DAYS OF FUTURE PASSED

I have for a long time been of the opinion that the Moody Blues were a band who were neither here nor there. They were not exactly a 60s beat/pop band but neither do I feel that they were a psychedelic band. Though they are certainly caught in the middle there somewhere. Sure in the sixties most of the bands that came out of Britain needed the chart single success to simply exist and that culture was in complete contrast to the scene in the USA at the time where bands and artists were becoming predominately album based. With this album Days Of Future Passed the Moody Blues gave themselves a taste of both worlds and a sense of safe security perhaps with the advent of a very accessible song, more of which later. It's a concept album, one of the first apparently, but the concept is rather loose yet simplistic and even enjoyable and very moody if a little blue at times. While the Moodys run through the day and pin point certain moments including "Lunch Break" (sub titled "Peak Hour") and one of my favorites "The Afternoon" ("Forever Afternoon" and "Time To Get Away" being the sub segments here) the tone of the music is interrupted by the sporadic bursts of orchestration that saturates the album before and after almost every piece some bopping along like a cartoon background but only served as an intermission to the real music and the songs. I read the sleeve notes with some suspicion where (executive producer) Hugh Mendl states that " [The Moodys] Have found the point where pop becomes one with the classics" but in my opinion it does not do that. There is an obvious separation in the classical arrangements and the songs the Moody Blues have composed. Fair enough "Nights In White Satin" sounds tremendous augmented with the orchestra but it is the only place on the album where I feel it actually works in a sympathetic union. What I would like to hear is Days Of Future Passed minus the superfluous and dated poetry and the lush orchestration and simply hear the songs standing on their own. They are good enough to stand alone without the gimmick of overblown and pretentious symphonic orchestrated strings and horns, it is a decent album that spawned a massive song in album closer "Nights In White Satin", worth it for that alone.