The Moody Blues
The Moody Blues sono un gruppo rock britannico.Pongono le loro radici nel rhythm and blues, per poi giungere al rock psichedelico e a quello progressivo, grazie al sound caratterizzato anche dall'uso del mellotron. Fu questo il loro marchio di fabbrica, nel periodo aureo, dal 1967 al 1974. Rispetto ad altri gruppi definiti progressivi, i Moody Blues prediligono però la forma "canzone", con melodie ad ampio respiro. Esempio calzante è il loro più grande successo, Nights in White Satin del 1967. A tutt'oggi è una delle rock band più longeve della storia, con oltre 50 anni di attività live e 70 milioni di dischi venduti.
Nel 2018 sono stati introdotti nella Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Storia
I Moody Blues hanno origine a Birmingham, Inghilterra, nei primi anni sessanta. A quel tempo Ray Thomas, John Lodge, e Michael Pinder erano membri del gruppo El Riot & the Rebels, una band molto popolare a livello regionale. Quando gli El Riot & the Rebels si sciolsero, John Lodge terminò gli studi presso un istituto tecnico e Michael Pinder si arruolò nell'esercito.Michael Pinder si riunì poi a Ray Thomas per formare il gruppo Krew Catse, con il quale i due ottennero un moderato successo. Il duo arruolò quindi il chitarrista Denny Laine, il batterista Graeme Edge e il bassista Clint Warwick, apparendo con il nome di The Moody Blues per la prima volta a Birmingham nel 1964. Si era di fatto formato, come affermò Thomas in seguito, una sorta di supergruppo locale.
Gli Inizi (1964-1966)
The Magnificent Moodies (1965)
Nel 1964 la band firma un contratto con la Decca Records e lancia il singolo Steal Your Heart Away, che però non ha grande successo. Il singolo Go Now, realizzato più tardi nello stesso anno, diviene invece un successo mondiale (UK numero 1, USA numero 10, OLA numero 8, SVE numero 17), superando il milione di copie vendute. Nel 1965 i Moody Blues pubblicano quindi il loro primo album dal titolo The Magnificent Moodies, disco in cui si riconosce uno certo stile Beatlesiano, con forti accenti R&B. Le canzoni sono per lo più cover, che spaziano da James Brown a George Gershwin. Il gruppo vive un momento di grande popolarità, esibendosi come gruppo spalla di artisti del calibro dei Kinks e dei Beatles. Ma i Moodies non riescono a bissare il successo di Go Now. I successivi singoli fanno timide apparizioni nelle classifiche inglesi e vengono del tutto ignorati negli States.Denny Laine e Mike Pinder diventano gli autori delle canzoni, e nonostante un cambiamento di stile (merita menzione il singolo di quel periodo Boulevard De La Madelaine, ispirato ad un quartiere a luci rosse, un pastiche di chitarre spagnole e fisarmoniche in stile francese), il gruppo sembra in parabola discendente, fino a ridursi a fare concerti in piccoli club. Nell'ottobre 1966 Clint Warwick e Denny Laine lasciano la band. Il primo, sostituito prima da Rodney Clark, poi da un ex componente degli El Riot & the Rebels, il bassista John Lodge. Il secondo, dal chitarrista Justin Hayward, precedentemente nel gruppo Wilde Three di Marty Wilde, e successivamente autore di due singoli a proprio nome, di scarso successo. Quest'ultimo era stato consigliato a Mike Pinder da Eric Burdon, leader degli Animals, che lo aveva scartato dopo un'audizione, non ritenendolo idoneo al sound della sua band.
La nuova formazione comprende presto che lo stile rhythm and blues non rende molto e decide quindi di svilupparne uno proprio, diverso, rappresentato dai suoni sinfonici del mellotron di Mike Pinder, dal flauto di Ray Thomas, e dal caratteristico impasto vocale dei 4 cantanti. Tutto questo si concretizza nei 2 singoli della primavera del 1967: la psichedelica Fly me high di Hayward, e la ballata Love and Beauty di Pinder, ma soprattutto in quello che da molti è considerato il primo vero album dei Moody Blues: Days of Future Passed (1967), un concept album basato sull'argomento un giorno nella vita dell'uomo qualunque, dall'alba alla notte. La formula vincente, e unica nella musica rock, fino ad allora, è che ogni membro del gruppo è autore e interprete delle proprie canzoni. Questo fattore determina una varietà di stili differenti all'interno di ogni album, e un genere musicale di difficile definizione.
Progressive Rock (1967-1972)
Days of Future Passed (1967)
Nel 1967 la Deram Records (un'etichetta discografica sperimentale del gruppo London/Decca) commissiona al gruppo una versione rock della Sinfonia n.9 Dal nuovo mondo di Antonín Dvořák. I Moody Blues inizialmente siglano l'accordo, ma poi insistono affinché abbiano libertà artistica, senza nessuna supervisione. Nasce così nell'autunno del 1967, Days of Future Passed, album composto da canzoni dei Moody Blues, da interludi orchestrali della London Festival Orchestra, arrangiati e condotti dal direttore Peter Knight, e da brevi poesie narrate. Questi ultimi saranno un altro marchio di fabbrica che li renderà unici nel panorama rock. Terminato il disco, i dirigenti della Deram Records sono inizialmente scettici circa il successo commerciale del concept album, e del singolo Nights In White Satin, considerato troppo lento per le classifiche (come ricorderà Hayward qualche anno più tardi). Ma dovranno ricredersi. L'album diventa uno dei maggiori successi commerciali di tutti i tempi, sostando 103 settimane consecutive nelle classifiche americane. Days of Future Passed (numero 27 UK, numero 3 USA), e i suoi due singoli, Nights in White Satin (UK numero 19, OLA numero 1, BEL numero 6, GER numero 18, FRA numero 1) e Tuesday Afternoon (USA numero 24), entrambe di Hayward, spopolano in tutto il mondo. Alcuni indicano l'uscita di Days of Future Passed come la data di nascita del progressive rock (anche se sono ancora evidenti influenze del tardo beat). Altri, come il primo concept album della storia, seppure in modo un po' generico. Il singolo Nights in White Satin diventerà il loro brano più rappresentativo, entrando in classica dal 1968 al 1979 nella top 20 in tre diverse occasioni. Tradotto in italiano col titolo di Ho difeso il mio amore, viene inciso nel 1968 dai Nomadi e da I Profeti, con discreto successo.In Search of the Lost Chord (1968)
Il successo rimane immutato anche per il disco successivo dal titolo In Search of the Lost Chord del 1968 (UK numero 5, USA numero 23). Parafrasando nel titolo il romanzo di Proust, in questo album i Moodies rinunciano all'orchestra sinfonica, e si avvalgono sempre più del lavoro del produttore Tony Clarke (soprannominato il sesto " Moody ") e dell'ingegnere del suono Derek Varnals. Fa il suo esordio come illustratore di copertine Philip Travels (che collaborerà agli altri 5 album della band fino al primo scioglimento). In Search Of the Lost Chord risente delle atmosfere hippy tipiche del 1968, nell'uso di strumenti come tabla e sitar (Om di Pinder, Visions Of Paradise di Hayward - Thomas), negli effetti di "pan - pot" dei canali della stereofonia (Best Way To Travel di Pinder), e nei giochi psichedelici del mellotron e del flauto che echeggiano un po' ovunque. Tra i brani più rappresentativi, Legend Of A Mind del flautista Thomas (tributo a T. Leary), che suoneranno dal vivo per quasi 35 anni e la mini-suite House Of 4 Doors, di Lodge. A questi si aggiungono i singoli di successo Ride my See-Saw di Lodge (UK numero 42, USA numero 63, OLA numero 16, FRA numero 15), ancora oggi brano di chiusura dei concerti, che tra l'altro ha la particolarità di essere la prima canzone ad essere incisa usando una tecnologia di registrazione su otto piste, e Voices in the Sky di Hayward (UK numero 23). L'album fu accolto molto bene dalla critica e divenne disco d'oro. Dopo la pubblicazione, i Moody Blues partono per la prima tournée americana.On the Threshold of a Dream (1969)
La musica dei Moody Blues progredisce in maniera sempre più complessa e sinfonica. Questo album venne considerato un punto di riferimento per gruppi come Genesis e King Crimson, che evolveranno negli anni a venire il concetto di musica progressiva. La parte trainante del disco è la suite finale composta da un poema e da 4 brani, molto innovativa per l'epoca. Il tema ricorrente del disco è incentrato sull'"esplorazione dei sogni". La confezione molto curata, completa di libretto interno, creò non poche tensioni con la Deram per problemi di budget. Problemi superati con il piazzamento in classifica (UK numero 1, USA numero 20), e conseguente disco d'oro. I Moodies diventano un nuovo fenomeno anche in America. Nella sola zona di Hollywood il disco in pochi giorni vende 30.000 copie. Oltre a Have You Heard - The Voyage (suite finale scritta da Pinder), i punti salienti del disco sono il pop psichedelico di Lovely to see You di Hayward (ancora oggi, brano di apertura dei concerti) e la caustica Dear Diary di Thomas. Il singolo Never Comes The Day (UK numero 91), sempre del chitarrista Hayward, era una ballata di stampo folk e fu il primo flop nelle classifiche a 45 giri. Lodge dichiarò nel 1991 che I Moody Blues dopo questo disco ebbero la sensazione di aver creato qualcosa di veramente nuovo. Cosa dimostrata dalle vendite e dalle recensioni dell'epoca.To Our Children's Children's Children (1969)
Stabilitisi in pianta stabile a Cobham, nel Surrey, i Moodies pubblicano To Our Children's Children's Children a 7 mesi di distanza dal precedente album. Viene sancita la nascita della nuova etichetta discografica di loro proprietà, la " Threshold " (nome ispirato dal titolo del loro disco precedente), che consente al gruppo, da ora in avanti, di avere il totale controllo sul proprio lavoro e di produrre altri artisti (la leggenda dice che Hayward ed Edge fecero un'audizione ai neonati King Crimson, decidedo poi di non scritturarli. Il primo gruppo a incidere realmente su Threshold, fu The Trapeze di Glenn Hughes (futuro Deep Purple), che pubblicò ben 4 album per l'etichetta (di cui i primi 2 prodotti da Lodge). To Our Children's Children's Children è un album di matrice folk, che abbandona a sorpresa il filone progressive, per rituffarsi in una tarda - psichedelia (lontana però dalle atmosfere Flower-Power di In Search Of The Last Chord). Diventa disco d'oro in poche settimane (UK numero 2, USA numero 14), ma nonostante la fluidità nell'ascolto, è considerato un disco di transizione, che secondo la critica inglese non aggiunge nulla di nuovo da un punto di vista musicale. È un concept album basato sulle celebrazioni del primo sbarco dell'uomo sulla luna. Spiccano le ballate del bassista Lodge (Eyes of the Child e Candle of Life), Gypsy, rock evocativo scritto da Hayward, e una diffusa sensazione di solitudine cosmica (Eternity Road di Thomas, Beyond di Edge, Out and In di Pinder). Unico singolo estratto, la meditativa Watching and Waiting di Hayward - Thomas, che falli' l'ingresso nelle classifiche inglesi e americane. Il fatto causò talmente sfiducia nello stesso Hayward, da fargli dichiarare qualche anno più tardi, che pensava non sarebbe più stato in grado di replicare il successo di Nights in White Satin. Ma i fatti avrebbero dimostrato il contrario.A Question of Balance (1970)
Dopo la pubblicazione di To Our Children's, il gruppo trova qualche difficoltà nell'eseguire dal vivo i brani dell'album, e così decide per il successivo LP di comporre canzoni più semplici da eseguire in concerto.Nell'incisione di A Question Of Balance vengono limitati al minimo gli effetti altisonanti, a favore di un suono più immediato, di matrice folk-rock, supportato sempre dal flauto di Thomas e dal mellotron di Pinder. Il disco nasce da un ritiro di tre settimane nelle campagne del Surrey e fu grande successo di vendite (UK numero 1, USA numero 3), divenendo a breve disco di platino. È anche l'album dei Moodies più venduto in Italia, arrivando terzo nelle classifiche della hit parade.
Indicativo anche del crescente successo della band in America, il singolo estratto, Question di Hayward, sfata il tabù del mancato hit a 45 giri, sfiorando il primo posto in Inghilterra (UK numero 2, USA numero 21, GER numero 9, BEL numero 9, OLA numero 1), occupato dall'inno della nazionale di calcio inglese campione del mondo, cantato dagli stessi giocatori.
Sulla scia del successo, viene pubblicato in Europa, in Sud America e in Medio Oriente un secondo singolo di successo, Melancholy Man, di Pinder, che ottenne risultati lusinghieri (FRA numero 1). Entrambi i brani divennero dei classici nelle scalette dei concerti. Question in particolare, viene eseguita ininterrottamente da più di 40 anni. Entrambe vennero tradotte in italiano e registrate da complessi nostrani. Melancholy Man divenne Un uomo qualunque nella versione dei Camaleonti, Question invece fu tradotta in Milioni di domande, in una versione meno riuscita dal gruppo La Verde stagione.
Da Question Of Balance emergono inoltre le ballate Dawning Is The Day di Hayward, And The Tide Rushes In di Thomas, e la potente Tortoise And the Hare di Lodge, che nei cori e nei falsetti ricorda da vicino la celebre Ride My See-Saw. La critica inglese è divisa, quella americana, invece sembra spalancare le porte del mercato al gruppo di Birmingham.
In concomitanza con la pubblicazione dell'album, i Moody Blues si esibiscono al festival dell'isola di Wight davanti ad una folla di 600 000 persone, toccando così il loro apice in patria. Durante lo svolgimento del tour, Edge dichiara che è in preparazione un album di musica elettronica in coppia con Pinder. Voci non confermate girano a proposito di un album a 4 mani di Thomas e Hayward, in stile folk. Entrambi i progetti, non vedranno mai luce. Nel dicembre dello stesso anno fu fissata a Torino l'unica data italiana del gruppo, poi annullata per una tonsillite che colpì il tastierista Pinder.
Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (1971)
Nel loro successivo album, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (1971), il gruppo sta attraversando una crisi interna e a dispetto di un successo americano di grandi proporzioni, parte della stampa inglese è diventata ormai ostile. L'accusa è quella di produrre dischi in modo impeccabile, seguendo però un cliché troppo consolidato. I testi vengono tacciati di autoindulgenza, e di una ingenua filosofia. È il 1971, e la scena rock inglese sta cambiando rapidamente con la nascita del movimento Glam. In questo contesto, I Moodies decidono di cambiare studio di registrazione, e di modificare leggermente il suono, mettendo in minoranza il mellotron, privilegiando il synth, il piano e l'organo hammond. Edge sperimenta (tra i primissimi nella scena rock) il suo set di batterie elettroniche. L'album (le cui iniziali EGBDF, non sono altro che l'accordo di mi minore 7/9 dim, in lingua inglese), risulta uno dei più cupi, ma anche dei più amati del catalogo Moody Blues. Disco di platino (UK numero 1, USA numero 2), rimane in classifica inglese per 21 settimane, in quella americana per 43. Arriva anche nella top - ten italiana, riscontrando buone vendite. Produce un hit mondiale con The Story In Your eyes di Hayward (USA numero 23, BEL numero 30, OLA numero 11), divenuto anch'esso un classico nel repertorio live della band fino ai nostri giorni. L'album parte con Procession, firmata dal gruppo al completo (una introduzione dalle atmosfere più disparate: dai suoni tribali, ad accenni barocchi di clavicembalo, passando per atmosfere bucoliche, giungendo alla Toccata e Fuga di Bach) e si conclude con My Song di Pinder, una breve suite di stampo progressivo, che ricalca la parte finale di On The Threshold... con il mellotron in bella evidenza. Ma è il canto del cigno di un progressive che di lì a poco verrà abbandonato dal gruppo. Altro pezzo cardine dell'album è One More Time To Live di Lodge, una ballata sul tema dell'evoluzione, che riprende il tema musicale di Procession. Every Good Boy Deserves Favour è il primo album dei Moodies a non contenere poesie narrate, ed ha una copertina, tra le migliori della loro discografia. Il gruppo parte per una nuova tournée negli States, in Arene da 10.000 posti in su. Sul finire dell'anno, Pinder collabora con gli Asgaerd, gruppo progressive scritturato dalla Threshold, producendo un brano dell'omonimo primo e unico album, che avrà scarsi riscontri di vendita.Seventh Sojourn (1972)
Seventh Sojourn (1972) è l'ultimo lavoro del periodo d'oro, l'ultimo album della serie Classic Seven, come viene definita dai fan americani. Il disco esce alla fine del 1972 e viene posticipato di 6 mesi, perché le vendite del lavoro precedente non accennano a diminuire. Rientra in classifica anche Days Of Future Passed, e arriva a toccare il secondo posto a 5 anni dalla sua uscita. Il gruppo, nonostante il successo planetario, sembra non uscire dalla crisi profonda. Come racconterà Hayward 30 anni dopo: "Più cresceva la fama , più il gruppo si sentiva piccolo. Così piccolo, da decidere di registrare il nuovo album nel garage di Mike Pinder!" Lo stesso Pinder mette in disparte il mellotron a favore di una tastiera dal nome Chamberlain, qualitativamente superiore. Otto mesi prima dell'uscita dell'album, viene pubblicato il singolo di successo Isn' t Life strange di Lodge (UK numero 13, USA numero 29). Giudicato troppo commerciale, viene stroncato dalla critica inglese. Al momento dell'uscita di Seventh Sojourn, i Moody Blues sono di nuovo in tournée negli States. L'album esce a dicembre (UK numero 5, USA numero 1), e dà al gruppo il primo numero uno americano. Se il disco da una parte segna una crescita naturale nell'evoluzione del gruppo, dall'altra si discosta sempre più da quelle atmosfere che avevano reso celebri i Moodies degli albori. Risultava quindi più fruibile al grande pubblico, ammiccando al pop con ballate melodiche e con brani rock dal gusto radiofonico. Il secondo singolo estratto fu I'M Just A Singer (in a R&R band) sempre di Lodge (UK numero 36, USA numero 12, BEL numero 16, OLA numero 4), a tutt'oggi pezzo di punta nelle esibizioni live. Altri brani dell'album che meritano menzione sono le ballate New Horizons e Land of Make - Believe di Hayward, e la sofferta When You're a Free Man di Pinder. Il tour promozionale del disco batté nuovi record, come quello della vendita dei biglietti al Madison Square Garden di New York, in un solo giorno. L'accoglienza di critica e pubblico fu trionfale. Dennis Hunt, dalle colonne del Los Angeles Time definirà le loro canzoni "Rapsodie enigmatiche altamente ritmiche" e la loro musica "misteriosa e spaziale, che crea un'atmosfera di nervosismo e di desolazione pur con rispetto della melodia, perché le loro canzoni sono tra le più melodiche di tutto il rock". Le date andranno avanti fino al 4 febbraio del 1974, ultimo concerto con Pinder in formazione. Nel frattempo il gruppo era rientrato in sala per il disco successivo, ma decise di interrompere le registrazioni dopo un solo brano (l'evocativa Island, che vide luce 30 anni più tardi in una riedizione in cd). Era tempo di una pausa. Si era giunti al 1973 e altri gruppi stavano emergendo. "The Dark Side Of The Moon" era alle porte, per un simbolico passaggio di consegne.Pausa di riflessione (1973-1977)
Il tour si rivela massacrante, come dichiarerà il batterista Edge in più occasioni. Testimonianza di questo periodo sono le numerose registrazioni dei concerti, dove il gruppo appare spesso sottotono. I membri si guardano intorno per cercare nuovi stimoli, ma non viene annunciato nessuno scioglimento ufficiale. Nel 1974 il chitarrista Hayward, riceve in premio un prestigioso Ivor Novello, per la categoria "cantautori". Come ricorderà lo stesso Hayward, era in cantiere un album a 4 mani con Pinder, ma tutto si risolse con un nulla di fatto per via delle distanze (Hayward viveva in Inghilterra, Pinder si era trasferito in America).Il chitarrista si ritrovò con una manciata di nuove composizioni, e insieme al bassista Lodge, diede vita al progetto "Blue Jays", dapprima titolo dell'album, successivamente nome del duo. Edge incontrò Adrian e Paul Gurvitz (già membri fondatori del trio Gun, Three Man Army, e insieme all'ex - Cream, Ginger Baker, dei Baker - Gurvitz Army) e con loro formò la Graeme Edge Band. Il flautista Thomas creò invece un team di lavoro col cantautore Nicky James, (già scritturato per l'etichetta Threshold che ne pubblicò 2 album, e artista - spalla durante il tour di Seventh Sojourn). Pinder, acquistato un ranch a Malibu, in California, lavorò all'album del cantautore Stephen Freelight, e registrò canzoni per il suo album solista.
Alla fine dell'anno, la Decca immette sul mercato un doppio antologico, dal titolo This Is The Moody Blues (numero 14 UK, numero 11 USA), che raccoglieva il meglio dei 7 album pubblicati.
Caught Live + 5 (1977)
Nel 1977 viene pubblicato postumo il primo album dal vivo della band, dal titolo Caught Live + 5, contenente un concerto tratto dal tour di To Our Children's Children's Children, registrato nel 1969 alla Royal Albert Hall di Londra. La registrazione, sebbene non approvata per la pubblicazione dai membri del gruppo, ritrae la band nel suo momento migliore, col suono del mellotron in grande evidenza. Di ottima qualità sonora considerando l'epoca, il live non viene pubblicato integralmente, durando complessivamente meno di 60 minuti e fa spazio a cinque inediti di studio, tratti dalle session dei primi 3 album. Brillano tra questi, per intensità, King And Queen e What Am I Doing Here, che mettono in risalto il talento compositivo di Hayward. Tra le tracce live spiccano la suite finale di On The Threshold Of A Dream, più spoglia e più aggressiva dell'originale, e il primo brano Gypsy, dove nell'intro, la chitarra distorta sostituisce quella acustica. La pubblicazione dell'album fu una mossa della London / Decca per rimettere in circolazione il nome Moody Blues in attesa del rientro programmato per il 1978. Ottimo il responso del pubblico (USA numero 37).Ritorno al successo (1978-1990)
Octave (1978)
Octave è l'album del ritorno. Un disco controverso, uscito dopo diverse sedute di incisione alquanto tempestose, fatte di ripensamenti, catastrofi e abbandoni. I 4/5 del gruppo, insieme a Clarke, partono per la California per raggiungere Pinder, stabilitovisi definitivamente. Dopo un breve periodo di prove, i Moodies, registrano al Record Plant, che verrà abbandonato, in seguito ad un incendio, a favore degli Indigo Studios di Pinder. Poco dopo, lo stesso Pinder lascia le registrazioni per problemi personali, seguito a ruota dal produttore Clarke, nel mezzo di una crisi coniugale. Hayward, Lodge, Edge e Thomas si ritrovano a completare l'album da soli, incidendo loro stessi le parti di tastiera lasciate in sospeso da Pinder. Nonostante tutto, l'album esce nel giugno 1978, e risulta un successo mondiale (UK numero 6, USA numero 13), diventando multi - platino, a dispetto della scena musicale radicalmente trasformata dal "Punk" e dalla "Discomusic". I due singoli estratti, Steppin In A Slide Zone (numero 39 USA) di Lodge, e Driftwood (USA numero 56) di Hayward, risulteranno tra i pezzi migliori, divenendo degli evergreen in concerto. Risaltano anche la suggestiva I'm Your Man di Thomas, e le ballate Had To Fall In Love (OLA numero 18, BEL numero 24) e The Day We Meet Again, entrambe di Hayward. Il disco non ottenne grandi consensi di critica, soprattutto in Inghilterra, dove ormai da tempo i Moodies ne avevano perso i favori. La cupezza derivata dalla tensione interna, ne fa un album sofferto, apprezzato da una parte dei fans, ma ritenuto deludente dall'altra, se si considera l'aspettativa dopo i 6 anni di pausa, e il paragone col precedente Seventh Sojourn. In particolare, i brani, sembrano uscire dal repertorio solista dei singoli componenti e assemblati insieme per l'occasione, più che risultare un lavoro d'insieme. Anche gli arrangiamenti risentono della superproduzione: quel sottile senso della misura, prerogativa dei primi album, lascia il posto ad un affollamento di tastiere e chitarre, come ad esempio su I'll Be Level With You di Edge, o sulla già citata The Day We Meet Again (nonostante ci sia un'evoluzione del loro suono con l'uso del Synth polifonico, in sostituzione del Mellotron). Subito dopo l'uscita dell'album, Pinder rinuncia al tour mondiale, e sancisce di fatto la sua separazione dalla band dopo 14 anni, venendo rimpiazzato dall'ex tastierista degli Yes, lo svizzero Patrick Moraz, per la tournée 1978-1979, che avrà un enorme successo. Alla fine del 1979 esce Out Of This World, una nuova compilation che comprende materiale dal 1967 al 1978. Dello stesso anno è il singolo di Hayward Marie (brano registrato 7 anni prima e finito in un cassetto), che verrà quasi completamente ignorato dal pubblico.Long Distance Voyager (1981)
Gli anni ottanta si aprono quindi all'insegna della novità e del successo. Nonostante lo scetticismo sulla tenuta della band, espresso dallo stesso Hayward qualche anno più tardi, i 4 Moodies si ritrovano in studio all'inizio del 1980, con il tastierista Moraz, ormai membro ufficiale del gruppo. La prima novità è il cambio di produttore: l'album viene affidato a Pip Williams, che sostituisce così Tony Clarke dopo 15 anni. I motivi del travolgente successo di LDV, sono da ricercare in una concomitanza di eventi. La qualità delle canzoni innanzi tutto. Il gruppo propone in una veste aggiornata lo stile che lo rese celebre, a partire dalla notevole copertina del disco. Al contrario di Octave, l'album risulta deciso e limpido negli arrangiamenti e nella produzione, e ripropone in veste anni ottanta, la sintesi delle atmosfere tipiche dei Moody Blues. Suoni maestosi, batteria potente, e vocalizzi che toccano livelli mai raggiunti prima. Trainato da 2 grandi hits, The Voice (USA numero 15) di Hayward e Gemini Dream (USA numero 12), scritta da quest'ultimo a 4 mani con Lodge (entrambi dischi d'oro, risulteranno i più venduti dai tempi di Nights In White Satin), l'album esce nel luglio 1981, e dopo poche settimane raggiunge la vetta in America (USA numero 1), dove rimane per 5 settimane consecutive diventando subito disco di platino. Riconquistando il successo di pubblico a livello planetario, LDV vende soprattutto in Europa (UK numero 7), e risulterà il più grande successo del gruppo insieme a Seventh Sojourn. Molto ispirate le ballate di Hayward, In My World e Meanwhile, così come Talking Out Of Turn (USA numero 65) di Lodge, introdotta da un abile gioco di sequencer di Moraz, e la misteriosa 22.000 Days di Edge. Ma il momento culminante dell'album rimane la suite finale di Thomas, con tanto di poema narrato (l'ultimo esempio fu The Balance nel 1970), che si conclude con Veteran Cosmic Rocker, un R&B dove armonica a bocca, flauto in stile indiano, e un synth spaziale di Moraz, danno vita ad uno dei migliori momenti musicali della band. La canzone diviene manifesto del gruppo, vista la non più giovane età dei membri, ormai intorno ai 40. Parte la tournée in America, in arene che toccano i 30.000 posti, sold out in Inghilterra e nel resto d'Europa, a coronamento di un anno solare eccezionale. Qualche mese più tardi, esce un singolo di Hayward in duetto con Marty Webb, dal titolo Unexpected Song, che sarà un buon successo in patria.The Present (1983)
La popolarità di Hayward & co. cala, però con l'album successivo, dal titolo The Present (UK numero 15, USA numero 26), uscito nell'autunno del 1983. Album di transizione, ricalca da vicino la formula del precedente, compresa la produzione di Pip Williams. Nonostante la buona qualità della prima parte del disco, The Present cala alla distanza e non riesce così a raccogliere ampi consensi. Le leggendarie orchestrazioni del gruppo lasciano il posto all'elettronica, che invade in modo crescente anche le ritmiche di basso e batteria in gran parte dei brani. Motivo questo, di divisione tra il trio Hayward / Lodge / Moraz (a favore di arrangiamenti più al passo coi tempi) e il duo membro fondatore Edge / Thomas (più fedeli alle sonorità tipiche del gruppo). L'album è uno spartiacque tra le melodie ad ampio respiro e la svolta Synth - Pop anni ottanta. La scelta dividerà i fans, creando però nuovi proseliti, che permetteranno alla band di sopravvivere fino ai giorni nostri. Il disco presenta tre hit che godono di un moderato successo: l'intensa Blue World di Hayward (UK numero 35, USA numero 62, GER numero 50), il R&R elettronico Sitting at the Weel di Lodge (USA numero 27) e la ballad Running Water, firmata anch'essa da Hayward. Meritano inoltre menzione i brani Going Nowhere di Edge, affidato alla voce di Thomas e guidato magistralmente dal synth di Moraz, e la mini - suite finale I Am - Sorry, firmata dallo stesso Thomas. Sarà l'ultimo vero contributo del flautista ad un album dei Moody Blues. Sebbene rimarrà membro del gruppo per altri 20 anni, diraderà sempre più le sue apparizioni in sala di incisione. Dopo l'uscita del disco, il gruppo parte per l'ennesimo tour mondiale, riscuotendo il solito successo di pubblico.The Other Side of Life (1986)
Trascorsi tre anni, i Moody Blues si ripresentano con un'immagine molto rinnovata. Lo stile musicale cambia radicalmente, tanto da farli risultare irriconoscibili ai più. L'impressione è che il gruppo punti molto al pubblico americano, che li vuole scattanti e giovanili, più al passo coi tempi. In questo nuovo contesto, c'è un cambio di produzione, con Pip Williams sostituito dall'americano Tony Visconti (già produttore negli anni settanta dei T. Rex e di David Bowie, tra gli altri e dell'album Movin' Mountains di Hayward, pubblicato l'anno precedente). Ray Thomas risulta molto defilato (praticamente inesistente il suo apporto all'album, dove per la prima volta dal 1967 non firma alcun brano). Ma è il cambio di sound a stupire. Scompaiono il flauto dello stesso di Thomas, molte delle chitarre di Hayward, il basso di Lodge e quasi completamente la batteria di Edge, a favore di sequencers, batterie elettroniche, e suoni sintetizzati. Il pubblico sembra premiare questa scelta decretando all'album un notevole successo di vendite (UK numero 24, Usa numero 9), portandolo fino al disco di platino. I due singoli di Hayward The Other Side Of Life (USA numero 58) e Your Wildest Dreams (USA numero 9, Ger numero 4), sono delle hit di successo, con quest'ultima che guadagna il premio MTV come miglior videoclip del 1986, risultando il singolo più venduto della band dai tempi di Nights in white satin. Sembra un nuovo anno di grazia: Lodge afferma che con TOSOL è nata la terza generazione di fan dei Moody Blues. Oltre ai brani citati, meritano menzione It May Be A Fire di Lodge e il brano The Spirit, scritto a quattro mani da Edge e Moraz. In generale, la grande quantità di tastiere rende il disco molto legato al periodo Synth - pop '80, periodo che qualche anno dopo verrà molto ridimensionato da Hayward e addirittura sconfessato da Edge in una intervista del 1999. Parte una nuova tournée fino alla primavera 1987, con date sold out in USA e in Inghilterra. Qualche mese dopo esce l'interessante singolo It Won't Be Easy di Hayward in collaborazione con Visconti, che avrà buon riscontro in patria.Sur la mer (1988)
Il successo viene confermato anche dal successivo disco, Sur la mer del 1988 (UK numero 21, USA numero 38), che viene concepito sulla falsariga del precedente. Thomas ed Edge finiscono sempre più ai margini del progetto, Visconti figura accreditato come membro del gruppo alla produzione e alla programmazione del computer. La cosa creò non pochi problemi a Moraz, determinando un certo distacco dal resto della band, che si concretizzò 3 anni più tardi con la fuoriuscita del musicista svizzero dopo 13 anni. Il singolo estratto I Know You're Out There Somewhere di Hayward (UK numero 52, USA numero 30, GER numero 29), seguito ideale di Your Wildest Dreams, ottenne un buon successo di classifica, e fu definita dallo stesso Hayward, la migliore canzone da lui scritta per i Moodies. Col suo andamento easy listening, e una melodia molto evocativa, divenne da quel momento un cavallo di battaglia nei concerti, e fu insieme a Night in White Satin l'unico brano ad essere inciso in lingua spagnola. Sullo stesso genere, viene pubblicato anche il successivo singolo No More Lies di Hayward, che però non entra in classifica. Il resto dell'album viaggia su un binario commerciale - elettronico, nonostante questo filone volgesse ormai al termine. Meritano un discorso a parte la pinkfloydiana Braking Point di Lodge e Hayward e il brano di chiusura, l'epica Deep, scritta dallo stesso Hayward, che anche grazie al lungo assolo di chitarra (sulla falsariga di Blue Guitar), ritorna alle atmosfere progressive degli anni settanta. Entrambi i brani, con arrangiamenti meno elettronici, avrebbero forse ottenuto migliore fortuna. L'anno successivo esce Greatest Hits, compilation di discreto successo, che comprende solo brani di Hayward e Lodge, tra cui le nuove versioni dei 2 classici Question e Isn't Life Strange, accompagnate da un'orchestra sinfonica. I Moody Blues fine anni ottanta di fatto sono ridotti ad un duo. Ovvero, ai Blue Jays.Verso il Nuovo Millennio (1991-1999)
Keys of the Kingdom (1991)
A tre anni dall'ultimo album, esce Keys of the Kingdom, disco controverso che riscuote poco successo. Quello che la stampa critica al gruppo è una svolta verso un genere ibrido, a metà tra rock ed elettronica, lontano da quel suono che caratterizzò il loro passato glorioso. L'album è segnato dall'abbandono di Patrick Moraz, che viene accreditato in sole 3 canzoni (seguiranno dispute legali tra lui e il resto band, per i diritti di appartenenza come membro del gruppo; dopo anni egli riuscì ad ottenere la vittoria a scapito degli altri). Ridotti a quartetto, Keys of the Kingdom vede la produzione di Visconti in soli 5 brani e per il resto, la presenza di Alan Tarney e Christopher Neil. I musicisti sembrano un po' avanti con gli anni per inseguire l'immagine costruita in America per la generazione di MTV, e tuttavia sembrano deludere critica e fan storici, con albums pop, proprio di stampo giovanile. Il singolo scelto è Say It With Love (di Hayward), un incalzante rock, in linea con la filosofia Peace and Love delle note di copertina. Non riscuotendo gran successo di vendite, il gruppo pubblica un secondo estratto, la melodica Bless The Wings, (anch' esso scritto da Hayward), ma il risultato sembra marcare il declino a livello di popolarità e di vendite, cosa confermata dall'album, che ottiene a malapena la Top 100 americana per 5 settimane (USA numero 94, UK numero 46), nonché piazzamenti bassi in Europa e nel Resto del Mondo. Ma il disco rivela anche qualche curiosità': prima fra tutte il ritorno alla composizione e al canto dopo 8 anni, del flautista Thomas, che oltre a firmare la ballata in stile irlandese Celtic Sonant (con tanto di strofe narrate), firma a 4 mani con Hayward il brano di chiusura Never Blame The Rainbow For The Rain, con un testo metaforico e di sicuro effetto. Degni di menzione sono inoltre Hope And Pray di Hayward, (da lui definito come seguito e chiusura ideale di Your Wildest Dreams e I Know You're Out There Somewhere), e Lean On Me di Lodge, brano melodico a forti tinte ritmiche, eseguito per molti anni durante i concerti. Dal cd-single di Say It With Love, emerge Highway (scritta da Hayward e Lodge), vera perla di queste sessions di registrazione. Con uno stile a metà tra il folk e il progressive, non avrebbe sfigurato nei Classic 7, e proprio per questo appare quantomeno azzardata la sua esclusione dall'album (negli anni a venire, infatti, sarà inserita in varie raccolte). Da registrare infine la presenza di un altro batterista, il noto session-man Andy Duncan, che sostituisce Edge su 2 brani. Keys of the Kingdom è l'ultimo album in studio dei Moody Blues ad essere stampato in formato vinile. Intervistato a proposito dell'album, Visconti racconta di aver proposto alla band di coinvolgere Mike Pinder su un paio di brani, per provare a dare smalto al disco. Al di là della reazione molto fredda e del conseguente rifiuto del gruppo, colpisce l'idea di Visconti che evidentemente avvertiva un'aria un po' stantia. Ennesimo nuovo tour di sold-out negli Stati Uniti, con l'aggiunta di tappe europee al festival Jazz di Montreaux, Germania, Francia, Paesi Bassi, Inghilterra, durante tutto il 1991. Dal vivo, Paul Bliss sostituirà Moraz alle tastiere, ed Edge si farà affiancare alla batteria da Gordon Marshall, che rimarrà fino al 2013. Poco prima della pubblicazione dell'album, esce in formato VHS Legend of a Band, che racconta per la prima volta la storia della band, attraverso interviste agli stessi membri. Un anno dopo esce in una compilation natalizia il brano What child is this?, con l'accompagnamento di un'orchestra sinfonica.A Night at Red Rocks with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra (1993)
Nonostante lo scarso successo commerciale di Keys of the Kingdom, viene organizzato un grande tour, di cui resta celebre il concerto tenuto alle Red Rocks in Colorado, accompagnati dalla Colorado Symphony Orchestra. Questo show, tenutosi il 9 settembre 1992, è stato immortalato in un album/video dal titolo A Night at Red Rocks with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra (1993).Strange Times (1999)
Nel 1999, dopo ben otto anni dal lavoro precedente, viene pubblicato Strange Times. Questo disco, che presenta l'italiano Danilo Madonia alle tastiere, non genera molto interesse, se non nei fan più estremi. È l'ultimo album in studio che vede la partecipazione del membro fondatore Ray Thomas.Negli anni duemila (2000-2016)
Hall of Fame (2000)
Tratto dal tour di Strange Times, nel 2000 viene pubblicato il CD/DVD Hall of Fame, concerto tenuto alla Royal Albert Hall di Londra, il 1º maggio del 2000, accompagnati dalla World Festival Orchestra, condotta da Larry Baird.Journey into Amazing Caves (2001)
Nel 2001 esce Journey into Amazing Caves, Original Sound Track del film documentario omonimo Journey into Amazing Caves, diretto da Stephen Judson. La colonna sonora del film è composta da canzoni basate sulle musiche dei Moody Blues. Justin Hayward e Danilo Madonia sono tra i vari musicisti presenti nel disco.December (2003)
Gli anni duemila vedono i Moody Blues ridurre di molto i loro tour. Nel 2002, il membro fondatore Ray Thomas esce dal gruppo, lasciando come nucleo base della band i tre storici componenti Justin Hayward, John Lodge e Graeme Edge. I tre con Madonia alle tastiere e Norda Mullen al flauto pubblicano, nel 2003, un album dal tema natalizio dal titolo December. Le canzoni includono brani nuovi e cover, come Happy Xmas (War Is Over) di John Lennon.Lovely to See You: Live (2005)
L'11 giugno del 2005 Justin Hayward, John Lodge e Graeme Edge, accompagnati da Norda Mullen al flauto e chitarra, Paul Bliss e Bernie Barlow alle tastiere e Gordon Marshall alla batteria, si esibiscono dal vivo al Greek Theatre di Los Angeles. Dalla registrazione di questo concerto viene pubblicato il CD/DVD Lovely to See You: Live (2005).Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970 (2008)
Nel 2008 esce il disco Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970. L'album presenta l'esibizione che i Moody Blues, con la classica formazione, composta da Hayward, Lodge, Pinder, Thomas ed Edge, tennero nel 1970, accanto a molti altri gruppi rock, tra cui i Jethro Tull al Festival sull'isola di Wight. I brani fanno parte del tour dell'album A Question of Balance.Introduzione nella Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2017-presente)
Nel corso del 2017 in occasione del 50º anniversario di Days of Future Passed, i Moody Blues portano in tour la riproposizione dal vivo dell'intero disco, con la partecipazione dell'attore Jeremy Irons in qualità di oratore delle poesie presenti nell'album. Nello stesso anno vincono le votazioni per l'introduzione nel 2018 nella Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.Il 4 gennaio 2018 il membro fondatore, cantante e flautista Ray Thomas morì all'età di 76 anni.
Days of Future Passed Live (2018)
Il 23 marzo 2018 venne pubblicato il disco Days of Future Passed Live, registrazione del concerto tenuto nel 2017 al Sony Centre for the Performing Arts di Toronto, Canada.Il 14 aprile 2018 il gruppo è stato introdotto nella Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, nella formazione comprendente Graeme Edge, Justin Hayward, Denny Laine, John Lodge, Mike Pinder e Ray Thomas.
Formazione
Attuale:- Graeme Edge - Batteria, percussioni (1964 - oggi)
- Justin Hayward - Chitarra elettrica ed acustica, voce (1966 - oggi)
- John Lodge - Basso elettrico, chitarra, voce (1966 - oggi)
- Denny Laine - voce, chitarra (1964-1966)
- Clint Warwick - Basso elettrico (1964-1966)
- Mike Pinder - Tastiera (1964-1978)
- Ray Thomas - voce, flauto, percussioni, armonica (1964-2002)
- Patrick Moraz - Tastiera (1978-1990)
- Rodney Clark - Basso elettrico (1966)
- Janis Liebhart - cori (1986–1987)
- Wendy McKenzie - cori (1986–1987)
- Bias Boshell - Tastiera (1986-2001)
- Guy Allison - Tastiera (1987-1990)
- Shaun Murphy - cori (1988–1990)
- Naomi Starr - cori (1988–1990)
- Bekka Bramlett - cori (1990)
- Terry Wood - cori (1990)
- Paul Bliss - Tastiera, chitarra (1991-2010)
- Gordon Marshall - Batteria, percussioni (1991 - oggi)
- Susan Shattock - cori (1991-2001)
- June Boyce - cori (1991-1993)
- Tracy Graham - cori (1993-2000)
- Danilo Madonia - Tastiera (1999 - 2003)
- Bernie Barlow - Tastiera, percussioni, voce (2001-2010)
- Norda Mullen - Flauto, chitarra, percussioni, voce (2002 - oggi)
- Julie Ragins - Tastiera, percussioni, chitarra, voce (2006 - oggi)
- Alan Hewitt - Tastiera, voce (2010 - oggi)
|
|
Discografia
Album in studio
- 1965 - The Magnificent Moodies (Go Now - The Moody Blues #1 in U.S.A.)
- 1967 - Days of Future Passed
- 1968 - In Search of the Lost Chord
- 1969 - On the Threshold of a Dream
- 1969 - To Our Children's Children's Children
- 1970 - A Question of Balance
- 1971 - Every Good Boy Deserves Favour
- 1972 - Seventh Sojourn
- 1978 - Octave
- 1981 - Long Distance Voyager
- 1983 - The Present
- 1986 - The Other Side of Life
- 1988 - Sur la mer
- 1991 - Keys of the Kingdom
- 1999 - Strange Times
- 2003 - December
I Moody Blues nel 1970
The Moody Blues arrive at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol, The Netherlands in 1970
The Moody Blues first came to prominence playing rhythm and blues music. After some early line-up changes, the band settled on a line-up of Pinder, Thomas, Edge, guitarist Justin Hayward and bassist John Lodge, which would stay together for most of the band's "classic era" through the late 1960s to the early 1970s. Their second album, Days of Future Passed, which was released in 1967, was a fusion of rock with classical music and established the band as pioneers in the development of art rock and progressive rock. The album has been described as a "landmark" and "one of the first successful concept albums".
After extensively touring throughout the early 1970s, the group took an extended hiatus from 1974 until 1977. A year after reforming, founder Mike Pinder left the group to be replaced by Swiss keyboardist Patrick Moraz in 1978. In the 1980s, the group took on a more synth pop sound and scored the second-best selling album of their career, 1986's The Other Side of Life. Health troubles led to a diminished role for founder Ray Thomas throughout the 1980s, though with the departure of Moraz in 1991, Thomas's musical contributions rebounded in the 1990s. Thomas retired from the band in 2002, leaving the band to continue on as a three piece. Their most recent album was 2003's December, a collection of Christmas music. The band continued to tour throughout the first decade of the 2000s, and still reforms for periodic events, one-off concerts, short tours and cruises. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.
The Moody Blues' most successful singles include "Go Now", "Nights in White Satin", "Tuesday Afternoon", "Question" and "Your Wildest Dreams". The band has sold 70 million albums worldwide, which includes 18 platinum and gold LP's.
Founding and early history
Early years, Decca Records 1964–1966
The Moody Blues formed in 1964 in Erdington, a suburb of Birmingham in the county of Warwickshire. Ray Thomas, a young John Lodge and (occasionally) Mike Pinder had been members of El Riot & the Rebels. They disbanded when Lodge, the youngest member, went to technical college and Pinder joined the army. Pinder then rejoined Thomas to form the Krew Cats. Back from a disappointing spell in the Hamburg region a few months later, the pair recruited guitarist/vocalist Denny Laine and band manager-turned-drummer Graeme Edge. Pinder and Thomas initially approached their former El Riot bandmate John Lodge about being the bass player, but Lodge declined as he was still in college. They instead recruited bassist Clint Warwick. The five appeared as the Moody Blues for the first time in Birmingham in 1964. The name developed from a hoped-for sponsorship from the Mitchells & Butlers Brewery which failed to materialise, the band calling themselves both "The M Bs" and "The M B Five", and was also a subtle reference to the Duke Ellington song "Mood Indigo". In an interview it was revealed that the band was named "Moody Blues" because Mike Pinder was interested in how music changes people's moods and due to the fact that the band was playing blues at the time. Around this time the band were the resident group at the Carlton Ballroom, later to become rock music venue Mothers on Erdington High Street.The band soon obtained a London-based management company, 'Ridgepride', formed by Alex Murray (Alex Wharton), who had been in the A&R division of Decca Records. Their recording contract was signed in the spring of 1964 with Ridgepride, which then leased their recordings to Decca. They released a single, "Steal Your Heart Away", that year which failed to chart. They also appeared on the cult TV programme Ready Steady Go! singing the uptempo 'B' side "Lose Your Money (But Don't Lose your Mind)". But it was their second single, "Go Now" (released later that year), that launched their career, being promoted on TV with one of the first purpose-made promotional films in the pop era, produced and directed by Alex Wharton. The single became a hit in Britain (where it remains their only Number 1 single) and in the United States, where it reached No. 10. The band encountered management problems after the chart-topping hit and subsequently signed to Decca Records in the UK (London Records in the US) directly as recording artists. A four-track extended play release titled "The Moody Blues" featuring both sides of their first two Decca singles was issued in a colour picture sleeve in early 1965.
Their debut album The Magnificent Moodies, produced by Denny Cordell with a strong Merseybeat/R&B flavour, was released on Decca in mono only in 1965. It contained the hit single together with one side of classic R&B covers, and a second side with four Laine-Pinder originals.
Alex Wharton left the management firm, and the group released a series of relatively unsuccessful singles. They enjoyed a minor British hit with a cover of "I Don't Want To Go on Without You" (No. 33) in February 1965, while the Pinder-Laine original "From the Bottom of My Heart (I Love You)" produced by Denny Cordell (with a vocal choral sound towards the conclusion that anticipated their sound on "Nights in White Satin") was issued as a UK single in May 1965 and did a little better (No. 22). But then "Everyday", another Pinder-Laine song, stalled at No. 44 in October 1965 and no further British singles were released for about a year. The group was still in demand for live gigs, though, and they had chart success in the US and in Europe during those months when "Bye Bye Bird" (Decca AT 15048) was lifted from their album in December 1965 as an overseas single in France (No. 3).
In June 1966, Warwick retired from the group and the music business. He was briefly replaced by Rod Clark (born Rodney Clark, 23 November 1942, Surlingham, near Norwich, Norfolk), but in early October, Denny Laine also departed from the group, which made Decca release "Boulevard de la Madeleine" c/w "This is My House (But Nobody Calls)" (Decca F 12498, 1966) only a few days later, as the Moody Blues seemed to be disintegrating. Clark joined The Rockin' Berries.
In the November 1966 issue of Hit Week, Dutch interviewers Hans van Rij and Emie Havers presented their story, saying the Moody Blues had been in the process of recording their second album, Look Out, with Cordell producing. The album was not to be and "Really Haven't Got the Time" (released as a single c/w "Fly Me High" some months later) is the only song mentioned in the article but the authors say Laine had written all of the material, with Thomas, Pinder and Clark (still the bass player) singing lead vocals as well.
A final 'Mark One' Moodies single, Pinder-Laine's "Life's Not Life", was scheduled for release in January 1967 (Decca F 12543) c/w "He Can Win" even though Laine couldn't perform it live because the group had relaunched themselves without him a few months earlier. (This single's release is often listed as being cancelled; however, both promo and regular stock copies have been seen over the years.)
Arrival of Hayward and Lodge
The group re-formed in November 1966. By then, "Boulevard de la Madeleine" had made the Belgian charts and won them more fans, which came in handy when they relocated to Belgium for some time. The new members were John Lodge, their bassist from El Riot who was now finished with his education, and Justin Hayward, formerly of the Wilde Three. Hayward was recommended to Pinder by Eric Burdon of the Animals and was endorsed by famed UK singer Marty Wilde, the leader of the Wilde Three. Pinder phoned Hayward after reading his lead guitarist letter, and was impressed when Hayward played him his 45 rpm single "London is Behind Me" during their car ride to meet the other members in Esher.[citation needed]After financial misfortune and a confrontation with an audience member, the band soon realised that their style of American blues covers and novelty tunes was not working, and decided to perform primarily their own material. (However, as appearances on French TV show, they continued to do two covers through at least the first half of 1968: the Hayward-sung "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood", and "Bye Bye Bird", with the vocal and harmonica formerly done by Denny Laine now performed by Ray Thomas.) They were introduced to Decca staff producer Tony Clarke, who produced a recording session which saw Justin Hayward's "Fly Me High" and Mike Pinder's older-styled "Really Haven't Got the Time" (Decca F12607) as the 'Mark Two' Moodies' first single released in May 1967. These picked up both radio airplay and favourable reviews, but failed to chart in the UK. However, the sound gave clues about the direction in which their music would evolve. Their new style, featuring the symphonic sounds of Pinder's mellotron, was introduced on Pinder's song "Love And Beauty" (Decca F 12670) which was issued as a single c/w with Hayward's rocker "Leave This Man Alone" in September 1967. This too was not a UK hit, but further established their "new" Moodies identity. Ray Thomas's flute had been in evidence earlier ("I've Got a Dream") on their debut album; however, it became a far more featured instrument from this point onwards as they started incorporating distinct psychedelic influences, which was later developed in a concept album revolving around an archetypal day in the life of everyman.
Deram Records, Threshold Records, 1967–1972
Days of Future Passed
The Moody Blues' contract with Decca Records was set to expire and they owed the label several thousand pounds in advances. The second album had never materialised either. They had the support, however, of Decca A&R manager Hugh Mendl, who had been instrumental in the recent establishment of London/Decca's new subsidiary imprint Deram Records. With Mendl's backing, the Moody Blues were offered a deal to make a rock and roll version of Antonín Dvořák's New World Symphony to promote the company's new Deramic Stereo Sound audio format in return for which the group would be forgiven their debt.The Moody Blues agreed, but insisted that they be given artistic control of the project, and Mendl (as executive producer) was able to provide this despite Decca's notoriously tight-fisted attitude to their artists. The group was unable to complete the assigned project,[citation needed] which was abandoned. However, they managed to convince Peter Knight, who had been assigned to arrange and conduct the orchestral interludes, to collaborate on a recording that used the band's original material instead.
Deram executives were initially sceptical about the hybrid style of the resulting concept album. Released in November 1967, Days of Future Passed peaked at number 27 on the British LP chart. Five years later it reached number 3 on the Billboard chart in the US. The LP was a song cycle or concept album that takes place over the course of a single day. The album drew inspiration in production and arrangement from the pioneering use of the classical instrumentation by the Beatles, to whom Pinder had introduced the mellotron that year. It took the form to new heights using the London Festival Orchestra, a loose affiliation of Decca's classical musicians given a fictitious name, adding the term "London" to sound impressive, to provide an orchestral linking framework to the Moodies' already written and performed songs, plus overture and conclusion sections on the album, including backing up Graeme Edge's opening and closing poems recited by Pinder. Strings were added to the latter portion of the album version of Hayward's "Nights in White Satin" (absent on the single) but the orchestra and group never performed together on the recording, with the band's rock instrumentation centred on Pinder's mellotron. Despite being a lush concept album, the LP was cut in a very workmanlike manner, with the band recording a particular song, then the track being presented to Peter Knight who quickly composed a suitable "linking" orchestral portion, which the Decca musicians ("London Festival Orchestra") then recorded. The album was as much an original work by Knight himself as the group. The composing credits were listed on the sleeve as: "Redwave-Knight", although Hayward wrote "Nights..." and "Tuesday Afternoon", Thomas provided "Another Morning" and "Twilight Time", Lodge penned "Peak Hour" and "Evening (Time To Get Away)", and Edge contributed the opening and closing poems (the first "Morning Glory" and the latter titled "Late Lament") read by Mike Pinder who composed both "The Sun Set" and "Dawn is a Feeling" (sung by Hayward, with Pinder singing the bridge section).
Clarke produced the album, and afterwards continued working with the band. Sometimes known to fans as "The Sixth Moodie", he produced their albums and singles for the next eleven years. Engineer Derek Varnals also contributed heavily to the creation of the early Moody's studio sound, working with Pinder and Clarke to create a more symphonic overlapping sound on the mellotron as opposed to the sharp 'cut off' the instrument normally gave, partly achieved by removing all the "sound effects" tapes (trains, whistles, cockerel crowing, etc.) and then 'doubling up' the tapes of orchestral instruments' sounds, which combined with Pinder's ability and sensitivity at playing (Pinder having earlier worked for the company that manufactured the mellotron) and Varnals' recording skills at creating an orchestral 'wave' sound that characterised their non-orchestra accompanied sound thereafter.
The album, plus two singles therefrom, "Nights in White Satin" and "Tuesday Afternoon" (as a medley with "Forever Afternoon," listed as "Forever Afternoon (Tuesday?)" on the album), took time to find an audience. In the Moody Blues' native Britain, the two singles from the album didn't initially catch on; "Nights in White Satin" made only No. 19 on the British singles chart in early 1968, and "Tuesday Afternoon" didn't chart at all. However, the British public learned to appreciate "Nights in White Satin" subsequently; it made No. 9 on the UK singles chart on re-issue in December 1972 and No. 14 on the charts on another reissue at the end of 1979, and is now regarded as the Moody Blues signature song by British audiences. In the US, "Nights in White Satin" did not make the Billboard Hot 100 in 1968, although it reached No. 2 on re-release in 1972; "Tuesday Afternoon" was more successful on initial release stateside, peaking at No. 24 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In Search of the Lost Chord
The 1968 follow-up LP, In Search of the Lost Chord included "Legend of a Mind", a song written by Ray Thomas in tribute to LSD guru Timothy Leary which encompassed a flute solo performed by Thomas – four members of the group had taken LSD together at the start of 1967. A promotional film for the song was filmed on location at Groot-Bijgaarden Castle near Brussels in Belgium. Lodge provided a two-part song "House of Four Doors" set either side of Thomas' epic piece. Justin Hayward began playing sitar and incorporating it into Moody Blues music ("Voices...", "Visions of Paradise", "Om", etc.), having been inspired by George Harrison. Hayward's "Voices in the Sky" charted as a single in the UK (No. 27), as did Lodge's "Ride My See-Saw" (No. 42, No. 15 in France) – still their concert finale number – which featured Pinder's non-album song "A Simple Game" as the 'B' side. Pinder's "The Best Way to Travel" was another high point, as was his closing song "Om" (sung by Pinder and Thomas, again featuring Hayward on sitar). Graeme Edge found a significant secondary role in the band as a writer of poetry, and some of their early albums from the late 1960s began with various band members reciting poems by Edge that were conceptually related to the lyrics of the songs that followed. Edge narrated his brief "Departure" poem on "Lost Chord", although Pinder recited the majority of Edge's poetry, as according to Edge, he had the best voice for it due to smoking more cigarettes and drinking more whisky at the time.On the Threshold of a Dream
On 1969's On the Threshold of a Dream, Hayward, Edge and Pinder share the opening narration on Edge's "In The Beginning", leading into Hayward's "Lovely To See You". His "Never Comes the Day" was issued as a UK single, while Thomas' wry observations of life in "Dear Diary" and "Lazy Day" were striking features. Pinder contributed the closing track on side one, "So Deep Within You". Side two closed with the "Dream Sequence", Edge's poem "The Dream" leading into Pinder's "Have You Heard?" parts I and II with the two parts separated by his classically themed instrumental piece "The Voyage".To Our Children's Children's Children
The band's music continued to become more complex and symphonic, with heavy amounts of reverberation on the vocal tracks, resulting in 1969's To Our Children's Children's Children – a concept album inspired by the first moon landing. The opening track "Higher and Higher" saw Pinder simulate a rocket blast-off on keyboards, then narrate Edge's lyrics. Thomas' "Floating" and "Eternity Road" stood out, as did Hayward's "Gypsy" and a rare Pinder-Lodge collaboration "Out and In". Lodge provided his two-part "Eyes of a Child" and "Candle of Life" while Pinder contributed "Sun is Still Shining". The album closed with "Watching and Waiting", composed by Ray Thomas and Justin Hayward and sung by Hayward. It was during 1969 that the band established their own label "Threshold" under licence to Decca Records. To Our Children's Children's Children was the first of their albums to be released on their own label. The song "Watching and Waiting" was issued as a single on the Threshold label, but failed to chart.A Question of Balance
Although the Moodies had by now defined a somewhat psychedelic style and helped to define the progressive rock (then also known as 'art rock') sound, the group decided to record an album that could be played in concert, losing some of their full-blown sound for A Question of Balance (1970). This album, reaching No. 3 in the American charts and No. 1 in the British charts, was indicative of the band's growing success in America. Hayward's "Question" (in a different version) was issued as a single, reaching No. 2 in the UK (kept from the top spot only by the England World Cup football team's novelty record "Back Home"). Justin Hayward began an artful exploration of guitar tone through the use of numerous effects pedals and fuzzboxes and developed for himself a very melodic buzzing guitar-solo sound. The Moody Blues had by now become a bill-topping act in their own right. They appeared twice at the famous Isle of Wight Festival (A DVD of their 1970 performance has been released). Pinder's "Melancholy Man" (a No.1 single in France) stood out beside Hayward's "Question" on the 1970 album.Every Good Boy Deserves Favour and Seventh Sojourn
For their next two albums, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (1971) – from which Hayward's "The Story in Your Eyes" was taken as a US charting single (No. 23) – and Seventh Sojourn (1972) (which reached No. 1 in the US), the band returned to their signature orchestral sound which, while difficult to reproduce in concert, had become their trademark. The title "Every Good Boy Deserves Favour" was borrowed, tongue-in-cheek, from a mnemonic used to remember the musical notes that form the lines of the treble clef: EGBDF. The opening track "Procession" was the only item composed by all five band members, a fascinating track depicting the "evolution" of music, leading into Hayward's "Story in Your Eyes". Thomas's reflective "Our Guessing Game" and whimsical "Nice To Be Here" offset the deeper drama of Hayward's "You Can Never Go Home", Lodge's "One More Time To Live" and Pinder's "My Song". Edge, the long-standing drummer-poet, started writing lyrics intended to be sung, rather than verses to be spoken – his "After You Came" (1971) featured each of the four lead singers taking a vocal section. Then in 1972, Lodge's songs "Isn't Life Strange?" (No. 13) and "I'm Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band)" (No. 36) were lifted from Seventh Sojourn as charting UK singles. Sojourn also saw Pinder using the new Chamberlin instrument in place of the mellotron and Edge using an electronic drum kit. Pinder's stirring lament "Lost in a Lost World" opened this last "Core Seven" outing, while his sympathetic ode to Timothy Leary "When You're a Free Man", Thomas's romantic "For My Lady", and Hayward's serene "New Horizons" all stood out.In an interview following the release of Seventh Sojourn, Graeme Edge told Rolling Stone: "We've got two Christians, one Mystic, one Pedantic and one Mess, and we all get on a treat."
By this time, other bands were picking up their work. Pinder's songs "A Simple Game" (1968) and "So Deep Within You" (1969) were successfully covered by the Four Tops, Pinder winning an Ivor Novello Award for "A Simple Game", Elkie Brooks later covered Hayward's "Nights in White Satin". Pinder also appeared on John Lennon's "Imagine" album in 1971, providing additional percussion on "I Don't Wanna Be a Soldier (I Don't Want to Die)". The 1968 to 1972 album sleeves, plus several solo sets up to Ray Thomas's "Hopes, Wishes & Dreams" in 1976, were characterised by striking surreal scenic sleeve artwork (mostly gatefold sleeves) by artist Phil Travers.
In late 1972, a re-issue of the five-year-old "Nights in White Satin" became the Moody Blues' biggest US hit, soaring to number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming a certified million-seller; the song had "bubbled under" the Hot 100 charts on its original release. The song also returned to the UK charts, reaching No. 9, ten places higher than its original release in 1967.
Threshold Records
The Moodies were also among the pioneers of the idea that a successful rock band could promote itself through their own label, following the Beatles' creation of Apple Records. After their On the Threshold of a Dream album (1969), they created Threshold Records, prompted in part by disputes with London/Deram over album design costs (their gatefold record jackets and expensive cover art were not popular with company executives). The idea was for Threshold to produce new albums and deliver them to London/Decca who would act as distributor. The group attempted to build Threshold into a major label by developing new talent – most notably the UK hard rock band Trapeze and the Portland, Oregon, classical-acoustic sextet Providence – but these efforts were unsuccessful and the Moodies eventually returned to more traditional recording contracts. However, they helped lay groundwork for other major acts to set up similar personal labels and distribution deals, including the Rolling Stones' own label and Led Zeppelin's Swan Song,[citation needed] and all of the Moodies' studio releases from 1969 to 1999 bore the Threshold logo on at least one of their format versions.Hiatus and solo work, 1974–1977
In the spring of 1974, after completing a vast world tour that culminated with a tour of Asia, the group took an extended break, erroneously reported as a break-up at the time, because of the other band members feeling exhausted and overshadowed (this was said by Hayward in the final issue of Higher & Higher magazine 2006). Although the band had typically featured four lead vocalists (with Edge also contributing vocally), Hayward was the principal guitarist/vocalist whilst Pinder was considered to be the person most responsible for their symphonic sound, arrangements, and overall conceptual direction. Pinder and Thomas also doubled as the Moodies' onstage MCs (as the "Caught Live + 5" album displayed. Caught Live + 5 was a live double album recorded c. 1969 but released c. 1977 with five previously unreleased studio tracks from 1967-69 added.)Before the band's 1973–74 world tour (their last with Pinder), Hayward wrote a song called "Island" with the intention of including it on a potential follow-up album, which the Moodies recorded in 1973 before ultimately going their separate ways. An additional cause of the hiatus were the long tours that had by this time strained Pinder, who needed a rest.[citation needed] In 1974 the band oversaw preparation of the compilation album This Is The Moody Blues which was released that year.
Hayward and Lodge released a duo album, the very successful Blue Jays (1975), and a UK chart single, "Blue Guitar" (no. 8), which was credited to Hayward and Lodge even though it was just Hayward with 10cc backing him. The album had originally been a projected liaison between Hayward and Pinder, but after Pinder dropped out, John Lodge stepped in. (Tony Clarke produced it.) The members then released solo albums. Pinder said he hoped to get the band back together that year. "Having moved to California in 1974, I returned to Britain for a visit in summer 1975. I was trying to get the band to do an album, but the response was so weak I returned to California with my two new Mk5 mellotrons and began work on my solo album The Promise." Edge produced two albums with guitarist Adrian Gurvitz, Kick Off Your Muddy Boots (1975) and Paradise Ballroom (1976); Hayward composed the acoustically textured Songwriter (1977), which was followed up a few years later by Night Flight (1980), Moving Mountains (1985), (which Hayward dedicated to Peter Knight) Classic Blue (1989), The View From The Hill (1996) and Live in San Juan Capistrano (1998); Lodge released Natural Avenue (1977); Pinder produced The Promise (1976); and Thomas collaborated on two projects with songwriter Nicky James, producing From Mighty Oaks (1975) and Hopes, Wishes and Dreams (1976).
Reunion, 1977–1990
Reunion
In 1977, the group made a decision to record together again, with their record company Decca urging a reunion album. London Records decided to release a somewhat poorly mixed eight-year-old recording of the band performing at London's Royal Albert Hall, against their artistic wishes. London/Decca did this in an attempt to re-energise public interest in the Moody Blues before their anticipated new album, but by this time Pinder had remarried and started a family in California, so for their reunion recording, the band decamped stateside with producer Clarke. The sessions were marked with tension and division: first there was a fire at the studios they were using, then after quickly relocating to Pinder's home studio, a landslide following torrential rains effectively marooned them, inevitably causing tensions to rise (with Pinder then dropping out before completion).Clarke was also forced to leave because of non-musical reasons before the album was completed, but by the spring of 1978 Octave was ready for release. Pinder, citing his young family, and by then probably considering the band's touring days behind them, excused himself from the touring commitments that were to follow. His decision caused acrimony within the band (notably from Edge) and Ray Thomas had said Pinder was initially agreeable to touring, but his opting out later on (with a major comeback tour already planned) was a severely embarrassing blow to them. Attempts were made by their management to downplay Pinder's absence, notably at a major UK music press party Decca organised, when the top Decca dignitary guest, while making a "welcome back" speech, openly referred to "Mike Pinder being currently absent over in the States", much to their dismay.
Octave, Pinder departs and the arrival of Moraz, Long Distance Voyager and The Present
During this period, the prog-rock band Yes had asked their Swiss-born keyboardist, Patrick Moraz, to leave. Moraz's management had some contacts with the Moodies, and after a successful audition with the band in England in 1978, he was engaged as keyboardist for the Octave World Tour that began in Germany in October. The album sold well and produced the hits "Steppin' in a Slide Zone", (no. 39 US) written by Lodge and "Driftwood", (no. 59 US) written by Hayward. The music video produced for "Driftwood" featured Moraz, although Pinder was the one who played on the actual recording; the video for "Steppin' in a Slide Zone" simply showed the other four members without Pinder (which was rather awkward as Pinder's keyboards featured extensively on the song, notably on the distinctive intro and during a solo section of the piece). A group performance of Hayward's "Had to Fall in Love" and Lodge's "Slide Zone" on the "Kenny Everett Show" also depicted them as a four piece. On Octave, Hayward had some four solo composed songs (more than on "The Other Side of Life" later in 1986), Edge contributed "I'll Be Level With You" (aka "Little Man") one of only a few songs showing a complete group unity. Several songs sounded like solo efforts, while Lodge's "Survival", Hayward's appropriate closing "The Day We Meet Again" and Pinder's final contribution and lead vocal, "One Step into the Light" (curiously as the band is depicted as doing so on the cover photo – where Pinder is perhaps significantly barely glimpsed at all and almost out of focus) were all high points on the album. Around this time, Justin Hayward enjoyed a solo hit (No. 5) in the UK (US No. 47) with the song "Forever Autumn" from Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds. In recent times Hayward has sung both this and "The Eve of the War" live in the touring version of the album, as featured on Wayne's original big-selling double album.The Moody Blues toured the US and Europe during much of 1979. A live CD The Moody Blues Live in Seattle 1979 during the Octave tour of a concert at Seattle Center Coliseum recorded on 25 May 1979 was later issued in 2013. By 1980 they were ready to record again, this time bringing in producer Pip Williams. Moraz was retained as the band's permanent keyboardist, though Pinder had originally understood that he would continue to record even if not touring with the band. Pinder took legal action to prevent the new Moody Blues album from reaching the public without his contributions, but he was not successful, and ultimately, he never returned to the fold. Nevertheless, when released in 1981, Long Distance Voyager was a colossal success, reaching No. 1 on Billboard and going Top 5 in the UK. The album yielded two hits, "The Voice", (No. 15 US) written by Hayward, and "Gemini Dream", (No. 12 US) written by Hayward and Lodge. John Lodge's "Talking out of Turn" also charted in the US, reaching No. 65. Edge provided "22,000 Days" (featuring Thomas as lead voice with Hayward and Lodge) while Thomas' contributions were the final portion of the set with his singing on the final two songs; "Painted Smile", "Reflective Smile" (a poem narrated by a DJ friend of the band) and "Veteran Cosmic Rocker". By now, the mellotron had long been set aside as their primary keyboard instrument on their studio albums and the band embraced a more modern, less symphonic approach, though still retaining a lush keyboard-led sound as Moraz gave a more contemporary edge[citation needed]. In live concerts, the mellotron was still used heavily by Moraz until the mid-1980s, including on songs that did not originally feature it.
The Present (1983), again produced by Williams, was less successful than its predecessor, though it spawned a UK Top 40 hit (No. 35) in "Blue World" (No. 62 in the US) and a US Top 40 hit in "Sitting at the Wheel" (which failed to chart in the UK). Videos were also produced for both singles. The Present was released in conjunction with Talencora Ltd shortly before Decca was bought out by Polydor Records.
The Other Side of Life, Sur la Mer
In 1986 they enjoyed renewed success with their album The Other Side of Life and in particular with the track "Your Wildest Dreams" – a US Top 10 hit (and No. 1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary singles chart for two weeks) which garnered a Billboard Video of the Year award after being frequently featured on MTV. It made them "the first act in history to earn each of its first three top 10 singles in a different decade" (along with "Go Now" in 1965 and "Nights In White Satin" in 1972). Newly employed producer Tony Visconti and Barry Radman, a synth programmer formerly engaged by Moraz, delivered a modern sound the Moodies had been seeking in order to remain competitive with their pop contemporaries and the album's title song also charted in the US, at No. 58. The renewed interest in the band ensured a younger audience, with many of their longtime followers remaining loyal despite a fair number of older fans finding the albums of this period far more lightweight in content - for example, Lodge had gone from writing powerfully reflective mystical or humanitarian themed pieces such as "House of Four Doors", "Candle of Life" and "One More Time to Live" to quirkier items such as "Here Comes the Weekend", "Rock and Roll Over You" and "Love is on the Run (From Me)" while Hayward's songs seemed[citation needed] less the deeper drama of numbers such as "The Actor", "Dawning is the Day", "You Can Never Go Home", "The Land of Make Believe", etc., to pleasant (and more radio-friendly) perennial far simpler songs about lost love and romance ("Your Wildest Dreams", "No More Lies", "I Know You're Out There Somewhere" etc.). There were still some deeper songs being created by the band, ("The Voice", "22,000 Days", "The Other Side of Life", "The Spirit", "Deep", etc.) but the overall tone had noticeably become a more lightweight commercialised one; presumably this was with record company agreement to keep in accordance with the then prevailing times.[citation needed] Their live shows from this period included a good number of their 1980s album tracks. However, over time, more of the "Core Seven" album era favourites reappeared in their playlist, but Pinder's compositions were permanently retired from their setlists after his departure.The Moody Blues performed live at the Birmingham Heart Beat Charity Concert 1986 which raised money for Birmingham Children's Hospital. The band played four songs, and later provided backup with Electric Light Orchestra for George Harrison.
The Moodies continued their early video-generation success with Sur La Mer (1988) and its video and single, "I Know You're Out There Somewhere" (No. 30 US, No. 52 UK, No. 2 US Mainstream Rock), a sequel to "Your Wildest Dreams". Their sound took on an ever-increasingly synthetic and technical quality as Moraz and Visconti began using modern sequencers, samplers and drum machines. Hayward and Lodge wrote and sang on most of the songs as the band came under pressure from their new record company, Polydor Records, to promote those it deemed to be the two more commercial looking and sounding members and they decided to exploit that aspect rather than catering for the band as a whole or retaining the five-way songwriting methods the group had done with Pinder
By then, Ray Thomas was playing a diminished role in the recording studio with the band evolving into a synthpop act, a genre that was unsuitable for the use of a flute. Thomas provided additional percussion, notably a brisk tambourine, on many more Moodies songs which continued to be featured, plus occasional harmonica, but by this point he was largely relegated to the status of a backup singer and he was also unwell during this period, further limiting his involvement with the band in the recording studio.
Thomas provided some backing vocals for both The Other Side of Life and Sur La Mer; however, for reasons unclear, multiple production considerations led Visconti to leave Thomas' vocals off the latter of these two albums, thereby further reducing the texture of their overall vocal sound, which had previously been rich four-part harmonies (Hayward, Lodge, Thomas and Pinder), then went down to three (Thomas, Lodge and Hayward) upon Pinder's departure and reduced still further to just the more similar-sounding voices of Hayward and Lodge (Lodge also providing falsetto vocals and high harmonies), with Pinder and Thomas each having provided both lower and higher-pitched vocal harmonies in the group's earlier vocal sound. The band's vocal "sound" had become the blend of just Hayward and Lodge, which was still recognisable, if less textured than the original four-part, more complex "choral" sound. Moraz was displeased with Visconti's exclusion of Thomas from the final release of Sur La Mer and accused him of tailoring the album for radio, as revealed in a 1989 newspaper article where it revealed Moraz's anger with the state of the band and at Visconti in particular.
Despite his diminished participation in the recording process, Thomas' high value remained on stage primarily from his continued ability to sing out his 1960s and 1970s Moodies classics, and also in flute and keyboard duets he composed with Moraz which were performed only during Moodies' concerts. The band had begun to reinforce their concert sound in 1986 with the addition of a second keyboardist. (Bias Boshell was the first, replaced in 1987 by Guy Allison before Boshell returned by 1990), as well as female backing singers.
1990s to present
Departure of Moraz and Court TV lawsuit
In 1991, halfway through the production of their new studio album, Patrick Moraz did an interview with Keyboard magazine and made some comments in the article that suggested dissatisfaction with his role in the Moodies. His complaints ranged from the Moodies' music becoming too simple in structure to the other members' reluctance to allow him to make significant contributions to the songwriting on their albums. He also was occupied with spending large amounts of time planning a music concert to celebrate his native Switzerland's 700th anniversary instead of rehearsing with the Moodies and as a result, he was fired from the group before the project was completed, so Boshell and new keyboardist Paul Bliss were brought in to finish the new album's keyboard tracks. Despite previous credits as an "official band member" and being included in group photos on the four '80s studio albums from "Long Distance Voyager" to "Sur La Mer", subsequent Moodies compilations downplay Moraz to being merely an "additional keyboardist" and several band photos have him cropped or airbrushed out, notably on the covers to Gold (which did not even mention him in the booklet liner notes, let alone include his picture) and the more recent compilation Polydor Years 1986–1992.[citation needed] Moraz later took legal action against the group in the United States and the lawsuit, which he won, was shown on Court TV, but he was awarded only $77,175 in back pay due to accounting slow-ups instead of the $400,000 he sought.Keys of the Kingdom
Keys of the Kingdom, released in 1991, had modest commercial success when released and once again, Hayward's songs led off the album, with the new singles "Say It with Love" and "Bless the Wings (That Bring You Back)." Also included was a new ambient flute piece by Ray Thomas entitled "Celtic Sonant." Hayward and Thomas also co-wrote "Never Blame the Rainbows for the Rain" to close the album. Lodge made a defining shift in his songwriting on this album, leaving his trademark high-energy rock music, and instead gravitating towards slow love ballads such as "Lean on Me (Tonight)" (though he had earlier contributed some songs in this gentler vein such as "Emily's Song" for his daughter in 1971, "Survival" in 1978, and "Talking Out of Turn" in 1981), while his more powerful songs continued with "Magic" and the Lennonesque "Shadows on the Wall". This gentler trend continued on the two successive Moodies albums. Hayward wrote the driving two-part piece "Say What You Mean." Tony Visconti produced some of the tracks on "Keys", as did Christopher Neil and Alan Tarney. The ensuing tour saw them invited to play at the Montreux Jazz Festival. A non-album Hayward-Lodge song cut at these sessions, "Highway", was included on the "Say It with Love" twelve-inch single and on a later box set and compilation album, while the vinyl album did not include their song "Once is Enough" as on the compact disc version.The group remained a steady concert draw, and a series of video and audio versions of their 1992 Night at Red Rocks concert enjoyed great success, particularly as a fund-raiser for American public television where it had been first broadcast. The concert was conducted and arranged by Larry Baird, who has participated in many other bands' orchestral live concerts, such as Kansas, Michael Bolton, Three Dog Night, Al Jarreau and Alan Parsons.
The group also continued their use of additional musicians on stage and in the studio, but after the two legal suits from both Pinder in 1981 and Moraz in 1992, the band was careful not to recognise future keyboardists as official members. Following on from his contributions as keyboardist on the 'Keys of the Kingdom' album, Paul Bliss continued to play keyboards for the band live, being promoted to first keyboardist in 2001 (but was replaced in March 2010 after 19 years continuous service). Thomas and Bliss continued the tradition of a flute/keyboard duet for many tours. After Edge injured himself in 1991, second drummer Gordon Marshall was brought in to back him up; he stayed with the group after Edge returned and remained in the position until autumn of 2015 when he left to play in a Moody Blues cover band "Legend of a Band" and another cover band "Reflections".
Strange Times, 1990s tours
From 1991 to 1998 the group took a hiatus from recording and spent time trying to perfect the art of performing live with an orchestra. The recording hiatus ended in 1999, with the album Strange Times, their first album in almost two decades to be more than moderately received by British critics, although Justin Hayward was quoted as saying he was disappointed at the album's chart performance – probably not helped by the long recording hiatus – which was notably less than "Keys of the Kingdom" in 1991. It was recorded in Recco, Italy, at Hayward's suggestion, and was the band's first self-produced effort. The album featured keyboards and arrangements from Italian musician Danilo Madonia, who continued to work in-studio with the band. The album opened with English Sunset, a pop song featuring a modern, nearly techno arrangement. The song This is the Moment (which is not on Strange Times), which was originally featured in the Broadway production of Jekyll and Hyde, was a minor hit in the US. Strange Times was also the first album since 1970 to include a new poem by Graeme Edge, Nothing Changes, narrated by Edge, with Hayward then singing the concluding portion of the track, and notably concluded by quoting Mike Pinder's 1968 song title A Simple Game. Also in 1999, the Moody Blues appeared in an episode of The Simpsons called Viva Ned Flanders. On Strange Times Ray Thomas appeared vocally with Hayward and Lodge on Sooner or Later (Walkin' on Air) and his own brief song My Little Lovely, plus provided a vocal snippet and backing vocals on Hayward's English Sunset; this was his recorded vocal swan song with the band.In 2000 the band released Hall of Fame, a new live concert from the Royal Albert Hall, with a concurrent DVD release. This was taken from the last tour on which Boshell played. He left the live line-up in 2001; Bliss took over first keyboard duties, with his former second keyboard role filled by Bernie Barlow and Julie Ragins when Barlow took maternity leave from 2006 to 2009.
In 2001 an IMAX film was released entitled Journey into Amazing Caves, which featured two new songs written and performed by the Moody Blues. The soundtrack also featured Justin Hayward performing vocals and playing guitar throughout. One of these songs, entitled Water, is the Moody Blues' first instrumental studio recording since their 1983 piece Hole in the World from The Present LP.
Thomas retires, December
The new millennium saw the Moody Blues reducing their touring schedule. At the end of 2002, founding member Ray Thomas retired from the group, reducing the Moody Blues to the trio of Hayward, Lodge and Edge, the last being the only original member. Flautist and rhythm guitarist Norda Mullen was recruited early the following year for their North American tour, and has worked with the band live and in the studio since then. Toward the end of 2003, they released an album entitled December. The songs included originals and four covers: John Lennon's "Happy Xmas (War Is Over)", Mike Batt's "A Winter's Tale", "When A Child is Born" and Irving Berlin's "White Christmas". December was the group's first album to include covers since their 1965 debut album The Magnificent Moodies.In March 2006, the first five of the band's 'Core Seven' albums (the seven albums from Days of Future Passed to Seventh Sojourn) were re-released in SACD format with Deluxe Editions, featuring bonus songs and some rare previously unreleased tracks. In April 2007, the last two of these classic albums were re-released by Universal/Threshold. These deluxe editions were unique for an art rock group like the Moodies in that one of their members, Justin Hayward, was the one taken on to do the work, instead of a professional master technician. Hayward stated that he listened to virgin vinyl copies of these albums and used them as reference points for the new compact discs. On 21 May 2007 the Moodies released a 41-track, two-disc compilation of sessions recorded at BBC Studios, various television appearances and a previously 'lost' performance done on the Tom Jones Show titled Live at the BBC: 1967–1970.
Latest work
In 2007, the now defunct Hard Rock Park theme park in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, announced the building of a dark ride entitled "Nights in White Satin: The Trip". The ride incorporated multi-sensory experiences as well as a re-orchestrated version of the song by Justin Hayward. A re-recorded version of Graeme Edge's "Late Lament" again followed, which had each group member reading a verse of the poem. In March 2009, the ride closed because of the conversion of the park to the Freestyle Music Park, with the new owners desiring to make the park more "family friendly."The group toured the UK, Canada and the US in 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2010. In addition, Hayward took part in the UK tour of Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds in April 2006, and a second tour in November 2007, also with dates in 2009. The Moody Blues also toured Australia and New Zealand in 2006. Their long-time producer, Tony Clarke, died in January 2010. The band added keyboardist Alan Hewitt for their 2010 UK and North American tours.
They released a new compilation album called Timeless Flight in 2013. On 19 July 2013, it was announced that the band would be appearing on the second annual Moody Blues Cruise, from 2 to 7 April 2014, on the cruise ship MSC Divina. Other bands on the cruise included The Zombies and Lighthouse.
The Moody Blues toured in 2015 in both the USA and the UK in June of that year, culminating in a début appearance at the Glastonbury Festival on 27 June 2015.
Original vocalist and flautist Ray Thomas died on 4 January 2018, at the age of 76, just a few months before the band were due to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Legacy and honours
The Moody Blues' "rich symphonic sound" influenced groups such as Yes, Genesis, the Electric Light Orchestra and Deep Purple. They also helped make synthesizers and philosophy "part of the rock mainstream".The Moody Blues are members of the Vocal Group Hall of Fame. In 2013, readers of Rolling Stone voted for them as one of the ten bands that should be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Ultimate Classic Rock called them "perennial victims of an unaccountable snubbing" and inducted them into its own Hall of Fame in 2014.
Writing for The Guardian in 2015, Rob Chapman described the band as "psychedelia's forgotten heroes". He stated: "Despite their success, rock critics rarely took the Moody Blues seriously, a pattern that continued for the next 45 years." He also wrote: "Despite the critical disapproval, the best of the Moody Blues music between 1967 and 1970 possessed grace and beauty. Like the Beatles, they understood how pop songs worked as ensemble pieces. None of them were particularly virtuosic or showy as musicians and their music is refreshingly free of the noodling longeurs that characterised the output of their more self-indulgent contemporaries."
In December 2017, the band were announced as inductees for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. On 14 April 2018, they were inducted as part of the 2018 class. During his acceptance speech in Cleveland, Ohio, Justin Hayward said, "If you didn't know already, well we're just a bunch of British guys, but of course to us and to all British musicians, this is the home of our heroes and we all know that..." acknowledging the inspirational role of America's rock and roll icons. During the ceremony, Ray Thomas was included as a star that was lost in the past year.
Moody Bluegrass
The Moody Bluegrass project is a group of Nashville artists who have recorded two tribute albums of Moody Blues songs in the bluegrass style. The first album, Moody Bluegrass – A Nashville Tribute to the Moody Blues, was released in 2004. Those involved included Alison Krauss, Harley Allen, Tim O'Brien, John Cowan, Larry Cordle, Jan Harvey, Emma Harvey, Sam Bush and Jon Randall.A second Moody Bluegrass album, Moody Bluegrass Two...Much Love, was released in 2011. In addition to many of the participants of the first album, a number of tracks included guest performances from Hayward, Lodge and Edge, (each of whom is credited as the lead vocalist on one song) plus Thomas and Pinder, making this the first time since 1978 that these five musicians all appeared on one newly recorded album.
Members
Current members- Graeme Edge – drums, percussion, vocals (1964–present)
- Justin Hayward – guitar, vocals (1966–present)
- John Lodge – bass guitar, guitar, vocals (1966–present)
- Denny Laine – guitar, vocals (1964–1966)
- Mike Pinder – keyboards, vocals (1964–1978)
- Ray Thomas – flute, percussion, harmonica, vocals (1964–2002: died 2018)
- Clint Warwick – bass guitar, vocals (1964–1966: died 2004)
- Rodney Clark – bass, vocals (1966)
- Patrick Moraz – keyboards (1978–1990)
Discography
- Studio albums
- The Magnificent Moodies (1965, UK) / Go Now: The Moody Blues #1 (1965, US)
- Days of Future Passed (1967)
- In Search of the Lost Chord (1968)
- On the Threshold of a Dream (1969)
- To Our Children's Children's Children (1969)
- A Question of Balance (1970)
- Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (1971)
- Seventh Sojourn (1972)
- Octave (1978)
- Long Distance Voyager (1981)
- The Present (1983)
- The Other Side of Life (1986)
- Sur la Mer (1988)
- Keys of the Kingdom (1991)
- Strange Times (1999)
- December (2003)
The Moody Blues in the Netherlands (1969)
Collectie / Archief : Fotocollectie Anefo
Reportage / Serie : Grand Gala du Disque Populaire in Congrescentrum
Beschrijving : Moody Blues
Datum : 7 maart 1969
Trefwoorden : muziek, popgroepen
Fotograaf : Fotograaf Onbekend / Anefo
Auteursrechthebbende : Nationaal Archief
Materiaalsoort : Negatief (zwart/wit)
Nummer archiefinventaris : bekijk toegang 2.24.01.05
Bestanddeelnummer : 922-1824
Go Now - The Moody Blues - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FmYo0ZRpOgo
Lyrics
We've already said "goodbye"
Since you gotta go, oh you'd better
Go now, go now, go now (go now, ooh)
Before you see me cry?
Since you gotta go, oh you'd better
Go now, go now, go now (go now, ooh)
Before you see me cry?
I don't want you to tell me just what you intend to do now
'Cause how many times do I have to tell you darlin', darlin'
I'm still in love with you now
Whoa oh oh oh
'Cause how many times do I have to tell you darlin', darlin'
I'm still in love with you now
Whoa oh oh oh
We've already said "so long"
I don't want to see you go, oh you'd better
Go now, go now, go now (go now, ooh)
I don't want to see you go, oh you'd better
Go now, go now, go now (go now, ooh)
Don't you even try?
Tellin' me that you really don't want it to end this way
'Cause darlin', darlin', can't you see I want you to stay, yeah
Tellin' me that you really don't want it to end this way
'Cause darlin', darlin', can't you see I want you to stay, yeah
Since you gotta go, oh you'd better
Go now, go now, go now (go now, ooh)
Before you see me cry
I don't want you to tell me just what you intend to do now
'Cause how many times do I have to tell you darlin', darlin'
I'm still in love, still in love with you now
Ooh ooh ooh
I don't want to see you go but darlin', you better go now
Go now, go now, go now (go now, ooh)
Before you see me cry
I don't want you to tell me just what you intend to do now
'Cause how many times do I have to tell you darlin', darlin'
I'm still in love, still in love with you now
Ooh ooh ooh
I don't want to see you go but darlin', you better go now
Songwriters: Larry Banks / Milton Bennett
Go Now lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Artist: The Moody Blues
Album: The Magnificent Moodies
Released: 1965
Songwriter(s): Larry Banks; Milton Bennett
B-side: "It Sounds Like My Baby"
Moody Blues - Boulevard de La Madeleine - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLueWO4f4b4
Lyrics
She said she'd come, she didn't
I'm the one in love, she isn't
There's no girl standing there
And there's no one who cares
And the trees are so bare
On the Boulevard de la Madeleine
I'm the one in love, she isn't
There's no girl standing there
And there's no one who cares
And the trees are so bare
On the Boulevard de la Madeleine
It's a sad day in Paris
With no girl by my side
Got to feeling so badly
Like a part of me died
It would have been
So good to see her
I never thought
She wouldn't be there
There's no girl standing there
And there's no one who cares
And the trees are so bare
On the Boulevard de la Madeleine
With no girl by my side
Got to feeling so badly
Like a part of me died
It would have been
So good to see her
I never thought
She wouldn't be there
There's no girl standing there
And there's no one who cares
And the trees are so bare
On the Boulevard de la Madeleine
Oh, I wish I knew her better
It's not easy to forget her
There's no girl standing there
And there's no one who cares
And the trees are so bare
On the Boulevard de la Madeleine
It's not easy to forget her
There's no girl standing there
And there's no one who cares
And the trees are so bare
On the Boulevard de la Madeleine
It's a sad day in Paris
With no girl by my side
Got to feeling so badly
Like a part of me died
It would have been
So good to see her
I never thought
She wouldn't be there
There's no girl standing there
And there's no one who cares
And the trees are so bare
On the Boulevard de la Madeleine
With no girl by my side
Got to feeling so badly
Like a part of me died
It would have been
So good to see her
I never thought
She wouldn't be there
There's no girl standing there
And there's no one who cares
And the trees are so bare
On the Boulevard de la Madeleine
Songwriters: M. Pinder / D. Laine
Boulevard de la Madeleine lyrics © Hollis Music Inc.
Artist: The Moody Blues
Album: The Magnificent Moodies
Released: 1965
Genres: R&B/Soul, Rock, Blues, Pop
THE MOODY BLUES -FLY ME HIGH-LIVE FRENCH TV-1967 - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V_GDcGnaCfM
Lyrics
I'm
up to the eyes and I love ev'ryone Today I could cry I could reach for
the sun I travel the sky but for what I don't care I'm walking on air
'n' I'm here 'n' I'm there Fly me straight and fly me high Fly me
straight and fly me high I'm driving along with no wheels on the ground
Hang on to me tight 'cause it doesn't last long I'm up 'n' I'm down 'n'
I'm gone, I'm around A few hours more and it'll be gone Fly me straight
and fly me high Fly me straight and fly me high I leave you behind on
the streets in the gloom I'm up here alone and there's plenty of room
You won't see me, I'll see you, I'm too fast Fly me straight and fly me
high Whoops! Here I come, Now I'm gone. Now I'm past Fly me straight and
fly me high Today I could cry I could reach for the sun I'm up to the
eyes and I love ev'ryone I'm walking on air 'n' I'm here 'n' I'm there I
travel the sky but for what I don't care Fly me straight and fly me
high Fly me straight and fly me high
*************************************************************
Songwriters: Justin Hayward
Fly Me High lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Artist: The Moody Blues
Album: Days of Future Passed
Released: 1967
Genres: Classical, Psychedelic Rock, Rock
Moody Blues - Nights in White Satin - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjUqfRrWwcM
Lyrics
Nights in white satin,
Never reaching the end,
Letters I've written,
Never meaning to send.
Beauty I'd always missed
With these eyes before,
Just what the truth is
I can't say anymore.
'Cause I love you,
Yes, I love you,
Oh, how, I love you.
Gazing at people,
Some hand in hand,
Just what I'm going thru
They can understand.
Some try to tell me
Thoughts they cannot defend,
Just what you want to be
You will be in the end,
And I love you,
Yes, I love you,
Oh, how, I love you.
Oh, how, I love you.
Nights in white satin,
Never reaching the end,
Letters I've written,
Never meaning to send.
Beauty I'd always missed
With these eyes before,
Just what the truth is
I can't say anymore.
'Cause I love you,
Yes, I love you,
Oh, how, I love you.
Oh, how, I love you.
'Cause I love you,
Yes, I love you,
Oh, how, I love you.
Oh, how, I love you.
Never reaching the end,
Letters I've written,
Never meaning to send.
Beauty I'd always missed
With these eyes before,
Just what the truth is
I can't say anymore.
'Cause I love you,
Yes, I love you,
Oh, how, I love you.
Gazing at people,
Some hand in hand,
Just what I'm going thru
They can understand.
Some try to tell me
Thoughts they cannot defend,
Just what you want to be
You will be in the end,
And I love you,
Yes, I love you,
Oh, how, I love you.
Oh, how, I love you.
Nights in white satin,
Never reaching the end,
Letters I've written,
Never meaning to send.
Beauty I'd always missed
With these eyes before,
Just what the truth is
I can't say anymore.
'Cause I love you,
Yes, I love you,
Oh, how, I love you.
Oh, how, I love you.
'Cause I love you,
Yes, I love you,
Oh, how, I love you.
Oh, how, I love you.
Songwriters: Justin Hayward
Nights in White Satin (The Night) lyrics © Essex Music Inc., ESSEX MUSIC INC, EMI CHRISTIAN MUSIC PUBL O/B/O NARA MUSIC
Artist: The Moody Blues
Featured artist: London Festival Orchestra
Album: Days of Future Passed
Released: 1967
Songwriter(s): Justin Hayward
Tuesday Afternoon by The Moody Blues - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wM8JjT-97i8
Lyrics
Tuesday afternoon
I'm just beginning to see
Now I'm on my way
It doesn't matter to me
Chasing the clouds away
I'm just beginning to see
Now I'm on my way
It doesn't matter to me
Chasing the clouds away
Something calls to me
The trees are drawing me near
I've got to find out why
Those gentle voices I hear
Explain it all with a sigh
The trees are drawing me near
I've got to find out why
Those gentle voices I hear
Explain it all with a sigh
I'm looking at myself reflections of my mind
It's just the kind of day to leave myself behind
So gently swaying through the fairyland of love
If you'll just come with me you'll see the beauty of
Tuesday afternoon
Tuesday afternoon
It's just the kind of day to leave myself behind
So gently swaying through the fairyland of love
If you'll just come with me you'll see the beauty of
Tuesday afternoon
Tuesday afternoon
Tuesday afternoon
I'm just beginning to see
Now I'm on my way
It doesn't matter to me
Chasing the clouds away
I'm just beginning to see
Now I'm on my way
It doesn't matter to me
Chasing the clouds away
Something calls to me
The trees are drawing me near
I've got to find out why
Those gentle voices I hear
Explain it all with a sigh
The trees are drawing me near
I've got to find out why
Those gentle voices I hear
Explain it all with a sigh
Songwriters: Justin Hayward
Tuesday Afternoon lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Artist: The Moody Blues
Album: Days of Future Passed
Released: 1967
Songwriter(s): Justin Hayward
Recorded: 22 October 1967
The Moody Blues - Legend of a mind - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_TbovyVOzs
Lyrics
Timothy Leary's dead
No, no, no, no, he's outside, looking in
No, no, no, no, he's outside, looking in
Timothy Leary's dead
No, no, no, no, he's outside, looking in
No, no, no, no, he's outside, looking in
He'll fly his astral plane
Takes you trips around the bay
Brings you back the same day
Timothy Leary
Timothy Leary
Takes you trips around the bay
Brings you back the same day
Timothy Leary
Timothy Leary
Timothy Leary's dead
No, no, no, no, he's outside, looking in
No, no, no, no, he's outside, looking in
Timothy Leary's dead
No, no, no, no, he's outside, looking in
No, no, no, no, he's outside, looking in
He'll fly his astral plane
Takes you trips around the bay
Brings you back the same day
Timothy Leary
Timothy Leary
Takes you trips around the bay
Brings you back the same day
Timothy Leary
Timothy Leary
Along the coast you'll hear them boast
About a light they say that shines so clear
So raise your glass, we'll drink a toast
To the little man who sells you thrills along the pier
He'll take you up, he'll bring you down
He'll plant your feet back firmly on the ground
He flies so high, he swoops so low
He knows exactly which way he's gonna go
Timothy Leary
Timothy Leary
About a light they say that shines so clear
So raise your glass, we'll drink a toast
To the little man who sells you thrills along the pier
He'll take you up, he'll bring you down
He'll plant your feet back firmly on the ground
He flies so high, he swoops so low
He knows exactly which way he's gonna go
Timothy Leary
Timothy Leary
He'll take you up, he'll bring you down
He'll plant your feet back on the ground
He flies so high, he swoops so low
Timothy Leary
He'll plant your feet back on the ground
He flies so high, he swoops so low
Timothy Leary
He'll fly his astral plane
He'll take you trips around the bay
He'll bring you back the same day
Timothy Leary
Timothy Leary
Timothy Leary
Timothy Leary
Timothy Leary
He'll take you trips around the bay
He'll bring you back the same day
Timothy Leary
Timothy Leary
Timothy Leary
Timothy Leary
Timothy Leary
Songwriters: R. THOMAS
Legend Of A Mind lyrics © S.I.A.E. Direzione Generale, Essex Music International, Essex Music International Inc.
Artist: The Moody Blues
Album: In Search of the Lost Chord
Released: 1968
Recorded: 13 January 1968
Genres: Progressive/Art Rock, Psychedelic Rock, Pop
The Moody Blues - Ride My See-Saw - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iss9xKyqAeA
Lyrics
Ride, ride my see-saw,
Take this place
On this trip
Just for me.
Take this place
On this trip
Just for me.
Ride, take a free ride,
Take my place
Have my seat
It's for free.
Take my place
Have my seat
It's for free.
I worked like a slave for years,
Sweat so hard just to end my fears.
Not to end my life a poor man,
But by now, I know I should have run.
Sweat so hard just to end my fears.
Not to end my life a poor man,
But by now, I know I should have run.
Run, run my last race,
Take my place
Have this number
Of mine.
Take my place
Have this number
Of mine.
Run, run like a fire,
Don't you run in
In the lanes
Run for time.
Don't you run in
In the lanes
Run for time.
Left school with a first class pass,
Started work but as second class.
School taught one and one is two.
But right now, that answer just ain't true.
Started work but as second class.
School taught one and one is two.
But right now, that answer just ain't true.
Ah ah ah ah, ah ah ah ah, ah ah ah ah ah
Ah ah ah ah, ah ah ah ah, ah ah ah ah ah
Ah ah ah ah, ah ah ah ah, ah ah ah ah ah
My world is spinning around,
Everything is lost that I found.
People run, come ride with me,
Let's find another place that's free.
Everything is lost that I found.
People run, come ride with me,
Let's find another place that's free.
Ride, ride my see-saw,
Take this place
On this trip
Just for me.
Take this place
On this trip
Just for me.
Ride, take a free ride,
Take my place
Have my seat
It's for free.
Take my place
Have my seat
It's for free.
Ride, my see-saw.
Ride, ride, ride, my see-saw.
Ride, my see-saw...
Ride, ride, ride, my see-saw.
Ride, my see-saw...
Songwriters: Charles Lodge John / John Lodge
Ride My See-Saw lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc
Artist: The Moody Blues
Album: In Search of the Lost Chord
Released: 1968
Recorded: 17 May 1968
B-side: "A Simple Game" (UK); "Voices in the Sky" (US)
Producer(s): Tony Clarke
Moody Blues-Lovely To See You - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhkiAdPmu3o
Lyrics
Wonderful day, for passing my way
Knock on my door and even the score with your eyes....
Knock on my door and even the score with your eyes....
Lovely to see you again my friend
Walk along with me to the next bend
Walk along with me to the next bend
Dark cloud of fear is blowing away
Now that you're here, you're going to stay, 'cause it's
Now that you're here, you're going to stay, 'cause it's
Lovely to see you again my friend
Walk along with me to the next bend
Walk along with me to the next bend
Tell us what you've seen
In far away forgotten lands
Where empires have turned back to sand
In far away forgotten lands
Where empires have turned back to sand
Wonderful day for passing my way
Knock on my door, and even the score with your eyes..
Knock on my door, and even the score with your eyes..
Lovely to see you again my friend
Walk along with me to the next bend...
Walk along with me to the next bend...
Songwriters: Justin Hayward
Lovely to See You lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Artist: The Moody Blues
Album: On the Threshold of a Dream
Released: 1969
Recorded: 14 January 1969
Genres: Progressive/Art Rock, Psychedelic Rock
THE MOODY BLUES-NEVER COMES THE DAY-1969 - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8u1zH11yqFQ
Lyrics
Work away today, work away tomorrow.
Never comes the day for my love and me.
I feel her gently sighing as the evening slips away.
If only you knew what's inside of me now
You wouldn't want to know me somehow,
But
You will love me tonight,
We alone will be alright,
In the end.
Never comes the day for my love and me.
I feel her gently sighing as the evening slips away.
If only you knew what's inside of me now
You wouldn't want to know me somehow,
But
You will love me tonight,
We alone will be alright,
In the end.
Give just a little bit more
Take a little bit less
From each other tonight
Admit what you're feeling
And see what's in front of you,
It's never out of your sight.
You know it's true,
We all know that it's true.
Take a little bit less
From each other tonight
Admit what you're feeling
And see what's in front of you,
It's never out of your sight.
You know it's true,
We all know that it's true.
Work away today, think about tomorrow
Never comes the day for my love and me.
I feel her gently sighing as the evening slips away.
If only you knew what's inside of me now
You wouldn't want to know me somehow,
But
You will love me tonight,
We alone will be alright,
In the end.
Never comes the day for my love and me.
I feel her gently sighing as the evening slips away.
If only you knew what's inside of me now
You wouldn't want to know me somehow,
But
You will love me tonight,
We alone will be alright,
In the end.
Give just a little bit more
Take a little bit less
From each other tonight
Admit what you're feeling
And see what's in front of you,
It's never out of your sight.
You know it's true,
We all know that it's true.
Take a little bit less
From each other tonight
Admit what you're feeling
And see what's in front of you,
It's never out of your sight.
You know it's true,
We all know that it's true.
Songwriters: Justin Hayward
Never Comes the Day lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Artist: The Moody Blues
Album: On the Threshold of a Dream
Released: 1969
Recorded: 22 January 1969
Genres: Progressive/Art Rock, Psychedelic Rock
Moody Blues "A Question of Balance" - Full Album - YouTube
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL8a8cutYP7fqMLW7WyhtF919aexQRIYDk
Sep 11, 2018 - A Question of Balance is the sixth album by The Moody Blues, released in 1970. The album was an attempt by the group to strip down their ...
Nessun commento:
Posta un commento