The Moody Blues

[Jason]

You know, all of the stuff said about how the band hit a wall with To Our Children's Children's Children is kind of misleading. The "official" story is that the band only was able to perform Gypsy in concert and therefore had to come to terms with the excesses of their sound and come up with leaner arrangements. However, if you look into the band's 1973-74 touring period, they played four tunes from that album - the shows all opened with a medley of Higher and Higher and Out and In, and later in the sets they played both Watching and Waiting and Eternity Road. Eternity Road even came back into the setlists during the 90s when the band toured with symphony orchestras, and Higher and Higher returned in 2003 (probably to give Graeme something more to do since they dropped his previous spotlight, Nothing Changes, from the sets). The songs weren't so much unable to be played live but it's hard to separate those songs from the whole. It's easily their most unified of concepts.

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

All of their 1967-72 albums are pretty much flawless, although I'd give the edge to Every Good Boy Deserves Favour. Procession is probably the best art rock instrumental of all time. The band is firing on all cylinders; every member has some great material to contribute. Justin's The Story In Your Eyes is an absolute classic. John's Emily's Song and One More Time To Live are great, lesser-played tunes. Mike's My Song is the best thing he ever wrote for the Moodies.

I agree! Even though Seventh Sojourn is awesome: Every Good Boy might be their absolute peak. You Can Never Go Home Anymore is my fave Justin song ever, After You Came might be Grahams best, My Song is a stunning album closer, (Though When You're A Free Man Again is Pinder's peak, in my book) One More Time To Live is also Lodge at his best.

Plus, the album jacket alone can't be beat!

[SMiLE Brian]

Yeah but:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1cO-g6orYGI&feature=related  

Didn't you get to meet Patrick Moraz?

Ha! Yes! It was hilarious!

I was living in San Pedro and I guess he was renting some huge half empty mansion in Palos Verdes and was doing a gig at the local, punk rock type coffehouse/venue where me and all my punk-ass friends would hang out. I didn't and don't talk about it much, but I'm a massive Yes freak, so I couldn't help but notice all these posters for Patrick's new album (Windows Of Time) and fliers for his gig literally plastered on every wall, telephone pole, window in town. So, we where hanging out in front of the coffeehouse one night and I hear this booming voice with this weird accent, and I look up the street and it's Patrick Moraz wearing this hugest fur coat I've ever seen and more bling than Mr. T.  He's heading our way trailed with his entourage of really young and fey indie-musician types. Moraz sees that I recognize him so he walks right up to me and asks "yes"? I ask him "Hey, if I run and grab my copy of Relayer (I lived right round the corner) will you sign it for me"? He raises his finger in the air and shouts "NO! Buy my new album: Windows Of Time"! ... I go, "OK, well, will you sign THAT"? He says "Come to my show and I will"! I said, "No thanks"! So, he moved on with a dismissive frown.

I actually didn't get to see his gig. His over-promoting paid off and it was too crowded. But we walked past and could hear some killer stuff he was doing. Friends said it was a great show and that he told all kinds of hilarious stories.

I knew some prog rock drummer guy who was hanging out with Moraz at the time and he said the house he was living in was basically empty and he was sleeping on a blow-up mattress and had all these random keyboards in various states of disrepair that he was trying to sell everyone.

What a story, almost seems like a plot to a Wes Anderson film.

[SMiLE Brian]

You know, all of the stuff said about how the band hit a wall with To Our Children's Children's Children is kind of misleading. The "official" story is that the band only was able to perform Gypsy in concert and therefore had to come to terms with the excesses of their sound and come up with leaner arrangements. However, if you look into the band's 1973-74 touring period, they played four tunes from that album - the shows all opened with a medley of Higher and Higher and Out and In, and later in the sets they played both Watching and Waiting and Eternity Road. Eternity Road even came back into the setlists during the 90s when the band toured with symphony orchestras, and Higher and Higher returned in 2003 (probably to give Graeme something more to do since they dropped his previous spotlight, Nothing Changes, from the sets). The songs weren't so much unable to be played live but it's hard to separate those songs from the whole. It's easily their most unified of concepts.

Thats awesome they actually did more of those songs live, this band has a lot of myths like the BBs do.

[nickdunning]

You know, all of the stuff said about how the band hit a wall with To Our Children's Children's Children is kind of misleading. The songs weren't so much unable to be played live but it's hard to separate those songs from the whole. It's easily their most unified of concepts.

I heard there was some disappointment with the band about the failure of 'Watching And Waiting' as a single. It was thought by the band that this one would actually top 'Nights In White Satin' as a hit record. It flopped. Maybe that put a shadow on the album, of which the second side, in particular, is the most unified thing they did. Wonderful stuff.

I only recently got hold of the Mort Garson 'Cosmic Sounds' LP, which various Moodies have always given as a key influence on them. It's not just the silly narration on that LP that was co-opted at times, it's the sound of the record, elegant, atmospheric. Very evident in songs like the wonderful 'Eternity Road'.

[nickdunning]

All of their 1967-72 albums are pretty much flawless, although I'd give the edge to Every Good Boy Deserves Favour. Procession is probably the best art rock instrumental of all time. The band is firing on all cylinders; every member has some great material to contribute. Justin's The Story In Your Eyes is an absolute classic. John's Emily's Song and One More Time To Live are great, lesser-played tunes. Mike's My Song is the best thing he ever wrote for the Moodies.

I agree! Even though Seventh Sojourn is awesome: Every Good Boy might be their absolute peak. You Can Never Go Home Anymore is my fave Justin song ever, After You Came might be Grahams best, My Song is a stunning album closer, (Though When You're A Free Man Again is Pinder's peak, in my book) One More Time To Live is also Lodge at his best.

Plus, the album jacket alone can't be beat!

EGBDF is certainly beautifully packaged, as all the albums were (although Seventh Sojourn's grey/brown sleeve is a bit bleak, in some ways reflecting the music) - but IMHO it's possibly the weakest of the seven. However it does have 'You Can Never Go Home' on it, which is a magnificent song.

'My Song' and 'After You Came' are overblown, again IMHO.

You're right about 'When You're A Free Man' though. Superb track. Cold War melodramatic rock, one of the few instances of this genre!

[Jason]

It's tough picking the weakest of the Classic 7...probably the closest would be A Question of Balance, but it's still a great LP.

I've been listening to some of my live Moodies bootlegs, mostly from the 1970-74 period. They were quite an underrated live band, despite having to downsize their studio arrangements to fit the live context. The Caught Live +5 album does them a bit of a disservice, since it was not the band on one of their better nights (rumors of drug use are substantiated). The Isle of Wight 1970 disc is a much better document of them live during the early 1970s.

It's fun to hear those lush studio arrangements stripped down to be played by five men onstage. Stuff like Tortoise and the Hare and After You Came became vicious rockers in concert.

[SMiLE Brian]

The moodies are really underrated as a self- contained rock unit.

[Jason]

The moodies are really underrated as a self- contained rock unit.

They are! I'd like to see them release some more live recordings from their heyday, if they indeed exist. Apparently, they have a reference tape from the 1973 tour that could possibly be released. And pretty much every tour since 1970 until 1997 had gigs recorded for radio broadcast.

It'd be nice if they could release the 1970 Philadelphia gig; it's easily one of their best gigs. It was played on the radio in Philly at the time, but the only bootlegs are either recorded off-air from the radio, or audience tapes. They should also release the 1979 Seattle gig, with a bunch of Octave material and, of all surprises, The Balance. There's a San Diego gig from '94 that has Eternity Road, as well. I hope that these will be properly released one day. Their live albums have always sold pretty well.

[SMiLE Brian]

The moodies are really underrated as a self- contained rock unit.

They are! I'd like to see them release some more live recordings from their heyday, if they indeed exist. Apparently, they have a reference tape from the 1973 tour that could possibly be released. And pretty much every tour since 1970 until 1997 had gigs recorded for radio broadcast.

It'd be nice if they could release the 1970 Philadelphia gig; it's easily one of their best gigs. It was played on the radio in Philly at the time, but the only bootlegs are either recorded off-air from the radio, or audience tapes. They should also release the 1979 Seattle gig, with a bunch of Octave material and, of all surprises, The Balance. There's a San Diego gig from '94 that has Eternity Road, as well. I hope that these will be properly released one day. Their live albums have always sold pretty well.

The more great live material released, the better because the Moodies get a bad rap as a studio only "boring prog-rock band"

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

The moodies are really underrated as a self- contained rock unit.

The Moodies are one of the REAL units in rock history!

Sure Justin had the best voice/is the best looking, but they ALL wrote and played an integral part in what the band was. No one guy has all the best songs either. Each guy contributed their own share of classics (yes, even Edge)!!

[SMiLE Brian]

The moodies are really underrated as a self- contained rock unit.

The Moodies are one of the REAL units in rock history!

Sure Justin had the best voice/is the best looking, but they ALL wrote and played an integral part in what the band was. No one guy has all the best songs either. Each guy contributed their own share of classics (yes, even Edge)!!

They were a true group effort, that's why when they tour now, its easy to tell the missing presence of Pinder and Thomas.

[Ron]

I used to work with this old man who was from England.  He told me a couple stories and call me foolish but I actually believe the guy.  The stories weren't 'good enough' to be fake. 

He claimed that he used to know the Moody Blues when they were first getting started, he let them borrow his van to do shows for a while or something like that.  If he was lying about that, I don't think he made up a good enough story, leading me to believe it was true.

He also claimed that he used to see John Lennon in bars all the time.  He said they'd play shows, and John would stay around and drink, and get in fights with everybody.  To test his lie, I asked him what Paul was like, he said he wasn't sure because Paul didn't usually hang around after the shows.  Seems to me if he was lying, he would have lied and said he knew Paul too. 

Who knows.  Anyways, everytime I see the moody blues I think about him saying he let them borrow his van, lol. 

[Malc]

Just caught hold of this thread - and I LOVE The Moodies as well. Fave album ? TOCCC ... but in addition to the classic 7 as they are referred to I always rated both Long Distance Voyager and the Blue Jays project, and I can always recall being bitterly disappointed in both Octave and The Present. From thereon I stopped buying them ... but I'll tell you the ONE THING that has really bugged me. There has NEVER been a definitive biography on the band. That would be a fascinating read and a MUST-HAVE ! I do remember one being mooted a few years back... but nothing ever appeared. Any insight as to why ? I can just imagine one in the context of The Byrds 'Timeless Flight' package ...

[Alex]

Any chance of Denny Laine rejoining the Moodies?

[Malc]

Any chance of Denny Laine rejoining the Moodies?

and why would he do that ? He was never in the band with Justin or John, Mike and Ray are no longer there, and they certainly no longer play the r'n'b style he originally performed with them. He may have been an original but he's got no relevance to the 'Moody Blues' as they are known today or their musical style. Despite his obvious musical abilities, and I've got nothing against him - I loved the stuff he did with Wings, but ... no need.

[Pinder's Gone To Kokomo And Back Again]

Listened to TOCCC last night. (First time in quite a while) and it's now my new fave of the classic 7!!!!

So many great songs on it, and I think it has the best flow of any Moodies album!

[Summertime Blooz]

Listened to TOCCC last night. (First time in quite a while) and it's now my new fave of the classic 7!!!!

So many great songs on it, and I think it has the best flow of any Moodies album!

TOCCC is my favorite too- actually one of my favorite albums by anybody. Funny thing- for years I interpreted the theme of the album as being death and the possible afterlife (which totally works). It was 20 years later that a fellow Moodies fan told me it was all about space travel. Side note: the very first LP I ever bought was Every Good Boy because I loved Story In Your Eyes from the radio.

[nickdunning]

Listened to TOCCC last night. (First time in quite a while) and it's now my new fave of the classic 7!!!!

So many great songs on it, and I think it has the best flow of any Moodies album!

TOCCC is my favorite too- actually one of my favorite albums by anybody. Funny thing- for years I interpreted the theme of the album as being death and the possible afterlife (which totally works). It was 20 years later that a fellow Moodies fan told me it was all about space travel. Side note: the very first LP I ever bought was Every Good Boy because I loved Story In Your Eyes from the radio.

I think there's a bit of both concepts in it. It's a bit multi-faceted. Great album.

[SMiLE Brian]

Seventh Sojourn on vinyl is one of my favorites right now. Mike Pinder's chamberlin upgrade really changed the sound in a positive way.

[Malc]

What was the deal with the Caught Live +5 album ? I heard that the band weren't to keen on it's release ... was it a contract filler or something ? I think it's a really strong album, although it would have been nicer to make it a complete four sides of concert ... but I guess the inclusion of 5 previously unreleased tunes was a marketing/sales ploy. What did the band actually say at the time of release ... and are there any quality SB recordings circulating from their early 70's shows ? Never seen any ...

[Jason]

What was the deal with the Caught Live +5 album ? I heard that the band weren't to keen on it's release ... was it a contract filler or something ? I think it's a really strong album, although it would have been nicer to make it a complete four sides of concert ... but I guess the inclusion of 5 previously unreleased tunes was a marketing/sales ploy. What did the band actually say at the time of release ... and are there any quality SB recordings circulating from their early 70's shows ? Never seen any ...

They weren't particularly thrilled with it when the recording was made in 1969 (allegations of drug use were confirmed by the band), and Decca only released it once the news of the band's reunion became public to test the waters for the continued commercial viability of Moody Blues product. The whole concert is actually on the album; the only reason for the five studio recordings was that the album would have been three-sided without them and I doubt they were going to attempt another Monty Python's Matching Tie and Handkerchief.

As far as quality soundboards, the band released their set at the Isle of Wight from 1970 a couple years ago, which is pretty good. I have a radio broadcast (more accurately recorded by pointing a microphone at a radio) from Philadelphia in late '70 and a 35 minute excerpt of a radio broadcast from VPRO in '72 when they played in Amsterdam. There's a rumor that the band has a tape of one of the 1973 gigs, but it's never come to light and I doubt it will be released.

[SMiLE Brian]

Are there any great books on the history of the Moody Blues?

[Malc]

Shame about that 73 gig - would've loved to have heard that one. I've been contemplating the IOW CD but was put off when I heard the somewhat 'ragged' version of "Tortoise & Hare". Maybe it was just a bad day for me - I shall try again ! As for a book on the band - I'd love to read one - and have actually been contemplating that as my next project once my BREAD biography hits the shelves ... 

[Jason]

Luckily, many of the audience tapes from the 1970-74 period are quite listenable. There aren't many from 1973-74; only four from '73 and two from '74. Look for a gig from those years to hear more tunes from To Our Children's Children's Children played live, specifically Higher and Higher, Out and In, Eternity Road, and Watching and Waiting.