A QUESTION OF BALANCE

"Question of Balance" is a very cosmic album. Here the group stripped down their well known lush psychedelic sound, but the songs are just as engaging as on previous albums. There are lots of great melodies as well as the usual charm and great musicianship.

The songwriting had some new ideas this time too, including touching on political strife with "Question". Here they dealt with the controversy of the ongoing VIetnam war. The song itself is an upbeat acoustic rocker with some Mellotron backing. The middle part of the song is slow and romantic. It's quite memorable and endearing.

The main concept of the album is about ecological problems and "How is it" brings that topic up first. The tune itself is dreamy and very spacey. The symphonic arrangements are striking and there seems to be a Mellotron and guitar duet here too. "As the tide rushes In" is a wonderful, soothing acoustic ballad that nicely leads on to "Don't You Feel Small" which has some spooky whispering backing vocals and great flute. There are some other cracking vocal harmonies particularly on "The Minstrel's Song" while "Tortoise and the Hare" is a rockier number and my least favourite here, but there's enough wonder to save the day. Hayward's "Its Up To You" and "Dawning Is the Day" are absolute stunners for me. His emotional voice captures my heart the most. "Melancholy Man" is well, very Melancholy! I love it though. The ending "Balance" is lovely and the last touch on the eco topic with a poem by Edge.

In all, I'd say it's a widely underrated album by many proggers although perhaps my view is a little biased being a massive "Moodies" fan. I think it's a great classic that should be listened to with an open heart and mind. 4.5 stars.