SEVENTH SOJOURN

"Seventh Sojourn" is the 8th full-length studio album by UK pop/rock act The Moody Blues. The album was released through Threshold Records in November 1972. It´s the last of what is widely considered the classic albums by The Moody Blues. The group went into a hiatus after the tour supporting the album. The hiatus was however originally announced as a permanent split-up. During the summer of 1975 vocalist/keyboard player Mike Pinder tried to get the band together again but the other members didn´t seem interested at the time and continued to work on various solo projects instead. So it was not until 1977 that the band (still in the classic lineup) got together again to record their next album "Octave (1978)".

The music on "Seventh Sojourn" is unmistakably the sound of The Moody Blues. The mellotron is accompanied by the chamberlin, but as that instrument has a similar sound to the mellotron it´s actually not that audible (at least not to me, but don´t take my word for it. I´m not a keyboard/synth expert). The music is still what I would characterize as easy listening semi-progressive pop/rock. Tracks like "Lost In A Lost World", "Isn´t Life Strange", and "When You´re a Free Man" are quality material, although they seldom reach the excellent mark. Most tracks on the album are of a good quality, but the Ray Thomas penned "For My Lady" is to my ears a sub par track, which should have been left off the album. It has an atmosphere not really suiting the remaining part of the album. The title of the track "I'm Just A Singer (In A Rock And Roll Band)" made me smile a bit. It´s actually a pretty good song, but if there´s something this band definitely isn´t, then it´s a rock´n´roll band. This is clever and sophisticated pop/rock rather than sweaty, blue color rock´n´roll.

The musicianship is as usual of a high standard, but it can be expected from a seasoned act like The Moody Blues. As noted above this isn´t exactly a hard rocking release, but it´s actually one of the band´s releases featuring most use of electric guitar. The sound production is warm, organic, and pleasant, and the sound suits the material perfectly. House producer Tony Clarke has made another professional sound for a Moody Blues album. "Seventh Sojourn" is upon conclusion one of the more accomplished albums by The Moody Blues and a 3 - 3.5 star (65%) rating is deserved.