Customer Reviews

Octave

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(17)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(13)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

The Moody Blues released "Seventh Sojourn" in 1972, the seventh album in five years. The constant touring and writing and pressure of fans looking for a musical guru took their toll, and the members of the band decided they needed a break. In 1974 the band formally announced they would be spending time apart to pursue various projects, which everyone took to mean they were breaking up. When "Octave" was released in 1978 fans of The Moody Blues were ecstatic at their return, a return that would mark the last effort that included keyboardist and mellotron expert Mike Pinder.

This album was strongly influenced by the member's solo projects, most particularly Ray Thomas' "From Mighty Oaks" and Mike Pinder's "The Promise." During the hiatus Justin Hayward and John Lodge released "Blue Jays," which sounded remarkably like The Moody Blues but with a very strong romantic and mellow flavor, and there is some of that style on this album as well. Graeme Edge also participated in a project titled "Kick Off Your Muddy Boots," but there appears to be little influence from that album.

The album is a mixed bag of music ranging from fast paced funk and pop to progressive. However, the one notable absence from the album is a unifying concept or theme. Each album of the classic 7 from "Days of Future Passed" through "Seventh Sojourn" was either a concept album or at least a themed album. "Octave" is a conglomeration of music with nothing to unify the selections. It is probably that change from the previous 7 that initially disappointed Moody Blues fans.

The second disappointment is that several of the tracks followed current musical trends rather than setting musical trends. The result is that several of the tracks are weak and detract from the better songs on the CD.

The CD opens with "Steppin' in a Slide Zone," which has elements of traditional Moody Blues music, but the lyrics are infused with so much pop that the song is a shadow of previous Moody Blues effort. This song enjoyed some air play and modest success, but is hardly representative of the Moodies better efforts. I have heard that this song is much better live than this recording.

"Under Moonshine" shows the influence of "Under Mighty Oaks." However, even with the mellow influences, Mike Pinder's synthesizer expertise is critical to this song, and the harmonies are classic Moodies. Ray Thomas' powerful voice is in full and wonderful form. This song is serviceable, if uninspired.

"Had to Fall in Love" could have been on "Blue Jays." The harmony, style and speed of the song are all consistent with that style. The song is elegant, and the backing vocals are pure Moody Blues. The harmonica adds an interesting touch and reminds the listener of days when the Moodies' music was significantly more complex and cutting edge. A person could argue that the song is Justin Hayward on cruise control, as he seems to knock out songs like this with little effort. However, the beauty of the song is undeniable.

Graeme Edge's contribution "I'll Be Level with You" is a fast-paced song that is somewhat different in style from previous fast-paced Moodies songs. The song has an interesting refrain and the guitars and synthesizer provide the most interesting musical moments. Another serviceable song on this CD, but also provides no ground-breaking moments.

A number of reviewers have considered "Driftwood" to be one of the better or even the best selection on this CD. There is little argument that when Justin Hayward has creative moments that those moments can be incredible. This song is a result of one of those moments. As elegant as "Had to Fall in Love" may be, this song is even better. Perhaps the only thing lacking is a stronger synthesizer performance. The saxophone used on this song may have been an attempt to unnecessarily augment the sad nature of the song, a role a synthesizer could have fulfilled.

Just to prove that even Justin Hayward has his off days there is the song "Top Rank Suite." This song sounds as though Justin Hayward is singing something from Elton John's "Rock of the Westies" album, or perhaps something from the Moodies early days that would have fit better on "Prelude." In any case, this song is certainly not one of my favorite songs on this CD.

The second Ray Thomas song, "I'm Your Man," is similar in style to "Under Moonshine." Ray's voice is in full form, but again the song is very mellow for The Moody Blues and, while an acceptable song, has little to commend itself to be a Moody Blues song.

The second John Lodge contribution, "Survival," is reminiscent of his contributions to "Seventh Sojourn" and "Every Good Boy Deserves Favour," as well as "Blue Jays." This song is acceptable but is too similar to his previous songs.

Mike Pinder's sole contribution, "One Step into the Light," bears a lot of similarity to his solo effort "The Promise," but with a Moody Blues influence. The end result is an interesting effort that is part new age, part progressive, part rock and one of the better selections on the CD because it is unusual and different from much of what the Moodies had done in the past. There is an interesting line in this song, "there's one thing that I can do, play my mellotron for you," in reference to the instrument which Mike Pinder used to great effect in early Moodies recordings.

The final track, "The Day We Meet Again," is classic Moodies and another excellent selection. The song could refer to the impending departure of Mike Pinder from the group, or it could refer to the possibility that the Moodies might remain solo acts rather than a group. This progressive-influenced song marked the end of a song, and presaged a new era in Moodies music.

At last, one of the Moodies most underrated albums gets a remaster. Unfortunately, this album has gotten some bad press ever since it was released in '78 which is sad given the fact that the songs are actually very strong for the most part. This was the first album for the band after their "break" in '73/'74 and the first album since Seventh Sojourn in '72. There had been a bunch of solo albums and side projects during those years and hopes were running high when it was annouced that the band was reuniting for this album. It reached a fever pitch the year before when Caught Live +5 was released. With this album, the band's sound is altered slightly with very little mellotron and more synth. Some at the time saw this as a chance to fit in with late '70's radio although to me, this seems a direction that the band was headed in anyway.

As far as the songs themselves, John's Steppin' In A Slide Zone flat out rocks and Survival is a pretty ballad. Justin's has three strong ballads in Had To Fall In Love, Driftwood and The Day We Meet Again. Ray turns in two classics with Under Moonshine and I'm Your Man while both Michael and Graeme turn in greats in on One Step Into The Light and I'll Be Level With You. This was also Mike's last album as he decided to leave during the recording sessions.

This remastered version also includes five live songs recorded at two shows on the album's tour. While I really like these, I should point out that they are simple two track recordings more than likely taken from a simple cassette master. In other words, it's good sounding bootleg stuff.

One of the things about the Moody Blues that has always charmed me is how their eclectic personalities come out in their albums. I know their music so well now that even if I hadn't read who wrote the song, I could still tell who did by the way it sounded. Ray Thomas' light, airy songs full of longing for the wonderment of childhood; Justin Hayward's laments of a great love lost; John Lodge's fast-paced, perfect-for-driving rock-and-roll; Graeme Edge's sonorous voice reading poetry I can never really understand; and Mike Pinder's melancholy, anxious, musing tunes about what's going on in our minds. Since Mike left the Moody Blues after this album, I have missed the cerebral aspect he brought to the band. Songs like "Melancholy Man," and "The Best Way to Travel" were unique and engaging. I believe "One Step Into the Light" is one of Mike's best songs, and it is fitting that it was his last recorded with the group. I really would like to see him come back, though

Regardless of one's opinion about this particular album, I must say that I am very pleased with the remastering by Hayward / Parodi. Many sounds burried in the previous CD release are now clearly apparent. Also, the cymbals and guitars have much more definition and zing. The whole presentation now finally comes to life and doesn't sound like they are playing somewhere on the next mountain top. Warning to vinyl lovers: this disc still has that "edgy" CD sound at times, albeit it is very slight. Why this wasn't this released as a hybrid SACD with its more analogue sound qualities is beyond me. And why no 5.1 remix...oh well.

There are so many reviews of the albums of The Moody Blues all over the web, so please forgive me if I repeat what anyone had already said or for not being too original in my review. Here is my experience of this remastered edition of "Octave"...

First off, just like the famous early seven CD re-releases by The Moody Blues, whether they be the 1997 remasters or the 2006/2007 expanded editions, we are once again treated to another topnotch remastering job for the CD reissue of "Octave" ... What better candidate to have, when it comes to this task, than Moody Blue band member Justin Hayward?! :) Also, notice how the songs sort of segue together, unlike the original CD release from the 80's, where there would be two or three second gaps between the tracks, so once the last droplet of sound fades from a previous song, the next tune picks up right from that point ... This format takes Moody Blues listeners back to the early albums, when there were no silent gaps between the tracks. I'd also like to add that I am very pleased that, after all of the Moody Blues compilations that came out, since this album, this release features the full version of "Driftwood," and not the edited version that was faded out about a half minute sooner, as was the case on "Voices In The Sky," "Time Traveller," "Anthology," and "Gold." This is the only place (Just like the original CD release of this album) where you can find the full five-minute version of "Driftwood," which features excellent guitar and saxophone solos.

On this occasion, John Lodge opens up a "Moody Blues" album with one of his tracks ... I enjoy "Stepping in a Slide Zone," especially the synthesizer and sound effects at the beginning and end of the song. The guitar piece in the intro made for an eerie but awesome buildup to the opening lyrics, too. I also like the parts of the song where John Lodge shouts, "Slide zoooooooone!" ... My father (The original "Moody Blues" fan in my family) used to sing along on that line! :)

"Had To Fall in Love," "Driftwood," "Survival," "One Step Into The Light," and "The Day We Meet Again" are absolutely beautiful and are among the greatest songs ever written by the band, in my opinion ... They sort of have that "New Horizons" ("Seventh Sojourn") sound to them.

"I'll Be Level With You" is a fantastic group vocal effort, and the fade out is beautifully dramatic with intense electric guitar and synthesizers ... Love the earth-shaking bass effects from one of the synthesizer dubs, too!

Ray Thomas' selections sound different from his previous compositions, but I enjoy them just as much as his other songs ... I like the mellow and relaxing feel to both "Under Moonshine" and "I'm Your Man," and the strings sound marvelous on both tracks, too.

"Top Rank Suite" is a unique sounding Justin Hayward track compared to his other songs, but it's so catchy and the saxophones add lots of pizazz to the track ... Another fine tune on the album! :)

After "Seventh Sojourn," the latter Moody Blues albums feature synthesizers replacing the mellotrons, as any Moody fan can tell you of course, plus Justin Hayward sings in a more mellow manner than the way he sang on the late 60's/early 70's albums. John Lodge rocks a bit more, at a few points, compared to on the earlier albums (Beginning with "Sitting At The Wheel," from "The Present"). Also, orchestral arrangements grace certain tracks ("Long Distance Voyager"). Not so much spoken-word poetry, either, until "Strange Times."

For the bonus tracks, I was overjoyed to find that there were previously unreleased live versions of some of the tracks from "Octave" ... The live performance of "Slide Zone" sounds unusual when compared to the studio version, but it still sounds amazing. The other live tracks sound similar to their original versions, but still have that unique "live" feel to them, too. :) A shame that the five-minute version of John Lodge's "Survival" (Found on some pressings of the original CD version of "Octave") wasn't also featured as a bonus track on this release. Here, we get the shorter version of the track. Hopefully, one day the full version may make an appearance on a possible future Moody Blues compilation or rarities collection ... That would be nice.

The CD booklet that accompanies this release is loaded with photos, lyrics, and a history of the band, so you get your money's worth on not just the disc, but with the insert, too! What an improvement from the simple "greeting card" format of the CD "booklets" that were featured within the original 1980's CD releases!

This is what a remastered, reissued CD release should be all about, and this edition of "Octave" really satisfies! Congratulations and job well done to Justin Hayward and everyone who worked on this fantastic CD re-release! Now, let's all hope and pray for some remasters of "The Other Side Of Life," "Sur La Mer," "Keys Of The Kingdom," a return of the "This Is The Moody Blues" and "Legend Of A Band" compilations, and also a return of the version of "Strange Times" that featured the bonus tracks, "Highway" and "This Is The Moment" ... Then, I'm sure we'll all be joyous and grateful "Moodies" fans. :) Thanks for reading and God Bless!

~KevyGuy :)
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Preceding "Octave" (1978), was the Moodies' 1972 release "Seventh Sojourn". After the release of SS, they went their own ways (a sad shock for lovers of their music). When "Octave" appeared, it was with great anticipation that I heard it. Michael Pinder was, again, at a maximum presence on the spiritual 'One Step into the Light'. 'Survival', 'I'll Be Level With You', and 'Under Moonshine' are all encouraging and abiding contributions from from Lodge, Edge and Thomas, resp. Justin Hayward's 'The Day We Meet Again', 'Driftwood', and 'Had to Fall...' show an evolving sense of his craft - which involves writing exquisitely beautiful and mysterious love songs.

The Moodies were newer sounding here, obviously - it being 6 years later - but they still had the chemistry going with their classic line-up of people. And I hope I am not too undemonstrative in saying "Octave" is a really nice album, worth it alone for 'Survival'- with it's inspiring, truthful and musical momentum; 'Driftwood' - an nicely airy-textured and personal song with a rather fetching chord sequence in the "shattered the illusion..." verse; and 'The Day We Meet Again', with hypnotic syncopations and dreamily subdued vocal delivery. We didn't hear from them again until 1981 with Pat Moraz on the incredible and theatrical "Long Distance Voyager" - sans Michael Pinder. And the beat goes on...

The Moody Blues "Octave" came out in mid 1978, well over 5 years after their last album "Seventh Sojourn". Don't let anyone fool you into thinking that this album picks up right where "Seventh Sojourn" left off, because that's quite an exaggeration. Certainly there is some of the "Core 7" flavor to be found on "Octave", but a lot of this sounds quite different from anything the Moodies had done before. If you go straight to this album following "Seventh Sojourn", the transition seems a bit jolting. However, it'd been 5+ years, and changes had taken place. If you're familiar with the music the individual members made outside of the Moodies during the hiatus, then you're aware of the 'missing links' between "Seventh Sojourn" and "Octave" and the change doesn't seem anywhere near as drastic. "Octave" is often very mellow and has a real 'late '70s soft rock' sound to it. Some folks will tell you that the band had lost their edge, but the thing is, there's lots of quality songwriting still going on here--there's John Lodge's catchy and creepy doom-laden rocker "Steppin' In A Slide Zone"; Justin Hayward's wonderfully breezy, laidback ballad "Had To Fall In Love" and his soaring epic "The Day We Meet Again"; and Mike Pinder's slightly corny but still impressively tuneful and bittersweet ballad "One Step Into The Light". Ray Thomas' tender love song "I'm Your Man" starts off lovely and surprisingly mellow before kicking into Ray's characteristic bombast, though thankfully he doesn't get super carried away here. Graeme Edge's "I'll Be Level With You" is a respectable rocker with some solid hooks, and even Hayward's uptempo, sax-laden "Top Rank Suite", which clearly nods to the Steely Dan-style jazz-rock that was all the rage back then, is catchy and fun to listen to. I do have to admit though that Hayward's ballad "Driftwood", with its cliche-ridden lyrics, is painfully underdeveloped; and Lodge's "Survival" has extremely weak, messy production. Overall though, "Octave" is a strong album, as well as both Pinder's and producer Tony Clarke's last album with the group which ironically makes "Octave" as much the end of an era as "Seventh Sojourn". If you're only familiar with the "Core 7" and haven't heard any of the members' non-Moodies work, be ready for a change of pace with "Octave".

I once enjoyed the great privilege of having dinner one night at an Albuquerque East Indian restaurant with Michael Pinder, who was, at the time, producing story-CD's for children, narrating them with his rich baritone voice. His days with The Moody Blues had long been over, and I asked him if he had ever considered returning to the group, should its members invite him back. He unequivocally said "no," claimed that he held on to no regrets, and was not really interested in looking back so much. As far as I could gather from Pinder's guarded conversation with me and his other guests, there had been a great rift with Justin Hayward, who was becoming increasingly interested in giving the group's music more commercial appeal and in becoming a rock star for whom young women would swoon. Pinder was not at all interested in this direction, and felt that the spiritual center of the group's music was growing smaller and smaller. It was my delight to be able to tell Michael to his face that one of my favorite Moody Blues songs was his composition from OCTAVE, `One Step Into the Light." He seemed glad to hear this. Later, he sent me a reissue of his solo album THE PROMISE, with two bonus tracks, one a fine remake of `One Step..." Although I won't say that the final nail in the coffin was hammered when Pinder left The Moody's, it seems to me that some of the magic died with his absence. OCTAVE is not a perfect album by any stretch. One reviewer on these pages labeled `One Step Into The Light' a "trite" song and praised `Steppin' In A Slide Zone,' which I think is a tad overblown, so opinions of this record obviously differ, as with any other work of art. Be that as it may, this is the last album that sounded wholly Moody Blues. It's not that the post-Pinder group didn't try to continue making good music, or evolve in any way, it's just that the times passed them by, I think. Now regarded as even bigger dinosaurs than The Rolling Stones (who, nevertheless, retain some of their former rock credibility), the once-great Moody's keep limping along. I'm still a fan, but I know that their legacy lies suspended in a bygone era. For many rock lovers whom I've spoken to, even their best stuff hasn't aged well (I don't agree, personally), but I am waiting for a time in the not-too-distant future when the distinctive sound of the Moody Blues will be rediscovered by a new generation, and there will be a kind of revival. Even if only a brief revival occurs, this one-of-a-kind band deserves at least that much. I mean, ABBA became cool again, so please, why not The Moody Blues?

I was reading Justin Hayward's archive of "happenings", and was stoked (and very relieved) that this album was not overlooked...the 15+ year wait is over!! It is in my shopping cart now here on Amazon, and I will finish my order as soon as I finish typing this!
If I read a previous review correctly (but please correct me if not), it is good to know that the original (LP-shortened) version of Survival is on here, as the 5+ minute one has always seemed too long to me. This album is the soundtrack of a computer slideshow of my first 5 years, from 1975-1980. Once I started remembering the songs better after a few listens, I felt as if I was time-warped, and viewing old slides of the time this music was recorded justified that. Songs such as Under Moonshine, HTFILove, IBLWYou, Driftwood, IYMan, OSITLight, and TDWMAgain are so...retro (for lack of a better word!). The others that I didn't mention are all great in their own way, but those stand out the most, in this case.
Octave may remain underrated, compared to the C7, probably forever, but it is a must-have if you are a "real" Moodies fan! :-)

As the eighth album from the original ensemble of the Moody Blues, this is the only one not to be remastered in 5.1 (actually 4.1 as the center speaker is not used). I can only guess it is because the group recorded at the Record Plant in California and did not have the same access to the quad mixers. However, Justin Hayward and Alberto Paroldi did a fine job remastering in stereo with this 2008 release. The songs are more vibrant than the original recording and the five `live' songs are incredibly clear, unlike the Caught Live + 5 album, which had horrible mixing.

As is usual with the first song on a Moody Blues album, there is a special effect `hook' used for introduction. However, "Steppin' In A Slide Zone" falls short as a single with a repetitive chorus and forced melody. In fact, some of the songs sound terribly dated, which is unusual for the Moody Blues earlier albums. "I'll be Level With You", "Top Rank Suite" and "Survival" just seem out of synch with a typical Moody Blues song. Note that this was a tough period for the group in general, not knowing what the future held. However, songs like, "Driftwood", "The Day We Meet Again" and "One Step Into The Light" (Mike Pinder's only contribution) are represented in the classic Moody Blues ethereal sound. In Fact, Pinder's song contains lyrics that harken back to the psychedelic era and the mellotron works well without being overpowering.

The additional five live songs don't make up for the lack of the quadraphonic sound most had hoped for, but at least they are crisply and clearly recorded. Again, "Driftwood" (with its reverb guitar) and "The Day We Meet Again" are nice surprises.