Cary, a reader in Thousand Oaks California wrote to me with the following question:
"With the technologies available at the time, how is it possible for everything by The Moody Blues to sound so awful? Probably the best music ever recorded, then destroyed."
I couldn't agree more. One of Terri and my favorite albums from that era is the Moody Blues' 6th album, A Question Of Balance.
Great music, lousy sound. A real head scratcher. Even the remastered SACD isn't much better.
While I cannot answer the basic question posed, I can stand on my soapbox for a minute and ramble on about the responsibility of the recording engineer and producers to ensure this kind of crime isn't committed more often.
At every Octave Recording session Terri, Jessica, and I oversee, I am reminded of the musician's plight. They put their hearts and souls on the line to make great music. When they're in the thick of it they are not paying attention to sonics or recording quality.
That's not their focus nor their job.
It is up to those of us charged with capturing their performances to hold the line on quality and make sure the rare gems like those of the Moody Blues are properly captured and preserved.
If you are involved in the recording or playback arts it is your duty to the rest of us to honor the music.
End of rant.
