moodydayso

The Moody Blues – Days of Future Passed

More of the Music of The Moody Blues

  • With two solid Double Plus (A++) sides or close to them, you’ll have a hard time finding a copy that sounds remotely as good as this vintage UK import
  • The sonics are huge, rich and lively throughout (particularly on side one) – you need this kind of space for the orchestral parts to work their Moody Magic
  • An album experience beyond practically anything that had come before (Sgt. Pepper excluded)
  • 4 1/2 stars: “Days of Future Passed became one of the defining documents of the blossoming psychedelic era, and one of the most enduringly popular albums of its era.”
  • If you’re a fan of the Moodies, this vintage UK pressing from 1967 surely belongs in your collection
  • We’ve recently compiled a list of records we think every audiophile should get to know better, along the lines of “the 1001 records you need to hear before you die,” but with the accent on the joy these amazing audiophile-quality recordings can bring to your life

This album is more than 50 years old, for god’s sake! In those 50+ years I’d forgotten how good it is.

“Tuesday Afternoon” is the Perfect Pop Song, with the whole of side two flowing effortlessly from it as each song (each day) is linked by means of the surrounding orchestrations until it reaches its zenith with the climax of “Nights in White Satin.”

The sound is very much a part of the entire experience. The strings of the orchestra sound as sweet as any Decca, the soundstage wide and deep as a symphony. For those of you who still think Mobile Fidelity is the king on this one, here’s a record that demonstrates what a real orchestra sounds like.

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Letter of the Week – Comparing the Speakers Corner, MoFi, and a Super Hot Stamper

Hot Stamper Pressings of the Music of The Moody Blues Available Now

One of our good customers had this to say about some Hot Stampers he purchased a while ago. [Bolding and italics added.]

Hey Tom, 

Just thought I’d drop you a line on the two albums I just received yesterday. I had some free time on my hands today so I was able to do some comparisons.

I have an original Days of Future Passed, which sounds about as dull as they come.

I have that reissue I bought from you years ago [no doubt the Speakers Corner Heavy Vinyl pressing] and the MoFi.

The reissue was pleasing to the ear but lacked that lifeforce which makes listening to records so involving.

The MoFi was always my favorite, but with this Super Hot Stamper I was hearing the whole recording studio.

There was a lot more depth and realism which I didn’t hear in the other records.

The Level 42 World Machine was always a fun record to listen to. The CD was just bright and bass heavy, so I bought an import lp off you years ago. It sounded pretty good until you turned it up, then it became so shrill I had to turn it back down.

The Super Hot Stamper sounds great and I can turn it up as loud as I want.

The sound stage is deep and believable which for an 80’s record is a rarity.

That Simply Red Picture Book Super Hot Stamper I purchased last year was a gem also.

Shane

Shane,

Thanks so much for your letter.

If you have an original domestic pressing, you definitely have a dull record. It’s made from a dub tape and sounds smeary and dark. This is, of course, the one we all owned back in the day unless you were one of those crazy people who ordered imported pressings from your local record store and waited weeks if not months for them to show up from across the sea.

The Speakers Corner pressing I used to sell was a good record, not a great one. (It was made from the remixed tapes since the masters had long ago been damaged or lost.)

Like many of their reissues, it was tonally correct, something most Heavy Vinyl pressings could not claim to be.

The MoFi I used to like somewhat. No idea what I would think of it now. Phony up top I’m guessing.  I can’t think of a single Stan Ricker-mastered MoFi title that doesn’t have a boosted top end, so the chances of Days of Future Passed being the exception are remote.

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