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Kingsnake View Drop Down
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Points: 1578 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: The Moody Blues appreciation thread
    Posted: September 22 2016 at 02:43
The Moodies.
 
They were one of the first bands to use orchestra. Often cited as being of the first symphonic rock bands. One of the most important progressive rockbands.
 
The Moodies have had a long career, starting as an R&B band, then using orchestra on Days of Future Passed and even created a string of psychedelic concept albums.
Eventually incorporating mellotron in their music and being pioneers in mellotron-based rockmusic.
They stopped in 1972, released several solo-albums and eventually pickin upin 1978 with the mediocre Octave, then surprised friend and fiend with the very high standard Long Distance Voyager, and then ventured into synthpop/muzak, and eventually disappeared from view.
 
Bandmembers, John Lodge, Justin Hayward, Ray Thomas, Mike Pinder, Patrick Moraz and even Graeme Edge all released several soloalbums, where Blue jays (Lodge and Lees) is the closest to The Moody Blues-sound.

Here we can discuss their music, their solo-albums and guest appearances on several projects/albums.
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Points: 15916 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 22 2016 at 03:28
Gawd, there must be some psychics on these forums - I was literally thinking about a MB Appreciation Thread as I searched and couldn't find one. Before my Tech / Extreme binge of late, I listened to the 'main 7' albums several times each, and I was obsessing over Lost Chord and Threshold. Both AMAZING albums. What a bunch of outstanding musicians. Ray Thomas is quite a flautist, and Pinder and his technical know-how on his mellotrons is priceless. I never tire from these guys.
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Points: 1578 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 22 2016 at 03:40
Wink
Glad to be of service. :D
 
Have you ever heard these:
 


 
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Points: 15916 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 22 2016 at 04:23
^ I used to have From Mighty Oaks but it sounded more like Ray Coniffe than Ray Thomas. Maybe I missed something ?? Had Blue Jays as well but that somehow, strangely vanished from my collection........I don't recall what happened there......
I love Hayward's guitar solo in Peak Hour - it sounds like Surf-Music. And Pinder's 'tron solo.
Everything I ever want from the Moodys is jam-packed into Lost Chord.
Many folks diss Ray Thomas' songs, but I've often found them twee and psychedelic (Nice To Be Here, Dr Livingstone etc.).
Children's Children's Children Childen Children.........is superb too. Love it to bits.
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Points: 1578 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 22 2016 at 04:27
My favorite is The Seventh Sojourn.
 
It has a more rock-feel to it and features some lengthy songs.
My favorite rock-song is The Story in Your Eyes, wich is on Every Good Boy Deserves Favour.

But Seventh Sojourn has the Lodge-rocker Singer in a Rock n Roll Band, wich really rocks aswell.
But the lengthy songs New Horizons, Land of Make Believe and When You're a Free Man are amongst the best songs the band ever did.
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Points: 1578 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 22 2016 at 04:32
Also The Moody Blues, is the only band I know with four (!!!) leadvocalists.
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Points: 15916 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 22 2016 at 04:43
I actually forgot just how great Seventh Sojourn is. My faves on that are Lost In A Losr World, New Horizons and When You're A Free Man. But there's nothing weak on it. Beautiful cover art, too.
My very first MB album was EGBDF - back in 1987, a quite battered LP for 2 bucks. I've up-graded to a pristine copy, of course. Procession still sounds as exciting now as it did when I first heard it. My Song is a bit of a mini-epic.
If we're talking later Moodys, I guess The Present is the only one I appreciate. Blue World is quite excellent.
I need to get back to Long Distance Voyager. Can't remember much of that one.
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Points: 1578 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 22 2016 at 04:55
Long Distance Voyager is with Patrick Moraz,  and is a return to forms, after the disappointing Octave.
 
It features long songs and lost of bombastic arrangments. Long Distance Voyager and The Present were the last true symphonic rock albums.
I still like Sur La Mer, The Other Side of Life and Keys to the Kingdom, but that's because I like soft middle-of-the-road popmusic aswell.
 
Yeah, the artwork of The Moodies was great. Also the solowork is done by the same artist over and over again: Phil Travers ( https://nl.pinterest.com/tomshieh/phil-travers-album-covers/ )
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Points: 65934 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 22 2016 at 09:24
Have you heard their Live At Red Rock with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra performance? It is absolutely one of my favorite live albums. 
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Points: 8849 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 22 2016 at 09:24
I'm a big fan.  I'm not inclined to listen to DOFP much, and actually don't like On the Threshold of a Dream, which to me is mostly leftover 60s pop.  But I love the other 5.  I agree that Seventh Sojourn is VERY strong, and is unfairly maligned because it's the last and the band admitted to being very unhappy when they made it.  Unhappiness can produce great music, wow!  I enjoyed select tracks from subsequent albums until Sur La Mer, but they ceased to be unified efforts as the earlier ones had been, and they had more weak tracks  In terms of extracurricular stuff, I haven't heard most of the solo work but I thought the Blue Jays album and Hayward's solo work were overwrought.  I did enjoy their single "Blue Guitar" and LOVED Justin Hayward's "Forever Autumn" of Jeff Wayne's War of the Worlds.
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Points: 12581 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 22 2016 at 21:11
I only have "Days of Future Passed" and "To our children's children's children", plus a 4 CD hits album. DoFP is amazing for me, and the children's album is great too, though I feel most of the songs are too short and just leave me wanting more... and even though all the songs together make a whole greater than the sum of it's parts, I would have liked them so segue into each other to make the impression of a longer suite. From the compilation album, I certainly got the idea that by the 80's the band lost it's way... I just couldn't find any song I really liked once the 70's songs were done.
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Points: 8849 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 22 2016 at 22:05
Originally posted by Dellinger Dellinger wrote:

I only have "Days of Future Passed" and "To our children's children's children", plus a 4 CD hits album. DoFP is amazing for me, and the children's album is great too, though I feel most of the songs are too short and just leave me wanting more... and even though all the songs together make a whole greater than the sum of it's parts, I would have liked them so segue into each other to make the impression of a longer suite. From the compilation album, I certainly got the idea that by the 80's the band lost it's way... I just couldn't find any song I really liked once the 70's songs were done.

someone mentioned Blue World, which is from "The Present", which was not a commercial album at all, except maybe the song Sitting at the Wheel.  I also really love the song "The Other Side of Life".  It's like nothing else they ever did and its got a great synth hook and short concise Hayward guitar solo.  But yeah, the quality dropped a lot 
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Points: 24 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 23 2016 at 06:15
I love the first couple of albums. My personal favorite is Every Good Boy Deserves Favour.
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Points: 8849 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 23 2016 at 07:29
Originally posted by TheDankCookie TheDankCookie wrote:

I love the first couple of albums. My personal favorite is Every Good Boy Deserves Favour.

that's a great one, and somewhat underrated.  The local French language FM station used to play the entire first side, and what a side!  Edge's song is incredible.
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Points: 334 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 23 2016 at 19:50
Christmas Break, 1968, Seventh Grade, age 12. I was at a friend's house admiring his new AM/FM receiver with turntable he had just gotten for Christmas. Just then, the local "underground" FM station (Dallas, TX) plays a strange song I had not heard before. It was Legend of a Mind. I was mesmerized by this strange music that was unlike anything I had ever heard before. That day I became a fan of The Moody Blues and have been ever since, almost 48 years now.
"You never had the things you thought you should have had and you'll not get them now..."
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Points: 1578 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 24 2016 at 02:32
Legend of a Mind was a tribute to Timothy Leary, the LSD-guru.

It's a wonderful peace of work, and maybe the most important song in progressive rock featuring mellotron. If there's one song that uses the Mellotron to the max, it's this song.
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Points: 1505 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 25 2016 at 09:17
Seventh Sojourn is my pick, as some might know. Perfect blend of cheese and class. 
http://fryingpanmedia.com
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Points: 16130 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 25 2016 at 09:24
The first seven albums are all really good, but To our childrens childrens children is my favourite, followed by Seventh Sojourn.

Justin Hayward is one of the finest singers in rock IMO. Such a pure, clear and pitch perfect voice.

Mr Pinder was a mellotron/chamberlain god too!
Ultimately bored by endless ecstasy!
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Points: 1578 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 25 2016 at 11:11
The funny thing is, there is no such thing as the first seven albums. Because the first album is The Magnificent Moodies.  So historically speaking, The Seventh Sojourn was their eighth album.

Truth be told, the first album is rather bland R&B and nowhere the symphonic/psychedelic pop/rock the band became known for.

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Points: 1578 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: September 26 2016 at 01:22
Listening to Long Distane Voyager, The Present and after that A Night at the Red Rocks at the office today.

Edited by Kingsnake - September 26 2016 at 01:22
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