On the Subject of The Moody Blues-Days of Future Passed

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by PhilCohen, Aug 20, 2009.

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  1. PhilCohen

    PhilCohen Forum Resident Thread Starter

    I've owned numerous CD editions of "The Moody Blues-Days of Future Passed" over the years, and the very first edition that I owned was the Quadraphonic Reel to Reel tape(long gone from my collection, though I have the Uk Deluxe Edition SACD + CD, which has the Quadraphonic mix).

    I was vaguely aware of a musically different early mix of the album, which was withdrawn & replaced by the remix that we hear today. I would assume that this occured the second time that "Nights in White Satin" became a hit(in 1972)

    A friend with whom I exchange rare & unreleased material(we don't copy anything commercially available) recently sent me a pristine de-clicked dub from vinyl of the early mix. WOW! It really IS significantly different, with voices & instruments that are omitted from the later remix, and song to song segues that are also different. The early mix is somewhat murkier that the later remix.

    Ostensibly, deteriorating condition of the 2-track mixdown master of the first mix was the reason for the remix, though this leads to a question: Were the omission of certain voices & instruments from the remix an artistic decision of Tony Clarke, or is it that they were live during mixdown overdubs that are not on the multitracks?

    The disc(of the early mix) that my friend supplied to me has a bizarre ending: a 10 minute sequence where a narrator explains & illustrates the difference between the two mixes. The narrator pronounces keyboardist Mike Pinder's name to rhyme with "finder", whereas I always thought that it rhymed with "hinder". This narrator says that the changeover(from the early mix to the remix) occured in 1978. I would say it occured earlier than that.

    It's hard to believe(considering how many countries that the early mix was released in) that there isn't some acceptable condition copy tape of it at some Universal Music affiliate.

    Personally, I prefer the remix. It's overall fidelity is better, though certainly the early mix is an interesting curio.
     
  2. lukpac

    lukpac Senior Member

    Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
    As far as I know there's nothing wrong with the original mix tapes. Some tracks have been issued on compilations. The decision to not reissue that mix is apparently artistic.
     
  3. Laservampire

    Laservampire Down with this sort of thing

    Hasn't Bill Levinson said that the tapes are fine?
     
  4. lukpac

    lukpac Senior Member

    Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
    I seem to remember him saying that to me anyway, yes.
     
  5. Mike Dow

    Mike Dow I kind of like the music

    Location:
    Bangor, Maine
    I agree that the switch to the current remix must have happened much earlier than 1978. Does anyone know for sure?

    Was the remix introduced when Days Of Future Passed was reissued after "Nights In White Satin" became a huge hit or did it happen earlier?
     
  6. quicksrt

    quicksrt Senior Member

    Location:
    Los Angeles
    I think that there are some ticks and clicks on the tape that sound like dusty vinyl noises. They are on every mint UK copy I have owned.
     
  7. The Panda

    The Panda Forum Mutant

    Location:
    Marple, PA, USA
    There a lot of old threads on this. I think the consensus was that the second mix did indeed occur in the early seventies. I've seen it referred to as the 'US mix'.

    Supposedly MFSL requested the original mix when they wanted to do the CD and was told absolutely not.
     
  8. Great Deceiver

    Great Deceiver Active Member

    Location:
    New Jersey
    Phil, that's a Dutch pressing. All I'll say is I have FLAC files of it, plus that same 10 minute computer generated voice going over all the differences between the original mix and remix (really helpful in differentiating between the two!)

    I think some of the missing parts (like the naked falsetto parts in Tuesday Afternoon) were overdubs that were unique to the original mixing process.

    But who knows! I wish there would be some clarification from someone in the know on this. Maybe Steve can try to get AF to master it (which would be awesome), request to use the original mix, and finally get a straight answer?
     
  9. PhilCohen

    PhilCohen Forum Resident Thread Starter

    ......so the 10 minute "bonus track" narrator's voice is computer generated?
     
  10. Great Deceiver

    Great Deceiver Active Member

    Location:
    New Jersey
    Oh wow. Listened to it again- I must have been mistaken. It actually is someone's voice. Just the voice has such a monotone, twnging quality to it, I thought it was from some voice generating software. Guess not. But really informative
     
  11. Levenson himself is partially responsible for keeping this tile out of print in the US.

    He told a story to ICE or one of those other publications that cds were prepared
    of both mixes when the catalog was reissued in 1997, they circulated these cds
    among the persons at the Polygram office he works out of, those persons voted
    to release the later mix
    and he went with it.

    No mention was made in the story as to whether any individuals cared about
    the history or scarcity of the original mix, . . . or whether anyone there was
    old enough to give a damn, or whether or not they were even fans of that kind of music.
     
  12. Laservampire

    Laservampire Down with this sort of thing

    What I wouldn't give to get one of those CD-Rs :sigh:
     
  13. musicman9999

    musicman9999 VDC Vinyl & CDs

    Location:
    Braselton, GA
    Sorry Chip, but that story is news to me. Both mixes were transferred but the band preferred that the remix be used for the remaster. It's as simple as that! Bill Levenson
     
  14. Laservampire

    Laservampire Down with this sort of thing

    Thanks for the info Bill! :righton:

    Just curious on the tapes used for the transfer of the original mix, were they the original masters or copy tapes? Were they in decent condition? Even though they'll probably never see the light of day on CD it would be nice to know that the tapes are at least usable.
     
  15. musicman9999

    musicman9999 VDC Vinyl & CDs

    Location:
    Braselton, GA
    The tapes we worked with were copies made for the US back in '67.
    They were in good shape, though a little murky in sound.
     
  16. BartK

    BartK Forum Resident

    Hi Bill,

    Thanks for the insight. It's always great to hear from industry insiders like yourself on this forum. I really appreciate a lot of the projects(Traffic, Allman Bros., etc) you have been involved with over the years.

    However, I do have to ask: Does the band realize that they have many many lifelong fans who have supported them for 40+ years that would love to have the original mix of this classic album available on CD? I realize back in '97 it was most likely a matter of chosing one or the other and going with what they thought was the best. But this album was reissued two more times in the past 3 years, one version being a deluxe 2CD set which would seem to have been the ideal opportunity to reissue the original mix. Given that this boat has sailed, I realize that we will now probably never get a legitimate CD release of the original mix. It just makes one wonder how in touch the band is with the wishes of their longtime fans.

    Didn't really mean to get off on a rant here. Any additional comments you might have would be appreciated.

    Thanks again.

    Tim
     
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  17. Alex Washington

    Alex Washington New Member

    Location:
    Erie, PA
    It's good to see misinformation shot down so quickly. Thanks, Bill!:righton:
     
  18. DJ WILBUR

    DJ WILBUR The Cappuccino Kid

    Their wishes would trump their fans wishes anyway.
     
  19. Ringmaster_D

    Ringmaster_D Surfer of Sound Waves

    Location:
    Chicago, IL
    Have any of the original mixes appeared on CD? I thought a couple of tracks might have snuck out on compilations somewere along the way...
     
  20. DJ WILBUR

    DJ WILBUR The Cappuccino Kid

    a couple of tracks are on the great Time Traveler box set.
     
  21. Great Deceiver

    Great Deceiver Active Member

    Location:
    New Jersey
    The original mix still exists on tape? Can anyone sense a petition-thread for an AF Gold CD coming? :shh:
     
  22. lukpac

    lukpac Senior Member

    Location:
    Milwaukee, WI
    Of course it does.
     
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  23. Uncle Al

    Uncle Al Senior Member

    Location:
    Long Island, NY
    I think there would still be problems getting the band to sign off on releasing the original mix. They nixed the idea for the MFSL, why would they now approve the AF? I guess they just don't like it.
     
  24. Not according to the Days Of Future Passed entry at Wikipedia. The remix happened in 1978.

    [​IMG]

    There are other threads, some still open on Days Of Future Passed.

    Moody Blues - Days of Future Passed Original Mix question (from Sept. 2007, still open)

    Moody Blues "Days of Future Passed" CD question (July, 2009)

    Moody Blues: Days Of Future Passed (Original Mix): Best Pressing? (January, 2005)

    Ed's Moody Blues Appreciation Thread...
     
  25. I have 3 vinyl copies of Days Of Future Passed.

    1. U.K. pressing w/ the DSS banner - purchased new in around 1973/74. It contains the original mix. Matrix -3W.

    2. recently acquired mint 1973 King Records Japan pressing from Sung. It also has the original mix.

    3. recently acquired U.K. pressing, the no banner cover, which I'm guessing is from around 1975. It too has the original mix. Matrix -4W.

    [​IMG]

    The remix could not have happened in the early-mid 1970s as some have suggested, based on the LP pressings I have. At least not before 1975.
     

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