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80 of 87 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Essential Moody Blues, April 15, 2000
"Days of Future Passed" and "Seventh Sojourn" are the two Moody Blues CDs to buy. For the rest of their hits purchase one of the many greatest hits CDs. Unfortunately, their best hits album, "This is the Moody Blues" released on vinyl in the 1970s is not available on CD. "Days" contains two of the Moodys best songs-- "Nights in White Satin" and "Forever Afternoon (Tuesday?)" (better known as "Tuesday Afternoon"). Even more than 30 years later "Nights" is perhaps the best marriage of classical and pop music ever done. The song and narrative poem portion that follows are a perfect mood piece. "Tuesday Afternoon" truly soars. Some of the other parts of this album have dated somewhat ("The Day Begins" for example) and 30 years on it is sometimes hard to see how groundbreaking this album was in 1967 in the wake of the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band." Rather than ambitious, some songs seem rather quaint in retrospect, but it is well worth buying to hear the triumvirate of "Nights," "Tuesday Afternoon" and "(Evening) Time to Get Away" in their proper context. [Note: Be sure to buy the "Originally Recording Remastered" version--it has a black background on the back cover with a "Moody Blues" emblem that looks like a butterfly. The "Remastered" version contains an interview with the Band and far superior sound quality to previous releases.]
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17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A landmark recording by a very important group, June 27, 2006
Released in 1967, this is yet another incredible Moodies album and is one of my favorites. As a huge prog rock fan, I especially appreciate the symbolic cover art, the overarching concept/theme, the abundant use of the mellotron, and the nearly seamless blending of an orchestra. I guess it is worth noting that as a rock band, the Moodies were pioneers in fusing orchestral sonorities with rock music and got a number of other British rock bands interested in the use of an orchestra including Yes and Deep Purple amongst others. Like a lot of other people, my favorite tracks include the haunting and dreamy Nights in White Satin, Tuesday Afternoon, and Dawn is a Feeling, but also like the instrumental orchestral passages (London Symphony Orchestra), the sections of dark and serious spoken words, and the subtle hints of the Beatles and even Pink Floyd's Piper at the Gates of Dawn album (1967). This remastered album comes with a series of liner notes that feature a "question and answer" session with various members of the group - in general I found them to be fairly informative. All in all, this is a landmark recording by an extremely important group and is highly recommended along with In Search of the Lost Chord (1968), To Our Children's, Children's, Children (1969), and A Question of Balance (1970).
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Wonderul & Innovative First Outing For The Moody Blues!, August 19, 2000
This album was my introduction to the wonder of the Moody Blues, who at that point were just establishing themselves as an innovative and highly experimental form of pop rock that explored a number of intriguing area of the genre. The album was intended as a kind of popular introduction to the band, who had formed shortly before and had several songs to audition with but not a full stable of songs. So, when lead singer Justin Hayward was approached by a member of the Polygram label with the idea of a rock-orchestral fusion album, he jumped at the chance, understanding what a break it would be for the band. Of course, the album was an instant success, and led to the release of "Tuesday Afternoon" and later the smash hit "Nights in White Satin" as singles. The rest, as they say, was history, for they turned this opportunity into a string of fabulously successful albums and three decades of very popular public touring. Strictly speaking, then, this album is a mixed bag, an attempt to fuse popular rock with classical music, and in a number of places, this works amazingly well. At other points in the album, the segue is less well accomplished, and it is less pleasing. But overall it is a wonderful album, and one that has a firm place in pop music history as the first step into the limelight by one of the most enduring bands in the history of rock and roll. Enjoy!
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