Moody Blues

[Jubal]

Sales such as these for 'new' albums seem like incredible largesse now. Nowadays it seems to be in the first week!

I tend to agree. What made those sales stretch out were the coordinated promotional tours and releases of 2- 3 singles per album during that period. Often, the first single would be told to the stations when they were delivered 1-2 weeks prior to store release. Some stations would know the entire single release schedule on the day they received the album. There were even times when the first single was so hot (still in the Top 10) that the record company would request a week or two delay of the next single going into their playlist. This was especially common when they could make the second single coincide with a local concert.

Of course, some huge artists went ahead and relesed several singles close together. I believe the Beatles had 3 or 4 songs in the Top 5 one week on the Billboard Hot 100.
This was pretty rare though.

[JJ88]

^Well, you can take Paul McCartney as an example of how things stand now. His last album New, I only saw substantial promotion in the very first week. And of course it didn't have legs, commercially speaking.

I still hear some Moody Blues things around, particularly the omnipresent 'Nights In White Satin'. It's not out of the question that a new album by that line-up in that kind of symphonic-rock style would do respectable business. But another MOR, ballads-heavy set...no.

[Farpoint Kevin]

Totally agree. Some of the tastiest playing by any guitarist ever. (Figuratively, that is.) His playing on "Blue Jays" is stellar.

I agree completely as well. One of my favorite guitarists. Always played just what the song needed, and what a pleasant tone!

[mogrooves]

Always a guilty pleasure for me, even back in the daze. DoFP, whatever its alleged significance, is mostly unlistenable for me (though I dig the psych of "The Sunset"/Twilight Time"); apparently Pinder and Thomas aren't doing the 50th tour.

[BravadoNJ]

Long Distance Voyager is a great album... even John Lodge's songs are good...

[Iris]

as is title track from his 10000 years away album. interesting to read how many cds the old acts sell. glad though some of them still decide to make new albums. enjoyed last two yes albums because of their melodic nature. also enjoyed john lees barclay james harvest. the title track there is also very melodic. there is new procul album to look forward to. life in 70s men still.

[Iris]

as is title track from his 10000 years away album. interesting to read how many cds old acts sell. glad though some of them still decide to make new albums. enjoyed last two yes albums because of their melodic nature. also enjoyed john lees barclay james harvest. the title track there is also very melodic. there is new procul album to look forward to. life in 70s men still.

[Jubal]

^Well, you can take Paul McCartney as an example of how things stand now. His last album New, I only saw substantial promotion in the very first week. And of course it didn't have legs, commercially speaking.

I still hear some Moody Blues things around, particularly the omnipresent 'Nights In White Satin'. It's not out of the question that a new album by that line-up in that kind of symphonic-rock style would do respectable business. But another MOR, ballads-heavy set...no.

Paul doesn't have to concern himself about album sales anymore, as I believe he still has a decent long term album contract that guarantees payment on those albums even if they bomb.

Eventually though, even those huge artists long term guaranteed contracts will be a thing of the past. I haven't heard of one in at least the last 5-6 years. Future contracts will pretty much be directly tied to sales.

As for The Moody Blues, I know the local "Classic Hits" (Classic Rock and more commercial hits of the 60s, 70s, and 80s) station often plays tracks like Tuesday Afternoon, Ride My See Saw, I'm Just A Singer (In A Rock And Roll Band), Question, The Voice, I Know You're Out There Somewhere, and Wildest Dreams.

Not too many other bands get that many songs played on that type of station. I realize they are Casper Milquetoast/Plain Jane Vanilla for many here, but they scratch the itch of many people in Metro Atlanta in that demographic (40-60).

[JJ88]

^McCartney has in fact changed label- he's on Capitol now.

[bRETT]

^Well, you can take Paul McCartney as an example of how things stand now. His last album New, I only saw substantial promotion in the very first week. And of course it didn't have legs, commercially speaking..

It sold a million copies though, so it contradicts the idea that veteran artists' albums don't make money. (Though I think in McCartney's case, it's less about making money, he just likes the idea of having a hit).

[Digital_Man]

[wonder how band like yes though can buck the trend.]

Or Kansas for that matter. Actually both bands didn't put out an album for a while but for different reasons. I would like to see one more album by the Moody Blues though. I don't think it's fair to the fans for them to not promote one final album so they at least know for sure they have one more in them. Yes, I know they aren't obligated to do that but I think it's a good idea.

For the most part I agree that some of these bands may not see making another album as worth it and that it's mostly their hardcore fans who will probably buy it. I can see that. I doubt the older albums even sell that well despite still be played on classic rock radio. I wonder if someone tuning in will hear a song (say "I'm just a singer in a rock n roll band"but it could be almost any song)and they will say to themselves "hmmmm. I wonder what album that is from. I have to go buy that."). I don't feel that happens much at all these days. I think most of the people who listen to it who would want that album probably already own it. As for younger people well there are lots of bands out there and I think most of them probably would just download the song and not the entire album. It just seems unlikely to me they would hear a song on the radio and want to go buy the vinyl or cd just from the radio.

Anyway, I'm a big Moody Blues fan myself and I'm glad I got a chance to see them(way back in the late eighties). I wouldn't mind seeing them again though.

If the Moody Blues do think about putting out another album and are concerned that not enough people will buy it then there is a simple solution to that. All they have to do is make a metal album. Problem solved.

[JJ88]

It sold a million copies though, so it contradicts the idea that veteran artists' albums don't make money. (Though I think in McCartney's case, it's less about making money, he just likes the idea of having a hit).

That's pretty small beer for him. And he's aware of how things have changed, read this:

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/li...artney-w459499

[Adm.Kirk]

And New was a fine album too! He's working on a new album at the moment and so is Starr. The Stones did relatively well with Blue and Lonesome.

Edge definitely has a problem with Pinder. He feels like Pinder left the band in a lurch at the last second.

Bill

[JJ88]

^I didn't think either of them came across that well in that Classic Artists DVD, to be honest. But that was about 10 years ago now, so things may have changed between them.

[Progbear]

To be fair I at least find Long Distance Voyager a better album than their last with Mike Pinder, Octave (he left before they even toured it).

Agreed. Even The Present isn’t as bad as I feared it would be. But Octave has exactly one good song on it, “Steppin’ in a Slide Zone,” and that’s right at the start. The rest is heinous!

Well, there are more 'prog' connections than that. Boshell was in the now-feted 'acid folk' group Trees and was keyboard player in Barclay James Harvest during their 'Pip Williams years'!

True, though I’m pretty sure it’s residuals for “I’ve Got the Music in Me” that actually pay his bills.

[Dan Roth]

And New was a fine album too! He's working on a new album at the moment and so is Starr. The Stones did relatively well with Blue and Lonesome.

Edge definitely has a problem with Pinder. He feels like Pinder left the band in a lurch at the last second.

Bill

Pinder also sued the Moodies in the 90s over financial issues (though Patrick's lawsuit gets more chatter - Pinder used the same attorney that Moraz did) so that might not put them on the best of terms. He also sued them in the early 80's attempting to stop the release of Long Distance Voyager. Mike didn't feel that the others should use the name without him being in the group.

[Trane]

I’m a casual fan at best. I have several of their albums, and while I know they were an “album” band, I find that they tend to have a handful of good songs (at best) on each LP surrounded by filler.

Yeah, even of their classic 7 (or 8, if you count the double live), I'll take/keep the first four (stopping at FOCCC) and still will have a hard time playing their albums through in their entirety. Not sure I would call the lesser tracks "filler" though...

thanks for the explanation. makes sense. wonder how band like yes though can buck the trend. they put out new albums in recent years and they are good ones too.

would buy a new moody blues album if it came out.

What would be the point of buying a new studio album of any of those 70's bands (except maybe for Crimson and VdGG), outside of financially support these bands? All of them dinos are well past their prime, and they've had nothing new to say since the late 70's (except again for Crimson and VdGG) for decades

I used to be somewhat of a fan, but truth be told I find even most of their purported "classic" catalog hopelessly obsolete now.
Days of Future Passed is musically great and culturally/historically highly significant. Lost Chord and Threshold are both fairly good, but I honestly don't care for their ensuing releases and I find their late-70s stuff (and on) quite embarrassingly bad. Shallow and hollow balladry and over-the-top odd attempts at corny rockouts with the most dubious artyfartyness imaginable from the period.

yup, totally agree, but I'll just add FOCCC to Chord and Threshold

Pinder also sued the Moodies in the 90s over financial issues (though Patrick's lawsuit gets more chatter - Pinder used the same attorney that Moraz did) so that might not put them on the best of terms. He also sued them in the early 80's attempting to stop the release of Long Distance Voyager. Mike didn't feel that the others should use the name without him being in the group.

that doesn't help... I wasn't interested in the least with those mega-selling albums of the 80's, but their latest treatment of Moraz has got me totally disgusted (yes, they even top Yes in that department)

I wouldn't even waste my money and time if they came for a charity gig in Brussels with both Moraz and Pinder in the line-up, as I wouldn't for Camel, BJH, Kansas or Yes (though, for Yes, until Magnification, I did bother with them). Or Gong, ever since Hillage reappeared in 07, FTM. Or even Genesis with Gabe and Hackett back in the band.
I recent decades, most of them are not even the shadow of their former selves: no disrespect, buy I mean all these dinosaur bands (again, outside Crimson, but not totally either) on crutches and filled with viagra and whatever medications to keep touring and reliving their former glories.

OK, for some, I will go see them live again (Crimson, Caravan >> really surprised by their concert last year, Magma and VDGG), but I'm not expecting much from any kind of new studio albums from them. Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed seeing those bands mentioned in my post) in the early 00's, because I missed many of them in their prime, but outside Trisector and Thrak, none have made a studio album in the last three decades that I would put in my top 2000.

[JJ88]

For me their single best piece of music is the superb 'Have You Heard/The Voyage' suite- one of the earlier attempts at a musical suite, albeit a 'mini-suite'! Most of their more adventurous, darker songs were Pinder's- 'The Best Way To Travel', 'Sun Is Still Shining', 'The Sun Set', 'Out And In', the instrumental 'Beyond', 'Melancholy Man', 'My Song'. I also have a soft spot for 'Om', very of its time but the arrangement on it is magnificent, particularly the vocal ending.

He also made an enormous contribution to the expansive sound of their arrangements generally. This is what they lost when Pinder left...OK losing his narration wasn't such a loss, but it was Edge who actually wrote all that stuff.

[the winter tree]

Thomas seemed to write really good songs(Legend of a Mind, Eternity Road, Twilight Time, etc) or corny ones that sounded like rejects from a musical(Floating, For My Lady, the two off of EGBDF, etc).
Usually dug the Pinder contributions, though I always felt his song on side one of Threshold was his weakest.
Lodge is hit or miss. He's written a few classics.

[JJ88]

Thomas brought a quirkiness and humour to the band, he was integral. The only one of his songs I have never cared for on their 1967-72 albums is 'For My Lady', just too corny for me. Never got how that made the near-definitive This Is The Moody Blues and the classic 'Voices In The Sky' didn't.

It seems his contributions got fewer and fewer as the years went by as well.

[moecurlythanu]

I love "For My Lady," and I'm surprised that it never became a staple of wedding song lists. Same with Peter Cetera's "The Glory Of Love."

[Adm.Kirk]

Agreed. Even The Present isn’t as bad as I feared it would be. But Octave has exactly one good song on it, “Steppin’ in a Slide Zone,” and that’s right at the start. The rest is heinous!

I actually like The Present better than LDV although I think both are really great records. I like Williams' production on those.
Octave also has Driftwood, which I really like.

BIll

[ronmac]

I like "For My Lady."

In all fairness, "This is the Moody Blues" was missing at least another disc of music.

[JJ88]

^They were among the early pioneers of what could be dubbed 'album rock', so I would always say that the albums demand to be heard in full.

But This Is The Moody Blues is a first-rate collection. It's obvious that care was taken over the sequencing with the segues and different mixes, and there's also 'A Simple Game'- a big hit when covered by The Four Tops but The Moody Blues' own version was only a non-album B side prior to this release. I just wish 'Voices In The Sky' had been on it!

Also in that hiatus period was another double, Caught Live + 5, the '5' being a side of outtakes from the 1967/8 period. Haven't played that in years, though.

What do people make of the Isle Of Wight 1970 release?

[ronmac]

The Moodies carried a gauntlet, of sorts. After The Beatles stopped touring, the Moody Blues stepped in with the Days of Future Past performances they were doing, even before they recorded it in the studio. It was huge. Their timing couldn't have been better, though the praise was well-deserved. It's an essential album and moment that helped define 1967 as the greatest year in popular music.

And, it further emphasizes the absurdity of them not being in the R&R HOF.