Editing Days of Future Passed (section)

==Recording==
In the summer of 1967, the group made several BBC appearances, debuting "[[Nights in White Satin]]" and "Peak Hour". Hearing the final BBC mix of "Nights in White Satin" heightened the band's excitement for the song and their new material. Hayward remembers, "A long time before we recorded it for Decca, we recorded it for the BBC. We recorded it and weren't invited into the control room to listen to it back. And then in our van on the way to a gig we listened to it, because it was on a program called Saturday Club — on a Saturday, of course — and we were going up the motorway and we heard it on the radio. And we pulled the car over, or the van, over to the side of the road, and we said, 'Hey, maybe there's something in that song,' because there was something about it, it sounded really good. We hadn't realised until we'd heard it back ourselves."<ref name=sos />

In October, the group were granted studio time to record a demonstration disc for [[Decca Records|Decca]]'s newly formed [[Deram Records]] division. The company was eager to demonstrate their latest recording techniques, which were named "Deramic Sound".<ref name="RS67"/> Decca had experimented with [[stereophonic sound]] for classical recordings, and hoped to capture the pop market in the same way, by interweaving classical recordings with the group's interpretation of the same music.<ref name=ucr>{{cite web|url=http://ultimateclassicrock.com/moody-blues-days-of-future-passed-album/|title=50 Years Ago: Moody Blues Broke Rules|work=Ultimate Classic Rock|access-date=4 September 2018}}</ref> Hayward remembers, "They were launching a label called the Deramic Sound System later to become Deram and every recording was in stereo—not just remastered later in stereo, like the Beatles—but actually recorded with a wide stereo sound, everything in its proper stereo place. Stereo then was confined to classical music and they wanted to demonstrate stereo could be as interesting for rock and roll as it was with classical."<ref name="Elsas">{{Cite web |last=Elsas |first=Dennis |date=2023-10-14 |title=Justin Hayward Talks Moody Blues' 'Days of Future Passed' |url=https://bestclassicbands.com/justin-hayward-interview-dennis-elsas-3-31-188/ |access-date=2024-04-29 |website=Best Classic Bands |language=en-GB}}</ref>

For the demonstration record, Knight and the group were asked to record unoriginal material to demonstrate the new stereo technology, incorporating both orchestral and popular music. Band members remember being asked by the label to record an album incorporating elements of [[Antonín Dvořák]]'s ''[[Symphony No. 9 (Dvořák)|Symphony No. 9]]''. Thomas explains, "They wanted a demonstration disc made for all the salesmen to try and sell Deramic Sound and we could never get any studio time. We were developing ''Days of Future Passed'' as a stage show. They wanted us to play tunes like "[[Blue Suede Shoes]]", "[[Rock Around the Clock]]" and stuff like that, and wanted Peter Knight and the [[London Festival Orchestra]] to play Dvorák's New World Symphony. We said that's going to sound bloody awful. One minute they're listening to "Blue Suede Shoes" and then the next minute to the symphony and us playing someone else."<ref>{{Cite web |last1=Here |first1=Classic Rock |last2=Now |title=An Exclusive Interview with Moody Blues Legend Ray Thomas … Ironically on a "Tuesday Afternoon" |url=https://www.classicrockhereandnow.com/2015/01/an-exclusive-interview-with-moody-blues.html |access-date=2024-04-29 |language=en}}</ref>

Eager to capitalize on the opportunity for studio time, and confident in the quality of their newly written material, the band agreed to the label's plan and then quietly decided to record their live set of original songs instead.<ref name=ucr/><ref name=sos/> John Lodge remembers, "The Decca Record company approached us and said they wanted to make what they called a sampler album for their new four-frequency range sound system in stereo, and they wanted to incorporate what they called a 'pop' band. They wanted us to record Dvorak's 'New World Symphony' and we said, 'Yeah, fantastic!' But we didn't tell them we were going into the studio with the conductor, Peter Knight, and record basically our stage show. That's what we did."<ref name="Fessier"/> Hayward remembers, "We said, yeah, sure we'd do it, and then, after we said yes, we went down to the pub and decided to do our own songs instead. It was a conspiracy among all us musicians who were present, and we just went into the studio and recorded our own stage show."<ref name="Arnold">{{Cite web |last=Arnold |first=Thomas K. |date=1990-08-31 |title=Moody Blues Look to Future, Recall the Past |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1990-08-31-ca-150-story.html |access-date=2024-04-29 |website=Los Angeles Times |language=en-US}}</ref> Session engineer and longtime studio collaborator Derek Varnals confirms that neither the band nor Knight and the orchestra made any effort to record unoriginal material during the sessions.<ref name=sos>{{cite web |url=http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jul09/articles/classictracks_0709.htm |title=Sound On Sound (Classic Tracks: The Moody Blues "Nights In White Satin") |publisher=soundonsound.com |access-date=17 August 2010 }}</ref>

Recording sessions for the album took place at [[Decca Studios]] in [[West Hampstead]], London beginning with "Dawn Is a Feeling" on 18 October and concluding on the 27th, with mixing complete by 3 November.<ref name=sos /> "Nights in White Satin" was recorded prior to the rest of the album, on 8 October.<ref name=sos /><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Runtagh |first=Jordan |date=2018-04-09 |title=The Moody Blues' 'Nights in White Satin': An Oral History |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-features/the-moody-blues-nights-in-white-satin-an-oral-history-630219/ |access-date=2024-04-29 |magazine=Rolling Stone |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Uncut |date=2014-11-21 |title=The Making Of… The Moody Blues' Nights In White Satin |url=https://www.uncut.co.uk/features/the-making-of-the-moody-blues-nights-in-white-satin-1699/ |access-date=2024-04-29 |website=UNCUT |language=en-GB}}</ref> Lodge recalls, "It took all of seven days. So, it took one whole week to record Days of Future Passed."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Daly |first=Andrew |date=2023-10-23 |title=An Interview With John Lodge Of The Moody Blues |url=https://www.classicrockhistory.com/an-interview-with-john-lodge-of-the-moody-blues/ |access-date=2024-04-29 |website=ClassicRockHistory.com |language=en-US}}</ref> Thomas remembers, "We were recording one and two songs a day, which we were used to doing. Because you got no time at all in the studio in those days."<ref name="Kopp"/>

The band worked with record producer [[Tony Clarke (producer)|Tony Clarke]], engineer Derek Varnals, and conductor [[Peter Knight (composer)|Peter Knight]].<ref name="allmusic"/> Hayward remembers, "We got lucky. We had Decca, who had classically trained engineers, and our stuff was recorded beautifully. The engineer, Derek Varnals, and Tony Clarke had an influence on the way that our songs were presented. If you look at other things we did at the time that weren't in the Decca studios, they're much more rock 'n' roll and piano based and trying to be a little more up-front and thinking of singles. But all of the stuff that we did in Decca had a particular sound and a particular quality to it that did have that orchestral thing. They knew how to put that together. Decca was a company that was really committed to selling albums, not singles. They had a whole consumer division for stereo systems that they were trying to push. That was a big help to us in the early days because they wanted us to make beautiful stereo records that could demonstrate that stereo could be interesting for rock 'n' roll. It just happened to coincide with us going to America and the birth of FM radio. A lot of things came together.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Hayward |first=Justin |title=Conversations with The Moody Blues' Justin Hayward {{!}} News |url=https://justinhayward.com/blogs/news/conversations-with-the-moody-blues-justin-hayward |access-date=2024-04-29 |website=Justin Hayward}}</ref>

In a departure from usual practice, the band was able to book the studio during the sessions for entire days at a time, instead of intermittent sessions. The extended sessions facilitated their work, allowing the group to record late into the night. Lodge explains: "At the time, studios [followed a format] of three recording sessions a day. Like 10:00 to 1:00, 2:00 to 5:00 and 6:00 til 10:00. You used to book your sessions, and when they were over you had to leave the studio or wait for the engineers to come back. We knew that if we wanted to make something different, we wanted 24-hour "lockout". We went to the chairman of the company and said we'd like a "lockout". And I don't think they had ever had a request for that before, but, fortunately, they agreed. And it was wonderful, because we were recording a tune a day, and as the evening came we'd relax for a while. Midnight would come and then we'd start again. As the early hours came – 2:00, 3:00, 4:00 in the morning, we realized that was a great time to be constructive and creative. It was great to be able to do that."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Grateful Web Interview: John Lodge of The Moody Blues |url=https://www.gratefulweb.com/articles/grateful-web-interview-john-lodge-moody-blues |access-date=2024-04-29 |website=Grateful Web |language=en}}</ref>

The group recorded and mixed their sessions first, then passed the finished tapes over to Knight for arranging and recording the orchestral interludes.<ref name=ucr/> Hayward explains, "It took us five days to finish, and, after each day we'd send them down to the orchestra's conductor, Peter Knight, and he'd write these orchestral arrangements. We'd edited all the tapes to be the right length, and they just played live in the gaps."<ref name="Arnold"/> Pinder recalls, "We were not there when the orchestra parts were done. But we had a wonderful group listening session after they added their contributions. We loved what they had done."<ref name="Kopp"/>

The orchestral interludes were recorded during a single session on 3 November,<ref name=sos /> and were performed by the [[London Festival Orchestra]] conducted by [[Peter Knight (composer)|Peter Knight]]. The orchestra was an ad hoc grouping of professional musicians who served as the house orchestra for Decca Records. Hayward explains, "They were just a bunch of gypsies, what they called string players in London at the time. They were made up from a few different orchestras; they were great players. But the most important thing about that was Peter Knight who orchestrated and arranged the classical parts of the record was in my opinion the greatest romantic string arranger of the era. He was an inspiration to us. His work on the album will stand forever."<ref name="Elsas"/> The orchestral parts were recorded in a single session. Hayward remembers, "The orchestra was recorded in one three-hour session — a run through and then one take. I was in the studio. I wasn't invited in to the control room. Those were the days when the artist was certainly not invited into the control room for an opinion. But I was there at the Peter Knight session, and it was quite wonderful."<ref name="Goldmine Staff"/>

One memorable moment was the recording of the background vocals on "Nights in White Satin". Thomas remembers, "When we did "Nights in White Satin", the four of us got 'round a mic and sang in harmony. And then Tony said, 'Let's do another take.' He was doubling it up! When I heard the playback, it was like a mini choir. There were a few tears shed."<ref name="Kopp"/> Lodge remembers recording the song so that each element, each instrument had its own space: "We said we've got to make it where in parts of the song, except for Justin's vocal, you can hear a pin drop. It was really important so that the bass had its own space and the acoustic guitar had its own space in the verses, nothing else was playing. So that when the Mellotron came in, you heard the dimension."<ref name="Beviglia"/> The band were pleased with the results. Drummer Edge remembers, "When we recorded the song for Decca we all felt we had created something marvelous. It was quite an emotional experience to hear the finished mix of the song for the first time."<ref name="ReferenceA"/> He continues and compares the moment to "Fairy dust. The invisible, unknowable thing. It's just one of those songs where everything came together correctly."<ref>{{Cite web |title=Moody Blues drummer Graeme Edge recalls Britain's magical music scene |url=http://www.naplesnews.com/entertainment/music/moody-blues-drummer-graeme-edge-recalls-britains-magical-music-scene-ep-389624956-335230331.html |access-date=2024-04-29 |website=www.naplesnews.com |language=en}}</ref>

The group held a playback session attended by the group, Decca executives and various associates in a dimly lit recording studio. Lodge remembers the moment: "After the playback session finished and the studio lights came on once more the smiles on our faces said it all. We knew we had been right to stick to our principles and record our own music."<ref name="ReferenceA"/> The Moody Blues did not play any of the music to Decca executives until it was complete. Upon the first play, they were disappointed with the result as it was not the Dvorak arrangements they expected. Walt Maguire, representative for [[London Records]] (Decca's North American arm), however, thought it would be a strong seller in the US, so it was agreed to release the album as recorded.<ref name=ucr/> Hayward remembers, "When we played the finished product to all these old directors at Decca, which is a fine, upstanding old English music firm, they said, 'This isn't Dvorak,' and we said, 'No, but this is what it is.' We had one ally there, and he really stood up for us; he said, 'I think it could be quite interesting,' and besides, we had made a stereo demonstration record--it just wasn't Dvorak. So eventually we got enough of them to believe in it to put it out, and it was an instant hit."<ref name="Arnold"/>