ON THE THRESHOLD OF A DREAM

After the amazing In Search Of The Lost Chord an eerir and mysterious masterpiece, The Moody Blues then settled in with what would be their trademark throughout the rest of their finest years: somewhat progressive, sometimes folky, but highly romantic music. This one does succeed by featuring some very nice songwriting. And, like most of the Moodies albums, it gave the prog fan (or art-rock fan at the time) something to play for their girlfriend, that she could enjoy and sing along with.

The album begins with the ominous In The Beginning, a Graeme Edge poetry piece, that gives the impression that the album will be in a similar vein as The Lost Chord. But the tone brightens immediately with Lovely To See You, a cheerful, rocking song, featuring those vocal harmonies that only The Moody Blues could create.

Of the rest of the songs, Lazy Day and especially Dear Diary are the standout tracks, both with great lyrics, and somewhat dark musical interludes. But the best work is the final trio of songs: the two parts of Have You Heard? sandwiching the beautifully orchestral The Voyage. It is here that Michael Pinder does some of his best keyboard work on any of the Moddies albums.

Not perfect, but still a very good album.