reviews

On The Threshold Of A Dream. <<

After taking an orchestra on "DOFP". Going eastern style on "ISOTLC". "TOAD" is more an straight forward album. Doesn't have to be a bad thing, as long as the songs are there. However here are just a few real great songs, and all but one are on "This Is The Moody Blues" and the other one is in a better live version on "Caught Live plus 5".

In the beginning is continuing the trend set on the previous album.
A good lead into Lovely to See You. A great solid and uplifting song. Great guitar by Justin and contains one of my favourite bass lines by John.
Dear Diary: Actually has a good set of lyrics. About people not looking at and thinking about other people, just blind only thinking of themselves.Great flutes at the end but the rest of the music is just dull, maybe that fits with the idea of the lyrics about the numb people. But again the flutes at the end are beautiful. And I wanted to play guitar when I was young, should have stayed with flutes.

Send me no wine: Admittedly not one of John's greatest songs."OTTOAD" is not John's highlight. I'm not going to have a dig at the lyrics, but the music is nice, a steady performance on the bass, guitar, drums and mellotron. Just a nice uptempo song.
To Share My Love: Since "Diary" it's going down hill with this album, sure it doesn't sound really bad, again nice work on guitar and instrumental work by the guys, but not a real stand out, nothing special.Again I'll not have a dig at the lyrics.
So Deep Within You: A little better then the previous song. Music wise there's more to enjoy for me, the flutes again. The end is great with the flutes and guitar, but to say the song is special? On an other album this would be a filler song, here it's the second best on side A which isn't a really inspiring side.

Never Comes The Day: Leave it to Justin to lift the album up. I think of it as "Question" in reverse, starts out slowly and beautiful, and then it it builds to a great encore. An hidden gem, a song typical of Justin.

Lazy Day: Don't know really what to say about it, at times I enjoy listening to it, has some nice parts, but not really a favourite of mine. Lame lyrics, not much happening music wise.

Are You Sitting Comfortably: Image driven song. Great acoustic guitar and flutes, "OTTOAD" is a great flute album if nothing else. Beautiful Justin and Ray song. Caught live adds some extra flutes at the beginning of the song, that's why I prefer that version.

The Dream: I admit I never tried to figure the lyrics out, don't want to really I'll let them stay a mystery. Mike's voice is great as a story teller. This kind of, eh songs are all part of the albums, adds to the feel of the album.

Have You Heard -
The Voyage-
Have You Heard II: I always thought that "Sgt. Peppers" was a very overrated album, it's not really my favourite Beatles album, and "OTOAD" is not my favourite Moody Blues album, but they both contain classic songs as album closer. Have you heard reminds me of "A Day In The Life" they both contain unique instrumental parts, and the drum fills on both songs are the same, and really great. Love the build up instrumental, great work by Mike.

The second side is a lot better, a shame that "Lazy Day" is on it, should have been on the a side, I think. As you see I was rather mild on the album, despite being it one of my least favourites. Only the two late 80's ones are below this one. But the Moody Blues never did a bad album, this one just had to many mediocre filler songs on it. Still it has some really great songs to simply brush it off and then there is the flutes...

Every Good Boy Deserves Favour. <<

I used to have this album only on tape, Question of balance on one side with Procession tagged onto the end, so the other side would immediately start with The Story In Your Eyes. A straight solid rock song, showing how underrated Justin is as guitarist, and how Justin is able to write not only ballads. And it also shows how underrated John as a bassist is for that matter, the song has a very melodic bass line. To me the song speaks about new found hope for the future.

Then when I had the LP (CD with two sides)I began listening to the whole album more and more, and realized Procession was an unique introduction to the whole album. You either love this kind of introductions or hate them, but they are part of the early Moody Blues albums. On Procession you can hear the evolution of music, with human voices, grunting (That was the only time I sang lead grunt! - Graeme Edge - ) the sound of tom toms to the sound of the Moody Blues, sitars, Mike's mellotron , guitar and then it bursts into The Story In Your Eyes. But I already did that song! Ray has the tradition of writing one light hearted song and one song with a deeper more serious meaning.

On this album the more serious one is Our Guessing Game. A song which to me deals with feelings of uncertainties we all have some time. Feeling left out, did we make the right decisions. The song begins gently, nice piano introduction, then it builds towards the chorus with great guitar work by Justin. One of my favourites by Ray. Emily's Song is a gentle song, written by John for his daughter. A song that is unfairly overlooked. I like the lines, "In the morning of my life, and in the evening of my day, I'll try to understand in what you say". and the music is wonderful.
After two ballads comes After You Came, a more upbeat song by Graeme. Great one it is. With John, Justin, Ray, and Mike each doing vocals and along with Graeme giving their best musically.
One More Time To Live. John's second song on the album. "One more time to live, and I have made it mine" . Unfortunately you can't live over and over again, - we will mess up this time and in a next life we'll try to do better - . And how can we think we can "Turn the earth to sand and still commit no crime". John has no songs like Ride My See Saw on this album, but his two ballads are among his best, and One more time to live is another favourite song.

Ray's second song on the album is the children's song
Nice To Be Here. I think it's a nice song, nothing more really. I like the bass and Justin on only one or rather two strings.(I just thought it was a great kids song - Ray) But still after you heard the song, it will not be easy to get it out of your head.
You Can Never Go Home is more then just really beautiful it has something not definable, like Story in your eyes. Shivers are all over me when I hear "All my life I never really knew me till today, now I know I'm just another step along the way" And has there ever been such a beautiful line written like "Weep no more for treasures you've been searching for in vain cause the truth is gently falling with the rain".
Every Good Boy has Justin at his best, showing that he can write both a great rock song and a beautiful ballad. That can't be said enough.

After You can never go home comes My Song the only Mike song on the album. The feeling I get sometimes is that Mike was trying to write his perfect song, in which he can lie bare all his feelings. If you listen to The Promise "It's been my goal for nine long years, to write this song so I can say exactly what I believe is coming down". The Promise was released in 1976 minus 9 years makes it 1967 the year that "Days Of Future Past" was released.
That's to me what My song is also about, self searching. "The change in these past years, has made me see our world in many different ways". I like this song, the only problem I have is with the instrumental break in the middle. It's to long, it worked on "Have You Heard 1, The Voyage, Have You Heard 2, but here I just keep wondering when it's gonna end and hear Mike's voice singing again.

I really like this album a lot, there's not a really bad song on it. Nice to be here is just nice and the break in My Song is to long, Procession was some getting used to, but these are the only negative things I can think of.