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DAYS OF FUTURE PASSEDThe Moody BluesCrossover Prog4.21 | 1009 ratings |
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Sinusoid
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Took me a good long time to really figure this one out. For months, I had thought this was a halfway decent symphonic rock album until I really listened to it. The pop-symphony combo is not original at this point (the Beatles had some success with this combo on ''Eleanor Rigby''), but the Moody Blues embraced the classical ideas even moreso on DAYS OF FUTURE PASSED. Instead of just a few one-off collaborations, the Moodies along with London Festival Orchestra conductor Peter Knight created a ''modern'' symphony piece.A group tackling this feat couldn't have been easy back in 1967, especially with the Moodies bringing in two new members (Hayward and Lodge) and the band's previous history as a safe, RnB influenced group. But, in the post Sgt. Pepper's world, anyone with a creative idea was given the leeway to create. And a masterpiece the Moodies helped create, indeed. Each member of the Moody Blues has at least one contribution here, rare for the time, but it works beautifully as all except Graeme Edge have at least one highlight here. It's rare for me to understand the more emotional moments in music, but ''Night in White Satin'' and ''Dawn is a Feeling'' are two of the most beautiful pieces I've ever heard. Contrast those with the atmospheric ''Sun Set/Twilight Time'' (if you excuse Pinder's lyrics), the catchy ''Peak Hour'' and the classic ''Forever Afternoon (Tuesday?)/Time to Get Away'', and you've got a classic at hand. I wish that the orchestra could have been more integrated into the band sections; the orchestra sections and band sections sound separate to me, but they both still work just fine. The poetry sections bookending the album are cringeworthy (Graeme Edge typically does this on the earlier Moodies works), but not too overly distracting. A beautiful classic that is vital for any prog collection.
Sinusoid |
5/5 |
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