IN SEARCH OF THE LOST CHORD

There are many admirable things about the sixties. In that decade my generation took some very important political and social stands and ushered in a new era of creative thinking and art. By the same token there are many things about those "flower power" times that make me cringe in embarrassment. Some of the clothing styles, silly fads and phrases and our naïve attitude towards dangerous drugs in general haven't aged well at all. In many ways I feel the same about The Moody Blues.

"Days of Future Passed" had put them on the map in a big way the year before so they went into the studio to try and sustain that momentum and write songs that would speak to the truth-seeking "hippie" crowd that was experimenting with hallucinogenics. The undisguised "let's all take a trip, shall we?" lyrical content and attitude makes it seem that way to me. The result was "In Search of the Lost Chord" which showed them to be much more proficient and confident as performers and musicians. "Departure" starts things off dramatically with a slithering harp and an explosion of sound followed by a brief soliloquy spoken over a rising tone. Not too shabby. John Lodge's "Ride My See-Saw" takes over and it's a fine tune that features tight, concise three part harmony and a melodic guitar lead. Later, Ray Thomas' "Legend of a Mind" also stands out musically and production-wise. It seems to be praising Timothy Leary's dubious "Tune in, turn on, drop out" lifestyle but depending on when this song was written LSD might still have been legal in the UK so it's somewhat excusable in that light. Thomas' flute work is excellent throughout the album but especially here. Justin Hayward's "Voices in the Sky" is another decent tune that features his distinguished and very recognizable voice. "Visions of Paradise," a Hayward/Thomas collaboration is also better than average with its sitar and flute combination. But not all of the album has songs as good as these. "Dr. Livingstone, I Presume" is as corny as Kansas in August and "House of Four Doors (Pts. 1 & 2)" tries way too hard to be some kind of deep psychedelic journey. "The Best Way to Travel" is an annoying example of how to misuse the pitch control on a Mellotron and how to employ an incessant garbage truck backing up beeping sound on a record. Hayward's "The Actor" is pleasant enough but it never really goes anywhere interesting. Drummer Graeme Edge gets to contribute another well-written poem, "The Word," recited by Mike Pinder in the same thespian way as he did on their previous album. "Om" is old school and overblown in a self-explanatory way but the harmonies are full and I have to give a shout out to Justin Hayward's sitar work on the song. He's no Ravi Shankar but he gives George Harrison a run for his money.

I'm sorry if this offends the millions of Moody Blues fans out there but this just isn't a very good album. Quaint reminiscing is one thing but this is something else altogether. The good news is that they were getting better and would eventually create some truly high-class progressive rock that stands the test of time. "In Search of the Lost Chord," however, does not. 1.4 stars.