sonics.

Anyone?... Anyone?... Bueller?... Bueller?

 

Even though I've been told in the past that the W. German & US Decca/Polygrams were identical, I found that both copies of "In Search Of The Lost Chord" were *not* identical. Different peak levels, bit comparisons, and obvious sound during null inversion tests. That said, they sound fairly close to my ears. I can't vouch for "Days" (or any of the other titles) as I don't own both.

What I can add is, be careful that the disc inside matches the outer packaging. I have a US pressed copy of "Every Good Boy" that came with the Euro packaging!

 

Are you looking for the original mix of that album? I have not been able to verify that the original stereo mix of that was ever released on a cd. I burned one from vintage vinyl, with mixed results.

I really dislike the remix and was seriously ticked when the $30 MoFi cd had the remix on it. I have not played the cd for years as a result.

 

It wasn't Thom. However, Tueday Afternoon and Nights in White Satin in the original mix appeared on the Time Traveller box set.

Brian

 

I wasn't even aware that there was a CD remix! Anybody know what spurred that on?

 

Derek Varnals, the Moodie's engineer, remixed the album in the mid-late 70's due to the condition of the master tape. The original album mix has never appeared on CD. All CD's have utilized the remix.

I do have a Polygram cassette release from the mid 80's that utilizes the orignal mix. Lord knows, what they used as a source for it though.

The biggest differences with the remix vs. original (other than reverbs and effects), are the missing low harmony vocal on "Evening: Time To Away," and, if I recall correctly, something going on during "Dawn is The Feeling"...perhaps an extra beat or something.

 

The story was related to me by MoFi that they tried like hell to use those original mixes for this album, but the licensor would hear none of it.

 

Which, I suppose, would be a thorn in the side of the project should Steve and Audio Fidelity tackle the famous 7 Moody albums.

 

I remember my copy of this album. The second side's speed was too fast. Not quite a chipmunk sound, but very noticeable. I didn't realize it was a mistake until I heard a friend's correct version of this album.

 

Heh, they just haven't met Marshall and Steve yet.

 

The original mix, AFAIK, was unchanged in the US....on vinyl! Every pressing I've heard on Deram is the original '68 mix. The quadraphonic mix, from 1974, is the one that lacks a few overdubs but has a few extended passages on a few songs not heard on the original mix(this is the version available on 5.1 DTS).

The CD versions are all the late '70s remix, which has a clearer sound compared to the original, but less bass: somewhere along the line, someone in the Moodies camp made a decision to change things--probably the band with guidance from Tony Clarke, their producer--and Varnals went back and did it over, thus giving us 3 mixes of the album in total. As noted, a few of the songs on the box set are the original mixes, so we k now the master tape still exists. Odds of it being used, though, are not good....I even asked the question over at Justin's website, but never got an answer. Oh well....

Good news is, there are plenty of clean copies of the vinyl out there, so....


ED

 

The 70's two-track stereo *remix* is the one that lacks the low-harmony overdub on "Evening: Time To Get Away." Thus, all CD versions of the stereo album lack this harmony vocal...on the line "live all you people".

 

I recently bought an original US copy for $3. I'm gonna neddle-drop it and check it out.

 

I have this disc, but not the US one. Sounds alright to me, but it's no sonic masterpiece. Someone told me at the time in the First Pressings thread that it was the best version, though...

 

Quentin, we had a lengthy discussion about the various Days Of Future Past mixes and such in Oct. 2002.

http://www.stevehoffman.tv/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7812&highlight=moody+blues+days

In my opening comments I mentioned a Moody Blues FAQ that explains the 1978 remix. Also in this thread Tim Neely had a great idea. Universal should release a deluxe edion of the Moodies classic album. Mind you, there may be too much material for a double CD, particularly if the producers attempted to use the original mix, the 78 remix, the quad mix, the mono singles / b sides, and any outtakes they might uncover.