Artist: The Moody Blues
Album: Days Of Future Passed
Year: 1967
With a band name like "The Moody Blues", you'd figure these guys have a pension for the dramatic. Well, as most of you know... they do. Considered by many their magnum opus, it will have the honor of being my first "parent's choice" album. I knew "Forever Afternoon (Tuesday?)", probably better known as "Tuesday Afternoon", and of course "Nights In White Satin", but I had never listened to the album in it's entirety. Well, after going through, I can say pretty safely that it's established state as a classic is completely deserved. The album opens with a stunning overture, establishing an orchestral theme that runs throughout the album. "Dawn Is A Feeling" is a great tune showcasing the band's powerful and emotional songwriting, while "Peak Hour" shows off the band effortlessly jumping into the rock and roll that made this era of music so remarkable. The two singles from this album really speak for themselves: "Forever Afternoon (Tuesday)" is a great tune and "Nights In White Satin" - especially in the extended cut on the album - is an absolutely unforgettable epic and showcases a band channeling emotion powerfully and successfully, a feeling that bands before and since have tried to encapsulate and which most have failed at. Somewhat overlooked by it's competition in the 60's, "Days Of Future Passed" is an absolute staple to music becoming more than the sum of it's parts.
Hear it for yourself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4lazdg-eqmQ
Tomorrow, we'll be getting onto an album chosen by Brian and one I've wanted to get around to listening to: Does It Offend You, Yeah?'s debut LP "You Have No Idea What You're Getting Yourself Into". New new wave, here we come.
And there's many more where that came from - can't even say 'Days of Future Passed' is my favorite Moody Blues CD. One of these days, I'll pick mine for your listening pleasure!
ReplyDeleteThe argument of "Best Moody Blues CD" seems to be between Days of Future Passed, Seventh Sojourn, and To Our Children's Children's Children; at least, from the research I did going into the album. Lost Chord gets a lot of attention, too. Is it one of those?
ReplyDeleteMy favorite is 'Seventh Sojourn' followed closely by 'A Question of Balance'. But all the early 70's/late 60's albums are excellent. Not so much later on.
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