Five classic albums by the Moody Blues will be released in Super Audio CD 5.1 Surround Sound this March in the U.K. The Surround Sound SACDs will arrive as Deluxe Editions of the group’s original albums and will include Days of Future Passed, In Search of the Lost Chord, On the Threshold of a Dream, and A Question of Balance. The news means that the long-awaited series of Moody Blues Deluxe Albums are finally coming to market.
Announced in 2004 at MIDEM
Originally announced by Universal Music’s European operation in January 2004 at the MIDEM Music Conference, the project has involved going back to the original analog master tapes of the Moody Blues classic 1970s albums. The goal has been to adapt the 1970s era 4 Channel Quadraphonic mixes from these Moody Blues albums for release as 5.1 Surround Sound Super Audio CDs.
Details on the 5 Deluxe Edition SACDs
As originally promised in 2004, the 5 Moody Blues Super Audio CDs will be Deluxe Editions which will feature bonus songs and some previously unreleased tracks by the group.
To date, the best information on the additional material on each album comes from the U.K. web site 101cd.com which is taking pre-orders for the Surround Sound SACDs. Here is their rundown on the added material on each disc:
Days of Future Passed – Moody Blues with the London Festival Orchestra (2 Disc Surround Sound SACD Set) (Polydor 9832150)
“The Moody Blues debut album from 1967 has now been mixed in 5.1 Surround Sound from the original Quad Masters. A second disc has now been added to the original album and features the 7″ A and B sides of the singles, previously unreleased alternate versions and BBC RADIO 1 sessions from 1967 and ’68.”
In Search of the Lost Chord (2 Disc Surround Sound SACD Set) – Moody Blues (Polydor 9832147)
“The Moody Blues 2nd album from 1968 has now been digitally remastered from the original master tapes by Justin Hayward. A second disc has now been added featuring previously unreleased demos, BBC RADIO 1 sessions and the single B-side “Simple Game”.”
On The Threshold Of A Dream (Surround Sound SACD) – Moody Blues (Polydor 9832153)
“The Moody Blues 3rd album from 1969 has now been digitally remastered from the original Quad master tapes. This SACD Hybrid has now been expanded with 9 Previously unreleased alternate versions and BBC RADIO 1 sessions.”
To Our Children’s Children’s Children (2 Disc Surround Sound SACD Set) – Moody Blues (Polydor 9832156)
“The Moody Blues 4th album from 1969 has been digitally remastered and mixed in 5.1 Surround Sound from the original Quad master tapes. A second disc has been added to the original album and features 11 Previously Unreleased alternate versions and BBC RADIO 1 sessions.”
A Question of Balance – Moody Blues (Surround Sound SACD) (Polydor 9837706)
“The Moody Blues 5th album from 1970 has been digitally remastered and mixed in 5.1 Surround Sound using the original Quad master tapes. This SACD version has also been expanded and now includes 6 Previously Unreleased alternate takes.”
Pre-Orders Now Being Taken
In addition to the 101cd.com web site in the U.K. mentioned above, pre-orders on the Moody Blues Surround Sound Super Audio CDs are also being taken on several Amazon web sites including Amazon.co.uk (U.K.), Amazon.de (Germany), Amazon.fr (France) and Amazon.co.jp (Japan).
Turning to the U.S. market, the Music Direct web site is offering two of the Moody Blues SACDs – Days of Future Passed and In Search of the Lost Chord – as pre-order items. I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of the other U.S. web sites that specialize in Super Audio CDs follow suit in the weeks ahead.
This looks to be a very interesting set of Surround Sound SACD releases for March. Be sure to visit some of these vendor web sites to have a look at the discs and perhaps place an order if the Moody Blues SACDs are on your shopping list.