Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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71 of 72 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Their peak achievement, March 3, 2002
To Our Children's Children's Children is one of the two most consistent and musically cohesive albums the Moody Blues ever did (the other is "Lost Chord"). If it has a fault it is that the dexterous, subtle electric and acoustic guitar rhythms of Justin Hayward are often overwhelmed with the thick and unsubtle drone of Mike Pinder's mellotron orchestrations, especially on "Out and In", making the album dense-sounding and difficult to digest in a single sitting. There are five absolutely outstanding songs here that merit some description, listed in the order they appear. 1) "Higher and Higher" by Graeme Edge: It opens with a blast of sound - a rocket launch? the "big bang"? - that melts into a choir of voices and one of the most propulsive rock songs ever recorded. The song is also graced by some Moodies humor in the spoken words: "bursting forth with the power of ten billion butterfly sneezes". 2) "Eyes of a Child" is simple and exquisitely beautiful. John Lodge does not hit the bull's eye often, but he does with this song. 3) "Gypsy", by Justin Hayward is simply one of the best adrenalin-pumping rock songs ever by anybody. 4) "Eternity Road" by Ray Thomas climaxes with the best, most exciting instrumental music the Moodies ever recorded, unlike anything any other rock band ever produced. Listen very closely to Justin's barely audible acoustic guitar work in the final minute, as well as his rousing dual-tracked electric guitar solo. Mike Pinder's electronics and Ray's flute are scintillating, and Graeme Edge's drumming is brilliant. Graeme always meets the subtle percussive needs of his bandmates' music, but listen to him on this song and you'll know how good he really is. 5) Closing out the album is "Watching and Waiting" by Justin and Ray. Just be quiet and close your eyes - when the song is over you will feel cheated at having to return to real life. This album was the creative peak of the Moody Blues.
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15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The Magnificent Moodies, April 19, 2001
Anybody who's ever criticized The Moody Blues for being too "fluffy" a rock band has obviously never heard this album. "To Our Children's Children's Children" is the Moody Blues' greatest achievement in their long, illustrious recording career, and it is also one of the greatest albums---rock OR otherwise---ever created by anyone. The band's music on "Children" is passionate, soulful, and spiritual, with fabulous songwriting, luscious production, beautiful vocals, memorable lyrics, and phenomenal playing by the band. THIS album truly is art-rock at it's most artful. What "Children" has in mighty abundance is *atmosphere*, and all five band members make wonderful, atmospheric songwriting contributions to the album. Want proof that the Moodies can rock with the best of them? Try Graeme Edge's supreme opener, "Higher & Higher," in which the band literally come CRASHING in through the speakers! The Moodies *totally* shred wallpaper on this thunderous gem (as they do with Edge's other powerful piece, the ominous "Beyond"). John Lodge's excellent "Eyes Of A Child" & "Candle Of Life" are both very lovely songs & certainly among his best. Ray Thomas contributes a pair of dreamy compositions too, the appropriately-titled "Floating" and the soaring "Eternity Road." Mellotron master Mike Pinder leaves a mighty impression with his perfect pair, "Out and In" & "Sun Is Still Shining." And finally, there's the one-and-only Justin Hayward: "Gypsy" is a passionate rocker, "I Never Thought I'd Live To Be A Hundred/Million" is simple but oh-so-sweet, and "Watching And Waiting," co-written with Thomas, is a truly haunting song, arguably Hayward's finest moment on record, and the perfect song to close this perfect album with. The Moodies have always made great music and continue to do so to this day, but "To Our Children's Children's Children" stands as their greatest musical statement, an album with SO much power & emotion that it will leave you awestruck. The Moody Blues made their mark with "Days Of Future Passed," but with "To Our Children's Children's Children," they made their masterpiece.
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23 of 26 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Provocative Exploration of A Post-Apocalyptic Future!, August 19, 2000
As with their earlier concept albums, the opening cut of this third of the four such concept albums released by the Moody Blues in rapid fire succession tells it all, a provocative, thoughtful, and intellectually fascinating exploration of a range of problems surrounding the possibility of life in a post-apocalyptic world. It amazes me that most of the other reviewers don't seem to recognize the basic concept of this album, so they trivialize it without understanding its basic premise. As in their previous albums, the Moody Blues use a rock style fusing mainstream rock music and eastern musical forms, and with a singular virtuosity that is spellbinding to listen to. No one carried such musical explorations with more panache and style than the Moody Blues, who, to their great distress, quickly became a kind of cult force in popular culture, making them pop icons overnight. This is an intriguing album, and a valuable introduction for the uninitiated to the wild range of talents and interests of the various members of the band, and is a showcase for their musical virtuosity. From the opening tension-filled rock introduction of the idea of a world posing the question of how we survive, we suddenly switch to a dream-like sequence of songs set in a time in the future, and anyone seeing the original cover art understood all too well the otherwise implied notion of a world returned to a "Planet of the Apes" type wild and barren world vacated of rampant technology comfortable certainties. It builds on the earlier albums in the sense it follows the countercultural ideas as well as the precepts of outspoken critics of mainstream society like Lewis Mumford and others exploring the possibilities of a world gone beyond what science and technology can provide. The mood of thoughtful exploration of the issue is established, and we are in for another wondrous mind ride that the Moodies were so singularly famous for. The rest of the album focuses increasingly on aspects of this tension with an individual's needs and thoughts and ways of surviving a life of meaning in a post-apocalyptic future characterized by uncertainty and a devastated world. This is classic stuff, with the lyrics, melodies, and extremely artful arrangements supporting the search for identity. My favorites here are "In The Eyes Of A Child", "Gypsy', and the haunting "Watching And Waiting". As always, they mine the range of modern rock with more panache and virtuosity than anyone else. This is classic Moody Blues material, and they mine this genre in a way uniquely their own. I would start with "In Search Of The Lost Chord", and work my way deliciously through "On The Threshold Of A Dream", this album, "To Our Childrens' Childrens' Children", and the fourth and final album, "A Question Of Balance", which comprises the real close of this phase of their concept album series. All of them are thoughtful, artistically well expressed, and a timeless celebration of what it means to be human. I highly recommend all their albums. Enjoy!
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~ The Moody Blues
~ The Moody Blues
~ The Moody Blues
~ The Moody Blues
~ The Moody Blues
by The Moody Blues 
