1980's London/Decca CDs In General

Why do you suppose the 1980's London Stones CDs as flat transfers sound so good while the Moody Blues CDs of the same era sound so terrible. The new remasters are still not the greatest, but they sound a lot better than the '80's London CDs. Maybe they just didn't have good tapes to work from. Believe me, I did many comparisons. The London CDs sound like a blanket is over everything, very dull and lifeless.

 

Are the 1980's London Stones CD's really "flat transfers"? Flat transfers of what? I thought they were the MoFi tapes (which I believe were jiggered with).

 

I'm not sure there were any "MoFi tapes" - I believe MoFi cut the LPs from the masters given to them by ABKCO, Decca, etc. The London CDs were *seemingly* mastered *by* MoFi from these same tapes. Some probably masters, some copies (Beggars Banquet is certainly a copy). While I haven't heard the LPs, I don't think MoFi necessarily used the same EQ settings for the digital masters (if *any*).

Does anyone have the MoFi LPs to compare?

 

The Stones CDs have been discussed enough - I'm wondering now about these Moody Blues CDs...

 

Anybody

 

I have the original Moody Blues CDs, from "Days Of Future Passed" through "Every Good Boy Deserves Favor", which were manufactured in West Germany, and I think that they sound fine. They sound more natural and smoother than the latest remasters. These titles were released in the mid-80's on London/Threshold, and the rear inlay tray inserts are almost identical in format to that of the Rolling Stones' German London CDs.



Ed Hurdle
HeavyDistortion

 

I do wish the London CD of "A Question of Balance" didn't cross-fade "Tortoise and Hare" into "It's Up To You" (the latter one of my favorite Moody songs). The intro to IUTY is a very quiet acoustic guitar figure, and the segue ruins it. There was no segue on the original LP because there was a side break in between.

The new remaster gives IUTY a cold beginning.

That said, I've done some casual A/B-ing and I do think the remasters are a bit colder and brighter and less involving than the original CD releases. They're very good in many respects, but they do sound a bit tampered with.

 

I personally think the new remasters sound a lot better than the original London CDs but still not as good as they should. Yes a little cold and brittle but also more open and spacious - maybe they are from a higher generation source. Obviously they are not first generation because of the crossfades between songs.