DAYS OF FUTURE PASSED

Here's an album that I like more now than I did in the seventies. Plus, it's a piece of prog history. Sure, the songs themselves are only a little proggy, but the concept and use of orchestra in 1967 was definitely progressive.

Although this was the second album released under the name The Moody Blues, the addition of Justin Hayward and John Lodge brought in the sound that the band would become famous for.

The orchestrations are very heavy on the strings, and often go on a little too long, but still, especially if you get the remastered CD, provide interesting transitions between the Moodies songs. The songs themselves still mostly have a sixties, British psychedelic style, but the meat of the Moodies new sound is especially prevalent in the two most famous tracks, Tuesday Afternoon and Nights In White Satin.

Graeme Edge's poetry was cool at the time, but sounds a bit cheesy now. But for a good laugh, look up the parody version of late lament.