Customer Reviews

Moving Mountains

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
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Originally released in 1985, just before "The Other Side Of Life" and then again in 1989, this one of Hayward's better albums. "Moving Mountains" seems to be a collection of Hayward's favorite songs from the side. It's not a remarkable album, but there are true inspirational moments in it. Like most Hayward or Moody Blues albums, there is never a moment of high rock (as in the attempt with "Take Your Chances") and many of the songs simply disappear with little notice.

However, there are a few gems in this collection. Most notably, "Lost And Found" is without doubt the best song on the set and probably the first pick for a single if one were to be chosen. It is simply a romantically magic and perfectly written song. "One Again" seems like it was written for the "The Other Side Of Life" sessions and it is no surprise that it is the only song produced by Tony Visconti. The title song, "Moving Mountains" contains a clever, infectious mood and original lyrics, forming yet, another strong point in this collection.

The entire album is pulled together by a strong emphasis on strings and melancholy keyboards. It almost seems like a flashback to "Bluejays". Like many artists, this album suffers from too many producers (four, in fact), but that's beside the point. If you can find this album and are a fan of Hayward or the Moody Blues, you are set for a great ride.

Justin Hayward has proved he can write incredible songs. "Nights in White Satin" from "Days of Future Passed," "Watching and Waiting," co-written with Ray Thomas, and "Forever Autumn," are but a few of the numerous beautiful songs Justin Hayward has written and sang in his forty plus years in the music business. Justin's biggest problem is that he is inconsistent. He can create a beautiful song one moment and then a mediocre song the next. This 1985 album is typical for Justin, with songs spanning the quality spectrum, but the better moments outweigh the weak.

This CD begins with "Take Your Chances," a song with a pop introduction that tries too hard to feel trendy. This love song about commitment would be forgettable but for the excellent refrain. The lyrics make a stab at being Moody Blues philosophical and could have succeeded, but the rhymes and the use of "we may never pass this way again," famous in a Seals and Crofts song, dulls the shine of the song.

The second song is much better with a solid pop beat and lyrics that skirt poetic. "Is It Just a Game" is about love being a salvation of life, and asking, or perhaps thinking, about the status of a relationship. The music is less than inspired, but catchy. The lyrics are philosophical and while there are a couple of uninspired rhymes there is enough imagery to make you long for a Moody Blues' version of this song.

The next song is as good as the previous, and perhaps even a little better. "One Again" is a song about getting back together. The lyrics are competent and I enjoy the music. Similar to the last song, I think the depth provided by the Moody Blues would have fleshed the music out and turned a good song into a great song.

Justin Hayward can make pretty music, and "Moving Mountains" is a pretty song. The lyrics are generally good, with just a moment or two where they skirt being trite, but most of the time they are poetic and dreamy. It is difficult to criticize a love song about the power of a couple in love. In this case the mild music with the hushed voice in which Justin sings makes this song a cut for your fireplace music mix.

The following track is progressive rock long at more than seven and a half minutes, but is pop with just a touch of New Age. This song is the most ambitious song on the CD with layered vocals and complex music. This is yet another love song, but this time the love is exemplified by the euphemistic focus on "Silverbird," which I take to either be the aircraft that takes his love away, or perhaps he sees his love as a silver bird. In either case, Justin matched his vocals to the words and music to make yet another of the better songs on this CD. One of the composers of this song is Jeff Wayne, who also led the creation of "War of the Worlds" in which Justin's song "Forever Autumn" appeared. This song will please fans of Justin Hayward's much later "View from the Hill."

"Lost and Found" is one of the gems on this CD. This love song describes what happens to many of us when we fall in love, the feeling that we have discovered that other spark of light that makes us whole. Pure pop but sung so beautifully with matching music that makes this song a collectible for those CDs that advertise to be fireplace music or something similar. The music itself is quiet with a lot of strings, and when synthesizers are used they are less intrusive than in some other songs. This song belongs on a "Best of" Justin Hayward.

The next song uses Justin's voice quite well, and is yet another of the gems on this CD. The topic is relationship breakups, and Justin's heartfelt vocals make you feel the pain of disintegration. This song uses synthesizers just a bit too much and would have benefited from more strings. The backing vocals were well done on this song too. Some of the earlier songs, notably "Silverbird," suffer from overdone backing vocals.

"Who Knows" is another relationship song with competent vocals and music, but nothing particularly remarkable.

"The Best Is Yet to Come" is one of those simple songs that make you wonder why Justin Hayward spends time singing anything else. While the strings and the pace of the song may remind you of Dan Fogelberg, Justin's unique voice gives this song a unique flavor. This song was written by the late Clifford T. Ward and is the only cover by Justin on this album. The lyrics of this song remind us all that regardless of how things have been in our relationship to this point, there is better to come. Lovers everywhere must believe this to be true.

My favorite song on this entire CD is the "bonus" selection, "The Lights Are Low." This song has a very catchy pop melody and balanced music that blend to create a song that should have been an Easy Listening hit. The lyrics are about the sometimes surreal feeling that you get in a relationship. The music is slow and again makes perfect use of Justin's voice to vocalize the emotional content of the lyrics. I consider this song to be the standout on this CD, and in combination with several other songs moves this CD from a mediocre effort to a good effort, and one of Justin Hayward's best CDs.

If you are a Justin Hayward fan or have enjoyed his mellow music with the Moody Blues, you will probably like this one. I listen to it regularly and always find that I had forgotten how good the better tracks on this CD are. I am glad this CD is part of my collection.

Hayward's 1985 solo excursion "Moving Mountains" is a vast improvement over his 1980 solo album "Night Flight". The songs here have much better focus and direction, with Hayward sounding much more comfortable with himself, singing music that is more suited for his beautiful, soaring tenor voice. All tracks here are very well done, with the mellow "Lost and Found", the title cut, the gorgeous "Silverbird", along more contemporary numbers like "Take Your Chances" and "Is It Just A Game" with the other cuts falling in between. The bonus cut "The Lights Are Low" features perhaps Hayward's best guitar work on the album with its mysterious, haunting chords.

This album is not very easy to locate. But if you are a devotee to Moody Blues/Justin Hayward music, my advice is to snatch it up before it walks away.

1. Take Your Chance
2. Is It Just a Game
3. One Again
4. Moving Mountains
5. Silverbird
6. Lost and Found
7. Goodbye
8. Who Knows
9. Best Is Yet to Come

I have waited a long time to get this. I fell in love with the title song when I first heard it. I kept asking at different stores but was always told it wasn't available in North America. I even asked a friend to look for it when he was visiting relatives in England. I have played the cd at least 20 times since receiving it, and am still enjoying it. So my thanks to Amazon for having it, and for getting it to me so quickly!

As a general rule of thumb, Justin Hayward solo albums are stronger than the neighboring Moody Blues album. 1986's The Other Side of Life was a wonderful album that gave the group all-new commercial clout in the MTV age; yet even this album was not quite in the same class as Hayward's Moving Mountains from the year before. I could ask for an album as good as The Other Side of Life, but I wouldn't even know how to ask for this kind of achievement. Like the Songwriter album, it is a classic well beyond the call of duty that carries a personal edge and leaves a haunting impression for years.

The songs essentially cover romantic instability, culminating with the cautious optimism of "The Best Is Yet to Come." Even the gorgeous fireside title track seems more like wishful yearning, in this context. The other tracks are all solid (especially "Who Knows"), and help maintain the moodiness, instead of being a random gathering of songs. Hayward is still at his peak, where he seems to effortlessly will everything to greatness, and the emotional commitment behind each and every one of these songs becomes heartbreaking.

Altogether, the album is astounding; it's equally astounding that this album has long ago fallen out of print, and is inaccessible to anyone who doesn't want an old LP off of Gemm.com, or a very expensive CD -- I have never had the pleasure of hearing "The Lights Are Low," from that 1989 reissue. I have a cassette (the "mountain" cover that opens with "One Again") that would probably catch on fire if I played it again, and an LP, but Moving Mountains deserves to be re-released, in print, and introduced to an all-new audience.

I bought this tape at a Moody Blues concert and instantly fell in love with it. A few years later my tape player destroyed the tape ( and others ), After some searching recently I found the same tape on Amazon and despite the price ( this product and title is considered rare now ) I purchased it. I have been a big Moody Blues fan ever since In Search of a Lost Chord and Justin Hayward's work is a big part of the Moody Blues. Joe

Justin Hayward is the best songwriter and singer I have ever heard. Started listening to him in 1968,have nearly every song he has writen and sung, and would buy anything he made. Not a bad song on the cd. Some are just better than others like Moving Mountains, Silverbird, Is It Just a Game, Lost and Found, and The Lights are Low. They are the best. I can listen to them over and over.

the best is yet to come was not written by Hayward....