SEVENTH SOJOURN

THE MOODIES' "Seventh Sojourn" in the studio proved to be their last, for a while anyway. It's not a great sign that the band was keeping count, but they can still be counted on for good music. "Seventh Sojourn" has its critics, some of them fans who took umbrage with what sounds to be a more individual approach to songwriting. Earlier albums ("To Our Children's Children's Children", Every Good Boy Deserves Favour) worked toward a greater whole, dominated by dreamy ballads. "Seventh Sojourn" still has some of that, notably "Isn't Life Strange" and "New Horizons," but it's an album written by individuals rather than a team. (The band has since cited a certain malaise in the studio when this was recorded.) MIKE PINDER in particular seems out of synch with the band, driving them toward the sound of David Bowie ("Lost In A New World") and PINK FLOYD ("When You're A Free Man"). The rest of the record is quintessential MOODIES, from RAY THOMAS' swooning sea chantey "For My Lady" (the prettiest song they've ever recorded in my opinion) to the deliciously desperate "I'm Just A Singer (In A Rock And Roll Band)." If the remaining tracks fail to stand out, hasn't that always been the case? The truth (as I see it) is, there isn't a bad song on "Seventh Sojourn". It may not envelop listeners in a conceptual dreamscape, but song for song it's a fine record. However, it does underscore the fact that Moodyville might not have been big enough for so many songwriters. When five players can each contribute songs of serious merit, something has to give.

Still, there are worse ways to make an album than letting five talented songwriters toss their ideas into a pile and pull out the best. "Seventh Sojourn" is a very solid collection of songs. By no means a band running out of steam, but rather one that succeeds at stoking five separate steam engines.