Days of Future Passed

[DeepSpace]

You inspired me to pull it out for a listen.

You're right - it does hold up well. Hayward's voice is spectacular, as always.

Perhaps the least 'contemporary' sounding in terms of production values is the drums. But even they don't quite sound 40yo.

[wwittman]

great record.
and the orchestra recording is ALSO incredibly good.

I LOVE the vocal reverb on that album.
It sounds like the world's best EMT plate, with a beautiful stereo 'bloom' to it.

[Pohaku]

Jeez, I remember that from highschool. A little purple microdot and . . . . . .

[James Guitar]

Originally Posted by wwittman

great record.
and the orchestra recording is ALSO incredibly good.
I LOVE the vocal reverb on that album.
It sounds like the world's best EMT plate, with a beautiful stereo 'bloom' to it.

what's the story on the orchestra vs mellotron on that record? i've heard that most of the orchestral lines on Days of Future Past are 'tron but there's no way that the orchestral flourishes at the end of Nights are 'tron. being an MK VI owner, i'm familiar with the sounds. anybody know more than the vagaries i've presented here?
and yes, GREAT reverb on that album.
-J

[ArcCirDude]

What a coincidence! I listened to this yesterday for the first time in ages.
The orchestra was arranged to glue together the songs recorded by the band. If I'm not mistaken, the album was originally recorded as a sort of demo for Decca's new "stereo" recording technique. Obviously, there is a HUGE difference in quality between the Mellotron and the full orchestra. But "Knights" is definitely a great mix. "Tuesday Afternoon" is my fav from the album. I need to listen to this record in it's entirety. Like "Dark Side of the Moon. For me, this was the first solid concept album. Sgt. Pepper had a concept, but was more of a concept in order to bring a hodge podge of different tunes under a single conceptual umbrella.

I noticed in the overture (The Day Begins) a solo flute line the really jumped out, so they were using some spot mics in addition to the "Decca tree".

Funny story about "Knights" being a "breakout" hit in Seattle. Seems the DJ on the graveyard shift between 12 and 4am needed a long song so he could go smoke his bong... He unknowingly created a hit!

[Bryce]

Do any of you guys have the 5.1 mix? Some of it's really great, some of it not so great, IMO...e.g. isolating the Mellotron in the back speakers may not have been the choice I'd have made...

dB

[Sounds Great]

Originally Posted by wwittman

great record.
and the orchestra recording is ALSO incredibly good.

I LOVE the vocal reverb on that album.
It sounds like the world's best EMT plate, with a beautiful stereo 'bloom' to it.

I wondered what type of reverb it might be. It adds such a mysterious sound to the vocal. I can't imagine anything digital could come close to this vibe. And the mixture of orchestral sounds is just incredible. I have this on 15 year old vinyl and it still sounds prestine. And dynamic, wow! Have we really come very far since then?

[Sounds Great]

Days Of Future Passed
The Moody Blues [Hybrid Multichannel SACD]
Due April 10, 2006

http://store.acousticsounds.com/brow...Title_ID=28780

[Bryce]

Originally Posted by Sounds Great

http://store.acousticsounds.com/brow...Title_ID=28780

There's already a 5.1 remix available on DTS. It's been out for about five years.

I believe it's just basically the old quad mixes from the '70s - some tunes are good, some kinda suck - Tuesday afternoon, for example, sucks big time...so does Nights In White Satin, IMO...Mellotron in the rear speakers is just awful.

I'd be interested to know if this SACD mix is redone from scratch. I sure hope so.

dB

[Sqye]

great stufff

gotta luve them bloooooooze

[Sounds Great]

Originally Posted by Bryce

There's already a 5.1 remix available on DTS. It's been out for about five years.

I believe it's just basically the old quad mixes from the '70s - some tunes are good, some kinda suck - Tuesday afternoon, for example, sucks big time...so does Nights In White Satin, IMO...Mellotron in the rear speakers is just awful.

I'd be interested to know if this SACD mix is redone from scratch. I sure hope so.

dB

I'm not interested in multi-channel. I only have 2 speakers hooked up on my system. Some SACD's sound exactly the same as the record (minus the noise)

Others, like Boston and Peter Frampton Comes Alive are totally f*** up. Just sound wacky. I sold them both.

Fortunately I got Frampton on new heavy vinyl. thumbsup

[Bob Olhsson]

Roy Thomas Baker was a second at the studio!

The "sound" was very much producer Tony Clarke's concept. I did some engineering for him at Motown and watched him weave the very same magic with other musicians. At one point we were going to build a 16 track studio in England.

Tony Clarke changed pop music forever and, quiet as it's kept, was probably far more influential than George Martin because you can trace almost all of what happened in the 1980s back to people who had worked with him.

[wwittman]

Really???

Roy told me he started at Morgan.

Wasn't this done at Decca?

[Temp Love]

Originally Posted by James Guitar

what's the story on the orchestra vs mellotron on that record? i've heard that most of the orchestral lines on Days of Future Past are 'tron but there's no way that the orchestral flourishes at the end of Nights are 'tron. being an MK VI owner, i'm familiar with the sounds. anybody know more than the vagaries i've presented here?
and yes, GREAT reverb on that album.
-J

Cool to see this topic on GS! I'll have to ask and will report back.

All hail Tony Clarke!

[Bob Olhsson]

Originally Posted by wwittman

Really???

Roy told me he started at Morgan.

Wasn't this done at Decca?

It certainly was done at Decca. Somebody or other told me that Roy had been an assistant at Decca. Maybe after Morgan or maybe incorrect!

[James Guitar]

Originally Posted by D Pinder

Cool to see this topic on GS! I'll have to ask and will report back.

ha! awesome. "hey dad..."
i love it. thumbsup
-J

[squeegybug]

Originally Posted by D Pinder

Cool to see this topic on GS! I'll have to ask and will report back.

All hail Tony Clarke!

All hail Mike Pinder!

Tell him THANKS....

Steve

[Temp Love]

Originally Posted by James Guitar

what's the story on the orchestra vs mellotron on that record? i've heard that most of the orchestral lines on Days of Future Past are 'tron but there's no way that the orchestral flourishes at the end of Nights are 'tron. being an MK VI owner, i'm familiar with the sounds. anybody know more than the vagaries i've presented here?
and yes, GREAT reverb on that album.
-J

Sorry for such a late reply—I've been rather caught up lately.

He said that the beginnings and endings of the songs were orchestra with Tron in the middles of the songs. He couldn't recall definitively, but thought the single of NIWS had no orch at all but the album version did, or it might be the other way round. Gotta listen to that today—it's been ages.

[Sounds Great]

Bump for the world's greatest song.

[hobson]

Dawn Is A Feeling...

[ArcCirDude]

Peak Hour....


Man, bringing up a four year old discussion! Flashback indeed!

[Lilainjil]

Originally Posted by Bryce

There's already a 5.1 remix available on DTS. It's been out for about five years.

I believe it's just basically the old quad mixes from the '70s - some tunes are good, some kinda suck - Tuesday afternoon, for example, sucks big time...so does Nights In White Satin, IMO...Mellotron in the rear speakers is just awful.

I'd be interested to know if this SACD mix is redone from scratch. I sure hope so.

dB

On a sidenote, it is my understanding that the original mix of the LP has never been available on CD. It was remixed in 1972. Discussed at length here Days of Future Passed Original Mix Differences/Catalog Number? * - SH Forums

[Sigma]

Originally Posted by Pohaku

Jeez, I remember that from highschool. A little purple microdot and . . . . . .

hahahaha the purple was a little weak..you had to eat 2

[Sounds Great]

Originally Posted by Sigma

hahahaha the purple was a little weak..you had to eat 2

Didn't like the microdot. For me it was Blue Dragon, or Mickey Mouse.

[Sigma]

Originally Posted by Sounds Great

Didn't like the microdot. For me it was Blue Dragon, or Mickey Mouse.

mikey mouse was decent blotter

i liked the 4 way sunshine

[joelpatterson]

Oh, now you're bringing it all back... reminds me of the time I hitch-hiked to Ken Kesey's house (uninvited) and there was a "painting" on the wall near a doorway, and on it the painted phrase "Sparkle Sparkle Little Wharkle," and I asked someone what it meant, and he shrugged and said, "Before my time..."

[Sigma]

Originally Posted by joelpatterson

Oh, now you're bringing it all back... reminds me of the time I hitch-hiked to Ken Kesey's house (uninvited) and there was a "painting" on the wall near a doorway, and on it the painted phrase "Sparkle Sparkle Little Wharkle," and I asked someone what it meant, and he shrugged and said, "Before my time..."

[vincentvangogo]

Originally Posted by Sounds Great

Nights in White Satin...

or as my old guitar teacher used to play it- 'It Was Something I Sat In.'
Tuesday Afternoon was the one that did it for me.

[theblue1]

I can't say I was ever much of a fan of the original album. The 'poetic' lyrics are pretty far over the top for me.

But for some reason the bluegrass tribute to DoFP and the Moodies from a few years back, Moodie Bluegrass, really works for me.

Something about a neo-classic country setting (with some fine players) brings just enough ironic distance to allow me to enjoy the familiar melodies and lyrical bits in a new (less lit-crit-oriented) light. Sure, some of the peculiarly Brit references (like bedsit) or purple poetics ("breathe deep the gathering gloom") bring a bit of a goofy smile, but there's a real charm at work there... clearly the people behind the album really loved the music, different as it was from their own.