Moody Blues "Days of Future Passed" question *

It was only the other day that I became aware that this album was completely remixed in 1978. According to Wikepedia the reason was because the master tapes were damaged.

I have the MFSL CD and the original CD release of this album as well as a 80s pressing LP. All three have the same mix so I presume that an early LP press is the only way to get an original mix of this album.

The question is which LP release would have the original mix? Is there a certain cut-off year or matrix numbers I should look out for?

Thanks
Days of Future Passed - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia »

 

There has been a lot of previous discussion on this. Sorry, I can't give you a definitive answer, but I think on LP the original mix tends to be more common. Try a forum search, but you'll have better luck if you use the correct title with "Passed" and not "Past"-- common mistake.

 

Good place to start:

Days of Future Passed Original Mix Differences/Catalog Number? * »

 

There are some differences, which are interesting. Some people will swear by the original mix, because of these differences, but overall, imho, the remix simply sounds better.

 

I agree, depending on preferences I guess, I much prefer my WG PDO #01 cd over my US Sterling original mix...

 

It's possible the remix was never issued on LP. In any case, any used vinyl shop should have at least one copy of the many late 60's and early/mid 70's pressings of the original mix.

 

I didn't know this. An older brother of mine had Moody Blues albums on LP when I was a kid. I probably played them more than he did. And therefore my own Moody Blues collection consist only of 90s reissues on CD that I bought for myself later.

 

I can't listen to the remix due to the missing overdubs on Evening Time To Get Away. After all these years I can't believe they haven't found a usable tape of the original mix.

Imagine if Sgt Pepper, Pet Sounds or any other sacred cow were available only as remixes on CD. There would be much walking and gnashing of teeth.

 

All LP discs on Deram are original mixes, Mobile Fidelity's issue on LP, was first to use the remixed version.

 

This is good, lets you hear the key differences:

Days Of Future Passed Mix Differences »

 

I think anyone who was introduced to this album on CD will be hard pressed to go back to the original mix on LP. It's such a night and day difference.

 

The 1978 remix is on later UK pressings - namely ones with the blue/silver label from the early 80's

I don't know for sure but any (red and white label) UK Deram pressings up to at least the 4th cut (4W) will have the original mix. I have a Spanish Deram LP re-issue from 1981 which features the original mix. The remix is better sonically, but is missing some elements on some tracks - the original mix is more 'complete' but it's muddier in comparison. All CD versions including the first issue use the 1978 remix.

 

I know it's not definitive but @lukpac on the other thread indicates that it's not necessarily the tape condition preventing the original mix from being issued.

 

Could it be that the new mix is simply a better one?

 

The clarity of the 1978 remix is much improved, but not to everyone's taste - the original 1967 mix is quite 'muddy' and more drenched in reverb but some folk may prefer that.

The main sticking point is there are a significant amount of elements, i.e. overdubs MISSING from the later mix, which suggests that the remix was sourced from a first or early generation multi-track tape - it's quite possible that the reason for this is there might be later generation multi-track tape that has the missing elements as these were probably overdubbed afterwards? This theory might also suggest why the clarity is much improved on the 1978 remix as this tape will have had no bounces or less bounces than the tape that contains all of the overdubs - perhaps it's this supposed later tape that is missing or unusable? Or perhaps there's a legal reason why they can't use the 1967 mix? Who knows?

I like both mixes, it depends on my mood.

 

Correct. Reference CDs of the original mix were prepared several years ago, but the remix was selected for release anyway.

 

For a decent sounding, inexpensive LP with the 1967 mix, look for the fairly common U.S. Gilbert Kong pressing (G.K. in deadwax).

 

It's a such a shame that the remix is sonically better but some poor decisions were made on the mix itself, along with the missing overdubs. It particularly annoys me that on the original mix of Twilight time the background 'aahs' are mixed in very sparingly during the song, and this is very effective. On the remixed version those background vocals are there from the start, louder and present throughout the whole song which spoils the effect. There are other mix oddities, but then I heard the original mix first, so I may be biased towards it.

If by any chance all of the elements do still exist - wouldn't be amazing if they could create a new remix that has the sonic qualities of the remix but is more akin to the original mix with all elements intact....?

 

Thanks for all the replies.

Although I like the Moody Blues and have several of their albums, the remix story was new to me. The LP I have is an Australian copy purchased in the early 80s which has the remixed tracks. So I guess that the later records in some markets did not use the early masters.

A fellow member Lucidae kindly provided some further interesting information below which may be of interest here.

It is common knowledge that "Days of Future Passed" was remixed in 1978; the remix has supplanted the original version of the album on most subsequent reissues and on *all* digital reissues (yes, folks, including the Mobile Fidelity disc and whatever mini-LP Japanese artifact you are about to champion). From its inception until 1978, however (and for some time afterwards), the original mix was used merrily on LPs, tapes, wax cylinders and what have you, in the process being copied and sent to numerous countries and pressing plants. Given the closures of many of those plants--especially in more far-flung parts of the world--it was somewhat inevitable that many of these copy tapes would end up in the hands of collectors.

As legend has it (and legend will have it!), the particular tape from which this copy of the original stereo mix derives is at most one generation removed from source, used by a Continental plant to make copies that were, in turn, used to press records. It sat for several years, unused and forlorn, in a warehouse in Europe before being sold in the 1990s in a liquidation sale to a private collector, who promptly sat on it for years (because, believe it or not, not everyone knows of the situational import of pre-1978 Moody Blues copy tapes). Eventually, it was sold again on an online auction site to a collector who *did* recognize potential importance of the tape, but who for some time lacked the ability to transfer the tape to digital.

 

I'll only add that the digital transfer of that tape is (was?) relatively easy to locate in the various dark alleyways of the Internet about which we're not allowed to speak here. Unfortunately, it sounded quite mediocre; either it was a lot more than "one generation removed from source," or it seriously degraded during those decades in that warehouse.

 

It sounds better than any LP I've heard. That's simply the sound of the original mix.

 

Maybe there's more than one "lost newly-discovered tape" floating around out there?

 

No. That's what the original mix sounds like.

 

The only thing from the original that I think is really missed in the remix is the harmonies on Time to Get Away.

 

Possibly...or maybe the Internet version I heard is not the one you heard? From my memory, the Deram LP (West German pressing, I believe) I had sounded quite a bit better.