HAYWARD & LODGE (THE MOODY BLUES)

Never having listened much to Moody Blues records, I can't find a substantially adequate introduction, and a much consequent appreciation, towards what is the Moody Blues's essence and what is the one within the "Blue Jays" project. It may be nothing at all, it may be much more than imagined or it might dry out fashion and sense for simple music and that old-ending delight excitement. But simple impressions lead to most of the main artists doing an album of expression, high standard, pretty unique sounds (but only once in a while) and original relaxing form, in a moment of impasse and forgotten traces for the big band. Hayward & Lodge's distinct work of art, music and, yes, a bit too overwhelming slow and charm-pointed progressiveness, compares enough to the Moody Blues and, taken differently, the Moody Blues' little time of slowing down and styling up gives enough art pleasure and reason in this particular "independent" or "abstract" (!) album. Whether the feeling is one most mutual, or bits and pieces differ a lot the kind of "moody" music played here, it's up for a really evanescent likeness. And a particularly absorbing listen.

The contact of this album resembles a lot of the inspired rock play. Given a bit of already perfect effort the entire band has had in the past, this special album also reflects a good sum of values and emotional characters, while the important detail of progressiveness alternates between being absent, forgotten, pleasant and like a easter egg of effort. Precisely the lovely effects stop on Hayward & Lodge being terrific songwriters and better moody singers, but, in all, the album has a rainbow arrangement, with contrasts that don't go far, but neither stay put. An album of general classic taste, though it could hide the most orientating rock and song allotment. Part in the "moody" business, part in the glamor of special influences (or the "club of 10cc-ists"), part as a new and cunning slow independent style.

Opening the experience are two pieces considerably connected to each other, since This Morning jumps in all the rock power, with also a lot of energy and good faith in lyrics or a considerable emotional perfection; Remember Me My Friend goes even more impressive, by a sung charm that leaves you, more than relatively, speechless; in rest, there's a lot of soft impact going on easy imagination and very relaxing high strung. My Brother is a sleepy song with interesting guitar strifes (down the end becoming even more prominent) and a lot of (typical or not that much?) vocal affection. Easy character brings, to a deep contempt, a natural perfect balance. You deepens the contact with the old-fashioned rock and song-plays, within a not too deep neither too shallow artistic easy song. The more attractive (normally, short-gifted) details is the impulse of dance and aromatic rhythm by violins, on the folkish dream side, and by percussion with vocals (strange to think of?), on the side of ballads finding a full swing. The piece ends better when the lyrics share a couple of deep thoughts.

Nights Winter Years sleeps again out art and formidable essences, but illustrates a complex difficult emotion lyrical music with an analogy of lyrical, constructive and pastoral orchestral arrangement; a lot like Greg Lake's accent gets towards the end of the piece. The bit cinematic or truly composition style here finds a power climax, with an harmony that, in spite of the massive orchestral good arrangement, even includes more piano pedals. Saved By The Music tries a quick contrast of dynamic and soft music, but afterwards contrasts that as well, returning to shy and palpitating slow, melodic, hearting easy lyrics and moody rock - with an occasional beat and pulse covering again and a lovely final exuberance; this particular pieces strikes the least progressive attitudes in Blue Jays, but also hopes a lot for a crystal shiny and pleasant impression. The ambiance brings I Dreamed Last Night to another form of "rock/mood piece for orchestra, guitar and vocals", generally of a splendid harmony and an easy dropping effect, nevertheless with emotional lyrics and, occasional, joyous beats doing the prominent act. Who Are You Know slips impressiveness, being a composition for the lovers of the two artists sharing intimacy of music, song-sugar reflections and a big of guitar magic. Maybe adores another bright and touching orchestral song, with deep marks on the same arrangement, but with a different sorrow context. When You Wake Up gives the strangest sensation in the album, by electric guitar and rough (though sensible!) vocals, but wakes up the atmosphere to a last charm. There's a bonus, called Blue Guitar, made with fellow 10cc, which brings in mind the character of glamor.

A pretty good and referential album, anyway you take it. With a good analogy to the Moody Blues ("the album they never did" - classic punchline), eclectic simple rock, ambitious song-writing/song-playing and who knows what other charming and consistent detail, the Blue Jays projects works beyond a one-off and an incomparable luck of music. It just works...and sounds like the album of a thousand small pleasures with, together with an artistic unfold and a grandiloquence sounding modest, makes music good, appreciatively consistent and meaningfully progressive-oriented.

This CD is an incredible masterpiece. There is not one track that I don't like - - and most of them I LOVE. Seriously. Justin's and John's vocals are strong, soulful and thought provoking.

I've only had this CD for a few weeks. I now listen to it every single morning before going into work. It's inspirational to me and helps me start my day on a thoughtful note.

As I said previously, I really love each and every track. My personal favorites are Remember Me (My Friend), You, Nights Winters Years, I Dreamed Last Night, Maybe. Those are the songs that stand out for me....PLUS a special note about Saved by the Music:

This song is beautiful and more upbeat. I fell in love with it - but wasn't sure about the chorus. Simple and to the point. I want you to know, after hearing it 3 or 4 times, I started going to work humming this song to myself. Couldn't get it out of my mind. This song has a different twist and I, too, LOVE this track.

Justin and John, in a way, are made for each other. If you believe in destiny, this is it, folks.

It used to be my favourite album of all times, but the long-neglected criticism starts percolating to my mind and sobering my wiew now. Yes, the album is a bit monotonous, paradoxically enough, as the promising pre-conceived notion was to render each track in a different key and tempo. Still, the arrangements reek of sameness, which makes it a bit hard to sit the whole album through.

Which is sad, because the compositions are brilliant, and the level of the performers' emotional attachment seems to be even higher than on the previous Moody Blues albums. The harmonies are impeccable (especially in the rocking "Saved by the Music"), and the lack of Thomas' and Pinder's voices is hardly felt. The moving "Who Are You Now?" even manages the mellotron in the background, and the other tracks are rejuvenated by the presence of a string quartet and sometimes even a french horn player (which is a welcome addition to the Moodies instrumentarium). The overall feel of the album is very bright, but this is not flat or market-induced optimism. There are two Hayward-Lodge collaborations (the first instance of such a credit ever), both of which are classic Moody Blues tracks. In fact, each of the songs (with the exception of Lodge's "Isn't Life Strange" rip-off called "Maybe", which is undercomposed and underperformed vocally but overarranged at the same time) could adorn any of the core-7 Moody Blues album. Replace "Maybe" with "Suitcase' off Hayward's second solo album, wipe the Hollywoodish "Nights Winters Years" finale and you might get the greatest prog-related spin-off album ever!

Just got this from Amazon.co.uk yesterday. My, my, this takes me back! I bought it back in '75, when it first came out, and I was stunned at the time over the sheer musicianship, the songwriting, the orchestration, the production and Justin's guitar. The tracks run into each other which tends to add to the album's completeness, in my view. My cd is the remastered version, and it sounds really crisp coming out of the speakers. Every track is wonderful, and the album is easily comparable with the best work the Moodies ever did. As commented on already, this does in fact sound uncannily close to a Moodies album. 'This Morning' is a highlight, the guitar work especially standing out and a very emotional melody in both verse and chorus. 'Remember Me (My Friend)' is softer, with nice acoustic guitar at the beginning, though the harmonies here are a little fragile in places. 'My Brother' is a mid-paced track that has another wonderful melody, whilst 'You' is ridiculously catchy, with the piano work in particular worth mentioning. 'Nights Winters Years' is the big ballad on the album, Justin singing it with full orchestral backing. This is classic Haywood material and goes down a treat, especially on dark winter nights, in front of an open fire. (Ours is gas, unfortunately!) In fact, the whole album has a wintry feel to it, or late autumn at least. 'Saved By The Music' is probably my least fave track, simply because the verse is almost child-like in its quality, especially in the vocals, maybe too simple for me, but the chorus is memorable, and, as the song fades, you hear that wonderful Haywood guitar soloing out nicely. 'I Dreamed Last Night' is another highlight. More acoustic guitar here, with a strong melody, and gorgeous harmonies in the chorus. Percussion work, here and throughout, is top notch. 'Who Are You Now' is quieter, with gentle acoustic guitar the predominant instrument. Another introspective Haywood song, with effective harmonies again. 'Maybe' is another orchestral-backed ballad, this time sung by John. He doesn't quite have the strength in his voice that Justin has, but he sings it well enough, and the song fades out nicely with some good instrumentation. Then fades in the third highlight, 'When You Wake Up', which was the B side of the single 'Blue Guitar'. This track is full of Haywood's guitar work, beautifully played, winding its way sinously through the track. The melody is strong, and the chorus is climatic in character. Finally comes the bonus track, the aforementioned single 'Blue Guitar', which starts with some absolutely superb spacey guitar from Haywood, before leading into yet another strong melody, and ending with more excellent guitar. This is a shorter track, and strangely doesn't feature John Lodge at all. But it fits nicely on the album. It has been wonderful revisiting this album, and it is recommended for anyone who wants to listen to strong melodies without any pyrotechnics or metal riffs. In fact, it is recommended for anyone who has the Moodies albums and would like to hear another one! Four stars.

Great to see this album on the site. I had no idea ( Maybe I should read the sleeves more) that Eric Stewart/10cc had such an influence on the production and engineering on this album. It is as people say like a lost jewel in the Moody Blues reportoire. Stands up there with their finest studio albums. The whole album is excellent although the closer ' Blue Guitar' my personal favourite.Other great tracks are ' My Brother', the fragile ' I Dreamed Last Night' and ' Remember Me ( My Firend'. This is like Steve Hacketts- Voyage of the Acolyte or David Cousin's - Two Weeks Last Summer, both worthy 'band' studio albums in their own right as is the Blue Jays.

This is the best album the Moody Blues did not make.

Blue Jays clearly illustrates how well Hayward and Lodge could work together in that time. Therefore it remains such a mystery why the guys never came to produce a successor for the great album. For great it is! "This morning" starts so mellow and beautiful that the listener is either totally under the spell of this album or he will never get the magic at all. The acoustic guitar, the harmony, it is simply brilliant. Unfortunately Hayward and Lodge don't succeed in maintaining that high quality of song writing during the full album. Yet there is much more to enjoy. Listen to "My brother", "Maybe" and "When you wake up" and the beautiful English countryside opens up before your eyes. "Nights, winter, years" is a bit too much for my taste, as is 'Saved by the music'. Therefore I will not grant this album 5 stars but actually 4.5 stars. And that last half a star is earned by the fact that the only single that Hayward and Lodge released, "Blue guitar", is included on the album. Go and listen to this more than enjoyable album!

Should it be the Moody Blues missing piece? Well, could be, why not? We know that in the last 30 years the two moodies, Justin Hayward and John Lodge, who signed this album have gotten the band's leadership. Songs from BLUE JAYS are included in Moody Blues compilations and are presented in their live concerts. Also the sound, the instrumentation, the general atmosphere remember clearly an MB output. Not a great mistake if one says this is a Moody Blues work!

Hayward & Lodge & guest musicians gave definitely a moodie flavor in BLUE JAYS, well, a bit more poppish than the usual, at least for the release date, but it's easy to notice it now, since we all know the history - The Moody Blues that had always flirted with pop, via ballads and love songs went through marriage and the commitment ceremony happened certainly here. However, the result is above average; the mentioned Hayward and Lodge are talented guys: great musicians and fine singers too - all concur to produce an enjoyable album.

"This morning", the opening track, brings some smells of classical MB stuff; the guitar riff is very characteristic although singing pace has a style much more heard in years/albums to follow. The following track, "Remember me, my friend" is audible but offers little and the next track, "My brother", even balladesque, has fine arrangements and fair vocals.

Next three pieces are very pop ones: "You" is pleasant and soft, with another great orchestration and some rock spices. "Nights winters years", with its pompous symphonic touch is a clear attempt to re-create a new "Nights in white satin" (starting with the title), but we know that the lightning only hits the same place once. "Saved by the music" is fair and agreeable, hence forgettable.

"I dreamed last night" continues the general panorama seen in the last tracks, mellow vocals, few challenges to ears and minds. "Who are you now?" is truly a beautiful love song, not prog but somehow uplifting in spite the sad lyrics - there's a hope a happy end will occur finally; also string arrangements are worthy. The orchestral approach returns in "Maybe" with a beginning reminding us old MB's stuff or maybe Procol Harum just to leave room for a somewhat dull lullaby; metals accompaniment give no help to the song.

"When you wake up" is the proggiest song in the album, it certainly could fit DAYS OF FUTURE PASSED extravaganza. Now a sense of deviation, defying and disillusion is clearly felt together with great singing, fine guitar playing and once again accurate strings and piano presence. "Blue guitar" finishes quite well this release, a nice farewell to make us forget some less illustrious moments of the album.

Wouldn't it be Prog Archives and this album could be rated high, but being it not the case I would rate BLUE JAYS for collectors/fans only however one cannot deny that it's a good work, although not essential. Final rating: 3.

By 1974 the (real!) Moody Blues had been together for 7 long intense gruelling years. After 7 top-drawer albums and now a seemingly everlasting world tour they were jaded and more than ready for a break. Justin Hayward convened with Mike Pinder at Mike's ranch in USA to initiate some recording, but after both John Lodge and then Tony Clarke had become interested, Pinder dropped out of the project. Thus was born the Blue Jays, a Moodies spin off album that would keep us more than happy for a while.

It has rightly been opined that Blue Jays is the missing link between Seventh Sojourn and Octave. Like a true Moodies album, it fits nicely into the gap, being perhaps a little more free flowing than Seventh Sojourn yet not as disjointed as Octave. Perhaps the key is the presence of long time producer Tony Clarke whose unique style helps to root Blue Jays firmly in the Moody Blues camp. Yet some key elements are absent: Ray Thomas's rich deep voice; Mike Pinder's Mellotron; and a more varied songwriting. In their stead we are treated to an orchestra, three members of a string quartet (violin/cello/viola) and a pianist all of whom add some wonderful textures to the album.

I must here applaud the remastered CD (Decca, 2004) for its amazing clean sound quality and superb clarity courtesy of Paschal Byrne. Numerous small details become apparent, even down to bows rasping across cello or viola strings, and individual voices in harmonies. A brilliant job which really involves you in the music. This is not such an easy task because of a typically full and busy production, especially the trademark multi-layered vocals of Hayward and Lodge. But nothing is sacrificed, those gorgeous rich sounds are still there and as enticing as ever.

This Morning gets the ball rolling, a soaring Hayward speciality with a complex multi-sectioned developing structure full of vitality and energy, yet that mournful catch in his voice exuding pathos and heartache. It is both the best song on the album and also a statement of intent, laying out their stall for the next 40 minutes or so. Hayward's guitar work on this track, as indeed on the whole album, is amongst the best he has done.

After such a fantastic start, Remember Me brings the adrenalin level down a couple of notches to a more gentle song with a lovely melody and the 'string quartet' in evidence, though I find over-repetition of a simple chorus has me hovering over the FFW button. My Brother, too, is a fair song, apparently a barbed note aimed at Mike Pinder, another mid-paced romp in similar style to This Morning but not so majestic. So far the main voice heard has been Hayward's, but You brings Lodge to the fore for the first time. This is a typically gentle Lodge song, made memorable by an excellent sympathetic arrangement on which both musicians play lead guitar.

Nights Winters Years is the first of two big voice-with-orchestra songs, featuring orchestrations by Peter Knight. This is Hayward's contribution and my least favourite track on the album. It is done exceptionally well of course, but it goes on a little too long for my taste. Saved By The Music is a stonking return to form from John Lodge. Fundamentally an up tempo song very reminiscent of In Search Of A Lost Chord, yet it features a slow quiet verse building into a wonderful ensemble piece full of swooping guitars, flute and cello.

Hayward's I Dreamed Last Night initially drops the pace again to a quieter lilting level, before slowly building throughout a long verse structure to a final crescendo complete with orchestra. Who Are You Now is another timeless Hayward classic, essentially an acoustic arrangement in the mold of I Never Thought I'd Live To Be A Million but with the addition of an excruciating blissful cello solo and some stunning vocals. Next is John Lodge's turn to sing along to the orchestra on Maybe, which has a more adventurous arrangement than Hayward's effort, though the orchestra can be a little overpowering.

The finale of the album proper is yet another classic. When You Wake Up has Hayward drifting "a little further to the stars", initially with some acoustic instruments but building to a great rousing climax awash with Moodies trademark sounds, and topped by guitar soloing in an extended coda to fade. Of course, the 2004 re-issue doesn't finish there, as Justin Hayward's solo single Blue Guitar is tucked on at the end as a bonus. This too is a fine song in its own right, though somehow it doesn't quite belong here ....

So, does Blue Jays sit comfortably alongside the Moodies discography as a prized and highly recommended piece of work? Definitely! Do we miss the other three musicians? Well, sadly, no not really. The very high standard of songwriting on show, and the energy with which Hayward and Lodge undertook this project, suggest the others may have diluted the effort had they been present, that Hayward and Lodge felt a sense of release from the shackles of the parent group, to enable all this extra creativity to burst forth.

The saddest thing about Blue Jays is they didn't repeat it, deciding instead to go on to solo projects before resurrecting the old band. In my opinion, only once more would they come anywhere near the heights of creativity and excellence achieved here. This therefore remains as a little enigma, almost the last flowering of the great period of Moodies world domination. It is, of course, absolutely essential to all Prog lovers!

The New Rolling Stone Record Guide (published in 1983) dismissed this out of hand as a mediocre Moody Blues album. If they listened to the record before reaching that conclusion, they needn't have. In their jaundiced world, there was little place for plaudits in the Moodies canon, so they stuck a blue ribbon on the obvious choice (Days of Future Passed) and snuck past the other animals thinking no one would notice. On the surface, Blue Jays would seem to be the Moodies at half mast. But it soars, simply soars. The songs are more intimate than their work as a band, equally ambitious (an orchestra appears on several tracks) but infused with a keener sense of melody and form. In fact, Blue Jays sounds very much like a very good Barclay James Harvest album. Both leaned on the minor key legacy of The Beatles, and it's easy to imagine songs like "Remember Me, My Friend," "You" and "My Brother" spilling from the pen of an inspired George Harrison. The opening "This Morning" is a harbinger of good things to come, swelling with melodic invention. Without a strong unifying theme (loneliness, friendship, love and the search for an intangible answer are familiar themes on Blue Jays, but the same could be said for most Moodies albums), Blue Jays lacks the grand statement of a Days of Future Passed or On The Threshold of a Dream, but it contains at least as many good ideas (and maybe more) than those albums. I'd rank Blue Jays right up there with the Moodies most successful forays, especially if you couldn't wait for the next Justin Hayward or John Lodge track to roll around on those albums. The pair seem interested in returning to their pastoral roots on Blue Jays, so don't expect anything as agitated as "I'm Just A Singer" or "The Story In Your Eyes." Instead, relax and ride on Blue Jay's back by wings of strings and a tail pointed in the direction of pure melody.

If you are a singer you want to harmonize with each track. If you play a instrument your pulling your hair out to play every nuance. There is not a bad track on the album. Plus another great moody album cover.the words and arrangements are simply amazing.I have been singing playing guitar off and on for forty years. I did not start buying moody blues albums until 1972, i had listen to there radio releases previously and enjoyed them.