A QUESTION OF BALANCE

An ok, but not essential release. Like all the other Moody Blues albums, this is a concept album in which all songs are connected perfectly one from the other, making this album very coherent. This album differs from the others because of the inclusion of synths and is poppier than the majority of the albums.

_1. Question : A great rocker in which the guitar player strums his acoustic guitar very fast. The middle section calms down and is very uplifting. The melodies here are all great and I wished the rest of the album was of this quality. 8/10

_2. How is it (we are here) Wow, the mellotron really soars in this piece!! This is a good short song focused on vocals. There is a distorted electric guitar solo at the end. 6/10

_3. And the tide rushes in : this is the typical Moody Blues song ... it is not very interesting . 4/10

_4. Don't you feel small : it is dominated by a singing unison. Once again, it is not very interesting, especially for prog fans. 4/10

_5. Tortoise and the hare : it picks up the pace of the album, but it is an average rocker that holds little interest to me. 4/10

_6. It's up to you : A classic rocker with a neat guitar riff. 5.5/10

_7. Minstrel's song : A hippie, and very Beatlesque song. The melodies are more memorable than most of the melodies in this album. 4/10

_8. Dawning is the day : A melodic, yet forgettable short acoustic song. 3/10

_9. Melancholy man : An amazing track that creates the perfect sad mood. The chord progression is very well planned, the 2 vocal melodies are excellent, especially when put together as a harmony. My favourite moment is when two synth solos dominates the music for a minute. 9/10

_10. The balance : An overly disappointing song with narration. I wish the album would have ended with Melancholy man instead. 3/10

So there you have it ... a decent, yet not essential album of pop. Question, and Melancholy man are great, but the rest is not very interesting. If you would like pop with good vocals, Keep listening the great Beatles.

My Grade : C/D