in search of the lost chord

The Moody Blues broadened their musical horizons with the cosmic mysticism of this exploratory concept album.  After their fusion of rock and classical music on 'Days of Future Passed', the band decided to record their next album 'In Search of the Lost Chord' without outside musicians.   Mike Pinder remembers:    "When I was very young I heard a piece of music by Duke Ellington called 'Mood Indigo'. I really liked the music, but I liked the name of it even better, and it just stuck with me. Something like that I'll just always remember. Another piece of music that I heard when I was about five was by Jimmy Durante, and it was called 'Tin The Guy Who Found The Lost Chord'. That stuck with me too. That became an album for us in 1968 called 'In Search of The Lost Chord'. So you have that early childhood memory that stuck with me and the whole idea of the myth of the Lost Chord." 

Every member of the band wrote songs for the album. As with the previous album, the sessions were produced by Tony Clarke at Decca Studios in West Hampstead, London for Deram Records and featured Justin Hayward on vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, 12-string guitar, sitar, harpsichord, piano, mellotron, bass guitar, percussion, and tablas; John Lodge on vocals, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, cello, tambourine, and snare drum; Graeme Edge on vocals, drums, piano, timpani, tambourine, tablas, and spoken vocal; Ray Thomas on vocals, C flute, alto flute, soprano saxophone, oboe, french horn, and tambourine; and Mike Pinder on vocals, mellotron, piano, harpsichord, acoustic guitar, cello, autoharp, bass guitar, and tambura.   John Lodge reveals:   "What happened was...as the recordings were going along, and it’s very difficult to imagine this today...we recorded 'Days Of Future Passed' on a four track machine. The whole album was done on a four track machine. 'In Search Of The Lost Chord', except for the vocals on “Ride My See Saw”, all that was done on a four track machine as well. We had an eight track machine come in at the very end of the sessions and we did all the vocals on an eight track machine."

'In Search of the Lost Chord' found its way to number thirty-seven in Canada, thirty in Germany, twenty-three in the US, and number five in the UK.  Hayward considers the album a turning point for the band:  "I suppose I remember being part of something that I thought was going to last forever and get bigger and bigger and bigger and take over the world -- the fact that we were musicians in such a place. Looking back now, it just seems incredibly fortunate to be the right age at the right time at the right place, in that time, in that part of London. I know that most groups then were looking to America. The British rock and roll scene was very, very strong then. The Beatles were always our leader. They were streets ahead of the rest of us.  It was fortunate for us that we went to America in 1968. You had Bill Graham, FM radio was starting, and we were making the kind of music that was kind of non-commercial. We weren’t making hit singles like a lot of people still tend do, all the time, in the UK. We kind of rejected that. And in the end that turned out to be the best move we ever made, quite unconsciously. We just wanted to make albums. With the first album, we developed a taste for it, and from then on, we just wanted to make albums. We were very lucky that our integrity set us in good stead in the UK and then America."








http://www.moodybluestoday.com/








'Ride My See-Saw' floated to number sixty-one in the US, forty-two in the UK, thirty-three in Canada, and number sixteen in the Netherlands. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=68OXtuxKRr4






'Voices in the Sky' floated to number twenty-seven in the UK.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IPEMZteFjWc




'Legend of a Mind' was inspired by counter culture guru Timothy Leary.  This promotional video was filmed  at Groot-Bijgaarden Castle near Brussels in Belgium.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r_TbovyVOzs




'A Simple Game' was a non-album b-side that was included on subsequent re-issues.  
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fj61_G_USdQ

'In Search of the Lost Chord'
full album:


Side A
(Writers) Lead vocals
1. "Departure"   Graeme Edge Graeme Edge (narration) 0:44
2. "Ride My See-Saw"   John Lodge John Lodge, Ray Thomas, Justin Hayward, Mike Pinder 3:38
3. "Dr. Livingstone, I Presume"   Ray Thomas Ray Thomas 2:58
4. "House of Four Doors"   Lodge John Lodge 4:13
5. "Legend of a Mind"   Thomas Ray Thomas 6:37
6. "House of Four Doors (Part 2)"   Lodge John Lodge 1:42
Side B
1. "Voices in the Sky"   Justin Hayward Justin Hayward 3:30
2. "The Best Way to Travel"   Mike Pinder Mike Pinder 3:12
3. "Visions of Paradise"   Hayward, Thomas Justin Hayward 4:15
4. "The Actor"   Hayward Justin Hayward 4:39
5. "The Word"   Edge Mike Pinder (narration) 0:49
6. "Om"   Pinder Mike Pinder, Ray Thomas 5:47

every good boy deserves favour

The Moodies left Decca to record this lyrical and complex musical concept album. 'Every Good Boy Deserves Favour' features songwriting from every member of the band, and was recorded in the midst of a tour at Wessex Studios for Threshold Records. The album went to number one on the British album chart and number two on the American chart, even though no singles were released.

Justin Hayward describes the inspiration behind the album title: "It's how people remember to learn sonic scales, a finger exercise. It's repeated over and over again in different places in the album, which was musically based on those exercises. That's where it came from, and the Moog keeps playing that phrase. We used a lot of strange electronics, and the album was very much Moog-based more than Mellotron. It was the beginning of synthesizers."

http://www.moodybluestoday.com/

'Procession / The Story In Your Eyes'

The lead-off track 'Procession' was co-written by the entire band as a concept piece. John Lodge reflects: "We were taking music and people from the very beginning and coming right up to date with everything which had happened through history." Justin Hayward wrote the rocking 'The Story In Your Eyes' peaked at number twenty one on the US pop chart, despite not being released as a single.

"Listen to the tide slowly turning

Wash all our heartaches away

We're part of the fire that is burning

And from the ashes we can build another day"

Bassist John Lodge wrote 'Emily's Song' for his newborn daughter.

"Walk with me now

Into your land of fairy tales

And open up that book of pages in my mind

And open up that book of ages in my mind"

'After You Came' was written by drummer Graeme Edge.

"Since it began I've got one dream

And really it's my only blessing

If I can come through then so can you

And you will find there's no regretting"

Flautist Ray Thomas wrote 'Nice To Be Here'.

"Nice to be here, hope you agree

Lying in the sun

Lovely weather, must climb a tree

The show has just begun"

'My Song' was composed by Mike Pinder.

"I'm going to sing my song

And sing it all day long

A song that never ends

How can I tell you, all the things inside my head."

'Every Good Boy Deserves Favour'  full album:



Side One
"Procession" (Graeme Edge, Justin Hayward, John Lodge, Mike Pinder, Ray Thomas) – 4:40 (spoken & sung vocals: Justin Hayward, John Lodge, Graeme Edge, Mike Pinder, Ray Thomas)
"The Story in Your Eyes" (Hayward) – 2:57 (lead singer: Justin Hayward)
"Our Guessing Game" (Thomas) – 3:34 (lead singer: Ray Thomas)
"Emily's Song" (Lodge) – 3:41 (lead singer: John Lodge)
"After You Came" (Edge) – 4:37 (lead singers: Ray Thomas, Mike Pinder, John Lodge, Justin Hayward)
Side Two
"One More Time to Live" (Lodge) – 5:41 (lead singer: John Lodge)
"Nice to Be Here" (Thomas) – 4:24 (lead singer: Ray Thomas)
"You Can Never Go Home" (Hayward) – 4:14 (lead singer: Justin Hayward)
"My Song" (Pinder) – 6:20 (lead singer: Mike Pinder)
bonus
"The Story in Your Eyes" (Original version) (Hayward) – 3:33
"The Dreamer" (Hayward, Thomas) – 3:42

long distance voyager

These Veteran Cosmic Rockers swept into the 80's with the confident majestic 'Long Distance Voyager'. It was the first and only time that the Moody Blues were able to record at Threshold Studio which had been custom designed for the band by Decca before they went on their extended hiatus. They had recorded their comeback album 'Octave' in California to accomodate Mike Pinder who had just started a family there. When it came time to tour for that album Pinder declined. Patrick Moraz had just parted ways with Yes and came in to replace Pinder on keyboards. The group decided to keep Moraz when it came time to record this album. Pinder attempted to sue the band to keep them from releasing an album without him; but it was to no avail. By the time the album was released, Decca Records had been acquired by Polydor and Threshold Studios was dismantled. The first side consists of songs by guitarist Justin Hayward and bassist John Lodge. Side two has another song from each of them, one from drummer Graeme Edge, and closes with a suite of three songs from flutist Ray Thomas. Despite dismissals from critics, 'Long Distance Voyager' made it to number five in the UK and topped the US album chart. It also featured NASA's Voyager spacecraft in the sky on the album cover in the midst of a Mediaeval setting.

http://www.moodybluestoday.com/

Hayward's 'The Voice' modernizes their mystical sound. It peaked at number fifteen on the pop chart and topped the Billboard Top Tracks chart for four weeks.

"'Cos out on the ocean of life my love

There's so many storms we must rise above

Can you hear the spirit calling

As it's carried across the waves

You're already falling

It's calling you back to face the music

And the song that is coming through

You're already falling

The one that it's calling you

Make a promise take a vow

And trust your feelings it's easy now

Understand the voice within

And feel the changes already beginning"

Written by bassist John Lodge, 'Talking Out Of Turn' evokes Pink Floyd and rekindles the grandeur of their days of future past. The single made it to number sixty-five in the US.

"But I took a little more of you each day

When I didn't see that I was breaking you apart

With angry words of love I didn't mean

Oh why, can't believe that I would ever

Talk myself out of tomorrow

Talked like a fool to yesterday

And as the evening loses colour

Your love began to fade away"

The energy of 'Gemini Dream' sounds like XTC by way of ELO. It describes the connection between performer and audience. It was co-written by Hayward and Lodge and made it to number twelve on the US pop chart.

"Long time no see

Short time for you and me

So fine, so good

We're on the road

Like you knew we would"

The lovely pop of 'Meanwhile' is another Hayward composition.

"I think I see where I went wrong

I think I see what's going on

Meanwhile and far away

As the night draws in

He's holding her right now

I can feel it all begin

Meanwhile and far away

When the day is done

I ride away with my friend

Into the setting sun

And the rivers running down

Down to the sea"

'Long Distance Voyager'
full album:



Side One
"The Voice" (Justin Hayward) – 5:21 (lead singer: Justin Hayward)
"Talking Out of Turn" (John Lodge) – 7:18 (lead singer: John Lodge)
"Gemini Dream" (Hayward, Lodge) – 4:09 (lead singers: Justin Hayward, John Lodge)
"In My World" (Hayward) – 7:22 (lead singer: Justin Hayward)
Side Two
"Meanwhile" (Hayward) – 4:08 (lead singer: Justin Hayward)
"22,000 Days" (Graeme Edge) – 5:25 (lead singer: Ray Thomas)
"Nervous" (Lodge) – 5:45 (lead singer: John Lodge)
"Painted Smile" (Ray Thomas) – 3:18 (lead singer: Ray Thomas)
"Reflective Smile" (Thomas) – 0:36 (narrator: Dave Symonds)
"Veteran Cosmic Rocker" (Thomas) – 3:18 (lead singer: Ray Thomas)