The Moody Blues

Floyd

Administrator
Staff member
Spanning the Brit/R&B invasion and the post-psychedelic/prog movements of the mid-to-late 60s (and beyond), The MOODY BLUES have embraced the contemporary pop-rock scene with their lush, symphonic sounds and harmonies; think The BEATLES, The BEE GEES and PROCOL HARUM rolled into one. While no one should ever forget the multi-layered and timeless, `Nights In White Satin’ (an epic 45 dating back to late ’67), there’s an abundance of choice cuts from several of their glowing Mk.II sets.

Formed May 1964 in Birmingham, England, Messrs Denny Laine (a singer who’d just dissolved his Denny & The Diplomats combo), keyboardist Mike/Michael Pinder, flautist Ray Thomas, bassist Clint Warwick and drummer Graeme Edge, were looking to expand their horizons when they hooked up with manager, Tony Secunda. He duly secured them a deal with Decca Records. Their debut 45, `Steal Your Heart Away’, bombed when released that September, but by early ’65, the quintet were on top of the world and the UK charts (US Top 10) with the Bessie Banks cover, `Go Now!’.

A subsequent BEATLES support slot on their American tour was encouraging, although it seemed the band couldn’t buy a major hit thereafter; `I Don’t Want To Go On Without You’ (penned by Berns & Wexler for The DRIFTERS) and `From The Bottom Of My Heart (I Love You)’ (penned by Laine & Pinder) stalling outside the UK Top 20. Like so many of the era’s prime Brit-beat outfits, their inaugural album was littered with R&B cover versions mixed with a handful of originals. THE MAGNIFICENT MOODIES (1965) {*6} – released in altered track formation in America as GO NOW – THE MOODY BLUES #1 {*6} – flopped unceremoniously on both sides of the divide. JAMES BROWN’s `I’ll Go Crazy’ and `I Don’t Mind’, SONNY BOY WILLIAMSON’s `Bye Bye Bird’ and the Gershwin’s `It Ain’t Necessarily So’ were probably the most recognisable of the pack.

With sales taking a downward spiral on the singles front, Warwick was first to terminate his contract in June 1966 (superseded by temp Rod Clark); a few months later, the surprise announcement that Laine was the next to leave, left the Moodies in disarray.

The outfit quickly re-united that November after finding suitable replacements. Former solo singer Justin Hayward (from The Wilde Three) and bassist/singer John Lodge brought a new sense of urgency within the all-new, Mellotron-friendly MOODY BLUES. But once again, chart success eluded them, even though both `Fly Me High’ and more so, `Love And Beauty’, garnered needed airplay. By late summer ‘67, Decca switched them to their more adventurous Deram imprint.
As the story goes, the group and their engineer, Derek Varnals (under the sanction of executive producer Hugh Mendl) came up with brainwave of mixing contemporary pop-rock with a large string ensemble; initially to reproduce a version of Dvorak’s “New World Symphony”. Whether that was ever properly investigated one can’t be sure, but with the London Festival Orchestra (conducted and arranged by Peter Knight) sharing the billing, the “Sgt. Pepper”-like set was on its way. Almost immediately, the concept DAYS OF FUTURE PASSED (1967) {*8} was given the thumbs-up by a critical and commercial collective. In the days when The NICE, PROCOL HARUM and even DEEP PURPLE were booming bombastically and striking out on a sophisticated symphonia route, The MOODY BLUES also gushed with lush romanticism. In one fell swoop, it broke from their mid-60s, R&B/pop sound, to a more ambitious hybrid of rock and orchestral pop. A haunting piece that ended the set, `Nights In White Satin’, became a massive seller and an all-time classic in the process. Not thought worthy of a US release (until it went to No.2 some five years on), Hayward and Lodge’s excerpt `Tuesday Afternoon (Forever Afternoon)’ was a worthy Top 30 substitute; its second-half/segue `Time To Get Away’ was a supposed inspiration for KING CRIMSON’s “In The Court Of The Crimson King”.

After a rare concert at London’s Queen Elizabeth Hall, a refreshed MOODY BLUES issued a rather rushed follow-up concept album, IN SEARCH OF THE LOST CHORD (1968) {*8}. Defined by Pinder’s moving Mellotron, Thomas’s flighty flute passages and Hayward’s high-pitched vocal tones, the mysticism and the combo’s new-found drug experimentation was behind such astral-challenging ditties as `Legend Of A Mind’ (that one with “Timothy Leary’s dead” in the lyrics), the hit single `Ride My See-Saw’ and the profound `The Actor’. The pastoral `Voices In The Sky’ and `The Best Way To Travel’ were certainly tracks that LSD guru Leary (who passed away in ’96) was thinking as his remains were thrust into orbit with that of enterprising Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry. Another massive seller, it was succeeded by the MB’s first No.1 album, ON THE THRESHOLD OF A DREAM (1969) {*8}.

Swapping the cosmos for Baroque bedtime introspection, the individuality of the quintessential quintet surfaced on Thomas’s `Dear Diary’ and Edge’s atmospheric poem pieces; Hayward’s contributions, `Lovely To See You’ and `Never Comes The Day’ and Lodge’s rolled-back-tracking `Send Me No Wine’ and `To Share Our Love’, were somewhat overshadowed by Pinder’s closing medley escapade, `Have You Heard (part 1)’ – `The Voyage’ – `Have You Heard (part 2)’.
Later that year, The MOODY BLUES founded their own Threshold imprint, continuing the winning formula on a further clutch of albums beginning with TO OUR CHILDREN’S CHILDREN’SCHILDREN (1969) {*6}. Never quite able to thin-out their multi-layered, multi-tracked sets on to the live arena, the band proved a tad bombastic and ultra-spiritual for many of the more discerning prog-rock acolyte. Moody by name, bluesy by nature, the conceptual connection – this time in lullabye-esque suites – was rather twee, folky and brief for some pundits. Still, apart from one-that-got-away, `Watching And Waiting’, tracks like `Candle Of Life’, `Out And In’, `Gypsy’ and `Sun Is Still Shining’ were effective without really trying.

Bolstered by a long-awaited transatlantic hit in the finely-crafted `Question’ (No.2 in Britain), parent set A QUESTION OF BALANCE (1970) {*6} gave the Moodies their second UK album chart-topper. The “question” was, had the modern-day conflicts (Vietnam, et al) and the wondrous meaning of life and love overlapped into one big political rocket to the moon; Edge’s `Don’t You Feel Small’, Lodge’s `Tortoise And The Hare’, Pinder’s `How Is It (We Are Here)’ and Hayward’s `Dawning Is The Day’, didn’t quite come up with the answers, but at least they were trying. Too much so for some. Like their emerging Mellotronees, YES, KING CRIMSON and EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER, the imagery and mysticism of the group’s sleeve artwork opened up another feather to the band’s commercial cap.

A breath of fresh air and looking again to the future, UK chart-topper number three (US No.2), EVERY GOOD BOY DESERVES FAVOUR (1971) {*8}, was just the ticket for fans of the long-player. Unusual in respect that it never heralded a hit single (though `The Story In Your Eyes’ bubbled under the US Top 20), the record nevertheless highlighted the virtuoso instrumentation from the band themselves – Hayward, for instance, and his pyrotechnic-styled axe-grinding was more than adept to rocking out (example `You Can Never Go Home’). Pastoral tunes were the order of the day here, by way of twee, tree-hugging pieces, `Emily’s Song’, `One More Time To Live’ and `Nice To Be Here’. Big points once again go to Pinder for his crescendo-inducing Moog/Mellotron masterpiece, `My Song’.

On either side of a couple of classic transatlantic smashes, `Isn’t Life Strange’ and `I’m Just A Singer (In A Rock And Roll Band)’, the aptly-titled US No.1 SEVENTH SOJOURN (1972) {*7} brought to a close another chapter in the group’s history. Pinder’s new baby, the Chamberlin synth, delivered a softer, folkier composition, while Hayward could easily “step into the slide zone” when called upon. While one can help think of The SEEKERS when listening to Thomas’s `For My Lady’, “The Magnificent Seven” sets of The MOODY BLUES left every good boy to favour the glam pack.

During the mid-70s, while The MOODY BLUES were put on ice, all parties concerned ventured into side projects. All had relative degrees of commercial success, most notably the pairing of JUSTIN HAYWARD & JOHN LODGE, who climbed in to the Top 5 with the “Blue Jays” set; the 10CC-produced `Blue Guitar’ was their smash hit. Meanwhile, The GRAEME EDGE (featuring Adrian Gurvitz from BAKER GURVITZ ARMY) delivered two LPs, `Kick Off Your Muddy Boots’ (1975) and `Paradise Ballroom’ (1977). Of the other two, RAY THOMAS’ Top 30 entry `From Mighty Oaks’ (but not 1976’s `Hopes Wishes & Dreams’) won the day over PINDER’s `The Promise’.

A re-united MOODY BLUES released their comeback album, OCTAVE (1978) {*5}, a record that hardly matched the quality of the group’s sabbatical solo works, although boasting the odd hit single in `Steppin’ In A Slide Zone’ and `Driftwood’. It was a time when dinosaur-rock was going through a big bang, superseded creatively and commercial by the youthful new scene. Leaving behind his final contribution, `One Step Into The Light’, Pinder chose not to tour with the band.
With the latter’s replacement courtesy of Swiss-born keyboard wizard PATRICK MORAZ (fresh from a spell with YES), The MOODY BLUES were again back at No.1 (at least Stateside) via LONG DISTANCE VOYAGER (1981) {*7}. `Gemini Dream’ and `The Voice’ took a leaf from their productive Brummie neighbours ELO in their pop-rock sensibilities, although most thought their syrupy ballads a little light and ineffective.

Creatively, the band had become stale, subsequent studio sets such as THE PRESENT (1983) {*4}, THE OTHER SIDE OF LIFE (1986) {*5} and SUR LA MER (1988) {*3}, had their moments, but these records only added fuel to the fire to the adage that the 80s were boring and inconsequential. Especially when one thinks of The MOODY BLUES in their late 60s/early 70s heyday.

Without Moraz’s keyboard displays,1991’s KEYS OF THE KINGDOM {*3} was the breaking point for even their most loyal of fans, with its sterile and simplistic sentimentality giving an air of The BEACH BOYS meeting WANG CHUNG. The concert splendour of the outdoor, A NIGHT AT RED ROCKS WITH THE COLORADO SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA (1993) {*6}, did little to re-ignite the passions of old – more an exercise to exorcise old ghosts and their greatest hits.
The long-awaited STRANGE TIMES (1999) {*5} was again fuelled by romantic pap and lost the credibility that had achieved in the 60s and 70s. Recorded at the Royal Albert Hall and resurrecting their renaissance period, HALL OF FAME (2000) {*5} was another record just basically taking its nostalgia-driven audience along for the ride. But at least they hadn’t split.

Many would pray that’d actually happened when their part-festive/part-original set, DECEMBER (2003) {*4} was released; Ray Thomas had now given up the ghost. Combining songs from either Hayward or Lodge, there was covers aplenty served up on this platter, the yukkie `When A Child Is Born’ and `A Winter’s Tale’ staples saddled alongside `White Christmas’ and John & Yoko’s `Happy Xmas (War Is Over)’.

The trio of Hayward, Lodge and Edge enlisted the help of added players (Norda Mullen on flute, Bernie Barlow on keyboards/vocals, Paul Bliss on keyboards and Gordon Marshall on percussion) to offer up yet another concert piece, the double-disc LOVELY TO SEE YOU – LIVE (2005) {*6}. Credit to the band for attempting to un-conceptualise all their greatest hits on one big show, even HAYWARD’s solo piece from Jeff Wayne’s “War Of The Worlds” (from way back in 1978) sounded defiantly moody and bluesy.

The death of flautist/singer Ray Thomas on 4th January 2018 (he’d been diagnosed with prostate cancer in September 2013), was sad for friend John Lodge and loyal fans of The MOODY BLUES. And in a roundabout way, Hayward, Lodge and Edge (with various others) were looking forward to the release, in March 2018, of their anniversary concert double-CD, DAYS OF FUTURE PASSED LIVE {*7}, recorded live the previous year at the Sony Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto; actor Jeremy Irons had been narrator.

a1.jpeg
 
Forum Community

Adminstrator Moderator Member Fanatic

Top