DAYS OF FUTURE PASSED

Days of Future Passed is perhaps The Moody Blues' most important album in their discography as it was one of the first progressive albums and one of the first concept albums in its time. It's a simple concept about a typical day and the passing of time in which every track reflects a time of day. The songs fit their time quite well in terms of the energy and the atmosphere.

What was unique (and progressive) about this album when it came out is its clever use of the Mellotron along with the orchestration provided The London Festival Orchestra throughout the album. Although some people might argue that it's not really a progressive rock album and say that it is more of a psychedelic and baroque pop album. Nevertheless, it has been very influential for the Progressive Rock genre especially Symphonic Prog.

The lavish orchestration really adds a lot of colour and texture to each song on here. I think that without the orchestra, the album wouldn't have sounded as interesting and beautiful as it is. Not that I'm saying the songs fall short on their own, but it adds a whole new dimension to them. As it greatly helped the concept by giving the musical representation of each time of the day.

With the orchestral overture, the haunting "Dawn is a feeling", the bright-sounding "Another Morning", the energetic and fast paced "Peak Hour" the eastern-flavoured "The Sun Set / Twilight Time", and the magical hit "Nights in White Satin" the album offers a diverse selection of songs that all flow together perfectly into one beautiful conceptual album that was like a blueprint for Symphonic Progressive music and influence many bands to come.

Highlights: Dawn Is a Feeling ? Forever Afternoon (Tuesday?) ? Nights in White Satin