Two More Classic Moody Blues Albums Released in Super Audio CD Surround Sound [HFR]

Every Good Boy Deserves Favour and Seventh Sojourn by the Moody Blues have been released by the Polydor Records division of Universal Music International in newly remastered Surround Sound Super Audio CD editions. The new Surround Sound SACDs of these albums arrived in the European market on April 2, 2007 and this was followed a week later on April 10, 2007 with a release of the SACDs in Canada.

As with last year’s release of five classic Moody Blues albums in Surround Sound SACD, the newly remastered discs are packaged in Digipaks and feature both the original album tracks as well as some previously unreleased bonus tracks. Each disc has a black sticker on the front that says “Digitally Remastered Digi-Pak Edition. The original album mixed in Stereo & 5.1 Surround Sound with Bonus Tracks plus expansive booklet containing sleeve notes and rare photographs.”

The two Super Audio CDs are also Single Inventory Hybrid SACD editions. These new SACD serve as the sole edition of the newly remastered releases in the European and Canadian markets.

Every Good Boy Deserves Favour
Moody Blues
SACD Surround Sound/SACD Stereo/CD Audio

(Threshold/Polydor 984550-6)

Every Good Boy Deserves Favour was originally released in July 1971 on the Threshold label as THS 5. According to the SACD’s liner notes, the album “quickly climbed to the number 1 spot in the UK where it enjoyed a 21 week stay on the album charts. In America it reached a height of number 2 on the album charts and enjoyed a phenomenal 43 week stay on the Billboard “Hot 100″ Album Chart.”

Lead Singer Justin Hayward says “I think that Every Good Boy Deserves Favour is a kind of searching, seeking record. It was made at a time of tremendous success for us, and that brought on all of the feelings of guilt, inadequacy and self-doubt that accompany that kind of success. It’s a bittersweet record that pointed the direction of the next album which was a full stop.”

The SACD edition of Every Good Boy Deserves Favour includes an album Stereo mix remastered from the original master tapes by Alberto Parodi and Justin Hayward at Logical Box Studios in Genova, Italy. The 5.1 Surround Sound mix was manipulated from the original Quadraphonic Master Tapes by Paschal Byrne and Mark Powell at the Audio Archiving Company in London. The two bonus tracks are available in both Super Audio CD Stereo and CD Stereo but not 5.1 Surround Sound SACD like the balance of the disc.

The Surround Sound SACD mix on tracks 1-9 of Every Good Boy Deserves Favour shows off the imaginative multichannel mixes of the ’70s era. A good example of this is the hit single on the album “The Story In Your Eyes” (track 2) where lead vocals are place in the front channels while the backing vocals and guitar solos are in the surround channels. We also enjoy some sonic adventures in the lead off track (“Procession”) with some panned effects that start off the album.

Album Tracks
1. Procession
2. The Story in Your Eyes
3. Our Guessing Game
4. Emily’s Song
5. After You Came
6. One More Time to Live
7. Nice to Be Here
8. You Can Never Go Home
9. My Song

Previously Unreleased Bonus Tracks (SACD Stereo/CD Stereo Only)
10. The Story in Your Eyes (Original Version)
11. The Dreamer

Seventh Sojourn
Moody Blues
SACD Surround Sound/SACD Stereo/CD Audio

(Threshold/Polydor 984550-7)

Seventh Sojourn was originally released in November 1972 on the Threshold label as THS 7. The SACD’s liner notes say that “Prior to the album’s release, the band undertook a two week tour of the U.S. which assisted the album in reaching number 1 on the Billboard Album Chart. In the UK, the album rose to number 5 and enjoyed 18 weeks on the charts. On January 19, 1973, “I’m Just A Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band)” was released as a single from the album, reaching number 36 in Britain and number 12 in the U.S. In another first for the band, the album was also mixed in 4 Channel Quadraphonic Sound and released in the 4 Channel format some weeks later.”

The SACD edition of Seventh Sojourn includes an album Stereo mix remastered from the original master tapes by Alberto Parodi and Justin Hayward at Logical Box Studios in Genova, Italy. The 5.1 Surround Sound mix was manipulated from the original Quadraphonic Master Tapes by Paschal Byrne and Mark Powell at the Audio Archiving Company in London.

Album Tracks
1. Lost In A Lost World
2. New Horizons
3. For My Lady
4. Isn’t Life Strange – Full Version
5. You And Me
6. The Land Of Make Believe
7. When You’re A Free Man
8. I’m Just A Singer (In A Rock & Roll Band)

Previously Unreleased Bonus Tracks
9. Isn’t Life Strange (Original Version)
10. You And Me (Beckthorns Backing Track)
11. Lost In A Lost World (Instrumental Demo)
12. Island

What About an SACD Edition of Blue Jays?
Now that all seven of the Moody Blues classic albums have been released, fans of the Moody Blues have been asking High Fidelity Review about a potential Surround Sound SACD of the Blue Jays album. Blue Jays was a post-Moody Blues release by band members Justin Hayward and John Lodge.

After the release of the first five Moody Blues SACDs last year, fans of the group lobbied former lead singer Justin Hayward to pursue a release of the two Surround Sound SACDs that arrived this week through Hayward’s web site. I suspect that a similar lobbying campaign could lead to a remastered edition of Blue Jays in Surround Sound SACD as well. So I’d suggest to those requesting such a release to start up your email programs and make such a request to Justin Hayward. It may indeed work again !

Availability
The new Surround Sound SACD editions of Every Good Boy Deserves Favour and Seventh Sojourn by the Moody Blues are now available in music stores in Europe and Canada. You will also find them available from a host of web sites in those countries including Amazon.Ca (Canada), Amazon.co.uk (U.K.), Amazon.De (Germany), Amazon.Fr (France), Dealtime.co.uk (UK), Play.com (UK), Hmv.co.uk (UK) and JPC.De (Germany). In addition, several U.S. web sites have made these two Surround Sound SACDs available as imports including Acoustic Sounds, Elusive Disc, Music Direct, Amazon.Com, CD Universe, BarnesAndNoble.com and eBay.