SEVENTH SOJOURN

I continue my The Moody Blues journey and come to their eight record: "Seventh Sojourn" from 1972. It was their last record before a break of some years before more record by the band. "Seventh Sojourn" has a pleasant cover picture of a rocky landscape, perhaps Rocky Mountains or something similar. It features the same musicians as before with Hayward, Lodge, Pinder, Thomas and Edge which seem to be very fit together. Those men have certainly refined their sound becuase now they sounded as good as ever. I'd consider this record as good or a little bit better than the last one.

"Lost in a lost world" is a perfect introduction, a quite noisy track with both orchestral feeling, nice melody and richness(8/10). "I'm just a singer(in a rock and roll band)" is the album's best song. It is furious and beautiful and very clever(8/10). Also "The land of make-believe" reaches the same level(8/10); it's a very dramatic track. "When you're a free man" is also dramatic and I like it(7/10) as well as the sheer "For my lady"(7/10) which sounds very old has fine harmonium and "New Horizons" which is an über-neat track(7/10). "You and me" has heavy and good guitar(7/10) and "Isn't life strange" also works, it's rich and expressive(6/10). As before I do hear the professionality and the richness in The Moddy Blues' pop-prog even if it's not my favourite prog. As earlier records this is very even and it's worth its listening time. My rating will be 3,625= Four stars!

A recommended album from one of those bands who existed when prog wasn't really defined. Many bands those days tried to play rock music in a new more challenging way, and The Moody Blues did, as well as King Crimson or Yes. But it feels like The Moody Blues wasn't that lucky that Yes' was and they didn't define the prog in the same way. But it's an exciting band to follow and next album for me will be a live record!