The Moody Blues need little introduction for their fans. The music was characterized by lush multilayering of sound. There was a lot of overdubbing and synthesized sounds, including the Mellotron. The group was made up of main members Justin Haywood, Mike Pinder, Graeme Edge, John Lodge and Ray Thomas. Their music had an introspective nature and psychedelic undertones. The three albums I will comment on are Days of Future Passed, A Question of Balance and On the Threshold of Dream. All these are import-only albums at this time. There are rumors that the may soon be released in the USA. Albums were recorded between 1967 and 1970. All three have bonus material on them. Since the music is very well known, my comments will be mostly on the sound quality of the discs.
The Moody Blues – Days of Future Passed – Deram 983 215-0 – Hybrid stereo/multichannel SACD and CD. (CD only on the second disc.):
This album reached # 3 on the pop charts in 1972. It has the two hit songs of “Tuesday Afternoon” and “Nights in White Satin”. The London Festival Orchestra joins the group on the recording. The album has appeared on quad open reel tape, cassette, LP, DTS disc, Mobile Fidelity CD and this SACD version among others. A second CD of alternate versions, outtakes, mono single masters’ studio recordings and BBC radio recordings is provided.
The SACD is the version to have of this album. The standard CD is dull and flat- sounding. The DTS disc is recessed-sounding and dynamically compressed. The Mo-Fi disc is much closer but not as detailed or as solid sounding. If you have the Mo-Fi you can probably settle for that sound unless the album is important to you. Both the Mo-Fi and DTS discs are out of print. The CD layer of the SACD sounds very close to the Mo-Fi. I feel that the second disc is a blatant attempt to get more money out of collectors. They do not advertise that the second disc is CD only. I find that the music on it doesn’t add anything to the understanding of the songs. The second disc does sound fairly good however. The SACD is only 44 minutes long and they could have selected the best 5 or 6 cuts from the second disc and added to the first disc as a bonus, as they did on the other two SACDs I am commenting on. I can’t imagine ever putting on the second disc again; there are only three or four songs that I consider interesting on the second disc. The disc is pricey at $35 retail. You can get it on the Internet for less than $20.
Track Listings:
1. Day Begins
2. Dawn (Dawn Is a Feeling)
3. Morning (Another Morning)
4. Lunch Break (Peak Hour)
5. Afternoon/Forever Afternoon (Tuesday)/(Evening) Time To Get Away
6. Evening/Sun Set/Twilight Time
7. Night (Nights In White Satin)
8. Tuesday Afternoon (Alternate Mix)
9. Dawn Is A Feeling (Alternate Mix)
10. Sun Set (Alternate Version)
11. Twilight Time (Alternate Vocal Mix)
12. Nights In White Satin (Mono Single Version)
13. Fly Me High (Mono Single Version)
14. I Really Haven’t Got The Time (Mono Single Version)
15. Love & Beauty (Mono Single Version)
16. Leave This Man Alone (Mono Single Version)
17. Cities (Mono Single Version)
18. Long Summer Days (Stereo Version)
19. Please Think About It (Stereo Version)
20. Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood (BBC Saturday Club 9/5/67)
21. Love & Beauty (BBC Easybeat Session 20/9/67)
22. Leave This Man Alone (BBC Easybeat Session 20/9/67)
23. Peak Hour (BBC Easybeat Session 20/9/67)
24. Nights In White Satin (BBC Dave Symonds Session 1/1/68)
25. Fly Me High (BBC Dave Symonds Session 1/1/68)
26. Twilight Time (Live BBC Dave Symonds Session 1/1/68)
The Moody Blues – A Question of Balance – Threshold 983 770-6 – stereo/multichannel SACD hybrid:
This is an album from 1970 which made it to number three on the pop charts. It contains the hits “Question” and “The Tide Rushes In”. It is much sparer in its sounds than Days of Future Past. This was done to make the music more performable in live concert. The stereo SACD setting is the way to listen to this disc. The multichannel tracks sound good, but the surround takes a bit away from the front channel presentation. The CD layer is fairly good but dynamically limited and lacks the tactile feeling of the SACD. I only have the CD version of this disc to compare it with. The standard CD sounds anemic and lifeless. To get to the bonus tracks you must set your player to read the CD layer of the disc. The bonuses are not overly interesting but an OK addition. I do prefer the bonus version of Minstrel’s Song to the version put on the original disc.
Track Listings:
1. Question
2. How Is It (We Are Here)
3. And The Tide Rushes In
4. Don’t You Feel Small
5. Tortoise & The Hare
6. It’s Up To You
7. Minstrel’s Song
8. Dawning Is The Day
9. Melancholy Man
10. Balance
11. Mike’s Number One (Bonus Track)
12. Question (Alternate Version) (Bonus Track)
13. Minstrel’s Song (Original Mix) (Bonus Track)
14. It’s Up To You (Original Mix) (Bonus Track)
15. Don’t You Feel Small (Original Mix) (Bonus Track)
16. Dawning Is The Day (Full Original Mix) (Bonus Track)
The Moody Blues – On the Threshold of Dream – Deram 983 215-3 – stereo/multichannel SACD hybrid:
This recording is from 1969. It shows a high degree of overdubbing like Days. The disc reached number 20 on the pop charts. The main hit song is “Lovely To See You”. Again the stereo SACD layer is the one to listen to. The multichannel again detracts from the front channels and gives a sort of rolled-off presentation which has a lack of focus. I feel that the surround channels were too heavily mixed with main instruments. The Mo-Fi is slightly compressed and slow sounding compared with the SACD. You have to be listening to the CD layer to get to the bonus tracks. For some reason the bonus tracks sound better than the regular tracks on the CD layer. Because of the good sounds of the bonus tracks they are worthwhile. The CD layer is not as good as the Mo-Fi. I do not have the original CD to compare, but remembering the difference between it and the Mo-Fi makes me suspect it is pretty feeble-sounding.
Track Listings:
1. In The Beginning
2. Lovely To See You
3. Dear Diary
4. Send Me No Wine
5. To Share Our Love
6. So Deep Within You
7. Never Comes The Day
8. Lazy Day
9. Are You Sitting Comfortably
10. The Dream
11. Have You Heard – Part One
12. The Voyage
13. Have You Heard – Part Two
14. In The Beginning – Full Version (Bonus Track)
15. So Deep Within You – Full Version (Bonus Track)
16. Dear Diary – Alternate Mix (Bonus Track)
17. Have You Heard – Original Take (Bonus Track)
18. The Voyage – Original Take (Bonus Track)
19. Lovely To See You – BBC Top Gear Session 18/2/69 (Bonus Track)
20. Send Me No Wine – BBC Top Gear Session 18/2/69 (Bonus Track)
21. So Deep Within You – BBC Tony Brandon Session – Mono 2/4/69(Bonus Track)
22. Are You Sitting Comfortably – Mono Version (Bonus Track)
– Clay Swartz
