Ed's Moody Blues Appreciation Thread...

No, but my Mom did, only months before Elvis died. I'll bet the estrogen was thick in the room that night, despite The Pelvis' girth!

Back to the Moodies: my biggest complaint in recent years is that their live set list is petrified. Same predictable songs, same set list order, zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz. Give the people what they want, I suppose, but it's not very daring.

FWIW, I thought STRANGE TIMES was a very strong album, maybe the closest they've come to the "feeling of old" since at least THE PRESENT (another criminally overlooked album).

 

I believe there is an album called Beyond Life With Timothy Leary recorded after he died where the Moodies do a new Legend Of A Mind and substituting Timothy Leary lives

 

I love the Moodies.

 

I agree. "The Present" was probably the last Moodies album I enjoyed all the way through. And I also felt that "Strange times" was a step in the right direction.

But sadly "The Present" is an album that doesn't seem to go down too well with the Moodies fans these days. Even Justin Hayward has gone on record pointing out that "It was our weakest effort ever". But I suspect the band's disappointment with the album may have something to do with the fact that it was the not so-successful follow up to the smash "Long Distance Voyager" album.

But is "The Present" a weaker album than, say, "Keys to the Kingdom"?? NO WAY!!

 

They all live in the states, too; this is kind of 'home base' to them now. They've been doing California gigs of late, but they do tend to stick to the northeast much of the time. And there were some UK gigs last fall, and the Monte Carlo extravaganza. A tour of Oz is supposedly upcoming.....

I agree with Patrick that the band has become awfully set in its ways: once you get the set list for a given run of shows, it's carved in stone, and seems timed down to the minute--they play with great skill and enthusiasm, yet it's very, very rehearsed, there isn't much room for spontaneity. Very loyal(if aging)fan base, however, which is probably why they're still doing it. And like any other veteran band, there are certain chestnuts they're pretty much stuck with, though it would be nice to see them throw some curves once in a while....

A QUESTION OF BALANCE has some solid material, but the album cover's gotta be among the dumbest I've ever encountered, a hodgepodge of images from Einstein to a sabertooth; has that 'we're full of ourselves' way about it...still, some solid music. We get mix #2 of "Question"(has the Pinder bombast at the beginning), Ray's very nice "And The Tide Rushes In," Lodge's underrated "Minstrel Song," two more good Hayward songs("Dawning Is The Day" and "It's Up To You")and "The Balance," probably Edgey's best 'poem'(Ray Thomas helped out, keeping it palatable). Mike Pinder's "Melancholy Man" was issued in Europe as a 45(about a minute knocked off its running time), but still seems an odd choice for single release, and his presence isn't as strong here as on previous albums.

 

I'm not a big Moodies fan, but Question of Balance is one of the few albums that I like. I agree with Ed's picks as highlights off of this album, especially the Minstrel's Song, one of my favorites. I have a UK Threshold LP of this and the sound is excellent.

Days of Future Passed, In Search of the Lost Chord, Question of Balance and Long Distance Voyager are the only albums that I like. The rest I never cared for.

 

Who's still in the band from the original group that recorded "Go Now"?

Tim

 

Edge is the sole remaining active member of the group. Pinder was in the "Go Now" band as was Ray Thomas, who has retired from touring.

 

Goodness, no.

These are my two favorite Thomas songs - It's kinda rare to hear Ray being pissy and agitated, but you get major "passive-aggression" on these two tracks.


Both songs are catchy, yet they carry some serious weight with the lyrics (if you're paying attention). Damn near the blueprint for Morrissey's career - for better or worse.

 

"Minstrel Song" just might be my favorite Moodies song

 

So Ed, was A Question of Balance their last album?

 

O very well....

EVERY GOOD BOY DESERVES FAVOUR...indeed! Great cover art.....starts out badly, with the laughable(well, at least I think it is)"Procession," but improves with the single "The Story In Your Eyes" and along the way, "Emily's Song"(she is all grown up now and quite cute, BTW!), "After You Came" and Mike Pinder's grossly underrated(most of all by the man himself, me suspects) "My Song." Enjoyable album, but a bit of wheel-spinning going on by the fall of '71....

 

Even better is his "second version" of the song, the title track to his 1977 solo THE PROMISE.

 

Mike really had to leave.....THE PROMISE made that obvious. He just had to have more control, and had more songs in him the band would never get around to using, so....

SEVENTH SOJOURN may have only eight songs, but they chose the cream of the crop. The fine "Isn't Life Strange"(Lodge's best song, IMO)was the advance single, and his "I'm Just A Singer(In A ROck And Roll Band)" issued to coincide with the album's release(albeit a month late). Justin's contributions("New Horizons," "The Land Of Make-Believe" and with drummer Edge, "You And Me"--probably Graeme's best song!)were strong, Pinder came up with "Lost In A Lost World" and "When You're A Free Man," fittingly restless and concerned. Ray's "For My Lady" is one of his best, a delicate number that offers a (heh) Ray of light among the more downbeat passages. The music runs the gamut from the most delicate love songs to a real pounding rocker(wonder if the R&R HOF clowns forgot about this one?)

The Quad edition is a joy: great mix, a real pleasure. If they had stopped with this album, it would have been a worthy farewell. But, well, they didn't, but it was time for a hiatus after 7 albums and as many years touring relentlessly to build a rep and fan base. They succeeded in all of it.

 

Time to go forward into the past, for now....

The original lineup featured Denny Laine on lead vocals and Clint Warwick on bass; Mike Pinder, Ray Thomas and Graeme Edge were the core of the band, but Denny and Mike did the songwriting during this 1964-66 period. The Moodies were basically a cover band, primarily R&B-driven, and no slouches. They didn't have the authority of the Animals, Yardbirds, or even Them, but could hold their own as a combo.

Their first album was THE MAGNIFICENT MOODIES. Unlike most UK Lp's of its time, the big hit single--"Go Now!"--was included, along with a subsequent US 45, "Stop":

1. I'll Go Crazy
2. Something You Got
3. Go Now!
4. Can't Nobody Love You
5. I Don't Mind
6. I've Got A Dream
7. Let Me
8. Stop
9. Thank You Baby
10. It Ain't Necessarily So
11. True Story
12. Bye Bye Burd

The original CD reissue of this album has 13 additional bonus track, for a total of 25--all the master takes of every Laine/Warwick recording. In Germany, there is a Repertoire reissue CD with the same dozen above, and 7 bonus tracks. The rest listed here are from the british reissue:

13. Steal Your Heart Away (first single)
14. Lose Your Money(But Don't Lose Your Mind)
15. It's Easy Child
16. I DOn't Want To Go On Without You
17. Time Is On My Side
18. From The Bottom Of My Heart(I Love You)
19. And My Baby's Gone
20. Everyday (aka 'Ev'ryday)
21. You Don't(All The Time)
22. This Is My House(But Nobody Calls)
23. Life's Not Life
24. He Can Win
25. Boulevard De La Madeleine

On the best Laine/Pinder songs, you can hear the future sound taking shape, As Mike continues to move beyond piano and into other keyboards, eventually of course the Mellotron. "Boulevard," relegated to a US B-side(it's far strong than the A, "This Is My House," which did Bubble Under for them in '66)is prophetic.

All the songs were cut in mono only; no stereo for any of this material has ever surfaced, and doubtful that it will. Some of it is fairly crude--"Go Now!" never had much in the way of high fidelity--but others are fairly reasonable, and this material is very common on CD....

 

In the USA and Canada, the album was rejiggered to add both sides of the "From The Bottom Of My Heart" single, and a few other tracks, so obviously, songs are missing stateside listeners missed, although they would get "Stop" some months later as a single release.

Here, the album was titled THE MOODY BLUES #1, rechanneled in stereo(London PS 428), which is why the maroon mono(LL 3428)is the preferable version. Original London pressings have the "FFRR" logo with the ear; 2nd presses have the London banner, and the mono label is a brighter red with 'Long Playing' on the bottom.

Side 1:

1. I Go Crazy
2. And My Baby's Gone
3. Go Now!
4. It's Easy Child
5. Can't Nobody Love You
6. I Had A Dream (actually "I've Got A Dream")

Side 2:

1. Let Me Go
2. I Don't Want To Go On Without You
3. True Story
4. It Ain't Necessarily So
5. Bye Bye Burd
6. From The Bottom Of My Heart

 

THIS IS THE MOODY BLUES was a novel idea: assemble the band's fave songs from 'The Original 7,' and offer remixes, also, which made sense, since producer Tony Clarke and engineer Derek Varnals were remixing all but LOST CHORD to Quad anyway. And although most of the mixes aren't all that radical--"Question" is the most obvious one, with the stereo 45 intro but the Lp mix finale--the mixes are often clearer and cleaner than the original, the segues are well done, and it's a unique listening experience(and, truth to tell, the beginning of a flood of reissue vinyl comps of varying quality). And of course "The Word" has different music in the bk("Beyond")than it had originally. For the first time on Lp, "Ride My See Saw" had a clean intro(regrettably, that cannot be said of "Lovely To See You"), the nice even separation of the vocals on "Have You Heard"....just a superb remix all around, and the CD boasts excellent sound quality(a shame it is OOP in the US, though still readily available as an import). The one track new to Lp was "A Simple Game," previously available on a few import 45's(that Mr. Clarke produced the Four Tops' 1972 cover version still boggles the mind!)

Disc 1:

1. Question
2. The Actor
3. The Word
4. Eyes Of A Child
5. Dear Diary
6. Legend Of A Mind
7. In The Beginning
8. Lovely To See You
9. Never Comes The Day
10. Isn't Life Strange
11. the Dream
12. Have You Heard? (Part One)
13. The Voyage
14. Have You Heard? (Part Two)

Disc 2:

1. Ride My See Saw
2. Tuesday Afternoon
3. And The Tide Rushes In
4. New Horizons
5. A Simple Game
6. Watching And Waiting
7. I'm Just A Singer(In A Rock And Roll Band)
8. For My Lady
9. The Story In Your Eyes
10. Melancholy Man
11. Nights In White Satin
12. Late Lament

 

This is the compilation that introduced me to the music of the Moody Blues. Tony Clarke and Derek Varnal did a superb job of remixing the band's fave songs from the seven classic albums.

 

Turned me on to them, too - I was kinda sceptical of them till this one came out and became a huge fan soon as I heard it! It's never been bettered, IMO...

 

Add me to the list of those who became a fan with this album. It got me to really appreicate them. Not enough to buy all the albums but enough to explore their music and see them several times in concert.

 

What's the latest news on the SACD remasters?

 

Ed,

Also, Lovely to See You has a slightly longer fade than on Threshold of a Dream (since the crossfade to Dear Diary was replaced by Never Comes the Day. A clean intro of Lovely to See You is on Moody Blues Gold 2-cd comp). The intro to Have you Heard part 2 on This Is is longer than on the Threshold of a Dream mix. On that the cellos come in immediatley when the Voyage ends.

 

Brian,

Good to hear there's a reason to pick up GOLD...was in no big hurry to pick it up, these guys have too many comps as it is. Thought they'd never get around to a proper intro for "Lovely To See You"...cool!

 

Ed,

I mentioned this in another thread. It starts up without any trace of In the Beginning underneath. The mix is identical to the album version with guitars moving left to right over the stereo picture. Don't know if they had the multis available...I love it!

I love This Is personally. The tracks flow seamlessly. It averaged about one composition from Edge, Lodge, Thomas and Pinder per side, and Hayward with two compositions per side. Wish Gold had a Simple Game instead of Lost in a Lost World, though!

 

I just found this on vinyl this weekend for $3.00. It was in good shape too! A little cleaning brought it up to VG++ and I was in aural heaven. I wasted away an afternoon basked in the warmth of Moody Blues.

I'm so looking forward to the SACD releases. Quad is the ideal way to experience their music.