Moody Blues 2017 Reunion Tour

yes indeed - in the UK and I think USA too Capitol put out 'Best of Beach Boys' compilation at the same time and gave that all the promotion...!

 

Sure, and lots of well known songs didn't sell as well as singles as we would think either.

I was just surprised by the Wiki column I looked at that "Tuesday Afternoon" didn't chart at ALL, but as pointed out already it did make the top thirty here, but I didn't see that there are four US chart columns on Wiki.

 

The big plus with "iconic" albums, is the steady sales and profits over the next 30-50 years. The Moody Blues are one of my top 5 favorite groups of all time. I don't know how much radio time and album sales they get these days, but I remember hearing "Your Wildest Dreams" on the radio and buying as many CDs as I could get my hands on from their discography. I loved the stuff so much, I immediately bought the 2007-2008 re-releases with bonus tracks. And I cried when I heard what they did to those glorious songs. The CDs were easily twice as loud. And when I applied ReplayGain and compared the old to the new, the new masters sounded so flat. It's a crime that these versions are the ones on streaming services and are what most young people are going to hear when they listen to the Moodies.

 

I know you double checked the info, but "Tuesday" scored 24 on Billboard nationally, but in the 60s regional DJs had more leeway and many major AM stations had their on top 10, top 40, and this single did very well in certain markets.
Also note that the followup, "See Saw" scored only 61 nationally on Billboard charts, but received lots of airplay and scored higher on many regional charts.
A top ten hit in Chicago for instance, would not appear on the radar in Los Angeles in the 60s.

 

Not if Justin took the picture.

 

I agree about the regional market thing.

For instance, as I previously mentioned , I heard "Tuesday Afternoon " on Chicago AM radio, but have no memory at all of hearing "Ride My See Saw" on AM radio here, but like you mention, it may have gotten lots of airplay on AM in other markets.
I'm pretty sure by the time of "Ride My See Saw", I heard it on Chicago's fledgling hippie FM station WOPA, but can't remember.

I saw the Moody Blues in a club in the Fall of 1968 after In Search of the Lost Chord was released.
They were just great.

 

If you were in Chicago at that time and saw them at the Kinetic Playground on October 22, 1968 you had the privilege of seeing them at their first U.S. concert.
Congrats.
Played 2 nights at that venue.
They played that venue again in Nov. and then did Fillmore East.
At that time the playlist included "Best Way To Travel" among the other early numbers and probably covers such as "bye bye bird", and "don't let me be misunderstood."
Remember any of the playlist? Seating, banter, etc.
Thx.

 

Whatever Wikipedia says, neither "Tuesday" nor "Nights" was a hit single first time around. The Moodies (following "Go Now") were strictly an album act for a number of years, with zero action on AM radio. "Question" was the first song to break that barrier..."Nights" and "Tuesday" were both re-released and became hits (after "This is the Moody Blues," I think), but that was later and I'm not sure of the chronology.

 

Tuesday Afternoon did hit 24 on the Billboard chart in 1968.
It scored 26 on Cashbox in 1968.
Song was released as single from "Days" which entered US chart in May 1968.
So this song was in effect, a hit in 1968. (If one considers mid 20 charting a hit. )
But as mentioned earlier, it scored higher in regional markets in 1968.
The original US release (Feb. 1968)of "Nights" reached only 103 and was re released in 1972.

 

That's what Wikipedia says, but I would wager that it's wrong.I grew up with AM radio and was listening religiously at that time (I was eleven), and had no awareness of that song. Unless WABC just had a narrower playlist, which is possible-- regional variations did happen then.

 

According to my trusty Joel Whitburn Billboard book, this info is correct.

Anyway, can we get a question mark or something in this thread title?

 

As the previous poster indicated, the information I gave on charts is not from Wiki, but right from the source-the Billboard Whitburn books" top 100 " and "bubbling under 100".
The Cashbox info is from the web.
And as stated, regional stations had their own top 10 playlists and top 40 playlists.
One can surf the web and look at the actual listings in certain cities per a certain week in 1968.
As an example, a Detroit radio station had "Ride My SeeSaw" at 21 on their playlist in oct. 1968.
But nationally the song scored at 61 per Billboard.
AM radio was definitely more regional in the 1960s.

 

Nights In White Satin is perhaps the song you are thinking of - it did not become a hit single until 1972 upon re-release

 

And WABC did indeed ignore it altogether. Not sure what weeks it charted nationally, but no sign of it or "See-Saw" here:

WABC Weekly Surveys for 1968 »

Certainly not the only notable record they passed on. They barely played the Who before Pinball Wizard.

 

'Nights' charted in the UK in 1967...and again in 1972 and 1978

re the photo of Graeme, Mike and John - the fan who posted the photo on a Moodies fans forum said she took it not Justin...!

re the Hall of Fame I think an influential guy on the selection committee has some 'issue' re The Moodies and he prevents them being considered for nomination for induction

 

sounds like the Moodies suffer from the same type of paralysis as Fleetwood Mac.

 

I don't see much similarity at all.

 

Yep, Kinetic Playground.

I wrote down the songs they did when I got home, not in set order . I still have my little note, written in pencil.

Ride My See Saw
Legend of a Mind
Tuesday Afternoon
Another Morning
Lunch Break (Peak Hour actually)
Nights in White Satin
Bye Bye Bird
Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood
Dr. Livingstone I Presume
Thinking is the Best Way To Travel

And probably Twilight Time . My little note says "end of second song side two ,Days of Future"
I probably wrote the note before I went to bed and didn't bother to look up the song title, and my note stayed that way.

 

I wish they give a tribute to past members such as Clint Warwick.

 

intraband squabbles have kept each band from producing new music for years. Difference is Mac is up for the tour, but not new music. Sounds like the Moodies aren't up for either. Both are celebrating 50th anniversaries (even though Moodies are technically older)

 

I can tell you that Mike Pinder paid a nice tribute on his old forum to his former band colleague Clint Warwick after Clint passed away, fondly remembering The Moodies original bass player/singer

Interesting that 1968 set list above - The Moodies always claim they dumped ALL their old 'R & B' era material in 1966, but that's clearly not true - that 1968 setlist still includes 'Bye Bye Bird' from the band's debut album, which made No.3 as a single in France in December 1965 (Decca AT. 154048)

- do you remember who sang it in 1968 ? - was it Ray Thomas ?

we know Justin tried singing 'Go Now', Ray tried singing it...but no one could sing it like Denny so it was dropped from the act

Justin has claimed he joined them in summer 1966 - but Denny Laine didn't leave until October 1966 ! - in fact even after Justin and John were settled in the band by the end of 1966 the next single released still featured Denny Laine

- 'Life's Not Life' c/w 'He Can Win' was issued in the UK by Decca in January 1967 (Decca F. 12543)

their live - and BBC radio - version of 'Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood' may well be their 'tribute' to Eric Burdon of The Animals who had unknowingly but helpfully played a key role in helping them find Justin Hayward !

 

Ray Thomas sang. "Bye Bye Bird" in 1968.
Video exists of this.

 

I was in a hurry this morning but to answer your other questions, The Kinetic Playground had no seats.Everyone sat on the floor You paid your five bucks and sat where you wanted to, or could get to. The room was round but the stage was in one place, not IN the round.

I sat literally right in front of the band. The stage was two or three feet high with nothing in front of it so I could have reached my arm out and touched Ray's foot if I had wanted to. In fact, when Ray walked out I spaced out and said "Hi Graeme" to him, which got me a quizzical look from him.

The room held three, maybe four hundred people, sitting jammed next to each other on the floor.
They were great and sounded just like their records to me. Seeing them from that close was just amazing. Hearing a Mellotron live for the first time was quite the wonderful experience.

The bands there usually played two sets a night, but not in a row. The bands would alternate , which was quite weird. I don't know if they repeated the same set later because I was under curfew age at the time and had to get home before their second set, which probably started as midnight or 1:00 AM.

 

Thanks for sharing this. Good memories for sure.

 

That's some pretty tasty piano on "Top Rank Suite," which is my favourite track on Octave. So if it isn't Pinder, who is it?