In Search of the Lost Chord

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In Search of the Lost Chord
Studio album by The Moody Blues

Publication
(s)

July 1968

admission

January to June 1968

Label (s) Deram Records

Title (number)

12

running time

42:04

occupation
  • John Lodge
  • Graeme Edge

production

Tony Clarke

Studio (s)

Decca Studios

chronology
Days of Future Passed
(1967) 		In Search of the Lost Chord On the Threshold of a Dream
(1969)
Single releases
June 28, 1968 Voices in the Sky / Dr. Livingstone, I Presume
October 25, 1968 Ride My See-Saw / A Simple Game

In Search of the Lost Chord is the third studio album by the British band The Moody Blues . It was released on Deram Records in July 1968.

Creation and publication

After the success of Days of Future Passed , Decca Records gave The Moody Blues a lot of freedom to record a successor. However, the band did not want to use an orchestra again, but rather play all the instruments themselves. This ultimately led to the fact that band members had to learn to play new instruments ad hoc during the recordings in early 1968, as they used a total of 33 different instruments, including B. Mellotron , harpsichord , autoharp , sitar , tabla , timpani , flute and saxophone . Work in the studio had to be interrupted again and again for concert dates, and it was not until mid-May that In Search of the Lost Chord could be completed with a modern Studer tape recorder for six weeks at a time. Producer was again Tony Clarke, the artwork was designed by Phil Travers.

One single was released a few weeks before the album was released, the second followed in October. On July 16, 1968, a session was recorded on John Peel's Top Gear radio show . In August of that year, The Moody Blues were the first British rock band to be invited to Czechoslovakia , but had to leave quickly because of the violent suppression of the Prague Spring by Soviet troops. A USA tour followed in October. After several LP editions, the album was first released on CD in 1986. Later remastered versions sometimes contained alternative versions as bonus titles.

Track list

page 1

  1. Departure - 0:44
  2. Ride My See-Saw - 3:38
  3. Dr. Livingstone, I Presume - 2:58
  4. House of Four Doors (Part 1) - 4:12
  5. Legend of a Mind - 6:36
  6. House of Four Doors (Part 2) - 1:47

Page 2

  2. Voices in the Sky - 3:28
  3. The Best Way to Travel - 3:14 am
  4. Visions of Paradise - 4:15
  5. The Actor - 4:39
  6. The Word - 0:39
  7. Om - 5:44

Bonus title 2008

Alternate Versions & Outtakes

  2. A Simple Game (Justin Hayward vocal mix) - 3:32
  3. The Best Way to Travel (additional vocal mix) - 3:56
  4. Visions of Paradise (Instrumental version) - 4:30
  5. What Am I Doing Here? (Original version) - 3:54
  6. The Word (Mellotron mix) - 1:02
  7. Om (Extended version) - 6:07

BBC 'Top Gear Sessions'

  2. Doctor Lingstone I Presume - 2:57
  3. Thinking Is the Best Way to Travel - 3:39

1968 single 'B' Side

  2. A Simple Game - 3:41

style

The Moody Blues develop the psychedelic echoes of Days of Future Passed on In Search of the Lost Chord . The thematic bases of the lyrics are now drugs and mysticism. The orchestra has given way to instruments such as the mellotron, the sitar and tabla, thus creating a certain stylistic proximity to the Beatles' willingness to experiment at this time. In fact, George Harrison's attempts at Indian-inspired music are said to have impressed Justin Hayward. Baroque and symphonic passages also refer to early progressive rock . As the work of The Moody Blues, the album remains recognizable through Hayward's vocals and Ray Thomas' flute playing.

reception

Also, In Search of the Lost Chord successful album was again. The first single reached number 27 in the British charts, the album even number 5 and stayed in the charts for a total of 32 weeks. On the US Billboard 200 it lasted 29 weeks and reached number 23. Appearances in the support act of Cream on their farewell tour in 1968 had made the band more popular in the United States. Today the album is credited with helping introduce new instruments into rock music. Thus it was included in the list of the 150 most important prog albums by eclipsed magazine. However, the Babyblauen Seiten also criticized the fact that In Search of the Lost Chord contained some “shreds of smack” and that it was the band's album that “sounds the most outdated these days”.

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c d Mark Powell's Liner Notes in the booklet accompanying the 2008 edition.
  2. ↑ a b eclipsed No. 144, p. 31.
  3. ^ A b Babyblaue Prog-Reviews: The Moody Blues: In Search of the Lost Chord , Babyblaue Seiten , accessed on August 5, 2015.
  4. ↑ Bruce Eder: In Search of the Lost Chord from Allmusic , accessed on August 5, 2015.