THE MOODY BLUES
Crossover Prog • United Kingdom
From Progarchives.com, the ultimate progressive rock music website
Formed in 1964 in Birmingham, UK - Suspended activity between 1974 and 1977 - Still active as of 2017
Imitation. Innovation. Sensation. That pretty much sums up the first phase of THE MOODY BLUES. Their 1965 debut, "The Magnificent Moodies", was your standard British Invasion record; R&B covers and originals from Mike Pinder and Denny Laine that included an earlier #1 hit single, "Go Now". In 1967, Justin Hayward and John Lodge replaced Laine and Rod Clarke, and what followed was the stunningly original "Days of Future Passed".
Featuring orchestral arrangements and introducing to many ears the transcendent tones of the mellotron, that work almost single-handedly set the stage for the progressive rock movement. Subsequent albums confirmed the band's status as England's newest sensation: "On The Threshold of a Dream", "A Question of Balance", "Every Good Boy Deserves Favour" and "Seventh Sojourn" all hit #1. Hibernation of a sort followed in the mid '70s, as each member of the band released solo albums (Hayward and Lodge had the most success with their 1975 effort, "BLUE JAYS")!
The band regrouped in the '80s and picked up where they left off (commercially anyway) with "Long Distance Voyager". Though the '90s found the Moodies less of a commercial force than a cult band, the group still tours and releases albums on occasion (including 1999's "Strange Times"). Their mix of sentimentalism and existentialism still resonates with listeners today, a point perhaps best made when the band was invited to play themselves on that most trendy of television shows, The Simpsons.
See also: HAYWARD & LODGE
THE MOODY BLUES Videos (YouTube and more)
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THE MOODY BLUES discography
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THE MOODY BLUES top albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)
2.31 | 112 ratings
The Magnificent Moodies [Aka: The Beginning] 1965 |
4.20 | 961 ratings
Days of Future Passed 1967 |
3.86 | 488 ratings
In Search of the Lost Chord 1968 |
3.77 | 415 ratings
On The Threshold Of A Dream 1969 |
4.08 | 461 ratings
To Our Children's Children's Children 1969 |
3.54 | 358 ratings
A Question of Balance 1970 |
3.57 | 348 ratings
Every Good Boy Deserves Favour 1971 |
3.75 | 329 ratings
Seventh Sojourn 1972 |
2.75 | 174 ratings
Octave 1978 |
3.34 | 240 ratings
Long Distance Voyager 1981 |
3.03 | 148 ratings
The Present 1983 |
2.30 | 123 ratings
The Other Side of Life 1986 |
2.42 | 101 ratings
Sur la mer 1988 |
2.80 | 91 ratings
Keys of the Kingdom 1991 |
2.67 | 95 ratings
Strange Times 1999 |
2.57 | 75 ratings
December 2003 |
THE MOODY BLUES Live Albums (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)
3.12 | 66 ratings
Caught Live + 5 1977 |
3.50 | 45 ratings
A Night at Red Rocks with the Colorado Symphonic Orchestra 1993 |
3.82 | 33 ratings
Hall of Fame - Live at the Royal Albert Hall 2000 2000 |
3.69 | 18 ratings
Lovely To See You Live 2005 |
2.84 | 21 ratings
Live At The BBC: 1967 - 1970 2007 |
3.43 | 23 ratings
Live at the Isle of Wight 1970 2008 |
4.33 | 9 ratings
The Days of Future Passed Live 2018 |
THE MOODY BLUES Videos (DVD, Blu-ray, VHS etc)
3.34 | 10 ratings
Legend of a Band 1990 |
3.34 | 26 ratings
A Night At Red Rocks With The Colorado Symphony Orchestra (DVD) 1993 |
4.12 | 15 ratings
Hall Of Fame 2000 |
2.20 | 19 ratings
The Lost Performance: Live in Paris '70 2004 |
3.38 | 17 ratings
Lovely To See You Live (DVD) 2005 |
2.68 | 12 ratings
Live at Montreux 1991 2005 |
4.04 | 11 ratings
Classic Artists: The Moody Blues 2006 |
3.59 | 21 ratings
Threshold of a Dream - Live at the Isle of Wight 1970 2009 |
4.16 | 6 ratings
Days of Future Passed Live 2018 |
THE MOODY BLUES Boxset & Compilations (CD, LP, MC, SACD, DVD-A, Digital Media Download)
2.64 | 6 ratings
Go Now - Moody Blues #1 [Aka: In The Beginning] 1965 |
4.31 | 67 ratings
This Is The Moody Blues 1974 |
2.50 | 9 ratings
Voices In The Sky - The best of The Moody Blues 1985 |
2.61 | 19 ratings
Prelude 1987 |
3.97 | 12 ratings
Greatest Hits 1989 |
4.26 | 25 ratings
Time Traveller (Box set) 1994 |
1.18 | 2 ratings
True Story 1996 |
3.15 | 13 ratings
The Best Of Moody Blues 1997 |
2.34 | 9 ratings
The Moody Blues Anthology 1998 |
2.86 | 8 ratings
The Best of Moody Blues - 20th Century Masters 2000 |
4.00 | 10 ratings
The Singles + 2000 |
4.50 | 2 ratings
Ballads 2003 |
4.67 | 3 ratings
Say It With Love 2003 |
3.95 | 10 ratings
Gold 2005 |
4.67 | 3 ratings
Moody Blues Collected 2007 |
4.67 | 3 ratings
Playlist Plus 2008 |
4.86 | 7 ratings
Timeless Flight 2013 |
3.29 | 5 ratings
Timeless Flight 2013 |
5.00 | 2 ratings
Timeless Flight 2013 |
THE MOODY BLUES Official Singles, EPs, Fan Club & Promo (CD, EP/LP, MC, Digital Media Download)
2.60 | 5 ratings
Steal Your Heart Away 1964 |
3.14 | 7 ratings
Go Now! 1964 |
2.60 | 5 ratings
I Don't Want to Go On Without You 1965 |
2.96 | 7 ratings
Everyday 1965 |
3.67 | 3 ratings
The Moody Blues E.P. 1965 |
2.88 | 6 ratings
From The Bottom Of My Heart 1965 |
3.74 | 8 ratings
Boulevard De La Madelaine 1966 |
4.78 | 30 ratings
Nights in White Satin 1967 |
3.17 | 6 ratings
Life's Not Life 1967 |
2.31 | 7 ratings
Fly Me High 1967 |
3.29 | 12 ratings
Voices in the Sky 1968 |
4.03 | 13 ratings
Tuesday Afternoon 1968 |
3.89 | 16 ratings
Ride My See-Saw 1968 |
4.00 | 8 ratings
Voices In The Sky 1968 |
3.29 | 9 ratings
Never Comes the Day 1969 |
3.82 | 11 ratings
Watching and Waiting 1969 |
4.71 | 16 ratings
Melancholy Man 1970 |
4.13 | 19 ratings
Question 1970 |
4.00 | 10 ratings
The Story In Your Eyes 1971 |
4.14 | 14 ratings
Isn't Life Strange 1972 |
4.09 | 11 ratings
I'm Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band) 1973 |
3.11 | 9 ratings
Steppin' in a Slide Zone 1978 |
3.71 | 7 ratings
Had to Fall in Love 1978 |
3.15 | 7 ratings
Driftwood 1978 |
3.67 | 6 ratings
Gemini Dream 1981 |
4.44 | 9 ratings
The Voice 1981 |
3.63 | 8 ratings
Talking Out Of Turn 1981 |
4.00 | 9 ratings
Blue World 1983 |
2.59 | 8 ratings
Sitting at the Wheel 1983 |
3.20 | 5 ratings
Running Water 1984 |
3.82 | 11 ratings
Your Wildest Dreams 1986 |
3.86 | 7 ratings
I Know You're Out There Somewhere 1988 |
3.83 | 6 ratings
No More Lies 1988 |
1.24 | 7 ratings
Bless The Wings 1991 |
3.50 | 8 ratings
English Sunset 1999 |
3.00 | 3 ratings
December Snow 2003 |
THE MOODY BLUES Reviews
Showing last 10 reviews only
The Moody Blues Crossover Prog
Review by mickcoxinha
The sounds are a bit fuller, but their choice of fading in and out the songs into each other is appalling, because some songs sound abruptly cut. The sound of the album is a bit dense as well, and there is a recent "remix" version that tries to improve some things, but also loses some things, just to show how convoluted the sound of the album is. As for the songs, there is the mix of rockers, folkier, experimental, ballads. The album features a bit better songwriting than the predecessor, but the experimental and epic features are tamer (the surprise coming from Beyond, a experimental instrumental with amazing mellotron sounds composed surprisingly by Edge, who didn't compose anything but the poems before). The "core" of the album is Beyond, Out and In, Gypsy and Eternity Road. There are amazing mellotron sounds in all of these songs and they are all very strong, solid (Gypsy is even a minor success of the band) and Eternity Road shows a brief moment of the band jamming, which is very, very rare and interesting. The closing song, Watching and Waiting, is a superb ballad, one of the most beautiful Hayward performances, and finishes the album in a high note. It is also a bit nice to have a song with sitars and oriental influences, although the mellotron and cello make the song a forerunner of the distorted loudness wars songs.
Too bad that despite being a very pleasant album, it is less daring than the predecessors, and the convoluted and blurry sound with too many elements make the listening experience less interesting. Above all, the albums more or less puts Moodies back in the progressive rock evolution. They got too comfortable with the formula and never tried to push many boundaries.
The Moody Blues Crossover Prog
Review by mickcoxinha
A collection of run-of-the-mill tunes, with a mix of everything that was fashionable in the late sixties except from prog and not much psychedelic. We have some bits of blues, folk, beat, country, garage rock, soul. The flute and mellotron give a little flair for some tunes, but most of the arrangements are a bit shy even compared to Moody Blues standards. One of the best things in those songs is to see the talents of the underrated guitarist Justin Hayward moving between the most different styles with flawless execution.
Of course, it is not only that, because there is the latest suite, which is a great song with spoken word poem, this time over electronic sounds, a beautiful ballad and the amazing The Voyage, which is the most grandiose thing done by a band not augmented by orchestral arrangements. It is ironic that such amazing song is in one of their less daring albums. That would be a feature that would kinda repeat itself in all their latter albums, unfortunately.
WIth its ups and downs, it is still a great late 60s album.
The Moody Blues Crossover Prog
Review by BBKron
The Moody Blues Crossover Prog
Review by BBKron
The Moody Blues Crossover Prog
Review by BBKron
The Moody Blues Crossover Prog
Review by BBKron
The Moody Blues Crossover Prog
Review by BBKron
The Moody Blues Crossover Prog
Review by BBKron
The Moody Blues Crossover Prog
Review by BBKron
The Moody Blues Crossover Prog
Review by BBKron