Search - Moody Blues :: Days of Future Passed (Deluxe Edition)

Agressively compressed remastering nearly spoils a classic L

Ludix | Upton, MA United States | 05/14/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"NOTE 1: I don't have an 5.1 channel SACD player, so my comments are about the standard 2-channel CD-Audio layer of Disc 1. This is what most people likely to buy this set will hear anyway.



NOTE 2: The three stars are for the SACD remastering. The album itself is a 5-star classic.



I've been living with this wonderful album since the 1960s, wearing out at least three copies on vinyl. Then I got both the 2-channel Dolby stereo and 4-channel quad open reel tapes. Finally I bought the original CD release, and then the Mobile Fidelity Gold CD release. (Yes, I guess I'm a hardcore fan.) To my ears, the Mobile Fidelity was by far the best-sounding version, although it was not without problems (somewhat hissy, and an audible drop-out near the end).



It was with great excitement that I ordered this new SACD remastering, hoping that the latest technology combined with the supervision of Hayward and Lodge would produce a definitive version. Boy, was I disappointed.



Like so many other remasterings nowadays, this edition of DAYS OF FUTURE PASSED has been agressively compressed to make it sound "louder." This became obvious as soon as the orchestral introduction ended and "Dawn Is A Feeling" began. The dynamic swells that made earlier versions sound majestic and lifelike have been squashed to a hard, glassy sheen. The heavy-handed processing is especially noticeable on "Another Morning" and "The Sunset."



To be absolutely certain about what I was hearing, I ripped the entire SACD Disc 1 into my PC using Sound Forge. Then I ripped the entire Mobile Fidelity CD and put the two waveforms side by side on my screen. The difference is dramatic and obvious. The Mobile Fidelity version preserves the entire dynamic range of the original; the overall gain was adjusted so that only the loudest moments approach peak level. This version lets you hear how some songs are softer or louder than others, and how certain key moments (the end of "Peak Hour," for instance) are loudest of all.



By comparison, the waveform of the SACD version is flatlined at just two-tenths of a decibel below peak over the ENTIRE course of the album! This means that any subtle change in volume between and within songs is completely lost. Everything sounds the same: LOUD. This is the same scrunched sound you get when you hear music on the radio. Even listening with high-quality headphones gave me ear fatique.



FOR ENGINEERS ONLY: The average RMS power level of the Mobile Fidelity CD is -19.1 dB, with a peak level of -1.1 dB. The stereo SACD layer's average RMS power level is only -9.1 dB, with a peak of -0.1 dB. That's a full 10 dB louder, and judging from the peaks, at least 8 dB of dynamic range has been lost. Who did these guys think they were mastering? LL Cool J? Britney?



Despite its CONSTANTLY LOUD presentation, the SACD version is less hissy than the Mobile Fidelity. That's because the SACD mastering employed digital noise reduction, a technique Mobile always avoided because of the audible artifacts such processing can cause. I don't hear any of those artifacts in the SACD version, though. Also, the drop-out near the end of "Nights In White Satin" on the Mobile Fidelity is not heard on the SACD.



Conclusion: The out-of-print Mobile Fidelity CD of DAYS OF FUTURE PASSED is probably the most accurate representation of the original master tapes we will ever have. The new SACD version sounds squashed from start to finish. Although remarkably clean, it unequivocally FAILS to reproduce the entire dynamic range of the classic album.



The bonus tracks on the second disc are of variable interest. The "alternate takes" in tracks 1-4 are worth hearing, though the differences are often small. The mono, non-orchestral "Nights In White Satin" on track 5 is nice to have. The singles in tracks 6-12 were all released previously in the out-of-print PRELUDE collection, except that "Cities" is in mono here instead of true stereo, as on the earlier disc. The BBC sessions on tracks 13-19 are the most interesting, especially the very respectable cover of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood."



If you're a Moodies completionist, or if you can't find a copy of PRELUDE, you'll want to get this set for the bonus tracks. But if you want to hear how great this old warhorse really sounds, track down a copy of the Mobile Fidelity CD on eBay. This SACD mastering is a sad misrepresentation."

The Ultimate Collectors Version Is Finally Here!

Martin A Hogan | San Francisco, CA. (Hercules) | 04/18/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This latest edition of "Days Of Future Passed" has to be the last, as it is nearly perfect. The Moody Blues have never been keen on keeping old unused material, so what is presented here is very, very good and very, very rare. Now on SACD, the sound is faultless and the mixing is astounding. Besides the first seven tracks of the original, the second CD contains outtakes, singles, B-Sides and alternate versions of pre-"Days Of Future Passes" songs and BBC Sessions that are as solid and pure as a studio recording. This is the sound that will keep you mesmerized for years.



The remaining tracks are listed here and it is great to hear the complete album songs without the orchestration:



Tuesday Afternoon (Alternate Mix)

Dawn Is A Feeling (Alternate Version)

Sun Set (Alternate Vocal Mix)

Twilight Time (Alternate Vocal Mix)

Night In White Satin (Mono Single Version)

Fly Me High (Mono Single Version)

I Really Haven't Got The Time (Mono Single Version)

Love & Beauty (Mono Single Version)

Leave This Man Alone (Mono Single Version)

Cities (Mono Single Version)

Long Summer Days (Stereo Version)

Please Think About It (Stereo Version)

Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood (BBC Saturday Club 5/9/67)

Love & Beauty (BBC Easybeat Session 9/20/67

Leave This Man Alone (BBC Easybeat Session 9/20/67

Peak Hour (BBC Easybeat Session 9/20/67

Nights In White Satin (BBC Dave Symonds Session 1/1/68

Fly Me High (BBC Dave Symonds Session 1/1/68

Twilight Time (Live BBC Dave Symonds Session 1/1/68)



This is the ultimate collection of the Moody Blues first successful album and an important piece in musical history. The box is half plastic and half cardboard which might not last as long as a regular CD package. However, the liner package notes are exhaustive with many new pictures and a complete history.



(Note: Disc 1 is an SACD mix made from the original quadraphonic tapes. Disc 2 is the original remastered quadraphonic tapes - not SACD. This is seen as Disc 1 is gold colored and Disc 2 is silver)."

Here's the Info you Need:

C. Lichiello | Ohio | 06/25/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If the viciously opposed viewpoints you've read under this product heading have you "on the fence," about whether it's worth 30-odd dollars plunked down, allow me to provide one, carefully considered clarification.



I'm sure you already know this work... probably intimately. I can't imagine you have any want or need for my opinion or analysis of the art, or its creators. But I honestly can't think of a good reason why someone would "invest" in this particular issue of it, IF THEY WEREN'T ABLE TO RETRIEVE THE INFORMATION ENCODED ON THE DISCS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!





Well ok... they can retrieve disc 2. I listened to it once. I doubt if I ever will again. It's fine, but I have always felt bonus tracks were primarly for completists, which if you ARE, of Moodies material, then it will be of value to you. Most of it sounds decent, but none of it sounds as good the SACD.



Ahhhh... the SACD... let me put it this way:



IT'S F-----G TRANSCENDENTAL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



It's as PERFECT as I can possibly imagine a mass-produced transfer of this album that you can own in your home being! Not only is it worth the $30-odd bucks for the set, IT'S ALSO WORTH ANOTHER $500 TO PURCHASE A COMPLETE SACD-capable SURROUND-SOUND SYSTEM AND SPEND TWO DAYS SETTING IT UP AND TWEAKING IT UNTIL IT'S PERFECT BEFORE TREATING YOUR EARS TO THIS INCREDIBLY SUBLIME BLISS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



Have I given you a clue? Some people who already wrote reviews without ever HEARING the product, NEED one.



I was not concerned about the "cd layer" of the SACD, and I could never drag myself away from the totally immersing experience of the SACD in order to test it. If you want a "cd" of this title, there are much, MUCH less expensive options on the market, which you probably already own.



A final technical note:

As you know this SACD edition was sourced from a Quadrophonic mix made from the original 4-Track x 2 session masters, by (I think) Hugh Mendl in 1972. They chose to remain somewhat true to that source by NOT creating a fake (digital) center-channel, so the center speaker on a typical home theatre setup remains silent during playback. Had the decision been mine, I would have done the exact same thing. This one's spot - on!!!!!!!"