100 Greatest Blues Songs
(Image: © Cory Schwartz/Getty Images) Although they don't get nearly enough credit, were—and are—an incredible band. They have a string of albums—from 1967's Days of Future Passed to 1972's Seventh Sojourn—that are just as groundbreaking, polished, substantial and powerful as anything released by any other rock band during that time. And we do mean any other rock band. They had it all, including an ace guitarist named, who could write—and sing—the most beautiful, heart-crushing melodies, plus a talented bassist, who also wrote and sang some of the band's most memorable songs. Best of all, perhaps, is the fact that every member of the band's classic lineup—Hayward, Lodge, Ray Thomas, and —wrote and sang tunes that are now considered vital pieces of the band's classic (1967 to 1972) oeuvre. The Moody Blues, who are still helmed by Lodge, Edge and Hayward (whose voice, like that of the Monkees' Micky Dolenz and Bad Company's Paul Rodgers, simply laughs in the face of age), are currently.
That's the album—recorded with the —that spawned 'Tuesday Afternoon' and 'Nights in White Satin'—lush, sweet-sounding songs that turned out to be just the tip of the Moodies' innovative, complex and ornate iceberg. In honor of a great band, we hereby bring you a guide to the 25 (or so) greatest classic Moody Blues songs. By classic, we—once again—mean music released from 1967 through 1972, although we've included vital songs from before and after that dreamy, Mellotron-packed era. So.are you sitting comfortably?
GO NOW The Magnificent Moodies 1965 When they started out, the Moody Blues were an R&B band fronted by Denny Laine, who sang the band's first hit, 'Go Now.' Laine quit the band in 1966, later surfacing as a key member of Paul McCartney and Wings, who performed 'Go Now' throughout the Seventies. Bassist Clint Warwick left the Moody Blues around the same time as Laine, leaving Ray Thomas, Graeme Edge and Mike Pinder in search of two new members. HAVE YOU HEARD, PARTS 1 and 2 (including THE DREAM and VOYAGE) On the Threshold of a Dream 1969 Keyboardist Mike Pinder wrote this three-part, album-ending prog-rock masterpiece (Note: The clip below also includes a spoken piece, 'The Dream,' which was written by drummer Graeme Edge but recited by Pinder). 'Have You Heard'—after which this Guitar World story is named—is a major-key gem that segues into the hauntingly beautiful and triumphant 'The Voyage' before working its way back to home base. I've always thought 'The Voyage' was ever so slightly reminiscent of Ernest Fanelli's early 20th-century 'impressionist' compositions.
QUESTION A Question of Balance 1970 “'Nights in White Satin,' 'Question' and 'I Know You’re Out There Somewhere' are songs that the audience brings something to every night,'. 'They provide some kind of magic. You can’t expect to evoke a great emotion at a sound check—it’s when you start playing it, and you start feeling the atmosphere in the room of what it means in some peoples’ lives.
It’s quite important to them, and they bring an emotional feeling into the room that is just wonderful and very moving. It’s not something you ever get tired of.' BLUE GUITAR Blue Jays (Justin Hayward and John Lodge) 1975 In 1975, the Moody Blues' Hayward and Lodge released an album of their own, which was cleverly titled Blue Jays (Moody Blues, Justin and John—get it?). The expanded 1987 and 2004 versions of the album feature 'Blue Guitar,' which was released as a non-album single by the duo that same year.
Greatest Blues Songs
Not surprisingly, it's a beautiful song with a killer guitar sound. Perhaps a YouTube commenter put it best: 'This song is a treasure discovered only by those who know the value of it.' Blue Jays is so good that Moody Blues fans often put it in the same category as the band's 'core seven' albums (even though Hayward and Lodge are the only two Moodies to appear on it). Other great Blue Jays tunes include 'This Morning,' 'My Brother' and 'Remember Me (My Friend).'
THE DAY WE MEET AGAIN Octave 1978 Nothing to see here, folks—just another oustanding melody and guitar solo by Hayward. Octave was the last Moody Blues album to feature the classic lineup—not to mention hints of their dreamy early Seventies sound.
Pinder left the band immediately after the sessions and was replaced by keyboardist Patrick Moraz (formerly of Yes), who can be heard on all the songs below. Octave also marks the final Moody Blues album to be produced by Tony Clarke, who also produced Blue Jays. Clarke died in 2010.
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THE VOICE Long Distance Voyager 1981 SITTING AT THE WHEEL and BLUE WORLD The Present 1983 THE OTHER SIDE OF LIFE The Other Side of Life 1986 I KNOW YOU'RE OUT THERE SOMEWHERE Sur La Mer 1988 I've gone a bit more mainstream with these five choices to show how relevant the Moody Blues were in the Eighties. They were one of just a handful of Sixties bands—including the Kinks, the Rolling Stones and the Who—to have actual hits in the shiny, empty, Miami Vice-loving, horrible-drum-sound MTV era (although, unlike at least two of those other bands, the Moodies were able to maintain their success throughout the entire decade). Success followed them into the early Nineties ('Say It with Love'), an era that spawned their impressive live album, A Night at Red Rocks with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra. They released their final (non-holiday) studio album, Strange Times, in 1999. Unlike the case of so many other important Sixties bands, every member of the classic lineup of the Moody Blues—Edge, Pinder, Thomas, Lodge and Hayward—is still with us.
Best Of The Blues Songs
It makes you wish they'd write a few songs, book time at (which is known for its spot-on vintage sound and Sixties-era recording equipment) and make a new studio album with an intentionally late-Sixties/early Seventies sound. It would be an event. Please consider it, Moodies!