For a while, In Search of the Lost Chord was my favorite Moodies album. I felt it both had beautiful, acoustic, pastoral songs that sat well with the more psychedelic side of the group and it blended really well. Departure and Ride My See-Saw set this pace for a nice upbeat piece of light psychedelia... I understand how it's one of their more enduring songs. Dr. Livingstone, I Presume is great in that the Mellotron isn't used as washes, but more as an organ or keyboard would be used. I know there's organ in there too, but... It's a nice song, very poppy, with a bit of wrenching it might have been a hit. The House of Four Doors parts that wrap around Legend of a Mind are all right, but I don't rate them that highly. Legend of a Mind, however, is an astonishing song, great vocal work, fantastic flute solo, especially love the Indian vibe shortly after the solo. Voices in the Sky is a great Hayward ballad, it's light and breezy and lovely... A fresh piece of nature bursting through your speakers. The Best Way to Travel bursts into your ears with more straightforward psychedelia, a lovely thrashy beat and wonderful lyrics. Visions of Paradise is more cloudy than Voices in the Sky, much more mystic and brooding, though they share the same vibe in places. The Actor, of course, is a prime Hayward song with great guitar work, lovely verses and more ethereal choruses. A very dynamic song. The Word and Om are probably my favorite songs on the record, wonderfully earthy and glorious and grandiose without being too overblown. All in all, I like In Search of the Lost Chord an awful lot. Haven't heard it in its entirety in ages though... Must fix that one of these days.
One of the benefits of starting this thread for me is that I've listened to each record again two or three times before I've added the album to the thread . It's like revisiting old close friends again. I think the "In the Beginning " intro into "Lovely To See You " works really well as an album opener, although sounding dated now of course. But, it's hard for me to separate my 2017 thoughts about the album from my 1969 thoughts about the album, it's so ingrained in my brain. All these albums we are discussioning are timeless to me, but I can understand if say...a twenty year old is hearing these things for the first time that some of Rays songs might sound twee or the spoken vocal passages might sound cornball in a more cynical world now. At this point I could do without the Leslie speaker effect on the vocals of " Dear Diary" but it's not a major gripe. Although I'm used to it now, I've always been disappointed in the chorus of "Never Comes the Day." Justin sets me/us up with a beautiful, dreamy verse but then that mood abruptly disappears with an uptempo but to my ears generic chorus with gang vocals. It reminds me of a few years later with John Lennon's "#9 Dream". A beautiful almost "Across the Universe" worthy verse but leading into a jarring (to me) chorus that loses the mood of the verse. One thing that hits me now that I've reached a ripe old age is Mike's line from "Have You Heard": "Eternity's waiting, waiting for you and me" Yikes. It didn't register at the time with the seventeen year old me, but it's a reminder that no one gets out of here alive. Of course, I never thought I'd live to be a hundred. Oops! That's the NEXT album.
Well we seem still to be discussing In Search of the Lost Chord which is fine by me because I think it's the best Moody Blues album. In Days of Future Past was a great let-down being an aborted attempt at mixing pop and classical. Nights in White Satin being the album's awesome exception. But Lost Chord was the real deal. A great group album of astounding inventiveness and quality. Does anybody remember how, in the UK at least, Lost Chord was pushed as being THE album to hear in stereo and not mono? Journalists particularly singled out the track The Best Way to Travel as an example of a stereo experience (presumably because of the beeping which pans between speakers). This and the Beatles releasing the white album in a special stereo version began to make people feel that it really was time to buy a stereo set-up.
Just to be clear to anyone checking into the thread, they are welcome to comment on any album that has been posted already, regardless of how many albums have been posted beyond the album someone might want to comment on. It's never to late. I would just like folks to hold off commenting on future albums until they are posted in the thread.
Would like to note that the best version of "Voices in the Sky" is on the cd "Blue" Starts clean with two tap lead in on drums and the lead vocal is higher in the mix. Worth checking out.
Now so many years later, with the band reduced to a greatest hits live act and playing cruises , etc., it's easy for younger fans to be unaware how cool they seemed to be back in the original era. Back then before we knew Everything About Everything, pretty much all we had (in the US anyway) to go on regarding the Moody Blues were their records themselves. I don't recall ever seeing them on TV here until much later, if at all, and print media was pretty much non existent . So, besides listening to the records I'd look at the cover, look at their pictures and read the list of instruments they played, etc. At that point listening to their records and looking at their pictures and seeing them live they seemed as cool and hip as the Beatles were to me . Of course, I still love them all but at this point the original mystery and aura of all my 60's favorites , Paul McCartney, the Stones. The Moodies etc., has long since dissipated as they have settled into being like everyone's fave old uncles. Harmless instead of mysterious . Nobody stays ultra hip forever.
It says on Wikipedia that OTTOAD was also released in a Quad version (as well as stereo). Has anyone heard the Quad LP version? Scott
Actually there was a Moody Blues album-by-album thread but it was called an "appreciation thread" back then and it is long closed. In fact, I think the whole album-by-album trend started with this thread. Ed's Moody Blues Appreciation Thread...
It’s really, really easy nowadays. All you have to do is get the 2006 remaster, which includes the uncut original take as a bonus track...
It's a budget import compilation that came out years ago on the Pickwick label. Still can find at a good price bad worth it for the different mixes on several tracks
Not much to add here, but I love some of these posts that have tidbits about albums and songs that I never before. I feel like I am getting an education on a band I have been listening to for 27 years.
In looking back In Search... has to be one of the most underrated lps of the 60s.I think it is fantastic and very strong as a whole.
I think after the album 'Strange Times' didn't do so well in 1999 (probably largely due to just far too long a gap since 'Keys of The Kingdom' way back in 1991) they resigned themselves to becoming their own 'tribute band' Ray's retirement saw their distinctive vocal harmony sound largely dissipated - hence they have got in female singers to sound quite different in live shows now song wise they drew more and more on the 'core seven' which indicated the creativity had largely dried up over time too so now they are three elderly white haired men the wrong side of 70 made to look even older by having pretty young women around them ! thus it's hard now to grasp how important they once were - selling out Madison Square Gardens, the Royal Albert Hall etc they were right at the TOP as an albums band (who had singles hits as well) alongside latter sixties bands such as Led Zep, Pink Floyd, Yes, Deep Purple, Black Sabbath, Jethro Tull, and the older sixties groups Beatles, Stones, Who, Cream, etc - and the now perhaps lessser remembered artists such as Emerson, Lake & Palmer, King Crimson, etc who were also MASSIVE back in that era ! over 1969-1974 The Moodies were at the height of their career in terms of album and concert ticket selling popularity having served their sixties apprenticeship...and that was why they were SO welcomed back in 1978 sllicing through punk / new wave with 'Octave' then topping the USA chart with LDV in 1981 (even minus Mike) they have retained a loyal audience for concert shows since keeping them a healthy touring and cruises life without ever having to drop in billing status etc - largely in the USA plus some other countries too and with a following in their homeland ensuring some well attended UK concerts too critics never liked them partly due to their music NOT being easy to catergorise - not rock, heavy metal, blues, folk, etc...not really prog/rock either - and I suspect them choosing to be rather 'anonymous' as figures and going from a almost forgotten beat boom era R & B outfit to mega selling album artists very quickly in the eyes of music critics was seen as 'bypassing' the obligatory music press papal blessing - hence much of the critical bile they got in that 'Classic Artists' DVD one critic ventured all they did was 'play pop songs and pour mellotron over them' - something they actually NEVER did ! quite a number of songs DON'T actually feature mellotron/chamberlain - 'Lovely To See You', 'It's Up To You' etc - while others only use them on specific portions of songs (listen to 'Story in Your Eyes', 'You and Me', 'Dawning is The Day', 'Question', 'Land of Make Believe' etc) often the mellotron/chamberlain 'surges in'...then vanishes to reappear later in a song... so a fair bit of the criticism thrown at the Moodies was inaccurate and demonstrated a lack of proper knowledge of their music using spoken word poetry also made critics uncomfortable as it was an idiom not used a great deal in contemporary music and was largely outside their normal field, thus drew more derision as more than one critic felt out of their 'comfort zone' - thus a quick dismissal with 'pretentious' being the safe label to tag it with.... the band's 'choral' harmonies was another unusual feature not liked as it again strayed beyond the norm for most groups anyone seeing The Moodies live (technical difficulties of the mellotron not withstanding) would have been struck by how powering they sounded - surprisingly strong for a band often wrongly dismissed as 'lightweight' musak for the stoned...
Good grief. I've only just seen this thread. Love the Moodies. First heard 'In Search Of The Lost Chord' via an original, crisp sounding mono copy I picked up about 30 years ago. It's easily the most psychedelic of their records with some incredible instrumental work, particularily with the mellotron, on the centrepiece 'Legend Of A Mind'. Great, great album. The 2006 remaster has an extended 'Om' on it as well. Lush.
Great thread Glenn! Would never have come across some of these videos without it. I was certainly impressionable when these albums were being released and I thought The Moodies were beyond cool at the time. First time I opened the gatefold on Threshold Of A Dream with them in the park, I thought WOW...how cool are these guys and the pictures they painted with these songs, it was like reading an adventure book that sent me to another time. As for being hip, time has turned me into Pop Pop so I get the transition. Uncles/Grandparents... if were lucky we all get there someday. For me, Threshold ends up tied for 2nd with 5 other of their core 7.
Here is a snap of an odd duck pressing, Side one has all crossfades removed and set to two / three seconds of silence. ITB literally fades out, two seconds of silence, white noise fades in with guitar intro to LTSY. It's an odd listen for sure. Same for rest of side one. Matrix on Side One reads ZAL 8827---1B
Just more proof what bozos the vast majority of professional music critics are. I always loved how the harmonies often varied based on who the lead singer of a particular song was. It often seemed like Ray Thomas' voice was the most dominant in the regular harmonies (his voice being the most powerful and naturally deep), but, not to jump ahead to a song from an album not discussed yet, a song like I'm Just a Singer... is a good example of this. The verses and the "I'm just a singer in a rock and roll band" are the normal harmonies with them all singing at full power, but the sections just before the "I'm just a singer..." part (1st verse part listed below) are where John Lodge's voice is the most prominent in the harmonies (Lodge being the writer of the song). If you want this world of yours to turn about you You can see exactly what to do, don't tell me
