The first of seven excellent albums in a row (actually eight, because I like Octave too). I would rate the tracks something like this: A+: Evening Time to Get Away A: Tuesday Afternoon Peak Hour Dawn is a Feeling A-: Another Morning B: Twilight Time Nights in White Satin Sun Set
I am of an age to remember and love The Moodies from day 1, however DOFP is my least favourite of all the albums released by the band. As others have already stated I would love to hear the album sans orchestra. To totally contradict what I have said, I do love 'Nights In White Satin'. The Moodies are one of my favourite bands and the 7 (yes seven) albums following DOFP are stone cold classics. The rest of their catalog I enjoy and own but those 7 albums are sublim. I'm looking forward to reading and hopefully contributing to the rest of this thread.
Glorious album. I was born in '74 myself and grew up listening to this one. Dad let his young son have free reign on his records, and this one got played frequently. I've never got tired of it. And I absolutely love the orchestral interludes. It's always conjured this image of Swinging London in my head, groovy yet pastoral and melancholic. TOCCC is probably my favorite, by a hair. But Days is right there, right there and definitely brings out the emotions for me, as much as any album does. I could really go into depth about the whole thing, but I don't want to write a novel. Many great moments listening to this album with friends and family, love it from start to finish.
In all but name, "Ed's Moody Blues Appreciation Thread" from 2005 (one of the very first album by album threads on the forum)... Ed's Moody Blues Appreciation Thread...
I came to this album about a year later through the Tuesday Afternoon single. I was in my mid teens and in the middle of my pretentious phase so I really suckled on this teat for a good couple of years. My favorite cut has seesawed in the intervening years usually between the aforementioned and Nights but I also liked the various interludes a lot. Sunset is the cut I go to these days. I love the Oriental vibe as well as the spooky vocals and swelling music. This album has a coherency - naturally - and consistency that makes it stand out from their next several releases. It would be another couple of years before I took notice of them again.
Agree. I also never tire of Days Of Future Passed. To me it sounds like all involved were aspiring to an album with gravitas that didn't quite come off but they ended up with something else unique and quite brilliant instead. Peter Knight's orchestral interludes come mainly from the melodic light orchestra style, suitable for soundtracks to black and white films and TV of the 1950s and 1960s. I love that this style of music found its way into a pop album from 1967 that I've been listening to ever since (in the same way I love that the Yellow Submarine soundtrack music is given a place in The Beatles' discography).
Good observation regarding Peter Knight's involvement. Scott Walker's conductor. Orchestral score very evocative of post war Britain.
Yes, too good to be left out! There were three 1967 singles from the new line-up, which were released before Days of Future Passed, and they included 5 non-album tracks: *FLY ME HIGH (Hayward)/REALLY HAVEN'T GOT the TIME (Pinder) released 5 May 1967 There was an attempt at the B-side from the previous line-up, which was included in the 2014 Esoteric Magnificent Moodies re-issue. There is also a live Beat Club video with Denny Laine and Clint Warwick's replacement Rod Clark on bass, and also a French TV live vid with Hayward and Lodge humbly sharing a mic in the background *LOVE AND BEAUTY (Pinder)/ LEAVE THIS MAN ALONE (Hayward) released 22 Sep 1967 Love and Beauty is a milestone in the Moody Blues discography, as this is their first song to feature the mellotron (the song was recorded on 17 July). A very nice composition too, though Graeme Edge namechecked it as the one Moody Blues song he can't stand :/ (!) There was a promo for this song, whose very short fragment only - unfortunately - is featured in this documentary on the band (at 1:28): (I don't know if it's true but one YT commentator claims that the lady dancing near Justin Hayward is Marie, his wife-to-be ) *NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN (Hayward)/ CITIES (Hayward) released 10 Nov 1967 (!) There is a noticeable difference in the stereo and mono mixes of Cities. In the mono mix the harpsichord is mixed very low in the verses, almost sounding like an organ, to gain full prominence only in the middle section and in the fade-out. In the stereo mix it's foregrounded throughout all these five non-album tracks can be found on the compilation album Prelude (1987)
DOFP was the first Moodies album I bought, at Christmas 1991 when I was home from my freshman year of college (which I hated - I hadn't wanted to go in the first place and I wasn't doing very well there), and in that angst-ridden frame of mind, this was like manna from heaven. Oddly, I did know and love "Go Now" before then, but I knew their classic era by reputation only. That was good enough for me to buy this one, and it was a very rare case of an album I loved the very first time and have never grown tired of. There are very few in my collection - and no other Moodies albums - about which I can say that. It still brings back that sense of comfort I drew from it in a time when I was seriously unhappy with just about everything else. I love all the interim-singles as well. I think "Leave This Man Alone" is my favorite, but they're all great.
In the first album "Laine\Pinder" already showed us their great composing talent..."let me go..."Stop...
This is where my interest in the band starts. I am not a big fan of the Laine fronted band, but Love and Beauty and Cities really show where they were heading and are great tracks. Fly Me High is also ok, but the other two tracks are not very interesting to me. Dawn is a Feeling is right up there with Nights and Tuesday as favorites from the debut album. Twilight Time is also a fine track. Sure glad they ditched the orchestra moving forward and focused on the mellotron.
I am a fan and at one time they were my favorite band. But Days Of Future Past was never a favorite of mine. I probably played the whole album less than 5 times. It was In Search Of The Lost Chord that blew me away and inspired me to buy the rest of their albums through Seventh Sojourn.
Well most of the songs themselves are without an orchestra. I think only Sunset and the latter part of Nights has an orchestra on it.
As was the case in 4th grade ('81?) when it turned out my dad had the record with the song about "pinball," in high school I discovered that my dad had the record with the great pop tunes, orchestra, and poetry (typically neither of the latter would be a selling point). He also had TOCCC, and I became a fan. I love this record, and the DVD-A is gorgeous. -E
Born in 1969 and my folks weren't really fans (they much preferred R&B/Dylan/Stones etc), so the records weren't readily available to me. As a child in the early 70s, I had the radio on constantly listening to top 40 pop stuff. It seems I heard "Nights In White Satin" (with and without "Late Lament") A LOT, and only recently learned why that is (and correct me if I'm mistaken) -- it didn't become a US hit until a 1972 re-release as a single. No song reminds me of bedtime/darkness/night from childhood like this song. The DJs played the crap out of that record at night , and I had it memorized down to knowing when that first snare hits. And I'd always wonder "will the poem be at the end?!" Great memories.
I have been a fan since 1967. I bought DOFP from Gimbles basement record section when it came out. How it it even conceivable that they are not in the Hall of Fame????????
Good post. Also recorded within this time period and on "Prelude" is "Long Summer Days" and "Please Think About It" which seem to be a scrapped A and B side. Both are piano dominated and "Summer Days" esp. is a good, instantly nostalgic, memorable song. Also like the piano solo on "Think About it" I like both songs. Good stuff.
