OCTAVE

Six years after their last studio album, The Moody Blues' classic lineup reappeared with this uneven, and mostly disappointing set. They even had Tony Clarke, their long time producer behind the board on this one. But there's something missing here. There is none of the sense of mystery and wonder that pervaded the previous seven albums (I'm not counting the first album, before they were really The Moody Blues). Perhaps it was the industry, that wanted easy to produce disco and punk, perhaps it was just that these guys had just reached the end of the road together. Who knows?

There are some songs that are almost worth owning. Steppin' In A Slide Zone and I'll Be Level With You are upbeat and... no, not quite good enough.

Side two of the LP is dismal. Top Rank Suite is upbeat, but unoriginal and unmemorable. And all of the songs that follow are at best maudlin, and very difficult to sit through.The real surprise of this album was that four of the five band members were able to continue after this.

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