Best Pressings of The Moody Blues "Days of Future Passed"

By "lacking in level," you mean the peak levels? The average gain?

 

The claim is they were damaged, but it seems more likely the "issue" is simply the original mix is kind of wonky. The US tape is certainly fine.

I had a few different US copies for years and got an early UK pressing recently thinking it would be substantially better. It wasn't.

 

Yes. The sound is "weak". Pardon my lack of knowing of the proper terms...learning slowly.

I should be able to check my FLACs at home and run it through Wave Editor and compare it to the US-PDO. Now, if I can just remember to do it when I get home along with getting my other stuff together.

Grave yard shift....great money, but rough on the mind.

 

I'll have to give it a listen, it's a 91 CRC SRC press plastic hub I found in the used bins yesterday, I'll do some comparisons later to my WG 1

 

Sorry that you got a bad UK copy. The main difference that I'm hearing on the one I received is the presence of natural instrument and voice resonance. Even the gong at the end of side two sounds as a gong should! The US versions make the gong sound like a trash can lid!

 

I don't think there's anything wrong with my UK copy. It's quite clean and quiet. My US copies are slightly more distorted, but beyond that, the difference is arguably subtle.

 

I can only vouch for the copies I have - I don't own a UK 2W/2W but would really like to, just for comparison.

Anyway, the copies I have are as follows:

UK 'Brown' Deram label SM707, white border cover - 3w/3w - original mix

UK 'Red' Deram label SM707, white border cover - 3w/3w - original mix

UK Red Deram SM707 - no border cover - 4w/4w - original mix

UK Red Deram SM707 - no border cover - 5c/5c - remix

UK Silver label Deram Re-issue DOA6 - no border cover - ZAL 8078 6x / ZAL 8079 6x - remix

1981 Spanish Red Deram label re-issue CP 9019 - White border cover - LCCI 1256 R R 3 / LCCI 1257 R R 3 - Original Mix

1980's Holland Red Deram label re-issue 6412 327, no border cover, 300 001 3Y2 / 300 001 4Y1 - Original mix


Out of all these, for the original mix the Spanish LP is the clear winner, with the Holland press a close second. Third is the UK 3w/3w (both the brown and red Derams sound identical, obviously!) with the UK 4w/4w coming fourth, as it is a muddy lake compared to the others.

The two versions that feature the remix both sound pretty good, although the re-issue (DOA6) is cut a little hotter and has a slight mid-range boost, whereas the 5c/5c appears slightly more polite, but is a more natural presentation overall.

I've got my eye on an Aussie issue and a Japanese issue, but I fear this habit of obtaining different copies from around the world is bordering on obsession!

 

Are there any opinions of the U.K. Mono version?

 

It's a fold down, isn't it?

 

I've heard a UK mono copy played on a very high end system (Linn TT, SimAudio electronics, Vandersteens) in a hifi shop. I wasn't that impressed, it was warm, pleasant and clear but not especially vibrant.

You'll find a number of posts on this site postulating that the UK mono DOFP is a fold-down. I'm not certain about that, but would tend to believe fold-down theory is correct based on my own listening experience.

 

I have never found an adequate us/UK vinyl copy for the reasons mentioned: veiled, muddy sound. I went with the Sacd. Major improvement.

 

Speakers Corner reissue from 1998, by far

Now Out Of Print

 

Different mix.

 

Yeah, I realize that. If one can get past that, a quantum leap in sound quality. I rarely play the old originals.

 

I nearly picked one up for about £40 sealed off ebay, but then, knowing it's the remix and I have two perfectly good pressings with that mix on already, I passed.

Despite being muddy, I'm fonder of the original mix - the remix sounds too clinical and I don't like the various gaffes (Pinder's vocals too dry in 'Dawn' and the 'aaahs' all the way through 'twilight' are distracting and spoil the track) plus there ate missing elements in some tracks (missing backing vocals in 'Time To Get Away' etc...)

It's a shame the original mix has never made it to CD - apparently it was prepared for release but never issued.

The best version I have of the original mix is a Spanish re-issue! But I'm intrigued to get a German, Aussie and Japan copy just to see (a) which mix they have and (b) how they compare to my current (several!) copies...

 

I am listening to a Bell Sound of the original mix. I just enjoy it knowing that it's an almost 50 year old record and wondering where it was before I got ahold of it (for $2.99 at In Your Ear in either Boston, MA or Providence, RI). Don't get me wrong, I care about sound quality (and a German pressing I have of the original mix sounds damn good!). I would imagine we will find out whether or not those original tapes were damaged next year when the album has its 50th Anniversary with a mega box set.

 

No need to imagine.

 

I have an original us Dream Lp and was astonished at how poor the sound was. Veiled, muddy, almost crude sounding. What audiophile pressing do u have?

 

Deram

 

I found one of these yesterday in the $1.99 bin. All UK, cover slightly worn but the vinyl is VG++ to NM.

I told the clerk if this was a typo and he said no. I took it home, cleaned it and played it. Oh my f**** god (excuse my language)!!!! Suffice to say that I'll be taking my Bell sounds and GK pressings to Goodwill soon. I've never in my life heard DOFP this clean and REAL. I mean, everything sound real, down to the gong.

I haven't checked the pedigree yet but will do tonight. Wow! And here I was willing to spend a premium on this and that remaster, and out of the blue it falls in my lap at the store with a $2 price tag. Can't wait to get home tonight to crank it up again.

 

I like the MFSL vinyl.

 

So is that a UK 2w/1w?

It'll also be the original mix (the first UK cut with the remix was 5w/5w and had the 'full artwork' cover without the white banner at the top).

 

I haven't checked the runout groove yet, John Paul. Whatever mix it is it sounds phenomenal. And I don't use that word a lot.

Will report back later.

 

Btw, I saw that exact one (full artwork UK) across the street from where I bought this one. How do you rate it? I may just pick it up next time I'm shopping there..provided no one's taken it.

 

The 'full' cover without the white banner was introduced before the remix, so it's possible you will end up picking up a 3w/3w or 4w/4w, both of which feature the original mix - the 3w/3w is ok, the 4w/4w is mudy and best avoided - the remix will have a 5w/5w matrix or higher - it was also re-issued around 1981 with a new cat no. DOA6, and that will most definitely be a the remix...