EVERY GOOD BOY DESERVES FAVOUR

After the more stripped down sound that A Question of Balance featured, The Moodies decided to go back to a more expirimental sound. Every Good Boy Deserves Favour starts out with some cosmic Moog sounds courtesy of Mike Pinder. This lands us into Procession which shows the evolution of music and mankind. All five members had a part in this song, and there's even electronic drums, which I believe had never been featured in a studio recording before. This song nicely segues into The Story in Your Eyes which is one of The Moodies harder rocking songs. It's an excellent song which had great mainstream success, and some nice distorted guitar playing by Justin Hayward. Our Guessing Game is easily one of the most underrated songs from this band, and has some absolutely majestic Mellotron. Next is Emily's Song which John Lodge dedicated to his then newborn daughter. It is a sugercoated song, but a lovely song. It took me a few listens to appreciate it, but the lyrics are pretty good, and the Mellotron playing adds a lot to the song as well. Next is After You Came which is in the same vein as a good portion of the songs featured on A Question of Balance. It's a stripped down song which relies more on guitar than Mellotron, and has some really catchy moments when it comes to the vocals. One More Time To Live revisits the themes of desolation, creation, communication first mentioned in Procession. The band chants these themes as the background is flooded with percussion and Mellotron. Really cool song. Nice to be Here goes hand in hand with Emily's Song as it's pretty much a child's lullaby. It's possibly the weakest song on the album, but the lyrics are definitely unique, and the song goes along with the concept of the album. You Can Never Go Home may very well be the best song Justin Hayward ever wrote, and it deals with never being able to go back into the past. It's an incredibly beautiful dark song, with stellar lyrics, and more of Hayward's mystic distorted guitar. The line Weep no more for treasures you've been searching for in vain. 'Cos the truth is gently falling with the rain, High above the forest lie the pastures of the sun, Where the two that learned the secret are now one. is brilliant. The album closes with Mike Pinder's My Song. If I had to choose my favorite member of The Moody Blues, it'd be Pinder and songs like My Song is the reason why. Dark lyrics, great Mellotron, some Moog, and the most beautiful moment in music for me, which is the incredible fade-out to this song and conclusion to this album. EGBDF isn't exactly a landmark album for Progressive rock, but it's somewhat underrated here in my opinion. It's the Moodies most well rounded album, and not only my favorite from them, but of all-time if I had to choose. While it's not that complex, it is expirimental at times, and well done. Songs like You Can Never Go Home and My Song cannot be overlooked. An album that's strong and consistent throughout, EGBDF is one of The Moodies strongest efforts.