IN SEARCH OF THE LOST CHORD - The Moody Blues

YEAR: 1968

LABEL: Deram

TRACK LISTING: Departure, Ride My See Saw, Dr. Livingston I Presume, House of Four Doors, Legend of a Mind, House of Four Doors (Part 2), Voices in the Sky, The Best Way To Travel, Visions of Paradise, The Actor, The Word, Om

IMPRESSIONS: Here we have another of my favourite albums and one which I've been listening to as long as I can remember. It was my Dad's record and we played it to death when I was growing up. And yes, we played BOTH SIDES of the record!!! Why this is such a big statement is because my Dad had this strange habit of only playing one side of a new record when he bought it; the rationale was that only playing one side of a record for the longest time would mean that, in the future when you finally did play the other side, you would have what amounted to a "new album" (or half an album) and it would be something new and exciting to hear. Hey, it never made any sense to me either but it was the early 70s and money was tight so one did what one must. This album is also another of those instances of those "concept" albums with tracks running together into one long song suite which I love (and this album is one of the reasons why my musical proclivities formed that way, surely). Especially as a kid in the early 70's, hearing this album was like one of those cliched "musical journeys" which I could embark upon in my mind every time the needle touched down on the vinyl's outer groove.

MY FAVOURITE TRACKS: This is another of those albums where I'm tempted to say "all of them" but I will refrain and choose among them: Departure, Ride My See Saw, Dr. Livingston I Presume, Legend of a Mind, Voices in the Sky, The Best Way to Travel, The Actor, The Word, Om

FACT SHEET: IN SEARCH OF THE LOST CHORD is the Moody Blues' third album. It is a concept album which follows the search for the mythical "lost chord" which is revealed to be the word "Om" at the end of the album; the lyrical subject matter of most of the songs also deals with the search for spiritual fulfillment. After using the London Festival Orchestra on their previous "DAYS OF FUTURE PASSED" album, here the Moodys play all their own instruments; over 30 of them and some very unusual ones including sitar, mellotron, tambura, cello and oboe among many others not utilized before by the group. The lineup of the group at this time includes Justin Hayward (vocals, guitars, sitar, harpsichord, piano, mellotron, bass guitar, percussion, tablas), John Lodge (vocals, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, cello, tambourine, snare drum), Graeme Edge (vocals, drums, timpani, piano, tambourine, tablas, spoken word), Ray Thomas (vocals, flute, saxophone, oboe, French horn, tambourine) and Mike Pinder (vocals, piano, harpsichord, mellotron, acoustic guitar, cello, autoharp, bass guitar, tambura). All the band members also share songwriting credits. "Dr. Livingston, I Presume" refers to jungle explorer Livingston who was found by Stanley after his disappearance. "Legend of a Mind" refers to Dr. Timothy Leary.