Posts
The Moody Blues 1969: Mike Pinder, Justin Hayward, Ray Thomas, Graeme Edge and John Lodge.
This has been a summer of dreams come true and last night was yet another one. Valerie and I travelled to the Palace Theatre in Louisville to see The Moody Blues play live. I loved their music ever since I heard Nights in White Satin on a little AM radio when I was a child in the late 1960's. Okay, to be six or seven years old and love a very intense song about love is a pretty strange thing, but true nonetheless. Anytime the song came over the radio I was completely entranced and I treasured it so much that it was easy to call the song up in my mind whenever I wanted or needed to hear it.
By the end of the 1970's, I had found a couple copies of the 45 rpm single of their biggest hit Nights In White Satin with the song Cities on the flip side. The single got heavy play on my Sears Silvertone stereo. While I was in college in the early 1980's, I started saving up money to buy their albums and ordering from some long forgotten place that still had original 1960's and 70's records still in the shrink wrap. Hearing the entire Days of Future Past album was quite a revelation. Soon, I had everything from 1967-1981 and completely immersed myself in the world of their music.
Over the years, those records got me through both the good and bad years of my life, a touchstone that never failed to resonate. A lot of paintings were done with the Moody Blues playing in the background. I ended up buying duplicate or more accurately, replacement copies of favourite records that I had worn out. I have five copies of Days of Future Past, two of To Our Children's Children, Seventh Sojourn and On The Threshold of a Dream etc. I have some of the solo Justin Hayward/John Lodge records too.
The Moody Blues sang a lot about lost love, that one love that was never forgotten which tied nicely to the themes of my own paintings. They sang about Camelot and knights and to my mind that made them a rather Pre-Raphaelite band at times. They also sang a lot about hope and joy and they were fearless in being true to themselves even when the musical tide turned more cynical and base.
The Palace Theatre in downtown Louisville, Kentucky where they played last night is this incredible restored 1920's Spanish Baroque Revival place where nearly every square inch is pure eye candy. The ceiling of the entrance hall is covered in portrait busts of composers and writers and occasional statesmen of the last two or three hundred years, The performance hall is rich in statuary and the Spanish revival architectural style.
The Moody Blues 2009: Graeme Edge, John Lodge, Justin HaywardWhen the room lights went down and the spotlights went up, The Moody Blues took the audience on an amazing musical trip through the decades. The band is down to three original members, Justin Hayward, John Lodge and Graeme Edge with Ray Thomas having recently retired. They added some new members for the tour to cover the flute and keyboards and had a second drummer on the riser. Without going into a huge review of the show, I'll say that The Moody Blues were as good or better than ever losing none of what made them great and having the experience and the good fortune to carry that into a fourth decade. At the end of the show, they thanked the audience for keeping the faith. I, in turn, thank them right back.
In the autumn of 1980, I was pining for a young lady for whom I was too shy to tell her how I really felt and the Moody Blues were spinning on that Garrard turntable singing songs that seemed to know exactly how I much I loved her.
Near the end of the summer of 2009, I sat in the theatre hand in hand with that very same lady I pined for all those years ago. We have a song we consider "our" song, it's from one of the more recent albums and it's called Bless The Wings That Bring You Back. After all the years of songs filled with longing and of lost love, the Moody Blues still sing about the love that was never forgotten. Only now it is the love that is found again.
The Moody Blues have a website with lots of interesting tidbits and information about what they're currently doing. You can rest assured that if I'm not listening to hundred year old records on my gramophone, I'm probably listening to these timeless musicians.
Thank you Justin, John and Graeme for the continuing journey....
http://www.moodyblues.co.uk/index_main.html
8 comments:
Thank you, Patrick, for a completely beautiful and realistic portrayal of our Moody Blues. I have been on the journey with them for 36 years and I, too, believe they just get better and better each time I hear them. My husband and I are leaving tomorrow to see them in two concerts in Dallas next Wednesday and Thursday. I can't wait to experience what you just have! I just hope they continue on making magnificent magical music for us for many years to come.
Arline in Florida
Lovely story. How can the Moodies NOT be in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame? For shame. They are the soundtrack to the lives of many people and continue to inspire us into the 21st century. The Moody Blues are the heart and soul of progressive music.b
The administrators of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame *hate* prog rock and will never vote The Moody Blues into it! But The Moodies say they don't care about the R&R Hall of Fame; they care about their fans and how *they* feel. And we will always love them and their music. I, for one, am so happy to be in the same world as they are.
Arline in Florida
Liv2cruise, thanks for the kind words. You won't be disappointed when you see them in Dallas. I wonder if they'll have the symphony backing them there?
This was the first time I'd seen them live and worth all the years I had to wait. They played to a full house in Louisville of very appreciative fans. The love that emanated from the audience was palpable. When John Lodge thanked the fans for keeping the faith, you could hear it in his voice. Even from where Valerie and I sat you could tell how much the whole band was moved by the experience.
Well, I was feeling pretty emotional myself. The combination of seeing the Moody Blues with my true love was heady stuff indeed. We're still feeling the buzz two days later.
Yes, Patrick, they are extending the stage at The Meyerson Center so that the orchestra and The Moodies will both have room to play. I've heard them with and without an orchestra and, truthfully, I like them both ways. The orchestra does lend a certain *body* to their music that you don't hear when it's just the seven band members playing. However, with an orchestra, everything MUST play according to schedule and say Justin is feeling really good and wants to rip out on a guitar solo! With an orchestra, he can't do that; when the band is playing alone, there's room for that accommodation. What I really love, though, is to watch Justin's face during the musical part of NIWS when the symphony band is playing. He is so into the music and it's like he is in another world. Actually, he probably is -- a world that most of us can't reach. Oh boy, am I excited!!!!!!!!!
Arline in Florida
I was lucky enough to see the Moody Blues perform at Rupp Arena in Lexington (Ky.) in the mid-90s, with conductor Peter Knight and full orchestra. The orchestra was the local orchestra in Lexington, who sounded spot-on exactly like the London Festival Orch. Peter Knight has a way of teaching any orchestra to sound exactly like the original on the Days of Future Passed. The 90s version of the Moodies had the majority of original members, along with Patrick Moraz who had joined them in the 80s some time after a short stint with Yes.
As for them getting into the RnR Hall of Fame, I was under the mistaken impression that they would eventually get in, but as you and other say, they may have less of a chance now, as hundreds of other rock acts have formed over the years, creating a lot more competition. Critics tend to pass on the progressive 70s era nowadays, which is most unfortunate, as there was a whole lot of great music produced in that era.
Lexington band "These United States" picked out a selection
of vinyl in a winning vinyl contest at CD Central.
One of 13 albums chosen (by the guitarist, Justin)
out of a selection of thousands
was "Blue Jays" by Justin Hayword and John Lodge:
http://www.youaintnopicasso.com/2009/09/05/these-united-states-take-yanp-contest-winner-lp-shopping/#more-9431
"Justin took a little ribbing for his love of the Moody Blues. Tom pointed out that everyone on the internet was going to know how much he loved that band. So he took the Blue Jays album out of the running, but offered to buy it for Walker with his own money (which he later went back on, after realizing the song he wanted them to listen to wasn’t on that pressing)."
As if loving the Moody Blues is considered a bad thing???
Tim
Well, I am NOT ashamed of my love of The Moody Blues and I have sometimes taken crap for it but I defend them steadfastly.
I find the pick of the Blue Jays album to be interesting. In my opinion and just my opinion, it's practically a Moody Blues album anyway. All it needed was a mellotron and a flute. Good record!
Post a Comment