More of the Music of The Moody Blues
Reviews and Commentaries for The Moody Blues
Achieving just the right balance of Tubey Magical, rich but not too rich “Moody Blues Sound” is no mean feat. You had better be using the real master tape for starters. Then you need a pressing with actual extension at the top, a quality rarely found on most imports. Finally, good bass definition is essential; it keeps the bottom end from blurring the midrange. No domestic copy in our experience has ever had these three qualities, and only the best of the imports manages to combine all three on the same LP.
On the best of the best the clarity and resolution comes without a sacrifice in the Tubey Magical richness, warmth and lushness for which the Moody Blues recordings are justifiably famous. In our experience the best LPs are correct from top to bottom, present and alive in the midrange, yet still retain the richness and sweetness we expect from British (and Dutch) Moody Blues records. They manage, against all odds, to remove the sonic barriers put up by most pressings of the Moodies’ unique music. Who knew, after so many years and so many bad records, that such a thing was even possible?
Side One
Departure
Ride My See-Saw
The beginning of this track is fairly quiet and noise will be audible behind the music. Side two will suffer likewise.
Also, for some reason this track tends not to sound as good as those that follow. We had never really noticed that effect before but during a shootout many years ago it became obvious that the real Moody Magic starts with track two.
Dr. Livingstone, I Presume?
This is THE key track for side one. The chorus “we’re all searching…” can sound shrill and hard on some copies. When it sounds ABSOLUTELY MAGICAL, you almost certainly have a very Hot Stamper side one.
House of Four Doors
Legend of a Mind
This is the famous Timothy Leary song. Every studio trick in the book is used on this track, and brilliantly. This song perfectly encapsulates what’s good about The Moody Blues during this period. If you have any audiophile friends visiting, and you have a top quality, big speaker system, play them this song from this pressing and blow their minds.
I guarantee you they have NEVER heard it sound like this.
House of Four Doors, Pt. 2
Side Two
Voices in the Sky
The Best Way to Travel
An outstanding psych arrangement — turn it up good and loud and let it rock!
Visions of Paradise
The Actor
The Word
Om
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