Sunday morning music

 

I've been a fan of the Moody Blues since their beginnings (and yes, that dates me, too, because they got their start in the mid-1960's!)  In recent decades they haven't had great commercial success with their new albums, but their older work has stood the test of time, particularly their seven "core albums" from 1967 through 1972.  These have long been recognized as the most representative of the group at its best, despite later successful albums, and stand alone in its discography as a distinct cluster of work.

I've chosen one lesser-known track from each of the core seven albums - actually the second through eighth albums released by the group;  their first, 1964's "The Magnificent Moodies", was oriented much more towards blues than rock, and never had much public impact.  The tracks I've chosen represent music that's less often played than their hit tunes (with one exception, purely because I like it very much!).  I hope these selections will give readers who've never listened to full albums by the Moody Blues a better idea of the depth and breadth of their music.

From their breakout second album, "Days of Future Passed", here's "Twilight Time".  It's the second half of a longer track titled "Evening", so I've set the video to start at the appropriate point halfway through the latter.

Their third album was "In Search of the Lost Chord".  From it, here's "Om".

In 1969 the group released their fourth album, "On the Threshold of a Dream".  Here's its fourth track, "Send Me No Wine".

The fifth album, "To Our Children's Children's Children", was inspired by the Apollo 11 moon mission in 1969, and is heavily space-oriented.  I've chosen an instrumental track from this album, titled "Beyond".

The Moody Blues' sixth album, "A Question of Balance", was released in 1970.  Here's its fifth track, "Tortoise and the Hare", inspired by Aesop's fable of the same name.

Their next album, "Every Good Boy Deserves Favour", contained one of their biggest hits, "The Story In Your Eyes".  It's one of my favorite Moody Blues tracks, so I've included it in its single release version (slightly different from the album version).

Our final album for this morning, "Seventh Sojourn", is actually the eighth Moody Blues album.  From it, here's "The Land of Make Believe".

I hope you've enjoyed these old favorites of mine.  It seems almost impossible that I was enjoying most of this music more than fifty years ago!  Dang, I feel old sometimes . . .

*Sigh*

Peter