rev_m_moodiesdays

THE MOODY BLUES
Days of Future Passed

as reviewed by Jack Crompton at Amazon.com, June 20, 2007

Music far ahead of it's time...

`Cold hearted orb that rules the night... removes the colors from our sight... yet we decide which is right.... and which is an illusion."

Such are the spoken words which close this remarkable recording... leaving one almost breathless at the consideration of that thought.

There is some music that is simply timeless. Music imbued with a such a quality that sets it outside of the confines of time and space... a specialness that is unique among other works. The Moody Blues landmark recording, `Days of Future Passed' is such a special piece of music. It is both timeless and far ahead of it's time.

Technically their second recording release, (following `Go Now' with mostly different band personnel), for all practical purposes, `Days' is their debut album with the addition of the mainstay songwriters Justin Hayward and John Lodge. This record is astounding in every respect, from it's concept to it's orchestration to the originality, beauty and diversity of it's songs. The time period of it's release, 1967, was the absolute peak in creativity in the music world. And indeed, this album has no predecessor in terms of sound or style. It's an original new creation, and was executed with exquisite artistic brilliance.

This was the record that launched the careers of the Moody Blues, and it was a hard act to follow, probably especially for them. Although they went on to record many more great albums... In Search for the Lost Chord, On the Threshold of a Dream, A Question of Balance, To Our Children's Children's Children, EDBDF, Seventh Sojourn, and on..... most would agree they never exceeded the beauty put down on this one.

A very young Justin Hayward opens the suite singing `Dawn is a feeling...' and the rest is a trip that takes you along through a day with a variety of moods and emotions. What is amazing is the quality of maturity in his voice, yet he was only 18 when this was recorded. Amazing. The two most recognizable songs on the record, also Justin Hayward tunes, Tuesday Afternoon and Nights in White Satin remain the strongest Moody Blues songs in their 40+ year history.

The orchestration score complements the songs beautifully with a variety of segway pieces that connect the tunes in such a way as to lead one through a story. The score is credited to a Peter Knight, but research as to who this guy is leads to a dead end. I later read in an offbeat book that Peter Knight was one of many stage names for a man named Chuck Hamil, the brother of actor Mark Hamil who starred in the original Star Wars movie trilogy. It seems Chuck Hamil is/was an amazingly gifted musician who also wrote, sang and recorded many other radio hit records of the late sixties, such as those credited to a Scott McKenzie's `San Francisco' and others (Gary Puckett?)... but he never used his real name. Interesting details!

Regardless, the origins of the album seem to be shrouded in mystery. But the quality of the music speaks for itself. I always have felt there was something special about the music of the Moody Blues. This is the album that sparked that interest, which has never died since. Great art stands the test of time, and this certainly does.

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