Today we are taking a look at all 16 studio albums from the great UK Proto Prog band, The Moody Blues. I have loved this band my entire life so ranking these was HARD!!! Very hard. #prog #progrock #progressiverock
I was in Vietnam 71/72 when I first heard of the Moody Blues. The album was, "Every good boy deserves favor" and I've been hooked ever since. I saw them at Summerfest, in Milwaukee, in the late 70s. When they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018 (about damn time!!!), I just KNEW the song they were going to play - "I'm just a singer in a rock and roll band".
Great video, Scot. RIP to Pinder; he just passed away :(. I remember reading somewhere that Moraz was never acknowledged as a full member of the band; just a side man. His contribution on those albums was exceptional. Also, I remember seeing them on the tour for Octave. I thought it was weird that Pinder was completely written out of the program.
My 2nd favorite band just behind The Beatles My 3 favorite moody Blues songs are Melancholy Man, Lost in a Lost World and My Song 1. Question of Balance 2. Days of Future past 3. Seventh Soujourn 4. In Search of the Lost Chord 5. To our Childrens Children's Children 6. On the Threshhold of a Dream 7. Every Good Boy Deserrves a Favor 8. Long Distance Voyager 9. Keys of the Kingdom 10. The Present 11. Octave 12. The Other Side of Life
I pretty much agree with your rankings. But I would rank 'Strange Times' above the 80's techno albums. There was a lot of strings, but it sounds more like the earlier albums than the 3 previous albums.
Great list man. I saw the Moody Blues 3 times..I find their pre-80s fairly deep, great meditation music. Prog enough for me. For anyone that hasnt listened to them, This Is The Moody Blues is a great introductory 2 LP record. 🎸🎸
I love the Moody Blues, superb ranking, the band was lacking for me after Mike Pinder left. The band was missing its heart i felt. Still some great material thereafter, not a huge fan of the 80s stuff. For me the classic 7 run is the Moodies best work 1 Threshold of a dream 2 To our Children's children's children 3 Days of future past 4 In search of the lost chord 5 Question of balance 6 seventh sojourn 7 Every good boy deserves favour Every one of those albums is a work of art, love them all
My ranking: 1 Seventh Sojourn 1972 2 On the Threshold of a Dream 1969 3 A Question of Balance 1970 4 Every Good Boy Deserves Favour 1971 5 Long Distance Voyager 1981 6 In Search of the Lost Chord 1968 7 Octave 1978 8 To Our Children's Children's Children 1969 9 Days of Future Past 1967 10 The Present 1983
When I first stumbled upon your channel, I didn't think I'd find someone who loved Yes as much as I do and had exactly the same favourite Pink Floyd and Marillion album as me. Now you've ranked The Moodies albums in exactly the same order as I do. I think I might have found a kindred spirit. Rock on brother. 😎😎
In Search of the Lost Chord will always be my true love, but you've reminded me how great Question of Balance is too. Last month my daughter and I got to see John Lodge and his excellent band play Days of Future Passed at the Royal Oak Music Theatre in Michigan. It far exceeded expectations. Yes' Jon Davison sang on Tuesday Afternoon, Nights in White Satin, and a raucous, rockin' encore of Ride My See Saw. In 46 years of going to rock concerts, I'd number this show among the best. Your videos are always entertaining and informative. Keep up the good work!
Love the Moody Blues! Thanks for doing this one, Great to hear your enthusiasm for them. The Moodies just don't get enough love and respect from the prog community. And yes, they definitely are prog, one of its true originators. And you're right, those top 8 albums are all fantastic! After that, yes, it does drop off quite a bit, but there are still some gems from throughout their catalog (Justin Hayward, in particular, is such a great singer and songwriter). My list has a bit different order from yours, my personal preferences (but all the same albums in the top ten, and all really good). It's too bad they sunk to that cheesy synthpop and sappy eighties production and arrangements in the later albums, as the songwriting still remained quite good. One of the all-time greats. Here's my ranking list (the top 3 are almost interchangeable): 16. Sur La Mer (1988 - the absolute worst of their cheesy synthpop era) 15. December (2003 - EZ listening Xmas tunes) 14. The Magnificent Moodies (1965 - Standard, competent blues-rock of the times, just nothing like what they would become) 13. Keys to the Kingdom (1991 - Some better songs, but still drowning in the synthpop nonsense arrangements) 12. The Other Side of Life (1986 - More good songs, a mix of styles) 11. Strange Times (1999 - more of a singer-songwrieter album, stripped-down arrangements, nice songs, actually a refreshing change from the synthpop style) 10. Octave (1978 - Return from extended break. Can't match earlier classics, but several really good songs) 9. The Present (1983 - Follow-up to Long Distance, not quite as strong, but still really good) 8. Long Distance Voyager (1981 - Great return to form, correct issues from Octave. several classic tracks) 7. Seventh Sojourn (1972 - My least fave from the classic period, but still great) 6. Days of Future Passed (1967 - Monumentally important album merging classical and rock, 'Nights' and 'Tuesday' are all-time classics, but orchestral sections other than on 'Nights' are not that well-arranged (arrangements out of the '40's and '50's instead of more contemporary) or well-incorporated into the rock songs. Certainly a classic, but not quite among their very best overall) 5. A Question of Balance (1970 - Several undisputed classics, not quite as cohesive as some others 4. Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (1971 - Fantastic concept, execution, contains my favorite, Story in Your Eyes 3. To Our Children's Children;s Children (1969 - Masterful, fully immersive album) 2. On the Threshold of a Dream (1969 - First Moodies album I heard, loved it immediately. The Have You Heard-Voyage suite is masterful vintage prog) 1. In Search of the Lost Chord (1968 - Certainly one of the very first true prog albums, absolutely brilliant)
@@John-fc7wc thanks John, and you’re right, I keep going back and forth with those top 2 as which is my favorite as well. Every time I hear either one, I think, oh yeah, this is my favorite. Just fantastic.
The Moody Blues had one of the longest periods of high creativity. From 1967 to 1972, they put out 7 albums which were near perfect. I started getting into the Moodies with Long Distance Voyager. While Mike Pinder was missed, Patrick Moraz did a wonderful job on it. Not comparing them since they are 2 different styles, able to share their own special contributions. Well, now only Patrick since we also lost Mike. RIP, Mr. Pinder, Ray Thomas, Graeme Edge, Denny Laine and Clint Warwick.
The Core 7 and LDV are all fantastic .Later on Wildest dreams and I Know your out there somewhere are great singles . Moodies are the best no doubt .Mike and Justin''s song i like best though ray's twilight time is magic too and so is John's just a singer ..and so on !! Lol
That was a great ranking, I can't see where I'd change anything. Prog or not the Moodies are certainly loved by most prog fans and that's good enough for me.
Totally. Every protoprogressive I ever knew owned and loved themselves some Moody Blues, and spoke of them in the same context as Crimson, Yes, Floyd, Zappa, VDGG, Strawbs, Gryphon, and others progressing the form of rock music mostly. Mellotron was also a panprogressive tool of choice.
@@MisterWondrous Weirdly, some prog snobs look down on the Moody Blues in the same way ELO and Queen are scorned. To me, they all produced remarkable albums at times along with (admittedly) some turds. I'd argue the MBs prog album sequence is up there with any bands and the other two produced a couple of classic prog albums early on.
I have never been able to rank the classic seven because they are all so good! Congratulations on tackling that, Scot… and I think it’s very cool that you put To Our Children’s Children’s Children at number 1; I think I would have done the same.
Really level headed rankings scot, agree with most if not all you stated, so glad you got around to doin' these rankings, thank you, would love to see the solo rankings of the moody blues members at some point scot, something to consider? Regards, 😊👍🙏
Good idea!!! And there are a couple I haven’t heard so that could be a lot of fun. What a band. Man, I always loved The Moody Blues and not one thing has changed!!!! ❤️
l reckon the magnificent 7 from the classic era can be listed any which way, they are all that great. But if pushed for a top 10 , 1) To Or Children's Children's Children. 2) In Search Of The Lost Chord. 3) Seventh Sojourn, 4) Days Of Future Past 5) 0n The Threshold Of A Dream 6) Every Good Boy Deserves Favor 7) A Question Of Balance 8) Long Distance Voyager ( easily their best post classic era) 9) The Magnificent Moodies ( very underrated 1st album , R&B, pre Justin & John), 10) (Captain's choice) Caught Live + Five. (A live album , we know, but although the live versions are quite good , the album is included because of the 5 previously unreleased tracks . This shows the quality of that classic run of 7 albums , when they omitted these great songs from that period.
Thanks for the energy and passion you put into this deep dive of my favorite band, The Moody Blues! My ranking lines up pretty closely with yours: 16. The Magnificent Moodies 15. December 14. Strange Times 13. Keys of the Kingdom 12. Sur la Mer 11. The Other Side of Life 10. The Present 9. Octave the following top 8 are all great albums and my ranking of these often changes with my mood ... 8. Long Distance Voyager 7. Days of Future Passed 6. Every Good Boy Deserves Favour 5. A Question of Balance 4. On The Threshold of a Dream 3. In Search of the Lost Chord 2. To Our Children's Children's Children 1. Seventh Sojourn Oh and just as you mentioned, the Hayward/Lodge Blue Jays album is also an outstanding record. Cheers!
LOVE me some Moody Blues! I don't know if I would consider the Moodies true prog rock either, I just always considered them in a class of their own, no other band is like The Moody Blues.
It’s hard to go wrong with “ Days “ and “ Lost Chord,” definitely my #1 and 2 favorites. I could listen to the “ Legend of a Mind “ song for days on end. And “ Gypsy “ from TOCCC is easily one of their finest ever. Great list Scot from this magical, iconic band.
Perfect list Scot! You are a plethora of Moody Blues info. They're Prog enough for me too. The Moody Blues are not quite but almost as important as YES was to me growng up. They are tied for second place with Pink Floyd and Led Zepplin as my favorite bands of all time. YES of course being number 1 over and above any other band in history! Enjoyed that very much Scot!🤩
I was listening to them for years before I discovered YES and ELP. They prepared my ears for all that came later. I will always love The Moody Blues!!!! And Justin’s voice. OMG.
I know. I discovered them both around the same time. As a teenager I was in heaven, musically. Listen to 'TOCCC' over and over again... Every song on that album is great! Blasting off with 'Higher and Higher and then coming down back to Earth with 'Watching and Waiting', what trip!🤩@@TheProgCorner
I have taken the time to listen to all of them over again and I feel that your rankings are solid oak. Especially that first one, Scot! Our Children's, Children's, Children! Talking about The Moody Blues is high up on my Utopia pole. 🦓
I just posted a video of finally becoming a huge fan and I pinned this video... I'll be doing my ranking in a few weeks but for now I'll enjoy watching your thoughts.
Word of advice, if you want to listen to the Moody Blues for the first time, I urge you to go out and buy the double album " This is the Moody Blues". It's possibly the best compilation album ever made. It's an almost seamless blending of their greatest moments.👍
Agreed. This is a great mix of their best songs. The 'mixes' are also superior to the originals....Question, The Actor, Melancholy Man and many more. The only other box set worth having is 'Time Traveller'. No point having any other albums after Seventh Sojourn. Maybe 'Long Distance Voyager'.
My first girlfriend in high school carried a Best Of The Moody Blues cassette in her pocket at all times. I only knew a couple of their hits and I was obsessed with more energetic Prog like VdGG, ELP ect. Still am of course! Turning each other on to our taste in music was quite a revelation. Thank you Marian and thank you Moody Blues! Still love you both💖 Too tough for me to pick a number one. Good job as usual Scot!
The Present was my first Moody Blues album in 1983. I still think it's an underrated classic... Blue World, Meet Me Halfway, Sorry, etc... Brilliant. I saw them live in 1984, again, a brilliant experience. Thus far, I'd say that Lost Chord is probably my favourite, but Children is a close second. Long Distance Voyager is another favourite. Waiting for Octave to arrive as I write this...
After high school in '73, I took some time off to hitch around the country, to look for America, like a lot of other hippies and flower children at the time. I was so dumb, that I carried a boom box, surely one of the first, and had one cassette: To Our Children's Children's Children. I figured I was travelling eternity road. What would i find there, carrying that heavy load, hoping to find some peace of mind? As an aside...on my first rest stop at a hippie house along the way, what would be playing for me, but It's a Beautiful Day's beautiful song of peace. A great send off before full flight. Heady times. Hearty times. RIP David LaFlamme, for whom I shed this tear. Perfect ranking, btw. The Moody Blues were prog on those perfect 10s, but not before or after.
Itwas s was a Charity concert that Bev Bevan put together loads of bands including UB40 Robert Plant and the Honeydrippers The Move then Roy wood on his own ELO Moody Blues and George Harrison came out at the end not a bad gig lol
In search of the lost chord changed my musical taste 50 years ago when I into Slade,Sweet and T.Rex. Since then they've been my favourite band and I love Prog and Art rock
Yeah love this band to the moon and back. I totally agree, my top 2 are your top 2. Question Of Balance got me through 2020. That last song The Balance tears me up pretty hard. Are you coming down for the Dayton Geebz shows next weekend?
Yeah the wife and I barely got in, ticketmaster really made it difficult. I'm playing that Thursday night at Yellow Cab, we are doing a whole Bob record that has never been played live before. I guess Paddy Considine will be there.
The Moody Blues seven album streak is hard to beat. My preferences differ a little from yours: 1. In Search Of The Lost Chord (Fav songs: Ride My See Saw, Legend Of A Mind, Voices In The Sky, The Best Way To Travel, The Actor, Om, A Simple Game, What Am I Doing Here) 2. A Question Of Balance (Question, How Is It, And The Tide Rushes In, Don't You Feel Small, Minstrel's Song, Dawning Is The Day, Melancholy Man) 3. To Our Children's Children's Children (Higher And Higher, Eyes Of A Child, Floating, Out And In, Gypsy, Candle Of Life, Watching And Waiting) 4. Seventh Sojourn (Lost In A Lost World, New Horizons, For My Lady, Isn't Life Strange, The Land Of Make Believe, I'm Just A Singer) 5. Days Of Future Passed (The Afternoon, Evening, The Night) 6. On The Threshold Of A Dream (Lovely To See You, Dear Diary, So Deep Within You, Never Comes The Day, Have You Heard) 7. Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (The Story In Your Eyes, Our Guessing Game, One More Time To Live, My Song) 8. Long Distance Voyager (The Voice, Talking Out Of Turn, Gemini Dream, In My World, 22000 Days, Veteran Cosmic Rocker) 9. Mid to late 80's (Your Wildest Dreams, I Know You're Out There Somewhere, The Other Side Of Life)
I have them all.I recently bought the Polgram Years boxset It's very cool.I saw them in concert 3 times in the last 21 years .This was a great band live too.
Love the energy and enthusiasm...my list: #1. every good boy deserves a favor Sorry Days fans, but it's got 2 out of 3 of justin's greatest songs with story in your eyes and you can never go home (his deepest and most profoundly beautiful song, even better than Nights (IMHO) #2. Days of Future Past - great songs by the band, needed less orchestra between the songs, that was just muzak #3. Seventh Sojourn - I don't know why everybody thinks it's the bottom of the core 7, every song it a winner and it's got 2 out of 3 of John's greatest songs. #4. To Our Children's Children - Not one bad song, consistently great all the way through #5. Question of Balance - Great songwriting with Question, It's Up to You etc. Melancholy Man, great track but seems a little out of place with the brighter sound of this lp. #6. Search of the Lost Chord - John's greatest rocker, Justin's wonderful Voices in the Sky, absolutely essential #7. Threshhold of a Dream - their "prog rock" masterpiece. I know most have this higher in the core 7 but it's not a knock, all these albums are great, I just find the others a bit more compelling #8. Long Distance Voyager - Justin's hit The Voice, his best post classic period hit. Gemini Dream, insane synthesizer drive classic and packed with good songs #9. The Present - underrated classic, highly melodic and solid all the way through. #10. Strange Times - Chock full of good melodies and none of that synth pop crap, why people give this one the short thrift, I don't understand. That top 10 are all their great albums, below are the not so great ones, but most have something good in them. #11. Keys to the Kingdom - two great tracks Lean on Me and Celtic Sonant and some decent ones) #12. Other Side of Life (two great tracks Wildest Dreams and It may be a Fire and a lot of horrible stuff) #13. Octave (1 great song, Mike's swan song: One step into the Light and one good one, John's Survival) #14. December (I don't consider Christmas albums to be real albums but this one interestingly has a lot of originals which kind of makes it more an authentic MB's album, unfortunately the originals aren't so great) #15. Sur La Mer (not even one good song, horrible) Magnificent Moodies...no Justin, no John so not a Moody Blues album. It's english R&B, blues based pop much like the Small Faces or one of the other innumerable skiffle type bands that emerged from Britain...how many of them do we even need? Thankfully, the Moody Blues morphed into something different and unique. For what it is, I give it 3 stars but don't think it should be ranked with the others.
Ignored them apart from one album in the 70s but now I've rediscovered them. What's not to love. Now in the process of acquiring all the 70s outputs. Saw them live in 2004ish and they were great.
Luckily live, they concentrated on the late 60s/70s material and they certainly put in a show but then having played together for so long and to huge stadiums....My favourite band King Crimson were helped along the way by the Moodys who sold them a damaged mellotron. They almost shared a manage/producer but luckily Crimso went down their own special and unique rabbit hole. The rest as they say is history. Love your videos and the new haircut has a touch of the Kurt Cobain don't you think?
Great ranking. Pretty close to how I'd rank them, but I'd have to put Days of Future Past at #1, simply because it blew me away as a kid. I know Nights in White Satin is an iconic "hit," but it also is just one of those amazing songs ever, that transcends time and is like, "Where did THAT come from?" Not this planet. Glad you mentioned the Blue Jays album, I'd stick it up against the Moody's Top 8 as well.
Yes, Moody Blues from Day's of Future Past, In Search of the lost cord, Thershold of a dream, To our Children Children's Children, Ouestion of Balance, Every Good Boy Deserves favor, Seventh sojourn. When you go through each of the 7 albums, each one leading you too the other next one and the 7th album talks of Father God and his loving Son. These 7 albums our the seven Thunders that other their voices in Revelation chapter 10. I put my book out in 2019 "Seventh Messenger" and tell how Father God Spirit reviled this to me in 1973.
Amazing Scott. You have top 2 Question Of Balance and To Our Childrens Children's Children that I always thought f for ever end ever! TOCCC is no 1 for me no 3 probably Every Good Boy Deserves Favour. Then Days Of Future Passed at 4. At no 5 Seventh Sojourn. There is my Top 5 - In Search Of The Lost Chord I love so it could move up some day. TC
WELL beam me up Scotty, been waiting for this one ! MB was the very first band where I tried to buy all of their studio albums (up until the 80s) on vinyl. As a teenager and new collector, MB records are cheap in used shops and they were everywhere. My old man had the Days of Future past LP and u wanted to know way more. I have their first 7 albums and spin them regularly. I will say the Hayward and Lodge album "Blue Jays" is fantastic and is basically the lost MB album (trumps most of the MB output that came out after their golden Era and rivals some of their finest albums👌) criminally "under-listened" by my millennial peers, long live the Moody Blues !! ❤ P.S RIP to Graeme Edge, his band made 2 good albums that I also have on wax !
Imagine Blue Jays with Mike, Graeme and Ray on it. It’s already a 9/10 album as is!!! I love The Moody Blues. I don’t remember a time they WEREN’T in my life!!!
@@TheProgCornerthat's awesome man haha I think my dad (64) is the same way, always had them handy on the shelf. Moody Blues were one of those bands just below superstardom but as you said their influence was beyond any fame or sales they could have achieved. It is apparent in my used shop diggs that I frequently go on that they sold plenty of albums as I basically cannot enter a used shop without seeing 3 or 5 dollar copies of long distance and beat up copies of dofp/threshold. They'll always be on my rotation and damn yeah 😅 that Blue Jay album could have been an 11/10 the eh, still happy to have heard it for the first time maybe 2 years ago. Blew me away, talk about thay vocal emotion and poetry you get, this time on every track.
Thought Strange Times was harking back to their 70s work and considered better than their previous 3. Also could make the case that there's more distinction between their 70s and 80s work than that of Genesis.
I agree so much with your number one! It is my favorite album of all time, and I don't think that will ever change. My ordering is a little different otherwise, I'd probably rank them: Sur La Mer The Other Side of Life Keys of the Kingdom Octave Strange Times Every Good Boy Deserves Favour Long Distance Voyager The Present In Search of the Lost Chord On The Threshold of a Dream Seventh Sojourn A Question of Balance Days of Future Passed To Our Children's Children's Children Not sure where I'd put Magnificent Moodies or December, definitely near the bottom.
Ranking Moody Blues' albums : Seventh Sojourn (1972) A Question of Balance (1970) On the Threshold of a Dream (1969) In Search of the Lost Chord (1968) Days of Future Passed (1967) To Our Children's Children's Children (1969) Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (1971) Blue Jays (Hayward & Lodge) (1975) Octave (1978) On Boulevard De La Madeleine (1967) compilation from Netherland of singles from 1965 to 1967 Sur la Mer (1988) Long Distance Voyager (1981) The Present (1983) The Other Side of Life (1986) Strange Times (1999) December (2003) Keys of the Kingdom (1991) The Magnificent Moodies (1965)
So i have seen them probably 12 times, when talking about The Moodies its all about the " Classic 7 " albums ,these are the Moodies. Frw after that we're still good, Seventh S,The Present ... Children's Children is my favorite by them ..i have all the Solo albums too and i mean ALL of the ,Bluejays, Edges albums with his band and with Adrian Gurvitz....
I gotta agree with most of your rankings here. TOCCC has been my personal favorite for decades...it has some of their best moments of focused energy but also beautiful moments of tranquility. "Watching and Waiting" is one of my favorite songs that rarely gets mentioned by reviewers, but it's a great ending to a great album. I consider the Bluejays album to be a MB album, kinda like I consider the ABWH album to be part of the Yes catalogue. I also like Justin and John's solo albums from this period, but didn't care for the other member's solo output. I was somewhat disappointed in Octave when it came out, it just seemed too different, but I did get to see the band for the first time on that tour. I started losing interest with later releases, with The Present being the last MB album I bought upon release. But that early 7 album run was an amazing feat that very few other bands could match. And it was definitely prog ;)
Watching and Waiting, whilst being a brilliant song, is the one Moody Blues song that I cannot listen to. It is just too sad. Not sure if it's the lyrics or the key it's in, those mournful chords, but I have to switch the album off just before it starts. As I say, just too sad. Too much for me. And I've thought this for about 40 years.
Seventh Sojourn and To Our Children's Children's Children are the Moody's finest records (amongst many). 1. Seventh Sojourn 2. To Our Children's Children's Children 3. In Search of the Lost Chord 4. A Question of Balance 5. Days of Future Passed 6. Long Distance Voyager 7. The Present 8. Octave 9. Every Good Boy Deserves Favour 10. On the Other Side of Life 11. Sur la Mer
We have different taste in the Moodies! SEVENTH SOJOURN and DAYS OF FUTURE PASSED are my two favorite albums. QUESTION OF BALANCE is my least favorite. There are some great songs on some of the albums you didn't seem to like at all. THE PRESENT is terrific. And DECEMBER is one of my favorite holiday albums of all-time. Justin's "December Snow" is one of the loveliest songs he's ever written. Although they didn't write "A Winter's Day," good gracious -- it's incredibly beautiful. Lodge's "On This Christmas Day" another keeper.
Congratulations on selecting the correct album as Number 1 It deserves to be talked about as elite psych/rock with bands who the UK press actually accepted as the same. We were a bit snobby about them over here for some reason. Not cool enough or something, I don't know.
They are my favorite band of all time, and I must say The Moody Blues 80s period is criminally underrated IMO, just as Rush's "synth era" is underrated and unfairly maligned by many of their fans. I'd actually rate most of the 80s work, especially "Long Distance Voyager", as being equal or better than some of the 60s, 70s era classics. Dismissing a whole decade of the band as "synth pop" is very lazy.The writing was still top notch and they generally kept one foot in the traditional space of guitars, big harmony vocals and melodic, beautiful songwriting, while wrapping it deep in the latest synth and production technology, and it sounded great to me, and not like a band resting on the past glories only...Had the Moodies not updated their sound with the help of Moraz, Pip Williams & Tony Visconti, it could have easily turned into the art rock version of AC/DC - cranking out one album after another of the same exact formula that had worked in decades past. Had they done that, their reunion would have burned out very quickly because it would have been boring for them as musicians and creative people. Remember, the band's original run ended because the band felt the old familiar formula was getting stale when they tried to make a follow-up to "Seventh Sojourn".
Funny, I just listened to Strange Times today for the first time and I also really like English Sunset. Another song on it that's worth a listen is The Swallow.
Rough justice but question was kept off number one slot in the uk by the England World Cup squad Mexico 1970 (soccer to you outside of the uk lol )a song called back home ,
Just starting to appreciate the Moodies. I have Every Good Boy...on vinyl and it was one of those 'got it for the cover' purchases. From what I've heard so far they're definitely worth investigating further and could change my PROG BIG FOUR to a Big Five. Speaking of things worth investigating further, I heard something off of 'H to He' (Vandergraaf) a while ago and could have easily mistaken it for a Nursery Cryme outtake.
@@TheProgCorner Anywho, as for the Moodies themselves, Future Passed, Lost Chord, and To Our Children's seem to be coming out on top. Polar opposite from my last Queen album ranking - my top 3 for the Moodies are in the early stretches of their career, whereas my top 3 for Queen are the last three. And as usual with all prog bands - I like the pop stuff too.
Not exactly the way I'd rank them but near enough, Scot. The 'blues' era and much of the post-prog pop is sub-par but what a run of progressive albums from 67-81 they produced. Even the pretentious Graeme Edge poems fit in with Mike Pinder's Mellotron-tinged groovyness. Hawkwind pulled off the same trick with Moorcock's poems on their Warrior on the Edge of Time masterpiece. Had to be the 70's, man.
Great review of the Moody Blues Scott.I love the early period from 1967-1972,those albums are excelent,the album I here the most is "Days of Future Passed (1967) one of my favorite.👍
To our Childrens in search of...Question of Balance y on a treshold of a dream son los 4. Muy buenos y cada uno en su estilo o + pop + psicológico...oscuro o + directo y menos orquestado
Don't know all the albums and I only know four of the "core seven," but of those four, Seventh Sojourn is my favorite by far. The Pinder tracks alone...but really every song on here is awesome! However, I totally concur on Sur la Mer: that synth-pop stuff is just not for me.
I'd rank the 80s era albums much higher. This might be the contrarian/unpopular view, but the albums that I play most often are not the first 7 (though those are all great, too), the ones that have stuck with me the most over the years are "Long Distance Voyager", "The Present", "Sur La Mer" & "The Other Side of Life".
@@TheProgCorner I get it. Honestly all their album are great in my opinion, and it's cool that they had a few differebnt phases. The Christmas album would the only weak link to me, but then songs like "December Snow" and "The Spirit of Christmas" make it worthwhile, too.
Are they prog? According to Edward Macan in the book "Rocking the Classics: English Progressive Rock and the Counterculture," bands like the Moody Blues, etc., were "proto-prog." The author considers In the Court of the Crimson King to be the first true prog album. Irrespective of whether you consider it prog or not, their stuff from the late 60s/early 70s was excellent and fit in well with the emerging prog zeitgeist.
TOCCC number 1 but its a toughie Those 1st 7 albums are all at a consistently high level. I should say 2nd till 8th but 1st album sounds like a different band.
Hard to rank them. Heres mine. And i would say they are prog 100%. 1. A question of balance 2. To our childrens childrens 3. On the threshold of a dream children 4. In search of the lost chord 5. Seventh Sojourn
The Rolling Stone Album Guide book from the '90s gave _The Magnificent Moodies_ the highest rating...go figure. TOCCC is my favorite, also. I always found DOFP overrated...the band and the orchestra don't mesh very well (the Beatles and Brian Wilson did "chamber pop" much better), and aside from the two big hits, most of the songs are pretty forgettable.
John Lodge said in a fan club Q&A back in the 80s that the song references his misgivings about the band reforming after a four year break, and recording an album in California. The lyrics describe very literally certain aspects of this trip to an unfamiliar location. “I took a ride in a limousine, I took a road I've never been…” “help me please” I thought I said, then something happened in my head. Music came from all around and I knew what I had found… After the journey, an unfamiliar studio, coming together after a long break, they started making music again, and everything was all right. The main lyric refers to the Sorry board game, comprised of a board with saw zones, regular zones, and slide zones. Stepping in a slide zone had consequences, and is a metaphor for the band moving into unfamiliar territory.
Balance, Chord, Threshold, Children's, EGBDF, Sojourn, DOFP...the rest not really worth attention apart from an occasional song like 'Driftwood' as no Mike.
To my ears, The Moodys in the 80s reminds me of mediocre ELO. But, say what you will they had an unparallel 8 album run that very few have matched. If there are any band's close, they are most likely from the 70s.
