TO OUR CHILDREN'S CHILDREN'S CHILDREN

When discussing the best Moody Blues album, the common answer given is Days of Future Passed, which contain the classics "Night in White Satin" and "Tuesday Afternoon", as well as being one of the first bands to incorporate a symphony into their music. Even from a progressive rock standpoint, if there were no Moodies, there would be no King Crimson, so DOFP would deserve the most respect. While I can't deny how much of an impact that album had, I believe To Our Children's Children's Children is the one deserving of the title of best Moody Blues album. It deserves to be placed alongside DOFP as being influential of the progressive rock genre. There's no doubting that psychedelic rock had a huge influence on the genre and this album is the missing link which showed that moment when it made that transition.

When discussing the material on this album, I feel it necessary to discuss it in regards to each individual musician's contribution rather than the songs individually. One of the strengths of this album is that all the band-mates actually step out of their comfort zone when it comes to sound. I've always considered that to be the sign of a good musician and the Magnificent Moodies, while not the most technical or profound, certainly fit that bill.

Justin Hayward (guitars) and John Lodge (bass) act as the band's two main songwriters. The former focuses on softer songs (like Nights in White Satin) and the latter tends to write "rock-n-roll" songs (i.e. Ride My See-Saw). While Justin contributes with his traditional sound with the album finale Watching and Waiting, he pulls a surprising curve ball with Gypsy, a song that is surprisingly dark and heavy for a Moody Blues song. The change pays off as it is one of the best songs in Justin's repertoire. On the other hand, Lodge doesn't write a single "rock" song on this album. His two main contributions are the two part Eyes of a Child and Candle of Life, the latter being one of my favorites by the Moodies with it's soft symphonic sounds tinged with psychedelic rock melodies. Even if I didn't like the songs, I would respect the two of them for trying something new, but it works very well for them and I'm a little sad that neither of them tried to do it again after this album.

I must confess that whenever a song by Graham Edge (drums) or Mike Pinder (keyboards) comes on, I always feel the temptation to hit the skip button. I don't really care for Graham's poetry overtaking the music and I find Pinder's songs boring; experimentalism with no adventure. However, both of them pull a pleasant surprise with their contributions to the album. In regards with Pinder's work,Out and In is mellow rock song drenched in psychedelica and Sun is Still Shining is best described as a playful funk/folk song. Graham finally writes a full song with the opening Higher and Higher which starts loud, calms, and then continues to slow build up until the instruments climax. Beyond took me completely by surprise. Written by Graham, it is an extremely catchy instrumental that connects the two sides of the album. Being used to him just writing poetry, I was honestly shocked that he wrote an instrumental of this caliber.

And last but not least, Ray Thomas (flute), the unsung hero of the band. Despite not writing the most popular songs, his work always tends to be a personal favorite of mine ("Twilight Time", "Legend of a Mind", "Dear Diary"). The two best songs on the album, which truly encapsulate the feeling of space, are written by him. Floating is very light and playful, reflecting the lyrics of a hotel resort on the moon, where people spend their time carelessly jumping 60 feet in the air. On the other hand, I don't think I've ever heard a song capture the open, mysterious, endless beauty of the cosmos as in Eternity Road, which is, bar none, the Moodies' most underrated work.

Actually, that can be applied to this entire album. Unlike the other classic seven albums, this one does not have a "hit" song on it. Yet for all the adventurous material, stepping out of comfort zones, and wonderful sounds and orchestrations, To Our Children's Children's Children easily deserves the five star rating and the title of "Best Moody Blues album."