Progarchives, the progressive rock ultimate discography
The Moody Blues - Threshold of a Dream - Live at the Isle of Wight 1970 CD (album) cover

THRESHOLD OF A DREAM - LIVE AT THE ISLE OF WIGHT 1970

The Moody Blues

 

Crossover Prog

3.59 | 21 ratings

From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website

Finnforest
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
3 stars Superb historical document

This documentary/concert video is a wonderful time capsule of The Moody Blues' performance at the Isle of Wight Festival, one of the most legendary of the counter-culture rock festivals of the day. This really is the whole package for the Moodies fan. It's a mixture of documentary and live performance. In the beginning it cuts between music and interview with band members talking about their career and memories of the gig. We get some explanation and instruction on the Mellotron and how they employed it with keyboard enthusiasts would enjoy. It begins with a recitation of Threshold lyrics against shots of the young people, while some may find it cheesy I thought it worked.

After the first section it cuts more to full songs without interruption, and as the sun sets over 600,000 people, it is a wonderful experience to kick back in your living room and take in the Moodies and the intoxicating festival vibe. They cover all of their hits of course but I most enjoyed a song called "Meloncholy Man" which they dedicated to a groupie. The sound quality is adequate for 1970 although challenged by today's standards. The video is just beautifully done, it looks like it was taken 10 minutes ago. Good shots, good vantage points, nice mixed in shots of the crowd and scene. The performance itself is a bit sloppy in places, and let's face it, a big festival PA is not the ideal circumstances to see a group as refined as the Moodies. But what gets lost from the circumstances is more than made up for by catching a classic band in their prime....youthful determination overcomes much. They commented on this during the interviews....that at that time they were not businessmen yet, no houses, families, or other things to worry about. They had each other and their music and they took it very seriously. It shows. This is why I love concerts of the great bands in their early years despite the sound quality issues. There is nothing like seeing the great when they still were a "band of brothers" as Waters puts it, when what they were doing was so much less scripted and so fresh.

Probably not an essential DVD for most proggers, but certainly a no-brainer for Moodies fans.

Finnforest | 3/5 |

MEMBERS LOGIN ZONE

As a registered member (register here if not), you can post rating/reviews (& edit later), comments reviews and submit new albums.

You are not logged, please complete authentication before continuing (use forum credentials).

Forum user
Forum password

Share this THE MOODY BLUES review

Social review comments () BETA







Review related links

Copyright Prog Archives, All rights reserved. | Legal Notice | Privacy Policy | Advertise | RSS + syndications

Other sites in the MAC network: JazzMusicArchives.com — jazz music reviews and archives | MetalMusicArchives.com — metal music reviews and archives

Donate monthly and keep PA fast-loading and ad-free forever.