Because? I mean, you want the thread, don't you have anything to say on the subject beyond that you want the thread? Long Distance Voyager is generally held in pretty high regard; higher than Octave, actually. So I could see that there might be some interest in a "Moody Blues (Core Seven Only)" thread (it probably exists), moving the cutoff up to Octave like an individual preference that may not match up with too many other people's interest. While the sound of the band certainly changed when Patrick Moraz joined, I'd say it had already changed pretty significantly even before Mike Pinder left. Octave was a much less "cosmic", less portentous, less Mellotron/Chamberlin oriented, more commercial-pop-sounding record than even Seventh Sojourn, which had already seemed a bit less cosmic than its predecessors. The Moodies, like any hit-making band that wants to continue making hits, was changing to follow popular tastes, which by 1978 had already changed quite a bit from 1972. No wonder Mike Pinder wasn't happy in the group anymore.
It is interesting how the Moodies, like Yes and the Kinks, had a huge pop radio resurgence at the turn of the decade.
I agree, Octave was already shwoing the great era was over. But i still prefer it to LDV. At the time i Loved LDV, we were just thrilled at this comeback we didn’t even notice or care. But today that album does not resonate with me at all like those before it. And yes, i started this thread to chat about the Moodies without having to discuss it. And I didn’t say anything to start, just putting it out there see where it gets off to.
I have a fab bootleg of their show from Seattle in 79 and it makes me like the songs from Octave more.
Hey, what are doing over here? Stirring up trouble? You could even include the Dead. When they moved to Arista. Their music moved a little bit to the center.
A different edit of that concert was legitimately released on the Timeless Flight box set in 2013. (Removing "Tuesday Afternoon," "Isn't Life Strange," and "I'm Just a Singer..." and adding "I'm Your Man" and "I'll Be Level With You.")
IMO Octave's saving grace are the three astounding Hayward songs (Had to Fall in Love, Driftwood and The Day We Meet Again)... Probably some of the best they ever did, really. I am curious as to how some of the other Octave songs would sound like in a live setting. I'll Be Level With You and Top Rank Suite had a nice tempo but they were still a bit on the softer side... Then again I can't see the Moodies going full new-wave/punk rock or whatever. Lol. Different kind of group and that's okay. Big Pinder fan but really underwhelmed about his only contribution to Octave. Did he actually sing about playing a mellotron?!
Right, and they all did it by changing their sound to adapt to the times, but without totally throwing away their identity. It's not a huge leap from "The Story in Your Eyes" to "The Voice", and Moraz manages to throw in some sort of orchestral flourishes, but with an analog synth rather than a Mellotron, and the production is has that glossy early '80s quality. "Driftwood" in particular is quite nice. Not far removed from his songs on Blue Jays and Songwriter. I wonder, had Songwriter been a big hit, if he would have wanted to come back to the Moodies. He wasn't happy at that point. He had moved to California and started a family, and didn't really want to be in the group anymore. Accordingly, his contributions are fairly minimal and uninspired.
Yes, they never regained the magic of their golden era. After taking a few years off to enjoy their solo album ventures it was all over. Octave was an effort to regroup but the era had passed and the vibe was gone, and so was Pinder. As for their solo ventures i guess many hard core Moodies fans enjoyed these albums but only Blue Jays had the quality. I know Ray fans love his two albums, but they really are underwhelming, pleasant yes. Shame Pinder didn’t do a thing after he left. His one album is okay, but it too is underwhelming. And after that? Nothing. I heard an album of his called Under The Stars or something and it was awful!
They took time off to do solo and lost the magic. Then Pinder left and they went 80s pop. Successful but not magical.
Octave was the first Moodies album I bought on the release date from the record store, so it is special to me and I like it a lot. Went back and bought all the earlier albums. Most of the stuff after that is much less interesting to me, though ironically, the two albums that followed Octave are the best selling ones of their careers.
Yeah i want the whole show! They must be sitting on some decent live recordings from the early 70s. But the band don’t seem to care about any archival legacy like say, Pink Floyd do. I just checked my fave Floyd boot site and there is precious little from their golden era, but there is a 2CD set of Seattle.
The Octave songs and "The Balance" were pretty special live. But really, the greatest hits were pretty much played the same way on the next few tours-- Long as Moraz was the sole keyboardist and Edge the sole drummer, the arrangements were pretty static..
Similar to me. I became a fan just before LDV came out. Me and my pals were deep into the band, then LDV was released and we were thrilled! I saw that tour too. My first MB show. But years later only the core 7 resonate with me. Even the nostalgia factor and memory of the times around LDV isn’t enough for me to enjoy the album today like i can their previous stuff. I think in the minds of the the Js the band did everything right, they took a needed break and came back and got really successful. But for Ray, who was basically squeezed out creatively probably not so much. I think he and Graham felt lucky to be along for the ride after Mike left. I think the two Js likely thought so too. I read Ray’s wife’s utter disappointment from the two Js about how they wouldn’t allow any classic Moodies tracks on the career-spanning CD set they put together a while back. It appeared they just snubbed her. Her comments were on Ray’s fb page.
Regarding the 1979 Seattle show being edited to fit on one disc: The Timeless Flight set includes another concert (Inglewood Forum 1983) spread out over two discs, so clearly they weren't opposed to the idea. And it was a 17-disc box set, so one more disc wouldn't have tipped the scales past some hypothetical maximum price point. When the Moodies toured the 50th anniversary of Days of Future Passed, they had prerecorded video of Jeremy Irons reciting Graeme's poems that bookend the album. I wonder if they at least considered asking Mike to do the honors - if the poems were to be prerecorded, then there'd have been no need for him to endure the disruption of touring. And he seemed to be all smiles during the Hall of Fame induction ceremony, so if there's lingering bad blood it's nothing he couldn't hide for a few minutes.
There's a video on YouTube dated 2014 (though the original video may be older) in which Mike talks about an incident that occurred between him and Graeme Edge (he doesn't say when, but the implication seems to be that it was during the making of Octave). He says he was working out some ideas and Graeme kept interrupting him with suggestions, and Mike lost his temper and snapped something like, "Can you shut up, you're just the drummer!" It was unfair and he knew it (Graeme was never "just" the drummer), but it hurt Graeme badly, and as of the time of the video, they were still not on speaking terms. It's possible that lingering bad feelings on Graeme's part may have made him partial to hearing someone else recite his verses.
I like Octave too, it's a very mellow album (with the exception of Top Rank Suite and maybe one or two others). Sometimes when I play it one day I find myself wanting to play it again for several days in a row. It's not quite in the same ballpark as the classic Core 7 but it's still better than 95% of the LPs out there. The solo LPs had quite a few good songs. I concur that Blue Jays is the best of them, but I think Lodge's Natural Avenue is pretty solid from start to finish, and it has one of my '70s top 10 songs in Carry Me, just about the prettiest song of the decade from anyone. If nothing else, the title track from Pinder's The Promise is up among his best with the likes of Lost in a Lost World. Thomas's From Mighty Oaks was the pleasant surprise of the lot, with three standout tracks Hey Mama Life, Love is the Key and I Wish We Could Fly. At the other end of the spectrum was Hayward's Songwriter, none of whose songs really appealed much to me. I'm another Long Distance Voyager non-fan. The hit singles sound forced and sped-up, and would probably have come out much better in the old style heavy on mellotron, and slowed down a bit.
I may have to give Octave a re-listen. I've been stuck on the classic 7 ever since the mid-70's. I still regularly play them to this day. Never got tired of 'em....
You can always read my Moody Blues album by album thread and start where you want and stop reading when you want. The thread is still open for comments also. The Moody Blues album by album thread
The 12+ minute version of Legend of a Mind they did on the '78 and '81 tours was far away from what they'd do in later years. I remember a lady at work in '81 complaining the next day that they didn't play some of the songs like they were on the record.
While I understand your points and I prefer their classic style, the band was trying to stay contemporary and thus.. still have a career and make a living. And.. it worked for them because the album made #1 in the US.
