|
 Conceptual
geniuses or pretentious schmucks? This was actually a debate during the
late '60s/early '70s. Truth is, after their debut LP--which had much
more to do with the blues and less with moods--the Moody Blues were the
kings of the "concept" LPs. Often it was almost like you wanted to
scream in the middle of Moody Blues album: "What has Sgt. Pepper's
wrought?"
The band had numerous songwriters in its ranks in the forms of Mike
Pinder, Graeme Edge, John Lodge, Ray Thomas, and Justin Hayward--and
while the group was responsible for the "progressive" rock sounds that
followed by the likes of Yes, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, etc., they still
had genuine rockin' moments in classic singles like "Story In Your Eyes"
and "I'm Just A Singer In A Rock 'N' Roll Band." Moody
Blues Links
The
Moodies were one of the hippie-dippy units of the era; their concepts
were tied into the idea of "mind expansion" and drugs (they even
recorded a tribute song to Timothy Leary in 1968), and really went
overboard with the Eastern mysticism stuff (going as far as releasing a
track called "Om"). One of the biggest live draws of the time, the group
disbanded in '73 before coming back in '78 (right at the height of
punk?!?) to resume a career that's more or less seen them thrive as
touring nostalgic unit. |
