THE MOODY BLUES
The Moody Blues are an English rock band. Among their innovations was a fusion with classical music, as heard in their 1967 album Days of Future Passed. The Moody Blues have sold more than 55 million albums worldwide and have been awarded 18 platinum and gold discs. As of 2015 they remain active with one member from the original 1964 band (drummer Graeme Edge) and two more from the 1966 lineup (bassist John Lodge and guitarist Justin Hayward). (More from Wikipedia)
That’s what it says: The Magnificent Moodies. This record was released in 1965 and was the first album by the Moody Blues. Like many of the British Invasion bands, they started out as a crackerjack rhythm and blues band, and the U. S. release of the album has a different cover and some variation in the songs. You can certainly be forgiven if you don’t think of them as a British Invasion band. Also, like me, you probably have difficulty imagining the Moody Blues covering songs by James Brown (two of them, no less), Willie Dixon and George Gershwin; but that is exactly what they do on this album. “Time Is on My Side” is included on most of the CD reissues as a bonus track; the song is best known from the Rolling Stones version of “Time Is on My Side”, their first Top Ten hit in the US (the song was written by Norman Meade). Their next album, Days of Future Passed was completely different from The Magnificent Moodies; it is maybe the first rock album to feature a symphony orchestra (the London Festival Orchestra to be exact). The band did not tour with an orchestra though until their landmark concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre in 1992 with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra.
For some reason, almost from the beginning the Moody Blues completely turned their back on the music from their first album. For instance, their album Seventh Sojourn is actually their eighth album. This is even more surprising considering that the Moody Blues had a worldwide hit song from that album called “Go Now”. I used to hear that song on the radio from time to time, and the first time, I was amazed to hear the name of the artist. The lead singer on that track is Denny Laine, while the distinctive piano is performed by Mike Pinder. Laine would later become a key member of Paul McCartney’s band Wings.
(September 2012)
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