ROCK BAND #61 - MOODY BLUES Traditional Geocache
Jtmlam59: Run its course....
ROCK BAND #61 - MOODY BLUES
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Please use stealth, block with your geobike, as you retrieve and replace. Please cover up & replace cache as found to prevent muggling.
Also remember that this is a hiking or cycling trail. Cachers should not be pulling over on Dam Neck road to try and make these caches P&G's.
I can't think of a better band to follow-up Chicago with. We saw both bands at the Virginia Beach Amphitheather when they were touring together. They put on a great show.
So break out of your "GEMINI DREAM" and check that phone alert. A new cache? "I KNOW YOU'RE OUT THERE SOMEWHERE". So go find it! Don't "QUESTION" the situation. "THE VOICE" inside you is telling you not to be "WATCHING AND WAITING".
This could be another FTF. Don't wait until "TUESDAY AFTERNOON" to go for this. The "STORY IN YOUR EYES" says you want it now! So grab that IPOD and put on the songs "RIDE MY SEE-SAW, "YOUR WILDEST DREAMS", and "HAVE YOU HEARD" and get moving.
You'll feel like the "NIGHTS IN WHITE SATIN" after you make the find. If you don't find it you'll proclaim "ISN'T LIFE STRANGE".
The Moody Blues are an English rock band. Among their innovations was a fusion with classical music, most notably in their 1967 album Days of Future Passed.
The Moody Blues have sold in excess of 70 million albums worldwide and have been awarded 14 platinum and gold discs. As of 2011 they remain active with one member from the original band from 1964 and two more from the 1967 lineup.
Early years, Decca Records 1964-1967:
The Moody Blues formed on 4 May 1964, in Erdington, Birmingham, England. Ray Thomas, John Lodge, and Michael Pinder had been members of El Riot & the Rebels. They disbanded when Lodge, the youngest member, went to technical college and Michael Pinder joined the army. Michael Pinder then rejoined Thomas to form the Krew Cats. The pair recruited guitarist/vocalist Denny Laine, band manager-turned-drummer Graeme Edge, and bassist Clint Warwick. The five appeared as the Moody Blues for the first time in Birmingham in 1964. The name developed from a hoped-for sponsorship from the M&B Brewery which failed to materialise, the band calling themselves both "The M B's" and "The M B Five" and was also a subtle reference to the Duke Ellington song, "Mood Indigo".
Soon, the band obtained a London-based management company, 'Ridgepride', formed by ex-Decca A&R man Alex Murray (Alex Wharton), who helped them land a recording contract with Decca Records in the spring of 1964. Initially they were signed to a management company who then leased their recordings to Decca. They released a single, "Steal Your Heart Away", that year which failed to chart. The Moody Blues appeared on the cult UK series "Ready Steady Go!" singing the uptempo 'B' side "Lose Your Money (But Don't Lose your Mind)". But it was their second single, "Go Now" (released later that year), which really launched their career, being promoted on TV with one of the first purpose-made promotional films in the pop era, produced and directed by Alex Wharton. The single became a hit in the United Kingdom (where it remains their only Number 1 single to date)[2] and in the United States, where it reached #10. The band encountered management problems after the chart-topping hit and subsequently signed to Decca Records in the UK (London Records in the US) as actual recording artists. A four track Extended Play release titled: "The Moody Blues" featuring both sides of their first two Decca singles was issued in a colour picture sleeve in early 1965.
Their debut album The Magnificent Moodies, produced by Denny Cordell with a strong Merseybeat/R&B flavour, was released on Decca in mono only in 1965. It contained the hit single together with one side of classic R&B covers, and a second including four Laine/Pinder originals. "Bye Bye Bird" (Decca AT 15048) was lifted from the album in December 1965 as an overseas single charting in France (no.3).
Alex Wharton left the management firm and the group released a series of relatively unsuccessful singles. They enjoyed a minor UK hit with a cover of "I Don't Want To Go On Without You" (no.33) in February 1965, while the Pinder-Laine original "From The Bottom of My Heart (I Love You)" (no.22) produced by Denny Cordell (with a vocal choral sound towards the conclusion that anticipated their later more famous vocal sound on "Nights in White Satin") was issued as a UK single in May 1965. Further UK singles were: "Everyday" (no.44) in October 1965, another Pinder-Laine song, plus their later "This is My House (But Nobody Calls)" (Decca F 12498,1966) and "Boulevard de la Madeleine" also issued in late 1966.
In June 1966 Warwick left the group. He was briefly replaced by Rod Clark (born Rodney Clark, 23 November 1942, Surlingham, near Norwich, Norfolk), but in October, Clark departed the group, which split for a month. Denny Laine quit in late 1966 and a final 'Mark one' Moodies single Pinder-Laine's "Life's Not Life" was scheduled for release in January 1967 (Decca F 12543) c/w "He Can Win". (This single's release is often listed as being cancelled, however, both promo and regular stock copies have been seen over the years.)
Arrival of Hayward and Lodge:
The group re-formed in November 1966 and new members were John Lodge, their bassist from El Riot, and Justin Hayward, formerly of The Wilde Three. Hayward was recommended to Pinder by Eric Burdon of The Animals and was endorsed by famed UK singer Marty Wilde, the leader of The Wilde Three. Pinder phoned Hayward after reading his application, and was impressed when Hayward played him his 45 rpm single "London Is Behind Me" during their car ride to meet the other members in Esher.
After financial misfortune and a confrontation from an audience member, the band soon realised that their style of American blues covers and novelty tunes was not working for them and they decided that they would only perform their own material. The band were introduced to Decca staff producer Tony Clarke who produced a recording session which saw Justin Hayward's "Fly Me High" & Mike Pinder's older-styled "Really Haven't Got the Time" (Decca F12607) as the 'Mark Two' Moodies first single released in May 1967. This picked up both radio airplay and favourable reviews, and failed to chart in the UK, but the sound gave clues to the direction their music would evolve. Their new style, featuring the symphonic sounds of Pinder's Mellotron, was first introduced on Pinder's song "Love And Beauty" (Decca F 12670) which was issued as a single c/w with Hayward's rocker "Leave This Man Alone" in September 1967. This too was not a UK hit, but further established their 'new' Moodies identity. Ray Thomas's flute had been in evidence earlier ("I've Got A Dream") on their debut album, however it became a far more featured instrument from this point onwards as they started incorporating distinct psychedelic influences, which was later developed in a concept album revolving around an archetypal day in the life of everyman.
Days Of Future Passed:
The Moody Blues' contract with Decca Records was set to expire and they owed the label several thousand pounds in advances. They had the support, however, of Decca A&R manager Hugh Mendl, who had been instrumental in the recent establishment of London/Decca's new subsidiary imprint Deram Records. With Mendl's backing, The Moody Blues were offered a deal to make a rock and roll version of Antonín Dvorák's New World Symphony that would promote the company's new Deramic Stereo Sound (DSS) audio format in return for which the group would be forgiven their debt.
The Moody Blues agreed, but they insisted that they be given artistic control of the project, and Hugh Mendl (as executive producer) was able to provide this in the face of Decca's notoriously tight-fisted attitude to their artists. The group were unable to complete the assigned project,[citation needed] which was abandoned. However, they managed to convince Peter Knight, who had been assigned to arrange and conduct the orchestral interludes, to collaborate on a recording that used the band's original material instead.
Although Deram executives were initially skeptical about the hybrid style of the resulting concept album. Days of Future Passed (released in November 1967) became one of the most successful pop/rock releases of the period, earning a gold record award and reaching #27 on the British album chart. Five years later it was to reach #3 in the U.S./Billboard charts. The album was a song cycle or concept album that (like James Joyce's Ulysses) took place over the course of a single day. In production and arrangement the album drew inspiration from the pioneering use of the classical instrumentation by The Beatles to whom Pinder had introduced the Mellotron that year. It took the form to new heights using the London Festival Orchestra, a loose affiliation of Decca's classical musicians given a fictitious name adding the term "London" to sound impressive, to provide an orchestral linking framework to the Moodies already written and performed songs, plus overture & conclusion sections on the album including backing up Graeme Edge's opening & closing poems recited by Pinder. Strings were added to the latter portion of the album version of Hayward's "Nights in White Satin" (absent on the single hit version) as was Pinder's "The Sun Set". The orchestra and group never actually perform together on the recording with the band's rock instrumentation centred on Pinder's Mellotron. The album, despite being a lush concept album, was in fact cut in a very workmanlike manner, with the band recording a particular song, then the track being presented to Peter Knight who quickly composed a suitable "linking" orchestral portion which the Decca musicians ('London Festival Orchestral') then recorded. The album was as much an original work by Knight himself as the group. The composing credits were listed on the sleeve as: "Redwave-Knight", when in fact Hayward wrote "Nights..." and "Tuesday Afternoon", Thomas provided "Another Morning" and "Twilight Time", Lodge penned "Peak Hour" and "Evening (Time To Get Away)", and Edge contributed the opening and closing poems (the first 'Morning Glory' and the latter titled "Late Lament") read by Mike Pinder who composed both "The Sun Set" and "Dawn is a Feeling" (sung by Hayward, with Pinder himself singing the bridge section).
Decca staff producer Tony Clarke produced the album, and afterwards continued working with the band. Sometimes known to fans as "The Sixth Moodie" he went on to produce all of their albums and singles for the next eleven years. Engineer Derek Varnals would also contribute heavily to the creation of the early Moodies' studio sound, working with Pinder & Clarke to create a more symphonic overlapping sound on the Mellotron as opposed to the sharp 'cut off' the instrument would normally give, partly achieved by removing all the "sound effects" tapes (trains, whistles, cockerel crowing, etc.) and then 'doubling up' the tapes of orchestral instruments' sounds, which combined with Pinder's ability and sensitivity at playing (Pinder having earlier worked for the company that manufactured the Mellotron) and Varnals' recording skills at creating an orchestral 'wave' sound that characterised their non-orchestra accompanied sound thereafter.
The album plus two singles, "Nights in White Satin" and "Tuesday Afternoon" (as a medley with "Forever Afternoon," listed as "Forever Afternoon (Tuesday?)" on the album), became massively popular.
In Search of the Lost Chord:
The 1968 follow-up LP, In Search of the Lost Chord included "Legend of a Mind", a song written by Ray Thomas in tribute to LSD guru Timothy Leary which encompassed a masterful flute solo performed by Thomas - four members of the group had taken LSD together at the start of 1967. A promotional film for the song was filmed on location at Groot-Bijgaarden Castle? near Brussels in Belgium. Lodge provided a two part song "House of Four Doors" set either side of this Thomas epic piece. Justin Hayward began playing sitar and incorporating it into Moody Blues music ("Voices...", "Visions of Paradise" etc.) , having been inspired by George Harrison. Hayward's "Voices in The Sky" charted as a single in the UK (no.27), as did Lodge's "Ride my See Saw" (no.42, No.15 in France) - still their concert finale number today - which featured Pinder's non-album song "A Simple Game" as 'B' side. Pinder's "The Best Way To Travel" was another high point, as was his closing song "Om" (sung by Pinder and Thomas, again featuring Hayward on sitar). Graeme Edge found a significant secondary role in the band as a writer of poetry, and some of their early albums from the late Sixties begin with various band members reciting poems by Edge that were conceptually related to the lyrics of the songs that would follow. Edge himself narrating his brief "Departure" poem on "Lost Chord".
On the Threshold of a Dream:
On 1969's On the Threshold of a Dream Hayward, Edge, & Pinder share the opening narration on Edge's "In The Beginning", leading into Hayward's "Lovely To See You". His "Never Comes The Day" was issued as a UK single , while Thomas' wry observations of life in "Dear Diary" and "Lazy Day" were striking features. Pinder contributed the closing track on side one, "So Deep Within You". Side two closes with the "Dream Sequence", Edge's poem "The Dream" leading into Pinder's "Have You Heard" parts I and II with the two parts separated by his classically themed instrumental piece "The Voyage".
To Our Children's Children's Children:
The band's music continued to become more complex and symphonic, with heavy amounts of reverberation on the vocal tracks, resulting in 1969's To Our Children's Children's Children — a concept album inspired by the first moon landing. The opening track "Higher And Higher" saw Pinder simulate a rocket blast-off on keyboards, then narrate Edge's lyrics. Thomas' "Floating" and "Eternity Road" stood out, as did Hayward's "Gypsy" and a rare Pinder-Lodge collaboration "Out And In". Lodge provided his two part "Eyes of A Child" and "Candle of Life" while Pinder contributed "Sun is Still Shining". The album closes with "Watching and Waiting", composed by Ray Thomas and Justin Hayward and sung by Hayward. This song was issued as a single on the Threshold label but failed to chart.
A Question of Balance:
Although the Moodies had by now defined a somewhat psychedelic style and helped to define the progressive rock (then also known as 'art rock') sound, the group decided to record an album that could be played in concert, losing some of their full-blown sound for A Question of Balance (1970). This album, reaching #3 in the American charts and #1 in the British charts, was indicative of the band's growing success in America. Hayward's "Question" (in a differing version) was issued as a single hitting No.2 in the UK (only kept from top spot by The England World Cup football team's novelty record "Back Home"). Justin Hayward began an artful exploration of guitar tone through the use of numerous effects pedals and fuzz-boxes, and developed for himself a very melodic buzzing guitar-solo sound. The Moody Blues had by now become a bill-topping act in their own right, they appeared twice at the famous "Isle of Wight Festivals" (A DVD of their 1970 performance has now been released). Pinder's "Melancholy Man" (a no. 1 single in France) stood out besides Hayward's "Question" on the 1970 album.
Every Good Boy Deserves Favour and Seventh Sojourn:
For their next two albums, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (1971) - from which Hayward's "The Story in Your Eyes" was taken as a US Charting single (no.23), and Seventh Sojourn (1972) (which reached #1 in the U.S.), the band returned to their signature orchestral sound which, while difficult to reproduce in concert, had become their trademark. The title "Every Good Boy Deserves Favour" was borrowed, tongue-in-cheek, from a mnemonic used to remember the musical notes that form the lines of the treble clef: EGBDF. The opening track "Procession" was the only item composed by all five band members, a fascinating track depicting the "evolution" of music, leading into Hayward's "Story in Your Eyes". Thomas's reflective "Our Guessing Game" and whimsical "Nice To Be Here" offset the deeper drama of Hayward's "You Can Never Go Home", Lodge's "One More Time To Live" and Pinder's "My Song". Edge, the long standing drummer-poet, started writing lyrics intended to be sung, rather than verses to be spoken - his "After You Came" (1971) featured each of the four Lead singers taking a vocal section. Then in 1972 Lodge's songs "Isn't Life Strange ?" (no.13) and "I'm Just A Singer (in A Rock 'n' Roll Band)" (no.36) were lifted from "Seventh Sojourn" as charting UK singles. "Sojourn" also saw Pinder using the new Chamberlain instrument in place of Mellotron and Edge use an electronic drum kit. Pinder's stirring lament "Lost in A Lost World" opened this last "Core Seven" outing, while his sympathetic ode to Timothy Leary "When You're A Free Man", Thomas's romantic "For My Lady", and Hayward's serene "New Horizons" all stood out. They each provided well known songs during this period,in addition to the singles, Pinder's songs "A Simple Game" (1968) & "So Deep Within You" (1969) were successfully covered by The Four Tops, Pinder winning an Ivor Novello Award for "A Simple Game", Elkie Brooks later covered Hayward's "Nights in White Satin". Pinder also appeared on John Lennon's "Imagine" album in 1971, providing additional percussion on "I Don't Wanna Be A Soldier (I Don't Want To Die)". The 1968 to 1972 album sleeves, plus several solo sets up to Ray Thomas's "Hopes, Wishes & Dreams" in 1976, were characterised by striking surreal scenic sleeve artwork (mostly gatefold sleeves) by artist Phil Travers.
In late 1972, a re-issue of the five-year-old Nights in White Satin became the Moody Blues' biggest US hit, soaring to number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and becoming a certified million-seller; the song had "bubbled under" the Hot 100 charts on its original release. The song also returned to the UK charts, reaching #9, ten places higher than its original release in 1967.
Threshold Records:
The Moodies were also among the pioneers of the idea that a successful rock band could promote itself through their own label, following the Beatles' creation of Apple Records. After their On the Threshold of a Dream album (1969), they created Threshold Records, prompted in part by disputes with London/Deram over album design costs (their gatefold record jackets and expensive cover art were not popular with company executives). Threshold would produce new albums and deliver them to London/Decca who acted as distributor. The group attempted to build Threshold into a major label by developing new talent — most notably the UK hard rock band Trapeze and the Portland, Oregon, classical-acoustic sextet Providence — but these efforts proved unsuccessful and the Moodies eventually returned to more traditional recording contracts. They did lay the groundwork, however, for other major acts to set up similar personal labels and distribution deals including The Rolling Stones' own label and Led Zeppelin's Swan Song, and all of the Moodies' studio releases from 1969 to 1999 would bear the Threshold logo on at least one of their format versions.
In 1977, as the group made a decision to record together again, with their record company Decca (UK) urging a reunion album. London Records decided to release a somewhat poorly mixed then-eight-year-old recording of the band performing at the Royal Albert Hall, against their artistic wishes. London/Decca did this in an attempt to re-energise a somewhat waning public interest in the Moody Blues before their anticipated new album. By this time Pinder had married and started a family in California, so for their reunion recording, the band decamped stateside with producer Clarke. The sessions were marked with tension and division, first there was a fire at the studios they were using, then after quickly re-locating to Pinder's home studio a landslide following torrential rains effectively marooned them inevitably causing tensions to rise (with Pinder then dropping out before completion).
Producer Tony Clarke was also forced to leave because of non-musical reasons before the album was completed, but by the spring of 1978 Octave was ready for release. Pinder, citing his young family, and by then probably considering their touring days behind them, excused himself from the touring commitments that were to follow. Pinder's decision caused some open acrimony within the band (notably from Edge), Ray Thomas had said Pinder was initially agreeable to touring, and his opting out later on (with a major comeback tour already planned) was a severe and embarrassing blow to them. Attempts were made by their management to completely downplay Pinder's absence, notably at a major UK music press party Decca organised, when the top Decca dignitary guest, while making a "welcome back" speech, openly referred to "Mike Pinder being currently absent over in the States", much to their dismay.
Octave, Pinder departs, and arrival of Moraz:
During this period, the prog-rock band Yes had asked their keyboard player, Patrick Moraz, to leave. Moraz's management had some contacts with the Moodies, and after a successful audition with the band in England in 1978, he was hired as keyboard player for the Octave World Tour that began in Germany in October. In spite of these difficulties, the album itself sold well and produced the hits "Steppin' in a Slide Zone", (no. 39 US) written by Lodge and "Driftwood", (no. 59 US) written by Hayward. The music video produced for "Driftwood" features Moraz, although Mike Pinder was the one who played on the actual recording; the video for "Steppin' in a Slide Zone" simply shows the other four members without Pinder (which was rather awkward as Pinder's keyboards featured extensively on the song, notably on the distinctive intro and during a solo section of the piece). A group performance of Hayward's "Had to Fall in Love" & Lodge's "Slide Zone" on the UK "Kenny Everett Show" also depicted them as a four piece. On Octave Hayward had some four solo composed songs (more in fact than on "The Other Side of Life" later in 1986), Edge contributed "I'll Be Level With You" (aka "Little Man") one of only a number of songs showing a complete group unity. In truth, a few songs sounded like solo efforts, while Lodge's "Survival", Hayward's appropriate closing "The Day We Meet Again" and Pinder's lone final contribution and lead vocal, "One Step Into The Light" (curiously as the band is depicted as doing so on the cover photo - where Pinder is perhaps significantly barely glimpsed at all and almost out of focus) were all high points on the album. Around this time Justin Hayward enjoyed a solo hit (no.5) in the UK (US #47) with the song "Forever Autumn" from Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of The War of the Worlds. In recent times Hayward has sung both this and "The Eve of The War" live in the touring version of the album, as featured on Wayne's original big selling double album.
The Moodies toured the US and Europe during much of 1979. By 1980 they were ready to record again, this time bringing in producer Pip Williams. Moraz was retained as the band's permanent keyboardist, though Pinder had originally understood that he would continue to record even if not touring with the band. Pinder attempted legal measures to prevent the new Moody Blues album from reaching the public without his contributions, but he was not successful, and ultimately, he never returned to the fold. While Moraz was a more than capable keyboardist replacement for both records and concerts, Pinder's departure was, on an artistic and songwriting level, to prove a considerable loss to the group overall. Nevertheless when released in 1981, Long Distance Voyager was a colossal success, reaching #1 on Billboard and top 5 in the UK. The album yielded two hits, "The Voice", (no. 15 US) written by Hayward, and "Gemini Dream",(no.12 US) written by Hayward and Lodge. John Lodge's "Talking out of Turn" also charted in the US reaching no. 65. Edge provided "22,000 Days" (featuring Thomas as lead voice with Hayward & Lodge) while Thomas' own contributions were the final portion of the set with his singing on the final two songs; "Painted Smile", "Reflective Smile" (a poem narrated by a DJ friend of the band) and "Veteran Cosmic Rocker". By now, the mellotron had long been set aside as their primary keyboard instrument on their studio albums and the band embraced a more modern, less symphonic approach, though still retaining a lush keyboard-led sound as Moraz gave a more contemporary edge[citation needed] to their sound. In live concerts the mellotron would still be used heavily by Patrick Moraz until the mid-1980s, strikingly also on songs which originally did not originally feature the mellotron. The marketing formula for the band demanded from this time forward that a Justin Hayward song would be used to lead off their studio albums[citation needed], as his material was the most popular[citation needed]. This however began to narrow The Moodies' range as a certain predictability became apparent[citation needed], with songs now being aimed at picking up radio airplay. Hayward had always written most of their hit singles, followed by Lodge, however from this point onwards Hayward had to carry far more of the composing burden, most notably in Pinder's absence (Pinder had often either closed Moodies' albums or provided a key penultimate song). Also Ray Thomas' song contributions began to diminish soon after, Hayward and Lodge also then teaming up to provide songs in addition to their own compositions. It has to be said that despite being a strong contemporary album with Patrick Moraz contributing a much needed fresh energy, and selling exceedingly well, duly picking up new fans for the band, most longtime Moodies fans, while remaining loyal to the band, nevertheless acutely felt the absence of Pinder's voice and songs on "Voyager".
The Present (1983), again produced by Williams, proved less successful than its predecessor, though it did spawn a UK top 40 hit (No. 35) in "Blue World" (#62 in the U.S.) and a US top 40 hit in "Sitting at the Wheel" (which failed to chart in the UK). Videos were also produced for both singles. "The Present" was released in conjunction with Talencora Ltd. shortly before Decca were bought out by Polydor Records.
The Other Side of Life, Sur La Mer:
In 1986 they enjoyed renewed success with their album The Other Side of Life and in particular with the track "Your Wildest Dreams" - a US Top 10 hit (and #1 on Billboard's Adult Contemporary singles chart for two weeks) which garnered a Billboard Video of the Year award after being frequently featured on MTV. Newly hired producer Tony Visconti, and Barry Radman, a synth programmer formerly hired by Moraz, delivered a modern sound the Moodies had been after in order to remain competitive with their pop contemporaries. The album's title song also charted in the US, at #58. The renewed interest in the band ensured a younger audience from this point on, with many of their longtime followers remaining loyal despite a fair number of older fans finding the current albums of this period far more lightweight in content. For example, John Lodge had gone from writing powerfully reflective mystical or humanitarian themed pieces such as "House of Four Doors", "Candle of Life" and "One More Time To Live" to quirkier items such as "Here Comes The Weekend", "Rock and Roll Over You" and "Love is On The Run (From Me)", while Hayward's songs seemed less the deeper drama of numbers such as "The Actor", "Dawning is the Day", "You Can Never Go Home", "The Land of Make Believe", etc., to pleasant (and more radio-friendly) perennial far simpler songs about lost love and romance ("Your Wildest Dreams", "No More Lies", "I Know You're Out There Somewhere" etc.). There were still some deeper songs being created by the band, however, ("The Voice", "22,000 Days", "The Other Side of Life", "The Spirit", "Deep", etc.) but the overall tone of the band had become noticeably a more lightweight commercialised one; presumably this was with record company agreement to keep in accordance with the then prevailing times.[citation needed] Significantly their live shows from this period included a good number of their eighties album tracks, however over time more of the "Core Seven" album era favourites would gradually begin to reappear in their playlist.
The Moody Blues performed live at the Birmingham Heart Beat Charity Concert 1986 which raised money for the Birmingham Children's Hospital. The band played four songs, and later provided backup with the Electric Light Orchestra for George Harrison.
The Moodies continued their early video-generation success with Sur La Mer (1988) and its video and single, "I Know You're Out There Somewhere" (#30 US, #52 UK, #2 US Mainstream Rock), a sequel to "Your Wildest Dreams". Their sound took on an ever-increasingly synthetic and technical quality as Moraz and Visconti began using modern sequencers, samplers and drum machines. During this time, Justin Hayward and John Lodge wrote and sang on most of the songs as the band came under pressure from their new record company, PolyGram Records, to promote those it deemed to be the two more commercial-looking and -sounding members. Ray Thomas was playing a diminished role in the studio. The band were temporarily evolving into a synthpop act, with music not at all fit for a flute (although Thomas actually provided additional percussion, notably a brisk tambourine, on many more Moodies songs which continued to be featured, plus occasional harmonica), and at this point he was largely relegated to the status of a backup singer. Thomas was also unwell during this period, further limiting his involvement with the band in the recording studio. He provided some backing vocals for both The Other Side of Life and Sur La Mer; however, multiple production considerations led Visconti to leave Thomas' vocals off of the latter of these two albums, thereby further reducing the texture of their overall vocal sound, which had been rich four-part harmonies, then went down to three, now reduced still further to just the more similar-sounding voices of Hayward and Lodge (Lodge also providing falsetto vocals and high harmonies), with Pinder and Thomas each having provided both lower- and higher-pitched vocal harmonies in the group's earlier vocal sound.
For more on the band see the related link provided above.
Here are some YouTube tracks:
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*****Congrats to Steve-n-Kim for the FTF*****
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Oebja cvyy obggyr ynlvat ba tebhaq ol srapr cbfg.