special introductory paragraph!

16 Unforgettable Hits

Go Now

Days Of Future Passed

In Search Of The Lost Chord

On The Threshold Of A Dream

To Our Children's Children's Children

Caught Live + 5

A Question Of Balance

Live At The BBC 1967-1970

Every Good Boy Deserves Favour

Seventh Sojourn

This Is The Moody Blues

Octave

Long Distance Voyager

The Present

Voices In The Sky: Best Of The Moody Blues

The Other Side Of Life

Sur La Mer

Keys Of The Kingdom

The Story Of The Moody Blues: Legend Of A Band

A Night At Red Rocks With The Colorado Symphony Orchestra

(John McFerrin reviews) Time Traveller

(Amanda Kenyon reviews) The Singles+

Strange Times

Hall Of Fame

Answer To The Mystery Of Life

December

Lovely To See You LIVE

16 Unforgettable Hits - Soundwings.

Go Now - London 1966.

Also, as far as I know Mike Pinder isn't actually a pedophile, but if he were, that would be the right term to use for him.

Reader Comments

KevinMartinell@aol.com
There were many versions of albums released that featured the songs from the "Early Moody Blues"/"Go Now" period, and I own 3 formats. First, I have a copy of the 1992 version of "The Magnificent Moodies" on CD, released on the "Repertoire Records" label. This release contains 19 songs, so "Everyday," "You Don't (All The Time)," "This Is My House," "Life's Not Life," "He Can Win," and "Boulevard De La Madelaine" are missing...

Next, I have a used copy of "Moody Blues: Early Blues," from "Compleat Records," on vinyl. It was released in 1985 and also features all 19 songs from "The Magnificent Moodies," except they are arranged in a different order on all four sides of the two LP's ... The cover looks psychedelic, with a purple background, blue lettering used for the words, "Moody Blues," and rainbow-colored bubble lettering used for "Early Blues."

There is also another double LP, on record, I was fortunate enough to come across, and it is titled, "A Dream," released in 1976 on "NOVA Records" ... This release is missing "Time Is On My Side," but includes all of the other early tracks featuring Denny Laine, plus the early singles from when Justin Hayward and John Lodge joined the band: "Fly Me High," "Really Haven't Got The Time," "Leave This Man Alone," "Love and Beauty," and "Cities" ... An interesting thing to note on this release is that this mix of "Cities" sounds a little different from the stereo mix heard on the "Prelude," "Time Traveller," and "The Singles +" CD's ... This version features the harpsichord heavily echoed and heard way in the background, plus some of the percussion is heard more up front on the mix.

"The Singles +" contains some material from the 1992 release of "The Magnificent Moodies," plus a few more tracks that were left off of that CD ... The only two tracks missing between those two releases, that are featured on the 1987 version of "The Magnificent Moodies" CD include: "You Don't (All The Time)" and "He Can Win."

Whatever the format of the album, this is an enjoyable album filled with catchy tunes ... "I'll Go Crazy," which opens up the CD version, makes for a great rockin' intro, and I love the piano track on it. "Something You Got" and "Life's Not Life" have excellent flute solos, and the mouth organ solos on both "Bye Bye Bird" and "Lose Your Money" really rock. "I've Got a Dream," "Thank You Baby," and "Everyday" are some nice upbeat, cheerful tunes and "Steel Your Heart Away," "From The Bottom of My Heart," and "Boulevard De La Madelaine" are rather eerie, but still good ... I especially love the instrumentation on "Boulevard." Mike Pinder sings lead on "I Don't Mind" and Ray Thomas sings lead on "Ain't Necessarily So," which are two favorites of mine ... These are just some of the standout tracks for me on the album(s), and of course, the hit, "Go Now," is a great track, too ... Another excellent piano track in the middle of that song, as well! :)

It's a shame that the later release of "The Magnificent Moodies" leaves out the few songs I mentioned earlier ... I don't know why. It would be a great thing if all of the songs on each of these albums were re-released on an updated version of these releases, along with the three rare "Coca Cola" commercials performed by the band (One with Denny Laine and two featuring Justin and John). This would be ideal for the "Moody Blue" collector without having to purchase additional albums that have rare songs mixed in with songs already featured on other albums. I'd automatically give this album 10 dots if one of the record companies can put together and release a CD or CD set that features every one of these early tracks, along with "A Simple Game" and the single version of "Nights in White Satin," which I forgot to mention ... Still a great album. :)

Days Of Future Passed (with The London Festival Orchestra) - Deram 1967.

There's just so much to enjoy within this magical sleeve of cardboard! The orchestral segues, the unintentionally hilarious poetry at the start and close of the record, the fantastic R 'n' B leftover "Peak Hour" (which truthfully doesn't fit on the album AT ALL, but man am I glad it's there! It's a dang goody!), flute virtuoso Ray Thomas's first of many hokey childlike ditties, "Another Morning," organist Mike Pinder's first of many depression anthems, "Twilight Time" (if you're ever wondering where the "moody" in their name came from, look no further!), not to mention two of the greatest overblown pop songs of all time, "Nights In White Satin" and "Forever Afternoon (Tuesday?)" (which actually has TWO equally well-written parts, but they never play the second one on the radio because radio programmers are nothing but money-grubbing art pimps).

Dopey, yes, but it works - and it's gobs more memorable than that generic Smashing Pumpkins thing that ripped off the concept thirty years later. And, just for the record, it's the last Moody Blues album that any major critic ever praised.

Until now.

Reader Comments

105002.1254@compuserve.com (Trevor A. Kotowich)
I am happy to finally find someone who thinks "Peak Hour" is bloody good tune!

105156.640@compuserve.com
Obviously, Sgt. Pepper is a major influence on the record. But it still was incredibly innovative, especially considering it was recorded in 5 days! For me. "Sunset" is the dull one on the album. That's the one tune on Caught Live that improves over the original studio version.

rlk0003@jove.acs.unt.edu (Robert Linus Koehl)
Mike Pinder didn't write "Twilight Time." It was a Ray Thomas tune. Mike wrote "Dawn Is A Feeling," and "The Sunset." John wrote "Evening A Time To Get Away."

monkey37@localnet.com (Scott Moore)
This is an excellent album that effectively pulls off the conceptual feel by effectively tying all the songs together, while still making them sound unique and all around great. I enjoy the entire album. When I got Pink Floyd's Dark Side Of The Moon, I found that the fact that the songs tied together made me want to listen to the entire album, but some songs I hated. Still, I listened to the entire album, and the mood did not change. It wasn't like an adventure like a Yes album (early), or a grand musical story, like this. I found it often tedious to listen to the entire DSOTM album, but this album, I love the entire thing. It's great. The moods are placed perfectly. Too many bands (Floyd) try to almost force the mood upon you, but this band did it with great music that brings you into a new world and a new feeling with each song. It's just amazing. No one, no bands have done this before or successfully copied it since. This is the best concept album of all time, and it isn't that the songs are the best, and they are great, but it's because they are all tied together to tell a sort of story, and all invoke different moods, subtly instead of forcefully. It's genius.

MikeRobWil@aol.com
This was the first music I ever made love to. I'm still not sure if it was just the right time to finally get out of the gate, or if it was the music! I do know that after all these years I still like to crank it up loud, find a special woman and hope I get lucky. If this isn't a classic, nothing is!

tpeterson@fsi-intl.com (Tim Peterson)
Great album, and all the songs fit, even "Peak Hour." It's the adolescence, the youth of the album. Think of the album as a story of life. THE DAY BEGINS, birth. DAWN and THE MORNING, childhood. The world is an awesome place. LUNCH BREAK: Peak Hour, adolescence, late teens, early twenties. We can do anything, energy to spare. THE AFTERNOON, falling in love, starting a family, working. EVENING, old age, the twilight years. Tuesday afternoon theme returns, still in love. THE NIGHT, death, mourning. Listen to "Nights in White Satin" and think of an old man, sitting by the coffin saying goodbye for the last time. Thinking of all the things he thought but never said. Wondering how anyone else can know how he feels. It'll bring tears to your eyes. The Moody blues, one of several bands I encourage my children to listen to, and play for them whenever I can. (The others being The Beatles, Van Morrison, Jethro Tull, and Yes).

AVUZ70A@prodigy.com (Thomas Morgan)
I was 17 in 1967, when I first heard DOFP. It may have been a bit hokey and superficial, but so was I. What may be lost in retrospect is that up to that time there had been nothing quite like the moodies sound. And I still listen. I enjoyed your views.

ELLASO@puceuio.puce.edu.ec (LASO ORTIZ ESTEBAN LEONA)
For me, the most meaningful thing of all the album is the "Late Lament" poem by Graeme Edge, and especially the verse "Cold hearted orb that rules the night / removes the colour from our sight. Red is gray and yellow white / but we decide which is right / and which is an illusion?" That's it: you decide what is right and what is an illusion in your own life. Isn't it amazing?

cellerd@dreamscape.com (Chris Ellerd)
Born in 1961 i was. I was 7 when Days of future passed came out. I remember hearing "Nights in white satin" around 1970. Being a musician myself, I must say that there is an innate sensual, even sexual quality to the Moody Blues. Deeply emotional, the music itself explores the male/female dichotomy quite skillfully, but also retaining a raw, guitar oriented edge as well. Subtle.Sensitive.Sexual.

Lansman@iceland-c.it.earthlink.net
I have 3 versions of this work on vinyl and another 2 on compact disk. It is an emotional journey for me each time I hear it, and particularly brings back the feeling and emotions I had while listening to it over 20 years ago while driving though the Utah and Arizona deserts. "Tuesday Afternoon" and "Twilight Time" stand up emotionally to anything that can be produced today!

William.L.Porter@boeing.com
If memory serves me the only change in line up from the Magnificent Moodies to Days of Future Past was Denny Laine leaving and Justin Hayward arriving. The change in sound I attribute to Justin's arrival and Mike Pinder relinquishing the leadership direction, thusly the loss of the R&B sound, which I regret. Even Pinder's solo works suffer from the lack of R&B.

Mats.Brostrom@srk.se (Linda Brostrom)
8 out of 10, you must be joking! This is Moody Blues best album ever! And what is this constant picking on Mike Pinder??? I have read your comments about the other records, and I do not agree with you concerning Pinder. I think he is the best songwriter in Moody Blues, and his finest song is on this album, one you don't even mention: "Dawn is a feeling".

Nickrj@aol.com (Nick Johnson)
I'd say this has to be their best album. They describe the day of mankind. And "The Morning" is beautiful. "Peak Hour" is a rocker. "Time to Get Away" is also beautiful (I didn't know John could sing Falsetto.) But the two best songs are "Tuesday Afternoon", and "Nights in white Satin". Not bad for 20 year old Justin to make two great songs.

gclavio@indiana.edu (Galen Clavio)
Actually, there were two lineup changes between the Magnificient Moodies album and this one. Laine checked out and they tagged Justin Heyward (they got him after he responded to a newspaper ad asking for a guitarist for a "mystery" band, which in fact was The Animals). Former bassist Clint Warwick also exited stage left, replaced by the inestimable John Lodge.

javajim@csinet.net
I HATE "Peak Hour". It totally doesn't fit with the rest of the album, which is awesome. I love "Twilight Time" and "Nights in White Satin". This is the album I listen to when I'm going to sleep at night.

tabasco@worldnet.att.net

Well I'm not exactly a Moody Blues fan yet but i got this album. It is terrific in my style of music. I like "Tuesday Afternoon", "nights Of White Satin", and "Twilight Time". I think this is there second album and it did come out the same time Pink Floyd's Piper At the Gates Of Dawn in 1967. I never heard the Moody Blues in there "Go Now" Period with that Denny guy. Do they sound good. And i also heard a few other songs see my review for Legend of the band. I give this album an 8.

fyodor@mixcom.com (Zimmer)
Days is simply an amazing album as were most of the Moodies' albums were of this era.(67-72) Kudos to you for mentioning that there is another song after Hayward's "Forever Afternoon(Tuesday?)" on the same track which is Lodge's "Evening:Time to get away" and I believe it is better than the former. Also, Pinder's contributions are excellent(by the way, he's my favorite member of the band because he is the most original.) "Dawn is a feeling" and "The sunset" are simply brilliant. I think that this album is severely underated in the wake of SGt Pepper, even though it is much better than it.

marylait@sover.net
A masterpiece.Sure it's naive in places,but remember it was created in 66/67 and they were very young.I like all the "songs" with the exception maybe of a few parts of "Evening". Arguably the first "artrock" album.Very influential on groups such as King Crimson and Genesis.

dstreb@mail.ssnet.com (Daniel Streb)
For the love of God and a note to all you in Internetland that can read this: DO NOT get this album on CD!!!!!! It sounds absolutely terrible! The original masters were deteriorated so the record company put out a terrible version of one of the greatest albums ever made. The harmonies sound strained (especially on evening time to get away) because only one guy is singing. The intro and end to "dawn is a feeling" is forceful and unsegue-like. AND the entire rhythm track to dawn is a feeling, another morning, forever afternoon and nights in white satin is too interrupting of the mood. Please buy this album on vinyl with the original deram record label. That version is a masterpiece and the greatest album of 1967. The CD version is a lame unsuccessful conversion. a lame four

stoo@imsa.edu (John McFerrin)
Did I just read "a lame four" while talking about DOFP? I have the version in question, and I don't care if the segues are off here and there or if John is singing by himself on Evening (which doesn't sound too bad, in my opinion). It is still Days of Future Passed, and even a muddled up Days deserves at least an 8.

starostin@geocities.com (George Starostin)
Hmmm. Well, if this is a masterpiece, I'm totally baffled. You mean you SERIOUSLY dig the orchestration? Sure, it's nice and there's nothing nasty about it, but you can hear tons of equal and better stuff on any MGM soundtrack produced for over fourty or fifty years! It's just your basic pop symphonic music, and the only thing that somehow redeems it (only as a groove factor, not as a serious work of art) is that this is indeed the first major experiment in combining rock with classics.

The songs themselves are rather good, of course. Not outstanding, but pleasant. 'Nights In White Satin' are pretty cool, and in general I far prefer Side B - somehow it manages to rock out a little harder. The only thing I utterly HATE about the record is the opening and closing lyrical bit. 'Hilarious', you call it? 'Atrocious' would be a better word here. We're not listening to An American Prayer, by any chance? Also, I doubt whether this album is 'dopey'. I think you call too many things 'dopey'. Syd Barrett's music is 'dopey'. That's why a lot of it stinks. A couple Beatles songs are 'dopey'. That's why they are so beautiful. But this ain't dopey. It's just... OK. I give it a 7, with chances of improving over repeated listening.

stoo@imsa.edu (John McFerrin)
I seem to be in the minority of people who actually enjoy the mix on the remastered CD. For starters, I like the lack of segue in Dawn is a Feeling. I mean, the CD is about an archetypical day, right? Well, I don't know about you, but I snap out of dreamland, which I think of as the orchestration, very abruptly, and my day begins right away, whether I'm ready or not. I guess that could be phrased better, but hey. I also actually like the lack of harmonies in most of Time to Get Away. The song conveys a wonderfully accurate feeling of exhaustion, which speaks to me quite clearly through Lodge's strain to hit the upper notes.

The orchestration is a nice touch, but that is not what makes it a classic. What makes it a classic is that the songs are so, well, _correct_. They depict the emotions that one feels at each point in the day absolutely to a tee. THAT is why this album deserves a nine. And the poetry is great. Dopey, but great. They day ends with a poem as night comes in, and begins as night exits. Just like real life.

BowerGreg@aol.com
I have loved this album ever since I bought it on vinyl in 1968 (as a sophomore in college), and 31 years later I still love it! To listen to it from beginning to end is a deeply spiritual experience, a view of our lives as seen from a viewpoint beyond the "self", revealing the underlying full- ness of both the ups and the downs of the human experience. Sure, it sounds a bit more naive to me now than it did then, but its constant undercurrent of burning compassion for all humanity transcends that, and the beguiling melodies, expansive harmonies and bold chord progressions all work together to create an unforgettable experience. Although the Moody Blues' first 7 albums (not counting Go Now) all occupy the same exalted plane, DOFP occupies it more consistently than the others. There is just one thing that bothers me, though: As one or two previous e-mailers have pointed out, when the album was first transferred to CD, the vocal harmonies in the "bridge" to (Evening) Time to Get Away ("Live all you people...") were dropped, leaving poor John singing falsetto all by himself. Although his singing is awesome, this "melody" doesn't make musical sense by itself. It only sounds right with the original vocal harmonies. I can't understand why they were dropped and I'm sorry to hear this was not corrected on the newly remastered CD release. Does anyone know how I could get in touch with Polydor, or even the Moodies themselves, about this?

rcbmarcomm@nwinfo.net (Richard Burger)
On the review of Days of Future Passed, you say:
Mike Pinder's first of many depression anthems, "Twilight Time" (if you're ever wondering where the "moody" in their name came from, look no further!) Um, that sounds like a pretty good reason, but the "moody" in their name was chosen because the original band members liked the song "Mood Indigo". You probably already know this, and I hate to insult your intelligence, but just in case you didn't, I thought I'd say something. Incidentally, how can it be that you have pages on Yes and ELP but nothing about Genesis? They've always been my favorite band, so I was pleased that I didn't have to watch you rip them to shreds, but still...

bgreenstein@nctimes.net (Ben Greenstein)
Not a masterpiece - they came out with plenty of albums that were loads better than this one. Anyone who says that this is a great album probably has never heard Children's Children or Threshold Of A Dream. A seven, for me.

I LOVE "Peak Hour." And your right about Pinder, most of his songs are completely pointless.

brooke.demartini@asu.edu
I remember my sister discovering them. Tuesday Afternoon was the song of my childhood. I fell instantly in love with their sound and down to this day have yet to discover a band that sounds like them. Days was their true premier album. I would never be without it.

squamous@interaccess.com (Terie R. Hopper)
Being a recently converted Moody Blues fan (Born in 1975 I was--I mainly remember their 80's music from my childhood), I have to say that Days of Future Passed is one of the most BEAUTIFUL albums EVER! And "Peak Hour" ROCKS, no matter if it doesn't fit with the rest of the album. I am obsessed with the song "The Sunset" as well as "Dawn is a Feeling," both Mike Pinder songs. He is an excellent songwriter--just as good as Justin, only in a different style. I think it is a masterpiece, and the orchestration behind it truly makes the album. I can't go to bed at night until I have listened to this album!

alanspringer@webtv.net (Alan Springer)
I remember well the first time I heard it. After the initial intro when hearing the first chord Michael Pinder played on "Dawn is a Feeling" using an instrument I had never heard before (The Mellotron),chills ran up my spine. I was hooked and have been a fan ever since.As with a long term love affair,there are ups and downs and mixed feelings at times,but the love you have carries you through. No amount of superficial criticism can effect the way this individual feels about the Moody Blues,and this wonderful album. They have become such an influence on my life that the above analogy is the only way I can describe it. I am now 57 years old and can only say that during those times,no one,not even the Beatles,had the chemistry that spawned those albums that were created after Justin and John came aboard. Graeme,Ray, and Mike set the stage and provided the solid base needed for the new members to take the band into unexplored territory.As a result, Days of Future Passed has easily stood the test of time, and even in the distant future, will be fully appreciated for the milestone album it truly is.Each band member played an equally important part in it's creation. Like a jigsaw puzzle,the picture can't be complete without each piece being there. Thanks for the opportunity to let me have my say for what it is worth.

KevinMartinell@aol.com
Days of Future Passed is a classic Moody Blues album! I love it! I have both the original vinyl version and remastered Cd version of this album, and I actually like a little bit of both versions! What I like about the Cd version is that the 'stereo' quality is so much better, (except for "Nights in White Satin") with stereophonic vocals on "Another Morning," "Peak Hour," "Tuesday Afternoon" (middle of song), "Time to Get Away," and "Twilight Time." I also like the little additional pieces to the end of "Another Morning" and the orchestral intro to "Peak Hour!" I also like the Cd version of "Tuesday Afternoon" because the sound quality appears more clear (Love those mellotrons!). I wish the Cd version, if it were possible, kept the backup vocals for "Time to Get Away," the piano, that accompanies the strings, in "The Sun Set," and the original version of "Nights!" ...I like the vinyl version of "Nights in White Satin" better, because you can really hear the lows of the bass! It also has more echo in it, compared to the Cd, especially during Ray Thomas's flute solo, and also on the mellotrons... Sounds kind of "dreamy-like" to me! I'm glad that Time Traveller and Moody Blues Anthology keeps the original version of "Nights!" It would have been interesting if the Cd contained bonus tracks of the rare early singles with Justin and John, "Fly Me High"/"Really Haven't Got the Time," "Love and Beauty"/"Leave This Man Alone," "Cities"/"Nights In White Satin" (short version) at the end! I think that would have made a great song line-up for the remastered Cd.Days will always be a favorite of mine! :)

richbunnell@home.com
An eight is a little low for an album that nears musical perfection. This is definitely the most coherent album the Moodies ever released, even though this coherency was mechanically engineered by a bunch of record label suits. The corny orchestration and crummy poetry aren't problems - they'd suck on their own, but on here they really pull the album together into an organic whole. The songs are great too; every single member contributes some of the best material of his own respective songwriting career, particularly Hayward - yowee!! "Tuesday Afternoon" simply has one of the greatest vocal buildups ever crafted by mortal man. I'd have to side with Evan Streb that by no means should you buy the original CD pressing of this album, though - choppy is the word of the day, so if you hear it, SCREAM REAL LOUD! Isn't that right, Conky? Err -- I'd give the album a nine.

Jmundiejr@aol.com
Seems everybody thinks (Peak Hour) doesn't fit .To understand the music you have to understand the times .There is more than one meaning to peak hour not just lunch break.I don,t think the album would be complete without it .

chaucer@ix.netcom.com (Ryan Maffei)
I'll admit the whole symphonic outlet thing really works well here, and this is one of my favorites, "Nights in White Satin" notwithstanding. But ELO did the same thing better with Eldorado roughly six years later, and the latter work is both more engaging and more well-done, not to mention far less fruity.

watta502@yahoo.gr (Akis Katsman)
This album is incredible! And it was just '67! "Dawn Is A Feeling" is sadly, very underrated. It's my favourite, along with "Another Morning" and "Nights In White Satin". I think "Peak Hour" isn't that good, but it's okay. The bumping solo is great though! I like better "Twilight Time" which is in the same style. Hayward's voice was unique for that time! Anyone who has an interest in good pop music (and classical) should buy it. A high 9 out of 10.

If anyone knows what the hell does the cover mean, please tell me. I'd appreciate it.

mwest@crsoftwareinc.com (Michael J. West)
Was, is, and ever shall remain, my favorite ever album in the whole wide history of the universe, ever. Totally. Ever. I won't throw in my "first time I heard it" story, cuz it's one of those personal things that would bore the Hell outta ya, but I will say that I can't imagine anything in my life would be the same if'n I hadn't had this here slab of plastic, which I have on a piece of vinyl that I have so thoroughly memorized that when I hum the songs off this album to myself, I hum the skips and the scratches. So I give this album 48 out of 10, and anyone who ever says a negative word about it or any note of music contained therein will be stricken by the Gods with a plague of dysentery.

This means you, Prindle! And, to a lesser extent, George Starostin! However the Gods will grant amnesty to Rich Bunnell, because, dammit, he's just so adorable.

mossinator@hotmail.com (Ian Moss)
I'm sorry, but I just can't take this album seriously. The orchestration (as Starostin correctly points out) is straight out of the '40s cheesy-movie fakebook (although the orchestral writing itself is not bad); the pop songs inexplicably rely on mellotron when they have a full, real string section available to them; when one of your hardest rockers is "Afternoon (Forever Tuesday)" you've got a problem. Overall, I simply cannot find anything extraordinary about this album other than the rock/classical connection itself, one of the first of its kind. It's not such a big stretch, though, when your "rock" is so, well, emasculated.

Even my parents think this album is dated.

jrnorman51@yahoo.com (Randy Norman)
I bought this album in 1968. I loved it but don't think it holds a candle to "Threshold" or "Children's Children." And what is all this stuff about Mike Pinder being a pedophile? Is that really true? Never, ever heard that.

YahBooSux@msn.com
Tuesday Afternoon and Nights are great songs....but...the rest of the album, all 15 minutes of actual songs, is a mish mash of puerile crap....thank God the Moodies learned they don't need an orchestra to sound great....the ability they possessed themselves and still possess is testament to that....

Days of Future Passed...it wouldn't worry me if I never hear this album again....as long as I have all the others to listen to....I am happy

steve.robey@mindspring.com
"Brave Helios, wake up your steeds -
Bring the warmth that comes with sardines."

I swear I grew up believing that to be the lyric. But then, I was only 7. I also thought the "See Me Feel Me" line from Tommy was:

"Following you, I climb the mountains -
I get sideburns at your feet."

Hey, at least I liked cool music.

In Search Of The Lost Chord - Deram 1968.

Well, there's a song called "Om," for one thing; that alone can turn a guy off pretty quickly. There's also a bunch of hold-up-two-fingers-and-smoke-reefer songs, like "Voices In The Sky," (which is about, of all things, birds tweeting), "Legend Of A Mind" (which you probably know as "Timothy Leary's Dead," because radio DJs don't bother telling you the real title cuz they're just after the green), and "Visions Of Paradise," which I think has a sitar, in addition to the omnipresent flute; one thing about the flute I'd like to mention while I have the chance - it sounds very very good in this setting. I know you probably don't like the idea of a rock band with a flutist because of what those assholes Jethro Tull (no offense, Cliff) did with the concept (i.e. made the flute an absolutely unlistenable instrument, second only to Ian Anderson's voice), but Ray Thomas does a great job of just adding touches of class (or gleeful flooty -too) to the murky melodies emanating from the amplifiers. Like a child urinating maple syrup all over the freshly-fallen winter snow. Yes. That is precisely what it is like. Let us speak no more of it.

So what other joys await you if you shell out the George Washington for this particular time-worn psychedelic relic from yesteryear? More bad poetry, courtesy of drummer / poet / artist / visionary / dreamer Graeme Edge, some weird and cool stylistic experimentation in bassist John Lodge's "House Of Four Doors," a couple of terrific jumpy rockers ("Ride My Seesaw" and "The Best Way To Travel"), and another flaky Ray Thomas number ("Dr. Livingstone, I Presume") - there's honestly a bunch of really infectious tunes here, but man all that hippie crap just hasn't aged well at all. As if all the "la-di-da" songs weren't blatant enough, they were kind enough to include notes on meditation and a huge "yantra" on the inner sleeve . How long did they think people would be able to take them seriously? Just till the drugs wore off? (Or, in my case, till I realized that Jim Morrison was, in fact, a lousy poet; I know it seems unrelated, but there's this whole big memory of tie-dyes and potheads and.... ugh, I'm glad puberty's over.).

Reader Comments

105002.1254@compuserve.com (Trevor A. Kotowich)
Lighten up on Graeme; after all I think he is the only one in the group with a sense of humour!

105156.640@compuserve.com
I don't think there's a dull moment on the record. It's, of course, a product of its time. It's cool to listen through phones at all the sounds they were trying to get.

monkey37@localnet.com (Scott Moore)
HEY! Once again we disagree! I love Jethro Tull Music, but usually the stuff that makes the band blow at times is the horrible use of the other istruments and the flute in those stupid poorly written jam session, Yes-Relayer-type crap, like in the middle of "Songs from the Wood", that turns a beautiful tune, with the same type of classy flute (classy means boring to me, but...) that is in Moody Blues stuff. Ian Anderson's voice is nice - not the most melodic of things, but I enjoy it. You have to give Tull a chance, past stuff like Aqualung. I respect what he can do with a flute, wich is make it sound like anything he wants. Sure, sometimes it can be bad, but I enjoy it. You have to be able to look past the fact that....."Oh, my God! What is he doing with that beautiful melodic piece of equipment, a flute is NOT supposed to sound like that."......and, like I've said before, just sit back and listen to the music, and try to enjoy it, and if you've honestly given it a chance, then you can trash it over the internet, or throw it from a twelve story building like I did to my Tragically Hip CD.

vidcon@buffnet.net (Ed Sewastynowicz)
Are you out of your mind? In Search Of The Lost Chord is one of the best rock albums ever. A full 10 out of 10! Using The Ramones and The Moody Blues in the same sentence is blasphemy! That's like narrowing your car choices down to a Geo or a Mercedes!

lewallen@Oceana.net
Hey now, give Greame a break!! I really loved the discription of "House of Four Doors." This is one of my favorite records!!!

Azeal777@aol.com
I think this album is great. Graeme poetry is really great and I love all of the songs that are too "hippie".

AVUZ70A@prodigy.com (Thomas Morgan)
"Voices In The Sky" is my favourite.

davids@dpscreative.com (David Schlaifer)
PLEASEEEEEE... do not miss the point; the music was a product of the times and that is exactly why it is so "hipppie" as you say. The times they were a-changin and the Moodies helped to articulate that in a very unique musical way. Sure, it can be considered "hightimes" music, but that was what was happening at the time. Let me add, the guys still rock today inspite of all the ragging they take for towing the line and staying true to their sounds. The bottom line is..the Moodies are cool, end of conversation!

Olias@webtv.net (Justin Strohm)
I think "Om" is awesome! It's especially good if you like the sitar and know a little about Eastern religion/philosophy. Also, "The Best Way To Travel" is great. I love "hippie" music.

"type your username"@teleport.com (Tom in Portland)
Enjoyed your page, but HEY! Enough Ray-bashing! Haven't you ever heard of whimsy? I'm a post-boomer and came across ISOtLC 15 years after the fact, and it's a perfect time capsule for the period. Why can't you dino-boomer types embrace your past? You were blessed to have experienced this music in the 60s!

fuzzybunny@usa.com (Marko Spasojevic)
I think In search of the lost chord is probably the weakest, and most disappointing album Moody Blues ever made. (i am only talking about the pre seventh sojourn recordings of theirs; all the stuff they did in the 80s is just hard to compare to anything they did before) In fact, I think there isn't a single worthy song on that album. Even the best song on that album ("ride my seesaw") is rather weak, and occasionally annoying. I find this album to be rather odd especially since it was crammed in between the two best albums they ever made - Days and Threshold.

Mr.Scott@worldnet.att.net (Pete)
In Search Of The Lost Chord is still my favorite album. Lots of feeling here. Hey I didn't particularly like "OM", but it's there. And lighten up on the hippies, it was fun.

Nickrj@aol.com (Nick Johnson)
Another great one, Ray's songs are the best in this album. Graeme's poetry may seem a little weird.

tanx@gte.net
For crying out loud! Of course its a "hippy" album! It was written in 1968. They were playing to the audience of 1968, not, 1997. You don't hear them doing music like that now do you? And, btw, I still enjoy the album a lot more than a lot of the foo foo rah that comes over the radio now.

javajim@csinet.net
Hey, I love "Visions of Paradise". That's probably my absolute favorite Moody Blues song. The flute just grabs you and takes you right out of the galaxy. Well, that's what it does to ME, anyway. But I think it's a great album, and "Om" is actually a pretty listenable song, despite the hippieness. "Voices In the Sky" just gets on my nerves. "House of Four Doors" is actually pretty disturbing if you listen to it right.

fyodor@mixcom.com (Zimmer)
A superb follow-up to Days. It may be hippified, but the music is nonetheless excellent. "Departure" is the best use of Greame's poetry because of how it leads into "Ride My See-Saw". The final chorus to Ray's "Legend of a Mind", is possibly the best Moody Blues music ever recorded. "The Best Way to Travel" is another Mike Pinder gem; I simply love its lyrics. "Voices In the Sky" is the the only weak song on the album. I think that Hayward is a bit overrated, I mean his song are good but sometimes he get a little cheesy. But "The Actor" is a very good song.

Bigrynz@aol.com
I am only 20 years old, wasn't even born when the LP was made, and I've thought it's the best album of all time since I was about 2 years old! I've heard millions of records since that time, and I still rank it as one of the most creative pieces of music I've heard. I can see how one would dismiss songs like "Dr. Livingstone" as cheesy, "Om" as hippy crap or whatever you want to call it, but I happen to love the sounds of sitars and Mellotons and strange electronic effects. For once I'd like to see a good review of this often trashed masterpiece!!

hijinks@utarlg.uta.edu (Thomas Rickert)
Well, I guess you are right about all that hippie dippie-do. But, jeez, accusing the Moodys of being hippies is like handing out tickets at the Indy 500. I mean, they are kinda like the definition of the term. And this is one is my fave, because it IS so over the top. Its so lush and rich and gorgeous, and you can't take any of it seriously. OM always makes me laugh, but its so beautiful, too. This one is a ten, the only Moody Blues record that is a ten, except maybe for Our Children's. The poetry is completely stoopid, of course, and that voice of god on the mount delivery only makes it worse... but the trick is to accept it as part of the times, to laugh, because we have moved psychically so far from the space/place where this kind of music was possible. Except maybe for Sky Cries Mary. And speaking of Sky Cries Mary, where are your reviews for that band? The ultimate in 90s psychedelia, and from Seattle no less, and nowhere to be found on your page, and then you give the Moody's greatest album an 8 when it should be a 10, and sigh, what is the world coming to!? I ask of thee.

Tecmofiend@aol.com (Jason Penick)
Overall I don't care for this album as much as some of the others. The psychedelic mellotron-based sound explorations are pretty breathtaking, but you're right-- the hippy-dippy stuff has aged pretty poorly. "Legend of a Mind" is still an awesome song to me, even though most fans don't seem to like it. I really like the way the melody twists and turns in unexpected directions, building up to that glorious refrain at the end. Still, my favorite song on the album (maybe on any of their albums for that matter) is "The Actor". As for Greame's poetry I'd have to agree with the consencious... "face miles of trials with smiles" makes me guffaw everytime I hear it!

starostin@geocities.com (George Starostin)
Ooh. Better. No friggin' orchestration. Still, not THAT good. The usual lyrical bit in the beginning and in the end pretty much defines the word combination 'ferociously banal'. And some of the songs mighty suck. Suck mighty. I like 'Dr. Livingstone I Presume', a nice childish ditty, and 'House Of Four Doors' has a charming refrain and an original concept, and 'Ride My See Saw' is OK. The rest are forgettable pop tunes. Oh no, 'Voices In The Sky' has some cool singing. But that's it. These guys were good, but pretty much imitated The Hollies - only with a lot more bombast and a little less talent. And quit bashing Jethro Tull. Speak for yourself. :)

stoo@imsa.edu (John McFerrin)
I'd like to give it an 8, but I can't. Whereas on the last album I felt the poetry was extremely effective, here it's just ... dumb. And Om is decent, but not great. And I hate Dr. Livingston I Presume. And Ride My See Saw is just good, not great. But Voices in the Sky is beautiful, The Best Way To Travel, is terrific, and The Actor is _awesome_. All in all, a good album, but quite uneven. Worth a 7.

DTMTIGER@aol.com
I giive it a 7.Legend of a Mind gets on my nerves because I'm not "hippie" enough to like a song that glorifies drugged out wacos like Timothy Leary.

msmith48@snet.net (Monica Smith)
This album was a real jewel in its time, in 1968 when they played GOOD music with a meaning instead of all this rap garbage. Yes, it's "hippie", but personally speaking, I'd rather be a hippie than a product of the 90's. Thsi is a great album, one of the Moody's best. It has "The best way to Travel," which is the only Mike Pinder song worth listening to. And of course, there are the 2 great songs by John lodge, "Ride my see saw" and "House of four doors". This is undoubtedly an awesome album!

squamous@interaccess.com (Terie R. Hopper)
The testosterone that accompanies this review is overwhelming--lighten up on the band here. Yes, it is a very hippy-druggie-esque album, but look at the time period it comes out of! There are some very beautiful tunes on this record, if only you'd see past your obvious distaste of poetry and actually happy songs.

GRIJ@chevron.com (Jennifer Griggs)
Yes, definitely a hippie album but that's what makes it so great! Everytime I listen to it, I feel inclined to get Indian food and burn incense. I have owned the CD for quite some time but just recently truly listened to the lyrics of "House of Four Doors" and understood fully what John Lodge was trying to say. "Legend of a Mind" reflects Ray's talents on the flute (especially when done live). OK, you say "Voices in the Sky" is about nothing but birdies chirping, well, could you take something as simple as the subject of birds chirping and make it into a song as gorgeous as that? This CD is a perfect example of the Moodies unique gift of presenting depth, true emotion and symbolism in each of their songs. I give it a 10!

Sally633503009@aol.com
10,10,10, that's TEN, for sure. Ah, huh! The Moodies were some of the best and first world beat bands/musicians on this album. Their use of sitar, tablas, etc. is the most, if not only, really respectable effort among other bands trying to do the same thing around the time. "Visions of Paradise" uses a very basic western 5, leading tone to tonic sort of gesture, and totally ingeniously makes it sound not only exotically East Indian, but downright otherworldly (which it should). I have been translated by that melody ever since I heard it. There is a paradise, and that song came from there. This album is obviously influenced by the late 60s interest in meditation/yoga trend, but is actually, by virtue of having been exceedingly well-done, TIMELESS. Meditation and yoga, issues about life and death, regeneration, transformation, transcendence, etc., are basically ongoing in any genuine human experience; and I can relate to this album as not only a good musician, but as someone who is inspired by transcendence and heavenly beauty. For poetry and music, I am grateful that it has been a part of my experience. Sounds to me like they found that Lost Chord, a lot of times. -

bpurdy43@aol.com (Brian Purdy)
I am surprised that there are not more comments about The Actor which I consider to be one of the most haunting Justin Hayward tunes of all time. It still raises the hair on my arms today as it did back in 1968. Lyrics and melody that evoke feelings of uncertainty, longing, love (either lost, present or future) and a hope for the future. Appropriate then as it is now.

richbunnell@home.com
The concept is dumb (the Lost Chord is "Ommmmm"? Whatever), but this is a really well-written album. It doesn't sound a bit dated to these ears compared to the band's other stuff, and it's definitely a lot more interesting than some of the later albums in their "Big Seven." My favorites are Ray's tunes along with "House Of Four Doors," "Ride My See-Saw," and "The Best Way To Travel." The only minor stinker to me is "Visions Of Paradise," a floaty filler tune which doesn't need to be there. I'd give this one a nine!

And to Scott Moore, the Tragically Hip freakin' rule. Unless you're a Canadian, I guess, in which case they're probably horribly overplayed. But I'm an American! Nyeeeeah!

kenyon@csinet.net (Amanda Kenyan)
Hey now, Mr. Bunnel - you have dissed on my favorite MB song and have therefore left me no option but to purposely misspell your name in order to wreak revenge on you in a childish and juvenile manner. Visions of Paradise is gorgeous! Not hokey at all! And it certainly DOES need to be there! Okay, I'm done defending my beautiful little song now.

As for the rest of the album, it's great too! Probably my second-favorite, behind TOCCC. I don't really like Ride My See-Saw, though....it seems kinda silly to me. (And yes, you have my permission to purposely misspell my name in order to wreak revenge on me in a childish and juvenile manner for dissing on a song you like.) I really love The Actor and Om (even though it's also kinda silly), and Legend of a Mind has always been a favorite. Not that my opinion really matters, though - everybody go buy this album and listen to it right now, so you can form your own opinion and yell at other people for dissing on songs you like. Wouldn't that be FUN?

Redmon48@aol.com
I was introduced to LSD and In Search of the Lost Chord at the same time in 1968. What a great introduction to both of the greatest highs one could have experienced at the time. It goes without saying that the combination of both the music and the lyrics of the Moodies and the eurphoric effects of the drug made for a life long commitment to the band that has never left me. In Search of the Lost Chord has a special place in my heart that I will never forget.

jason_a@earthlink.net (Jason Adams)
One of my dad's favorites. Except for "Ride My Seesaw" and "The Best Way To Travel", which are both pretty hokey, this album is really quite the sunny piece of chewed sidewalk gum. "Om"? There's a song on here called "Om"? And that house of four doors, which is probably in the bad part of town, where every room you enter reveals another tepid instrumental. Except the bathroom, which contains an ode to Timothy Leary. Makes me long for the brutal hard rock of the Beach Boys or Donavon.

horseshoe7@yahoo.com
I'm glad to see that there are others who have the same opinion regarding "The Actor" as I do. Once known as the defining MB "acid" album, ISOTLC will become known as the album that contained "The Actor". This song has surfaced as a real gem for the ages... the boys really bring their skills together on this one... Ray's Flute, Pinder's Mellotron, Justin's Lead, Lodge's spooky backup... it DOES raise the hair on your neck.

bird1@jps.net
Wow! You are really tripping! You have no clue what the Moodies are all about if you can trash this album. Honestly, you must be very superficial to not understand their message. What's wrong with talking about transcendance or drugs or timothy leary? or using poetic symbolism? What's wrong with writing a song about a bird? It's alot better than all the whining complaint rock you hear today. They wrote about soul stuff, universal truths, heart stuff, human stuff in a wonderfully rich, colorful whimsical way - their songs cut through all bullshit and get right to the truth. Obviously you don't get it at all. Think of the talent needed and the creativity to orchestrate their incredibly complex and layered tunes. And what's with all of this "hippie dippie" criticism? You prefer money grubbing yuppie attitudes of superiority to tolerance, judgement to love, static role-playing to free thought? Get out my universe!

Mkj6672@cs.com
Just listened to this 34 year old record in my car cd changer. 34 years... and it still has a kick to it. "Seesaw" has a great rhythm section on it- acoustic guitar, propulsive bass, ditto the drums, repeating electric guitar riff, and tambourine. And the guitar solo- a mix of raga and surf. And the vocals- Tony Clarke mixed all four singers together in some kind of cosmic blender and it sounds Great.. I mean really, all it takes his a good ear to hear and recognize good music-ant this lp passes the test in flying colors. Also this group was one of the first to feature the flute. The other group at that time was Traffic. (Jethro Tull didn't break until late 68-early 69). This group also featured four songwriters who equally contributed to the groups success and sound. Great record.

NeutronJK53@aol.com
are some of you nitwits out of your mind ? this is one of the great albums produced during the late 60's .absolutly STUNNING music and great lyrics. not one bad song. LISTEN to the music stupid,. wheather you were stoned or not this is great stuff. 35 years later this is still a wonderful , inspiring, listening experienge, especially with headphones. in closing , let me say bravo to "tom in portland" who wisely notes, as i have commented many times, the best rock music ever made was between 1964 andand 1972. we were truly blessed to grow up with this music. and by the way i'll be seeing the rest of you true moody blues fans in conn. at their oct. 7 concert.

baculus_amroth@yahoo.com
Judging from the review, and some of the responses to the review, I don't think some people "get" The Moody Blues. After all, they were a PSYCHEDELIC (as in, ahem, psychedelic drugs) band, and a 60's band none the less. And, personally, I don't think you can truly grasp their music, especially an album such as In Search of the Lost Chord, until you have heard it under the influence of psychedelics, especially LSD. (Sorry for you stiffies and straight-edges who haver never imbibed...) I think this album is an absolute 10--great playing, whimsical (which I think goes RIGHT over the head of many that listen to this album), lush, beauty, lyrics, electronics...I think this album holds up great over the years. Yeah, over the years, I have listened to every genre of music, including lots of hardcore and heavy music, but I can still come back to the Moody Blues. Thank God, and thank you guys...

KevinMartinell@aol.com
An excellent follow-up album to "Days of Future Passed!" I like this mix of "Ride My See-Saw" the best, because it has better bass quality than the mixes that appeared on the "best of" compilation CD's ... Also, Graeme Edge's opening track, "Departure" provides the perfect intro that leads into this song. Fortunately, "Time Traveller" features this version of the song, too. I like how, in the middle of "Ride My See-Saw" when the band is chanting, you can hear cellos sawing away in the background, in perfect rhythm ... Listen carefully! :) That was awesome, and the same goes for Justin Hayward's guitar solo!

"Dr. Livingstone, I Presume" is catchy, and I love the sound of the guitars and mellotrons, especially during the instrumental break. While Ray Thomas sings lead vocal on that track, you can hear that John Lodge's voice is dominant on the choruses.

The "House of Four Doors"/"Legend of a Mind" medley is magnificent, and I love the way the tracks flow into one another ... "House of Four Doors, Part 1," sounds like an earlier version of "Procession," from "Every Good Boy Deserves Favour," during the parts of the song where the different musical styles are heard. It was also amusing to hear cellos creating the sounds of squeaky doors opening!

"Legend of a Mind" is just brilliant, and "The Moodies" do a magnificent job on the vocals and instrumentation all the way through ... This song includes one of the most outstanding flute solos I have ever heard from Ray Thomas, and I love the "Doppler effect" on the mellotrons throughout the song! On this track, I've noticed that there is a brief crackling sound heard along the lines of, "He'll plant your feet back firmly on the ground" on most mixes of the song, but on the re-mastered version of the "In Search of the Lost Chord" CD (As well as the remix from "This Is The Moody Blues," about 2:16 into the song, I would say), it was eliminated ... This is a fine example of an excellent re-mastering job in the sound quality. The mixes heard on "Time Traveller" and "The Moody Blues Anthology" keep the crackling sound, though.

"Voices in the Sky" and "The Actor" are two fine Justin Hayward compositions, and remind me of "Nights in White Satin," at a few points ... Once again, Ray Thomas contributes some nice flute pieces to both tracks. BTW, I love all versions of "Voices in the Sky," including the one on the "Live at Red Rocks" set and the classical version on the "Classic Moody Blues Hits with the Frankfurt Rock Orchestra" album ... Magnificent! Both "Visions of Paradise" and "OM" have a pleasant sound to them, as well, and it is nice to relax to both tracks ... Justin Hayward's sitar solo on "OM" sounds great, and you can also hear a bit of the sitar near the end of "Visions of Paradise." The barely audible mellotrons, heard way in the background to "The Word," added a nice touch to the poetry. Oh yeah ... My favorite line in "The Actor" is: "Put out your problems with the cat." I love it! :)

Don't want to forget "The Best Way To Travel" ... The reverb on the vocals was a cool effect, and so were those "fluttering" and beeping sound effects during the latter half of the song.

In addition to the "Magical Mystery Tour" album, by The Beatles, "In Search of the Lost Chord" features some of the best stereo effects I have ever heard on an entire album, most notably on "Dr. Livingstone, I Presume," "House of Four Doors," "Legend of a Mind," "The Best Way To Travel," "The Actor," and "OM." If you have a "balance" dial on your stereo, you can check out what's missing when eliminating the output from each speaker ... It's quite interesting, when you hear the results! :)

It's a shame that "A Simple Game" wasn't included as a bonus track, when the re-mastered version of this CD was released (A re-mastered version of the stereo mix that appeared on the "Prelude" CD would have been nice). Still, "In Search of the Lost Chord" is a terrific album and I enjoy each track a lot ... 10 dots for me on this one! :)

SoulQuest7@aol.com (Nick)
I'd like to take exception to your comment that hippie music/lyrics hasn't aged well. First of all, although I caught on to hippie vibes 8-10 years after its breakthrough in the late 60s, there were people at the time that didn't like it. If you are cynical, pessimistic, or decadent by nature, I'd suggest you get your music listening recommendations from Lester Bangs.
The hippie movement was a liberal movement with a distinctly spiritual bent. Like liberals of any age, they wanted a more open, gentle, and tolerant culture. The conservatives wanted people to march in step and believe whatever the culture told them about politics, religion, and culture. The hippies agreed in part with political left and dissented on issues about the war, voting rights, free speech, drug policies, identity politics, etc. In terms of religion, they looked at the exclusivist heaven/hell dichotomy of Christian theology and dissented from this theological terrorism as well as the far left's anti-spirituality. From India came a stream of gurus that mostly had a more liberal, universalistic, and mystical philosophy that believed that people from all faiths could make spiritual progress-- or not make progress-- and that just being a Christian wasn't a free pass into heaven. This was heresy to the religious mainstream in the West, especially in America. In terms of culture, hippies questioned everything from the cruelty of the slaughterhouse to the superiority of Western music and medicine to the boundaries drawn by academic study. Boundary shattering-- that's what the late 60s was about. And they did all this while singing about rainbows, flowers, love and spirituality. Bravo, is all I can say.
On the contrary, I think the juvenile rage attacks of punk was something that would burn out fast and would be impossible to mature into. It didn't surprise me when punk darlings like the Clash looked to a more spiritual tradition, reggae, for inspiration. Punk carried a similar type of critique in terms of politics, but delivered it with so much venom and hate that it burned out and dissolved into New Wave almost immediately. The hippies had a much longer lasting influence, at least from my perspective as a fan of ambient, new age, progressive rock, Asian underground, chanti,and other traditions that were defined by more spiritual perspectives.
As the decades have rolled on, I find that while there's always juveniles ready for a rowdy musical soundtrack to their own personal puberty ritual, the hippie idealism remains a time to look back on for more long-term values like spiritual inspiration. The very things you make fun of-- songs that intermingle themes about nature and spirituality-- are things so integral to most peoples lives that they certainly deserve a song as much as the trivial bullsh*t that makes up most pop music. To love nature is to seek the benefit of all. To look to Spirit is to see what interconnects us all, and what is the continuity of life after death. These are quests that are certainly deeper and as valid of topics for songs as romantic love and politics.
The gentleness of much of the music-- Voices In The Sky, Visions of Paradise-- mirrors the gentleness of many of the hippies concerns-- mystical spirituality, vegetarianism, ecology, environmentalism, nonviolence, etc. These were all part of the same counterculture, and although not all the experiments worked for all people, they remain touchstones for those seeking a new way of life. Even the interest in drugs ("Legend of a Mind") was not about romanticizing addictive drugs like heroin. It was mostly about using specific drugs, in limited ways, in a spiritual context.
There are now bookstores all over the country that deal specifically with all these issues. That to me proves a lasting impact to this genre of philosophy, and the music that helped to spread it. ---==-=-=- om=-==-=-

On The Threshold Of A Dream - Deram 1969.

There's the rockin' follow-up to "Ride My Seesaw" ("Lovely To See You"), Ray Thomas's two surprisingly dark flaky songs, "Dear Diary" and "Lazy Day" (well, okay, a song featuring the lines "Lazy day / Sunday afternoon / Like to put your feet up / Watch TV" can't really be called dark, per se, but that "ahhh-ahhhh-ahhhh" chorus bit is a little creepy), a couple more stupid Graeme Edge poems (by the by, my friend Scott Haggard and I used to tape a picture of the band to the wall and try to throw darts at Graeme Edge; I guess I've never been much of a poetry fan), and two majestic Hayward ballads - "Never Comes The Day" and "Are You Sitting Comfortably" (which was co-written by Thomas, which explains the stupid lyrics about Merlin casting a spell).

I've said this afore and I'm sure I'll say it again before they throw my lifeless body into a sacred burial plot and light an eternal flame in my memory: these guys were all pretty great songwriters for the most part, but why in God's name did they ever let anyone but Hayward sing? He has the voice of an angel! And the other fellas just sound.... well, Ray sounds fruity and the other ones just sound boring - like a British minister or an elderly schoolteacher or Lou Reed - bleah casserole! The most miserable vocalist is, as you might expect, Pinder, who chimes in with two more suicide anthems, the extremely well-written "Have You Heard / The Voyage" suite that ends side two, and the crappy macho love rocker "So Deep Within You" (which appears to be about screwin') that closes side one. Yes, an absolutely miserable song, but the only one on an otherwise splendid record, even though the Rolling Stone Record Guide only gave it one and a half stars out of five. In fact, they pretty much gave every Moody Blues record one and a half stars out of five. Except, of course, Sur La Mer, which completely blows so they gave it two and a half stars. Whatever. I doubt they even listened to the records in the first place.

Reader Comments

105156.640@compuserve.com
Yes, I have to agree that this one plods a bit compared to the previous two. And I have to agree that it's Ray's fault - his 2.5 contributions are really boring. "The Voyage" is really innovative - the mellotron provides amazing orchestral textures. I like "So Deep" better than you - it sounds like the only time they attempted something a liitle jazz-influenced.

Limbeck@sprynet.com (Cody)
I'm not even going to read your reviews on these albums, after seeing these first reviews! Ask Anybody who's ever heard Moody Blues, music professionals or not, Days Of Future Passed is Legandary and brilliant. Anything less then a ten, on any kind of scale, is ludicrous. I'm a Moody Blues fan, in MY opinion, the ones you rated higher, I would rate lower! And the ones you rated Lower, I would rate Higher! We don't agree Musically!

MikeRobWil@aol.com
I agree with you about Rolling Stone's ratings being entirely off base. If anyone representing the magazine had really listened to any of the Moody Blues, their scores would have had to be much higher. Then again, they trashed The Doors too. Who ever gave Rolling Stone the credentials to judge musical taste anyway? I won't buy the rag and only look at the 3-4 year old copies I find at my dentists office.

Threshold is pure classic from start to finish and I include G. Edge's poetry in that comment.

lewallen@Oceana.net
Rolling Stone needs to get a grip. They are so biased, it's pathetic!! I'm glad you love Justin's voice, but please give the others a chance! John's, though not superb, is very touching. And Ray's is incredibly powerful!!

Azeal777@aol.com
What do you mean that they shouldn't let anyone but Justin sing? I agree that he has the voice of an angel, but what about John!!!!! I love John and I think his voice is really great. He can't do as much with it as Justin can, but the Moodies wouldn't be the same without John's voice. If you didn't like a lot of the songs on the album, how come it was on the charts for over 100 weeks?

Nickrj@aol.com (Nick Johnson)
This album has to be their weirdest. There is a warning. After "To Share Your Love" Mike scared the heck out of me when "So Deep Within You" started. He came up out of nowhere and said "TALK TO ME BABY..." this is a warning to all of you who are planning to buy this album.

javajim@csinet.net
HEY! I LIKE the lines about Merlin casting a spell! You have no sense of art. But I agree with you about the rest. "Send Me No Wine" was pretty good too. Rolling Stone blows.

fyodor@mixcom.com (Zimmer)
This is yet abother worthy effort from the moodies. "Lovely to see You" is perhaps Justin Hayward's best song. I can't help but to laugh at "So deep within you" although it is not a bad song. I like the mellowness and darkness of this album.

hijinks@utarlg.uta.edu (Thomas Rickert)
Ray does sound fruity!! But Mike Pinder sounds worse... like a child molester! My question is why they let him write songs; almost everything he wrote, except for the anamoly of Children's, is substandard and off.

krister74@hotmail.com
Adding some thoughts 'bout moody; I recenlty bought my 2:d MB:s album; In search, and it was somewhat better than Days of Future which was my first. In search is quite perfect, Lodge does some of his best songs, my favourite songs are by Ray Thomas, "Dr Livingstone" and "Legend of a mind". I am a bit disappointed by Haywards songs. They seem to 'nice' for me, "Voices in the sky" doesnt somewhat fit on such a psychedelic album.

And about the 3:d record, On the threshold..., it really disappointed me and still is, I just couldnt believe what I heard when the first chords of "Lovely to see you" hit me. What the hell was this? Really boooring melodies, not a hit, Haywards boring, stiff melodies, Lodge's even more dull songs, unbelivable, what had happened with them?

I really think this is a boring album, best songs: Have you heard 1-2, So deep within you. Otherwise Im really disappointed. I havent bought To our childrens... yet but i will do it, give MB one last chance. By the way, I am really into the more psycehdelic music, like Jefferson Airplane, Love, Doors, etc. so perhaps In search of the lost chord is the only MB record that fit" me...

starostin@geocities.com (George Starostin)
Wow. Even better. I mean, I can actually FEEL the progress they made with each new album. Hard to believe it, but there is at least a quirky little hook in practically EVERY song here, and some are downright lovely - 'Dear Diary' and 'Lazy Day', for one. The ending is a little murky, with orchestration coming in on 'The Voyage', and there's the usual banality by Graeme Edge ('I think therefore I am'. Thanks for reminding), but apart from these inconveniences, you really won't find anything annoying here. Not that all of these songs are great, but, like I said, there are at least some moments in virtually every song that can hold your attention (which I certainly wouldn't say about the earlier stuff). I definitely will not agree with the 9, because I still think the Moodies are nothing but a grandiose version of the Hollies, but a 7 is OK. Maybe even an 8 - if you're in the mood.

Which actually reminds me: all of you guys who fall all over Justin Hayward, go listen to The Hollies. It is absolutely unjust to love the Moodies and ignore the Hollies, who were by far England's BEST pure pop group throughout the Sixties. You can directly feel the influence of stuff from albums like 'Butterfly' or 'For Certain Because' on the Moodies' creativity. No offense - just a statement. And moreover, The Hollies never displayed even a millionth part of the Moodies' pretentiousness and pomp.

stoo@imsa.edu (John McFerrin)
Mr. Starostin's comments all over this website have, for a good while, puzzled me. I've tried hard to understand where he is coming from, and what would cause him to say such negative things about Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd and to not like the orchestral stylings of the Moody Blues and Yes. And then it hit me like a ton of bricks.

Mr. Starsotin likes to harp over and over again about how he loves "pure rock music" and "pure pop music" and laments about sterile and highly derivative riffs in Floyd and Zep and how he hates orchestration and "pretentiousness and pomp."

"pure rock music"

"pure pop music"

That's a very bland concoction you've created for yourself, Mr. Starsotin. It seems that all the music you like has to have a "killer riff" and "structure" or you don't like it. You claim that "aura and atmosphere are not the only thing that characterizes a good band" in your review of LZ I, and you start bashing their riffs as completely stolen. You rip Dark Side of the Moon, giving it a _6_, for crying out loud, just cos the solos aren't tip-top and the riffs aren't great. While I would agree that aura and atmosphere aren't all that make a good band, riffs aren't all that are necessary either. When I listen to Zep, I don't really give a damn whether Page stole all of his material. There's a saying that good artists borrow, great artists steal. And these guys were _great_ artists. I don't care that there's no structure in Song Remains the Same (which is not boring at all, thank you very much) or that Achilles' Last Stand is 10:32. And I sure as hell don't lament that Led Zeppelin III is a fantastic mix of rock and folk (I read your review of Songs From The Wood, and I know that you hate pure folk music, which I kinda disagree with, but hey). When I listen to Floyd, I don't think to myself "man, these guys are only so-so instrumentalists." I think, "wow, no band has ever done more with less." The people in Pink Floyd were pure genius. They knew what their weaknesess were, and they compensated in spectacular fashion. And finally, when I listen to the Moody Blues, I sit in awe and wonder. For the Moodies didn't write great "pop". They didn't write great "rock". They wrote great "MUSIC." If that meant pooring in some folk, some r&b, and even some classical, they did so, because they recognized that music can take many, many forms.

If you limit yourself to pure rock and roll and pop and spend all your energies looking for "hooks" in each song and ignore such fundmental elements such as "harmony" and "melody", you will be missing out on a lot.

starostin@geocities.com (George Starostin)
Response to Mr John McFerrin

First of all, that's STAROSTIN, not STARSOTIN, mr McFerrin. Second, I don't know why it hit you like a ton of bricks, but you're not quite right about my preferences. I have nothing against orchestration as such. Orchestration on Quadrophenia, for instance (well, the elements of orchestration, to be more correct), works for me. So does orchestration on, say, Procol Harum records. Moody Blues orchestration is typical Hollywood movie soundtrack orchestration and nothing more. They could have easily done without it. It might have sounded original in 1967 but it sounds dated now. I don't mind complexity in rock music. And I don't think I've ever mentioned the word combinations "pure rock music" or "pure pop music" anywhere on this site. Well, I might have, in a couple of cases, but I don't worship these notions as much as you think I do. Yes, I said the Hollies were a 'pure pop group', but that's not a compliment or anything - it's just a statement. And even the Hollies were not always 'pure'. As for 'pure rock music', in my comments on Layla I doubted the possible existence of a pure rock tune. So you see - you're really going in the wrong direction. I also don't hate pure folk music. Songs From The Wood is NOT pure folk music, whatever you may say, it is Ian Anderson's representation of folk music and it doesn't work for me. The only pure folk song on that one, by the way, is 'The Whistler', and that's exactly the song I like on this album. So there.

What I put forth as the main criteria for good/bad rock music are a) originality and b) diversity (diversity!!! hear that, mr McFerrin?). This immediately leaves Led Zep out, for it is hard to imagine a less diverse group (although AC/DC comes close). This doesn't leave out Pink Floyd, but that's a third criterium: the musical skeleton. You are right about saying 'they know what their weaknesses were'. Their main weakness was that they couldn't write a great melody, with a few exceptions, and they compensated with special effects and intriguing production and stuff. That's all very well, but it's just like eating sugar without tea.

Next: I'm sorry, but I will always keep looking for a 'hook' in any song. Nah, let me correct that: I won't be looking for them, I'll just wait for them to come and get me. But 'get me', not just 'please me'. I cannot just relax, sit back and 'let the airwaves flow'. The song might be 'pure rock' or 'pure folk', and they might be this and they might be that, but they should be memorable and tasty, and not just display a 'technique' or a 'style' or a 'mood'. So you got me all wrong.

And forgive me my love for riffs. Please!

Also, you seem to think that I'm a great hater of the MB or Pink Floyd or anything. Nope, you just can't see my real position. I see how all of you hardcore fans swoon all over everything these guys put their fingers to and cry: 'This is the best album! No, this one is the best! On second thought, their third one was the best! It's fantastic!' I hate this attitude. You might have noticed I'm a huge Who fan, but you might also have noticed I don't leave no album without any critique. Of course, prog-rock and art-rock are much easier to criticize - that is because they often mask a lack of creative ideas behind a wall of sound and impeccable instrumental technique. Like Yes, yes. And like the Moody Blues. And like Jethro Tull. Not always, but often. They had a lot of great songs, but they also had a lot of pointless wanking. One has to wade through the dreck and fish out the pearls. That's how it goes with such things. You speak of the Moodies as being diverse? Don't make me laugh! They have a STYLE, by Jesus! I can immediately recognize a Moody Blues, but I could NEVER immediately recognize, say, a Beatles song - because they didn't have a style. They had everything.

Finally, since you're so keen on deciphering my musical tastes, here's one more puzzle for you. These are my two (current) favourite prog rock tunes: '21st Century Schizoid Man' by King Crimson and 'Dancing With The Moonlit Knight' by Genesis. Any idea why, mr McFerrin?

stoo@imsa.edu (John McFerrin)
Very well, I stand corrected. I guess I can understand your desire for diversity over style. While I may not agree with your ideas of "sugar without tea", at least I can understand them. I personally enjoy sitting back and "letting the airways flow" myself, but I can see where thtat could get old to some people.

Also, don't think that I am the type of hardcore fan who doesn't notice weaknesess in albums. Goodness no. For people who were as talented at melody writing as the Moodies were, they've managed to write a lot of crap. If I cared enough to, I could respond to every single Moody Blues album review and every single Pink Floyd review and give criticism and praise, but unfortunately I only have so much time as a college student. I think your Who reviews are truly excellent, btw.

Wrt to the style of the Moodies, yes, I agree that they had a definite style, but throwing in random influences into the songs was a part of that style. Order through structured chaos, I guess. I dunno, it's the best analogy I can come up with.

Finally, my best guess why you like 21'st century Schizoid Man is that you have much better taste than I realized. (I don't particularly care for King Crimson, tho my brother is a huge fan, but I think that song rules)

stoo@imsa.edu (John McFerrin)
Unlike some others, I love the final part of the album, the Are You Sitting Comfortably/The Dream/Have You Heard/Voyage suite more than any other part. I mean, Lovely To See You is good, but kinda dull. And while Dear Diary and Lazy Day are quite good, Send Me No Wine and Share Your Love are just ... ok. And Never Comes The Day is very very good, but not quite great. Anyways, the overall quality, for me at least, is not high enough to warrant a 9, but any lower than an 8 would be just wrong, so an 8 it is.

msmith48@snet.net (Monica Smith)
What is the matter with you? Lay off Ray and Graeme, they make up the backbone of the whole band. Ray's songs are NOT flaky, and his voice is a near match for Justin's. And half the songs would be so 2 dimensional without John's high soprano and Ray's baratone. Who's rating these albums, anyway?

richbunnell@home.com
Hmmph....I need to get the remastered copies of these Moodies albums. The only CD copies I have easy access to at the moment are a couple of the crummy '80s remasters which make the mix sound all choppy. Especially "Lovely To See You" on this album-- on the version I have it sounds all broken up, but I've heard a shiny, polished mix which was perfect! That's why I can't review Days Of Future Passed yet-- I don't care for that one too much but apparently the mix on the old CD is horrible so I could easily change that opinion later. This here album I like even with the crappy mix, however, and can tell that this stuff would rule in any given situation. Pinder's closing suite is a masterpiece. A few dull songs (like the Pinder/Hayward one before the suite) but it's mostly very, very good. A really high 8/10 with chances of improving.

jmoyer@sgi.net (Jason Moyer)
It really boggles my mind that while so much of their music was a rare combination of innovative and beautiful, the only songs that gain any recognition are the top-40 AOR crap that Heyward/Lodge did. Heyward always sounds like he's going to cry at any given moment with his over dramatic quasi-operatic vocal style (the deeper he pulls from his diaphragm, the more I cringe). The John Lodge pieces are generally totally laughable, with the cheesy vocal harmonies that make me want to listen to Pet Sounds again and the generally pointless lyrics and unimaginative instrumentation (Send Me no Wine could be a top-40 country song if you took the wannabe Beach Boys harmonies out of the chorus).

As with any other Moodies record, buy the CD, program the Pinder/Thomas/Edge tracks, and put it on repeat. Mix with a heavy dose of Pet Sounds and Syd Barrett for a fun afternoon.

kenyon@csinet.net (Amanda Kenyon)
Good album. Nothing on it really stands out to me, except for Are You Sitting Comfortably (I first heard this song at the beginning of my fascination with the Arthurian legends, and it stuck with me), but it gets the award for all-around proficiency.

And Mr. Jason Moyer.....with all due respect, what kind of hallucinogenic drugs are YOU on?? You really and truly don't like Hayward's voice? Wow....you're the first person I've ever come across who thinks that. Not that it isn't a valid opinion, mind you, just a new and different one. Well, if God had intended for everybody to love Justin Hayward, He wouldn't have let anybody else sing at all. But still...wow.

richbunnell@home.com
I said "a high 8/10 with chances of improving" in my comment three posts up. It's now about a year later, and I've purchased the remastered edition -- geeze. This album is perfect. I can't see why this isn't the Moodies' undisputed masterpiece, what with it littered with amazing, gorgeous songs and no real boring ones. "Lovely To See You," in a perfect world, would be in heavy classic rock rotation along with "Ride My See-Saw" and "Question," and Thomas' songs are really creepy and cool. Don't knock "So Deep Within You" - it's embarassingly macho, but it still has an awesome melody. A ten!!

MaxOmaggot@aol.com
Mr. Starostin,

You say that you wait for the hook of the song to come along, and that's reasonable enough, considering that that part of the song usually is the most... exciting. Or catchy. Or whatever. But either you fail to notice that the _other_ parts of the songs are important, too, or you realize this and simply ignore it anyway.

I find a lot more to like besides the hook, moreso in Moody Blues songs than any others I hear. For instance, if you were to ask me to sing the chorus of The Voice, I wouldn't be able to help you. I have no idea if it even has one. I guess it logically should, but I don't even care to figure out--it doesn't matter, because every part of The Voice is pretty much just as good as any other. Whenever I sing the song to myself, I don't prefer one part over another.

And what about the songs that have obvious, but weak (or perhaps 'less likeable' is a better descriptor), choruses? Like Nervous. I like the slower parts of that song a great deal; definitely more than the chorus.

(If you think Long Distance Voyager is the only album I've heard or something, don't be deceived; this is simply the most recent purchase of mine, and I've just gotten familiar with it so it is fresh in my mind.)

These examples probably aren't even the best ones I could give... but that doesn't matter. I find pleasure in sitting back and letting the airwaves flow. I think that's part of being a Moody Blues fan. I find myself putting on a Moody Blues album, and I sing and hum along as necessary, and then I turn my attention somewhere else for a moment and I've missed my favorite line, or my favorite song, or the whole album! But all the while I'll have been singing along, not even noticing. One reason why I sometimes go to sleep to their music--so I can concentrate and really hear the great details, most of which are NOT the intended hooks at all.

And then you talk about the Moodies lacking diversity. What is this? You honestly think the Beatles, out of all the bands you could have picked, best represent diversity? I have two very big qualms with the Beatles: their humor is dopey, in a very juvenile (original, but still juvenile) way, and all their songs sound the same. Either that, or everyone (except, perhaps, you) is born with the innate ability to recognize Beatles songs. These two factors equate to a fairly annoying band. I have to admit that I've never heard a Moodies song without knowing it was them, but this is because I only hear their songs when I expressly decide to put on one of their CDs (what, am I going to hear them on the radio...?) But you'd be lying through your teeth if you said they weren't diverse. These are the people who put My World and Veteran Cosmic Rocker on the same album. They have light songs (Nice to Be Here, Dawn Is a Feeling, Floating). dark songs (Twilight Time, When You're a Free Man Again, 20,000 Days, Reflective Smile), love songs (I Know You're Out There Somewhere, The Story in Your Eyes, It's Up to You, Dawning Is the Day), exhilarating rockers (Gypsy, After You Came, Veteran Cosmic Rocker), mysterious songs (You Can Never Go Home, One More Time to Live, Thinking Is the Best Way to Travel, House of Four Doors, Sun Is Still Shining, bookends of Question), and even innocent, children's songs (Emily's Song, My Little Lovely). Yes, they have a style. Everyone does. The Beatles most certainly did, and I thought it was a really awful one. Everything creative the Moodies ever did was great--their concept albums with poetry and orchestration, the flute, the mellotron!--and everything creative that the Beatles did annoyed the hell out of me.

I like the Moodies because I like their style. Their first 9 albums, as well as Strange Times, are each like a greatest hits album. I can't comment on the others becasue I haven't listened to them yet. And although J&J may represent the core of the band, it was Graeme, Ray, and Mike that truly set them apart from everyone else. Everyone rags on Graeme's poetry, but I love it. I've never thought of it as corny, always as powerful (I didn't start reading MB reviews until this year, and I've listened to them for well over 10 years--I had no idea people really thought this way about the poetry). The fact is that everyone brings (or brought) something great to the band, and they mesh perfectly. I love all of their songs--and I mean love--with the possibly exception of Words You Say. I just like that one... for now.

* To Our Children's Children's Children - Threshold 1969. *

These songs are slow, moving, uplifting, depressing, beautiful - everything that hymns are supposed to be. And EVERYONE contributes winners! Pinder's "Sun Is Still Shining" (was he on Zoloft during this period or something?), Hayward's gorgeous "I Never Thought I'd Live To Be A Hundred / Million" and "Watching And Waiting," Thomas's impressively serious "Eternity Road" and playful but superb "Floating" (there are, as of this writing, no words to describe the feeling of bliss that overcomes my entire psyche every time I hear that ascending "Fooooo!" noise), Lodge's mournful but lovely "Candle Of Life" and "Eyes Of A Child Part One" ("Part Two" is a rocker, and not as good), and finally, even ol' poem boy pulls a couple of topnotch rockers out of his goofy mustache; enough praise it is impossible to lavish upon the electric-guitar-driven, shadowy, mean space rock that is (are?) "Higher And Higher" and (or?) "Beyond." Buy this album tomorrow. It's dark and slow, but so is life.

Oh yeah, a few parts sound hokey. Deal with it. You'd sound hokey too if you smoked as much reefer as they did.

Reader Comments

scotiatb@e-z.net (Lisa McKenzie)
I completely agree --terrific album, every song right on!

laura@gseal.mdn.com (Galen Clavio)
It's a tossup between this and the last album, but Children's Children's Children is the most balanced album in their glorious '67-'72 run. "Out And In" seems somewhat like a paean to impotence ("I've been lying here for hours, you've gotta make the journey Out and In"...hmm), but hey, it's a Pinder song. Who knew what problems he was having at the time? (He was already bald at this point) Even Ray stays away from the Sesame Street poetry. (Surprisingly, the band has brought back "Eternity Road" for their current ('96) tour).

105002.1254@compuserve.com (Trevor A. Kotowich)
Quite simply... their best. "Eyes Of A Child Part 2," "Eternity Road" and "Candle Of Life" really turned me on to the band. Are we sure Justin didn't write "Eternity Road"?

bclaritc@selkirk.csrv.nidc.edu (Blaine Laritchie)
Thank you for agreeing with me. "Candle Of Life" has always been my favorite song on this album. John Lodge is a very talented, sensitive, expressive songwriter. He also knows how to rock'n'roll.

105002.1254@compuserve.com (Trevor A. Kotowich)
Yes, I like this one a lot, too. My least favorites, though, are Pinder's stuff. Kind of slow. I like "Gypsy", "Eternity Road" and "Candle Of Life" - that sequence of songs is really cool. "Gypsy" is far from boring - it sounds pretty amazing to me. Ray's two songs are among his best. "Watching and Waiting" was the single, by the way, not "Gypsy". It's unremarkable for a Justin song - he's got many that are better.

Doggman211@aol.com (Albert Sadler, Jr.)
You really hit it with this one! My favorite album by this band - no question! From the rocket blast opening of "Higher And Higher" onwards, the "space-rock" imagery is an easy concept to grasp (the fact that I first heard this album in the same year as the first manned moon landing only reinforces this for me). Of course, the music stands on its own as a timeless classic that gets a lot of play in my music room today! A real gem.

lewallen@Oceana.net
Wow! Somebody who actually isn't bashing this album! A lot of fans don't like it. But, I totally agree with you. I didn't really listen to it until last year (I'm 15. They were my favorite band in seventh grade, too. That was when I saw my first concert and got hooked), when I won the sheet music to "Eyes of a Child" and had to actually hear the song. Then I fell in love with the rest, especially "Candle of Life". John is such a thoughtful, energetic person! He can write deep and powerful, or the most driving rock! Plus, he's magic on stage!

Tangame@aol.com
I love Ray Thomas's lyrics. "Are You Sitting Comfortably" i love- THOMAS-HAYWARD COMPOSITIONS HAVE BEEN SOME OF MY FAVORITES- "VISIONS OF PARADISE" - "ARE YOU SITTING," "WATCHING AND WAITING" - SOME OF THE MOODY'S BEST STUFF. THOMAS'S LYRICS ALWAYS MAKE ME SMILE.

"type your username"@teleport.com (Tom in Portland)
Okay, I'm giving you a break on your previously loony opinions, because you are recognizing a genuinely cool album. Your song reviews for TOCCC are right on the money, especially the word "gorgeous" for "Watching and Waiting". Not many recordings can touch this particular track, and I never get sick of listening to it. As an aside, the version of "Gypsy" during the '95 tour was clearly a high point for the band... Justin's amplified acoustic guitar hooks blew the crowd away at a couple of outdoor venues that I attended, and I was left wishing that "Gypsy" had been picked over "Gemini Dream" for the Red Rocks set. The more recent revival of "Eternity Road" in the '96 tour was another nice tribute to the album, but I'd sure like to hear "Watching" live!

fuzzybunny@usa.net (Marko Spasojevic)
yeah, yeah, its a great album we all love it. but there is one thing that buggs me about it. It's the cheesy "Watching and waiting" single. A definitively worst song Moodies have ever done. I read somewhere that Justin expected from the song to be as big as "nights". And i can see deep inside how they tried to make it sound as "Nights" but 0nly succeeded in making a very lame song. The words make things even worse. There is not a single line in that song that I understood. And i really like other Moodies stuff. I do. Is there anyone else out there that hates this song too?

rgorsch@stmarys-ca.edu (Bob Gorsch)
Somehow, for me, there has always been something magical about this album. It's beautiful and majestic and moving as "space rock" and it has the feel of a coherent "concept album." "Gypsy" has always been my favorite, but "Watching and Waiting" and "I Never Thought I'd Live to Be a Hundred/Million" have an irreplaceable loveliness to them.

Nickrj@aol.com (Nick Johnson)
They're probably going to give this album to their great grandsons. It is a great album like you say. "Floating" and "Gypsy" are my favorites on this album. "I never thought I'd live to be a million" makes me think Justin is a lucky man.

i2lapawa@unibw_muenchen.de
an excellent album..one of the my best albums...i am not the fan of the conzept album...but children is one of the two conzept albums i like...(the other is the turn of the friendly card from APP)..i am absolutely agree with you that this album deserve 10.

javajim@csinet.net
I LOVE JUSTIN HAYWARD!! By the way, one of our marching band instructors looks just like him. They wrote "Watching and Waiting" for all the people who were stupid enough to ask "Why don't you write another 'Nights in White Satin'?" It wasn't nearly as big a hit as they thought it would be, but I still love it. :)

tabasco@worldnet.att.com
LISTEN UP!!!! I have 46 cds in my bedroom and I just got this on Saturday May 30, 1998 in New York. I bought it at the Virgin Record Store, largest record store I have ever been to and this is my favorite cd out of all the cd's I got. "Higher and Higher" starts out with a earthquake rumbiling and in the backround there's a choir in the backround. Then it comes to some kind of radio broadcast presented by the Moody Blues. I love "Eyes Of Child Parts 1 and 2", "Gyspsy" Fucking rock and well put. I love "Candle Of Life", in the middle it has a beautiful Piano symphony. I also love "I Never Thought I'd Live to be a Hundred" and "A Million". I wish i could. "Floating" kind of sounds like "Twilight Time". In "Sun is Still Shining" Justin disguises his voice deeper than ever. I love all the other tracks to. Very beautiful album. I'm sure their great grandchildren will love this cd. Really. I had a choice of getting this or Keys to the Kingdom. I bought this and I freakin love it. By the way I'm going to see them in concert on June 12th and I'm very excited. I love my favorite 3 bands. You know them. Oh yeah enclosing this review i give this album a 10, 10 10, 10 ,10 ,19 ,10 , 100,000,000,000,000,000 the last number is my good great terrific review number.

TwoPax@aol.com
This album is amazing. That's all. And while I don't agree with most of your ratings so far, this one is dead on. One suggestion: quit slamming Graeme's poetry. It is wonderful. Take it from a poet. Could you write anything like it? I couldn't. Try to be more objective.

hijinks@utarlg.uta.edu (Thomas Rickert)
Yep, a ten all right. Just a perfect album, and less hokey per second than on any other Moody Blues album! Gypsy is simply indescribably delicious.

stoo@imsa.edu (John McFerrin)
I agree with you that it's pretty pissy that TOCCC is pretty much ignored on recent compilations. But if there's any consolation, on Time Traveller, they include 10 tracks of it, though why Out and In made it in place of Eternity Road baffles me. I mean, yeah, Beyond and Out and In flow into each other, but they could have tailed Beyond off without doing Out and In quite easily

Oh well. Great job on the reviews overall. I don't think you give EGBDF enough credit - I feel that it is far greater as a whole than the sum of its parts, and even though I'm not sure why, I'd give it at least an 8-, but otherwise I can comply with most of your ideas. I do, however, think that the Red Rocks version of The Voice completely kicks ass, even with too many keyboards.

And thank you for agreeing with me that Dave Floyd blows

WAYVED@aol.com
To Our Childrens Childrens Children is such a great record! The Moody Blues had the coolest record label of all time, as well! Threshold! Those blue label reissues-you know the comet looking thing-please! Let me know if you agree on this!

I love alot of punk stuff, alot of metal, tons of what you call "alternative" (guided by voices #1!!!) but i still have to go back to my old favorites. Even though all their good stuff was recorded way before i was born-their music gets better with age! Fave song on here: "Out and In" and "Gypsy"

stoo@imsa.edu (John McFerrin)
To steal your description of The White Album - rules. The album rules. Higher and Higher and Beyond are _easily_ Edge's best contributions to the band. The Eyes of a Child/Floating suite rules, tho unlike you I prefer part 2 of Eyes. The I Never Thought ... tracks are short but gorgeous. Pinder takes a break from whining and just gives the listener two terrific spacey tracks in Out and In and Sun Is Still Shining. And of course, the opening tracks of side 2, Gypsy/Eternity Road/Candle of Life are the best 3 song sequence the Moodies ever put out, period.

I love this album. I love it more than Dark Side of the Moon, more than Fragile, more than Live at Leeds.

kenyon@csinet.net
I'm 17 years old, and my best friend is the only other person my age I know who has even heard of the Moody Blues. They're my second-favorite band, right behind and probably tied with Dave Matthews Band, and TOCCC is most definitely my favorite album of theirs. This and A Question of Balance were the hardest to find in my quest to own all of the core 7, and when I finally found this one, it stayed in my CD player for 3 weeks straight. (AQOB only managed 4 days.) This is absolutely magnificent. "Eyes of a Child I," "Gypsy," "Eternity Road," "Candle of Life," they all just blow me away. "Candle of Life" probably has the stupidest chorus of any song I've ever heard ("So love everybody and make them your friend," or something like that) but the rest of the song definitely makes up for it. This CD is definitely one I will never get tired of.

msmith48@snet.net (Monica Smith)
For once, I agree with you. A genuine Moody classic! The real hits are Higher and higher, Eyes of a Child, Floating, well, okay, all of them!!!!!

Sally633503009@aol.com
To Our Children's Children's Children is their masterpiece. Beyond words!

richbunnell@home.com
This is yet another in a series of great Moodies albums (a series annoyingly broken by Every Good Boy), but I wouldn't give it a ten like most diehard fans would. A high eight seems more like it. I have no quibbles with any of the individual songs, to tell you the truth, but none of them are really knockouts - it's just a whole album of "very good" songs. That said, if I had to pick the highlights of these very good songs, they'd be, of course, "Gypsy," along with the almost hopelessly dire (and wonderful!) "Candle Of Life." "Higher And Higher" is an awesome way to kick off any listening experience, but it doesn't sound like it was mixed properly, at least on the remastered CD. It sounds more like you're watching the blastoff from five miles away with binoculars instead of being scorched in the middle of the flames. Which, with regard to your own safebeing, is probably a better thing, but from a listening standpoint comes off as a little disappointing.

Paulrobinbonfig@aol.com
This is I think the strongest, most collaborative effort the group ever made. From the album cover showing the primitive and elegant sides of man drawing paradoxical images (has everyone noticed the two hands on the album cover are exactly where one places their hands when they open the cover) to the super joint efforts of ray and justin and john and mike --the album shows the group hitting on all cylinders. Both songs open with perfect songs--both sides close with appropriate anthems--and with the possible exception of sun is still shining there's not a clinker in the batch. I think this album forever colors the season I first heard it.; summer will always remind me this album.

John.Griffiths9@btinternet.com
I recently went to a record fair and purchased three Moody Blues album's for £5.00 the lot. Which are On the Threshold of a Dream, Seventh Sojourn & the majestic To Our Children's Children's Children. I can not believe that T.O.C.C.C this beautiful album is 32 years old has existed without my having not heard or known of its timeless magic. I have heard other stuff by the Moody Blues but this is like a revelation. Its like pure poetry that in a dream you fleetingly glimpse and then awaken from. These guys give that dream form and sound and are in a class all of their own because of that. Only Brian/Roger Eno, Biosphere and Harold Budd can do that for me. I love Yes, Pink Floyd, Tangerine Dream and other's of this ilk, but the Moody Blues make sweet music of the human soul. Justin Haywards voice alone manages to cast a spell over me. Your music will endure forever. God bless you all.

wurlyburd@hotmail.com (MooT BooXLe)
Hey Mr. Pringles.

Just wanted to say that I bought To Our Children's Children's Children on your suggestion. I've been a distant fan of the Moodies for a long time, but the only record I ever actually owned was In Search Of The Lost Choad, which, and I'm sure you'd agree, is not their best work. Not bad, but not THE MASTERPIECE that is T.O.C.C.C. Wow...I can't believe I've been without this record for all these years.

kevinmartinell@aol.com (KevyGuy)
Another 10 dot rating for me, on this "Classic 7" Moody Blues release!

One thing I'd like to know is how The Moody Blues produced the sound effect of the rocket blasting off, at the beginning of Graeme Edge's "Higher And Higher?!" It was a treat, however, to find out, from the interview within the CD booklet, that The Moodies conjured up the sound effect themselves! Nice job on the "radio-to-live-in-person" effects on Mike Pinder's narration, as well as Justin Hayward's stereophonic guitar solos, near the end of the song (Best experienced through headphones). Graeme really hits home with both his poetry and drumming on this energetic album opener!

The harp like effects that introduce John Lodge's "Eyes Of A Child - Part One" are lovely, and the song does an excellent job of progressing from a peaceful tone to a more lively one, most notably through the group's combined vocals. Spooky but well executed mellotrons on this track, too!

Ray Thomas' pleasant-sounding composition, "Floating," gives me a natural high, whenever I listen to it, and Ray's heavily echoed vocals make him sound as though he is delivering the tune from The Heavens! On a rare occasion, Ray would sing in falsetto, near the end of this track!

John's "Eyes Of A Child - Part Two" sounds like an earlier version of "Question," from "A Question Of Balance," and it really rocks, too! Listen for John's brief falsetto chant, echoing the word "Light," in the middle of the song. :) Both parts of "Eyes Of A Child" are equally enjoyable, to my ears. :)

Justin Hayward's "I Never Thought I'd Live To Be A Hundred/Million" create excellent links between the surrounding songs ... The guitars are well played on both pieces and each tune sounds amazing through headphones. I get a mental image of Justin playing his acoustic guitar in a dark room lit by a single candle only, when I listen to both of these tracks. :)

"Beyond" features more amazing sound effects, in between the "rock and roll" parts of this mysterious instrumental (The second set of sound effects sounds a little like the intro to "Strawberry Fields Forever," by The Beatles!). I always thought of the rock and roll part of the song representing a space shuttle traveling to other planets, and the parts that featured the sound effects representing the different planets where the spaceship would land. :) The stereo trickery on the "rockin'" parts of this tune blew me away, featuring all instrumental activity being pushed towards one end of the stereo field and then, a little later on, being pushed towards the other end ... Another standout headphone experience!

The Heavenly intro to Mike Pinder and John Lodge's "Out And In" sounds like a continuation of "Beyond" ... The mellotrons really stand out on this track, including the beautifully soaring intro (Makes me think of sunlight beating down on my face, as I close my eyes). Mike delivers some nice vocals with his double-tracked "Out And In" harmonies, at the tail end of the song.

Justin's rockin' outer space number, "Gypsy," features excellent double-tracked Justin Hayward vocals and a wickedly cool lead guitar scattered throughout the song. Lots of instrumental activity going on here, just like on the previous two offerings, and everything blends together just right ... I love the way the mellotrons come right at you during the "Left without a hope of coming home" parts of the song! Nice arrangement. :)

Ray's "Eternity Road" includes a pretty neat "Beatle-esque" double-tracked lead guitar solo from Justin, mid song, as well as powerful vocals and a fantastic flute solo near the end of the song, courtesy of Ray ... The flute solo is just as well executed as the flute solos heard on "Legend Of A Mind," from "In Search Of The Lost Chord," and "Don't You Feel Small," from "A Question Of Balance." The ascending mellotron parts, between the verses, and especially near the end of this song, are well delivered and make for another natural high on the album. :)

Sounds like both Justin and John collaborate on vocals for John's "Candle Of Life," something they would do many years later throughout the late 1980's albums "The Other Side Of Life" and "Sur La Mer." To hear something amusing on this track, move the "balance" dial (or switch) all the way to the right channel (speaker) on your stereo system and you can hear a delayed echo from the mellotron beginning at 2:33 in the song! :)

"Sun Is Still Shining" is a nice, relaxing song by Mike, and I like how the intro to the track features a guitar feedback effect, like the one that is heard at the beginning of "To Share Our Love," from "On The Threshold Of A Dream" ... By the way, this particular sound freaked out my cat Pickles, when I played this album, recently! :) Anyway, I love the mellotron and sitar combo, and the strong percussion, featured near the closing of the song, is brilliantly executed!

"Watching And Waiting," to me, is just as lovely and enjoyable as "Nights In White Satin," from "Days Of Future Passed." My father once told me that, from what he got out of the lyrics, he interpreted that the Earth was trying to express itself, if the planet could talk ("But don't be alarmed by my fields and my forests"). It's a beautiful, tranquil, and relaxing Justin/Ray ballad, featuring marvelous mellotrons all around. The piano and acoustic guitars blend in well, and the bass guitar licks sound brilliant after the parts of the song that go, "There's no one here to stop you trying." To top it all off, Justin also delivers another "ten dot" vocal performance. :)

Children of all ages will really appreciate "To Our Children's Children's Children!" Thanks for reading! God Bless... :)

Caught Live + 5 - Threshold 1977.

Plus they give you five previously unavailable 60's outtakes! A couple of 'em in my opinion might as well have been left in the can, but two or three of them are damn, damn good songs. The sing-songy "Gimme A Little Somethin'," for example. Or the somber, eerie "What Am I Doing Here?" for another example. These songs should have been on actual studio albums, so somebody would actually have gotten the chance to hear them!

So yeah dude, maybe not all the live song choices were the best possible (I'm particularly pointing my finger at "Dr. Livingstone, I Presume," you understand), but all in all, it's definitely one of those rare live albums that has something NEW to offer. Of course, you might HATE it, but really that's an issue for you to deal with on your own time.

Reader Comments

rlk0003@jove.acs.unt.edu (Robert Linus Koehl)
Well . . . the +5 part is good. Five songs recorded during the Childrens Childrens Children sessions that didn't make it to that album. HOWEVER, the concert . . . well it has its moments, but for the most part, well, they've done better. "Legend Of A Mind" is ok, so is "Never Comes The Day", and they re-wrote "Dr. Livingston" so that it rocked on this record. (Hard to believe, I know, but its true) And "Gypsy" is alright, but the rest of the concert (Especially "Nights" and "See Saw") make me ill. The album is worth buying just for the +5, but don't expect a great concert. The band refused to allow Polygram to put it on cd in the 80s, but it will be re-released (officially) this summer on cd. I'd wait and get it then. If you want a good concert, Red Rocks is it. Every song sounds good on that disc exept for "I'm Just A Singer", where the symphony and the band just dont gell, but everything else is great on that one.

NPpdmtr@aol.com
Regarding Caught Live + 5: The out takes are not from TOCCC. George Starotson makes the same claim. My vinyl copy lists the dates of recording. These are given in UK format where the day comes first and the month second ( this is appropriate as Te Moodies were a very English band and Decca were a very English label):

Gimme a little something - 17/3/68. This is way too early for TOCCC. More likely from around ISOTLC. I think this track is way better than Voices in the Sky and would've sounded good in its place.

Please Think About It - 25/6/67 - around DOFP maybe? Sounds unbelievably "square" for the time. But thats the Moodies!

Long Summer Days - 19/5/67 - A lot of Justin from this time sounds slightly psychedelic as if he's consumed a third of a tab of acid. OK this. Not great but could've been slipped onto DOFP. Maybe where that Ray Thomas track about the kids playing with kites and things is. Ray Thomas's songs sound like they were made for kids programmes from this time. Dr Livinstone was used on one once. I find his stuff from this time far creepier than Mike Pinder.

Kings and Queens - 13/2/68. This could've replaced Visions of Paradise or Dr Livingstone. Again lightly acid dusted. Maybe he wore a neckerchief with a swirly pattern at this time. Very stockbroker belt pantheist this.

What Am I Doing Here - 17/11/68 - I consider this to be an absolute masterpiece. Miles better than Nights In White Satin. Oh they should've put this at the beggining of side 2 of OTTOAD, right after So Deep Within You and knocked of that Ray Thomas song about eating beef. The power and majesty of this, and the superb production. I see night descending over Hampshire as the grass murmers on the downs. In the far distance the lights of a town glisten and long threads of traffic lights waver across the otherise pitch black landscape. She is carried over vast distances away from me and I miss her. Miss her.

KevinMartinell@aol.com
I'm so glad that this album was finally released on CD, back in 1996! When I had a copy of the album on cassette, and compared it to the vinyl release, I was shocked at how much material was edited out of the cassette ... I guess it was a matter of fitting the entire album on the cassette, but thank goodness the CD features the unedited full versions of the live songs, as heard on the vinyl release. The re-mastering job by Steven Fallone, who re-mastered the tracks for all of the "Classic 7" CD reissues, is top notch ... Excellent sound quality, all the way through! I was also impressed that al l of the material between the two original records fit on a single CD! :)

I'd like to review the "+ 5" tracks first, which I first heard off of the "Prelude" CD ... I think that all five of these selections are just as good as any of the tracks off of the earlier "Moody Blues" albums, with excellent vocals and harmonies on each track. When "Time Traveller" was released, I was disappointed that the set didn't include the "+5" studio tracks, but I'm glad that the release of this album on CD made up for it. :)

Both "Please Think About It" and "Long Summer Days" feature wonderful harmonies and piano tracks. :)

"Gimmie a Little Somethin'" sounds like it was recorded during the same recording sessions as "Dr. Livingstone, I Presume" or "House of Four Doors." There are some nice flute tracks in-between the verses, and I like the ascending notes on the piano and mellotron during the chorus ... Great stereo mix with excellent separation of the different instruments and vocals, too.

"King and Queen" has a similar rhythm track to "Legend of a Mind," when the chorus kicks in. I enjoy this Justin Hayward track as much as "Voices in The Sky" and "The Actor" ... The acoustic guitars and mellotrons sound really good on this track, as well as Graeme Edge's drumming on the chorus and during the fadeout at the end!

"What Am I Doing Here?" sounds like it could have fit on either "Lost Chord," or "On The Threshold of a Dream," plus the song features a lot of layered mellotron tracks, making it sound like a selection from "To Our Children's Children's Children." I like the piano and additional mellotron pieces during the fadeout, and Graeme Edge's thunderous drumming, especially near the end of the track, is outstanding.

For the live portion of the album, "Gypsy" was a great performance, and it really rocked, plus I agree with the comments that "Dr. Livingstone, I Presume" rocked more on this live version, too. "The Sunset" sounds awesome on this release, and since the mellotron is really powerful, this time around, I call this the "To Our Children's Children's Children" rendition of the song! :) Notice that, on this track, Mike Pinder's voice is more audible on the left stereo channel, especially when listening to the stereo quality of this song (and also on "The Dream") with headphones on ... This reminded me of the stereo trick used on the early recordings of The Beatles' ("Please Please Me"/"With The Beatles"), on vinyl, where the voices were offset to one of the stereo channels. "Never Comes The Day" and "The Voyage" have magnificent mellotron pieces near the end of both tracks. The harmonies of John Lodge and Ray Thomas are nice, as they sing the bridge to "Peak Hour" twice, with another outstanding mellotron solo from Mike Pinder, in-between. "Are You Sitting Comfortably" was another one of my favorites with some well-done flute and mellotron solos, and I liked the sequence of "Nights In White Satin," "Legend of a Mind," and "Ride My See-Saw," which closed out the live set on this release. I enjoyed this album just as much as the "Classic 7" albums ... Ten dots for me on this one. :)

A Question Of Balance - Threshold 1970.

Oh yeah, and Mike Pinder. Although it was an AOR standard and I have good friends who enjoy it, I consider "Melancholy Man" to be his absolute nadir; a long long long boring gloomy long pretentious long never-ending soul-crushingly somber diatribe that is, quite frankly, rather lengthy. Still, there's three beautiful songs - and "Dawning Is The Day" comes close.

Reader Comments

105002.1254@compuserve.com (Trevor A. Kotowich)
This album is worth getting just for "Question", although it has been heavily overplayed throughout the years. I always thought "It's Up To You" would have made a good single.

105156.640@compuserve.com
I like the fact that they lightened up the production a bit - it gives them a bit more variety in sound and makes it seem that they're not repeating themselves too much. I think that "The Balance" is Greame's best poetic effort, thanks to Ray's music. I have to agree about the whispering in "Don't You Feel Small" - it ruins the track. Lodge's songs are good, but his voice is so weak. I think "Dawning" is actually Justin's weakest contribution to the album when compared with the other two. "Melancholy Man" lives up to its title - ugh!

lewallen@Oceana.net
I agree with you on "Minstrel's Song"! (Are you figuring out that I'm a John fan?) And "Melancholy Man"??? Yech!

pinder@aol.com
How on earth can you like "Minstrel's Song"? Every time I hear that song I want to puke. On another note, I have to say that this is probably their worst album of the first 7. Yes, "Question" is one of the greatest songs ever written, and in my opinion the Moodies' best, but in my opinion it also had 4 of their worst 5 songs of the first 7 ("How is it we are here", "Don't You Feel Small", "Tortoise and the Hare", and "Minstrel's Song").

lehmann@ideasign.com (Doug Tedeschi)