Customer Reviews

In Search Of The Lost Chord

5 star:		(38)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

No body writes songs and orchestrates music like the Moody Blues. This recording is a favourite and ranks as one of my most played..

Released during a period of rock 'n roll psychodelia, this is arguable the Moody Blues most productive and progressive album of the times. Nearly half the songs are still part of their concert listing. "Departure" is another trademark introduction that has been the motif of so many of their albums - a unique and mind-blowing beginning. Highlights include Lodge's "Ride My See-Saw", a concert closing song, while "Dr. Livingstone" and "Legend Of A Mind" are still classics that can be heard on the radio almost as much as "Nights In White Satin". "House Of Four Doors (Part 1 and 2)" provide continuity to the collection and scores of special effects. An earmark of the period is produced with "The Word" followed by "Om", the only songs that seem dated. Two of the Moody Blues best and most romantic songs are Hayward's "The Actor", a truly unique and inventive ballad and "Voices In The Sky". They are both performed and sung beautifully in concert. Other than "Days Of Future Passed", this is one of their most popular albums from that period. Plus, just take a look at that cover!

I have never had a CD like this. It will play on only 2 of the 4 CD players that I own. The music is good but my expectations were very high. Maybe that is why I find it is good but not stellar.

Like all great bands they are able to perform live what they produce in the studio. The diversity of this group at its peak in being able to create mood settings like the House of 4-doors and go to songs like Ride my see-saw. It is hard to find fault with any of the tracks. I love the variety of singers and instrumentation the moodies use. Too bad age catches up with the best of them. This is one group that going from song to song is like a new adventure.

Ok, so I'm not good at writing review titles. Some call this the Moody Blues' only psychadelic album but they've had others in the core 7. Anyway if we just stopped thinking about labels and listening to the music it's more enjoyable. I first got really in the first six songs which I think are the first side for the LP. I still don't like "Voices In the Sky", a little too melancholic. "Departure" is a great intro to "Ride My See-Saw". I'd heard the single version of "Ride My See-Saw" before, but hearing the segue was just awesome. "The Actor" is another song to look out for written by Justin Hayward. If you program it you can listen to it without hearing the beginning or end of another song. Another song that stands alone and is now one of my favorite is Ray Thomas' "Legend of a Mind", words can't describe it, it just rocks! "Dr. Livingstone, I presume" is a fun tune to listen to. "House of Four Doors" is pretty neat but it doesn't really make much sense maybe it takes time to figure it out. "The Best Way to Travel" by Mike Pinder is another highlight very experiment with the mellotron and all those sounds you hear. Next "Visions of Paradise" reminds of a jungle or an old movie. "The Word" is and intro to "Om" pronounced aum. I definitely recommend this album to anyone

It was 1984 when I had my first stance in the US. I was quite young and troubled and very anxious to discover new things. I met my stepcousin who was a much more experienced musician than I was at that time and after breaking some initial ice with some friendly smoke we started sharing music and information about our fave bands.
Among the stuff he showed one album made a major mark on my music approach, conception and taste and eventually came to be a lifetime influence: "In Search of the Lost Chord".
This was a very explicit conceptual album with a clear beginning and a clear end and the inherent adventures in between.
The almost perfect beauty of the arrangements, the touching melodies and the excellence of the production really caught my soul and that factory tape from my cousin remained inside my walkman for weeks.
Voices in the Sky, The Actor, The Best Way to Travel, Visions of Paradise were for me true highlights of this production followed closely by the composition tricks of House of Four Doors and each room content, Legend of a Mind, Ride My SeeSaw and OM.
The only one I was not too keen about at that time was the jumpy Dr. Livingstone I Presume which I purposedly cancelled from the tape to tape copy I made for my use.
As me and my friends were really into the 77 punk thing among other classic and heavy stuff and avant garde/industrial bands,every once in a while I use to get a hard time from them because of this record that was found too cheesy or too much of a "softie" to their standards, I never gave a damm thing about it.
To me it was and still is a great, great album.
Some years later my tape was totally worn out and I gladly discovered a vinyl which was in very poor condition inside of a vault. I did my best to restore it, then record it on tape and eventually my loyalty to this record was fully rewarded when some time later I found a remastered gold cd edition at a ridiculous price in a clearance bin. The guy at the store could not believe it as well.
This one of the records that I would look to replace right away in case of loosing it and if you are into collecting concept/trip albums this is a must to have, listen to it and tell me later.

This album is another masterwork from the Moodies. Although it occupies third place in my private rank (behind To Our Children's Children Children and Days Of Future Passed ), it is also the very special and different one. Recorded in 1968, just in the middle of the hippie era, it was one of its important exponents, as well musically as lyrically. MB practically left this kind of hippie psychedelia on their next album (On The Threshold Of A Dream); they never tried it again. So, it is interesting as "one and the only" hippy Moody Blues. Also, they tried, even they HAD to make it great after their grandiose success with "Days Of Future Passed" where they perfectly blended rock with the symphony orchestra. Although they did not incorporate a symphony orchestra this time, they strove to emulate it themselves. The results are maybe not as stunning as on Days, but chapeau bas for rich arrangements, fine melodies, for all the grandeur. They used 24 instruments here, and all that worked perfectly! On the other hand, this is the first MB album I review here that contains some songs I just do not care so much for; nevertheless it still deserves five stars (I'd say 4.75). OK., now the songs:

Departure - a small portion of Graeme's poetry, a real departure to the trip outside and within that follows... 7/10

Ride My See-Saw - perfect song. Harder rocking than others, with hypnotising, driving rhythm section, fine guitar work (the short solo is a typical sparse, but delightfully melodic moody gem), great voices. Maybe it's this album's main manifesto: run away from everyday's slavery, ride with us and be free... but unlike many other songs of 68, not so literal - I can only guess what this ride would be... 10/10

Dr Livingstone I Presume - very 60's sounding midtempo song. Also very melodic but a bit lightweight here; pleasant but not great. Beatles fans should be pleased, but I rather appreciate that in MB what is different from Beatles, not what is similar. Still good 7/10

House Of Four Doors - I just don't get this song. I admit, it's very mystical, but I do not fully understand this mystic. If I tried an explanation, the doors symbolise different forms of human activity: visual arts, music, science... Finally, the last door is to travel within, which is the most difficult but brings a chance to find the truth. But probably there can be many explanations - just try for yourself.... The main melody is beautiful, no question, but the chorus and strange sounds here and there make me feel a bit uneasy. So, not a favorite, but for sheer artistic ambition and some (probably) profound metaphors deserves 6/10

Legend Of A Mind - killer song of Ray Thomas. "Timothy Leary's dead... No, No, No, No, he's outside, looking in..." So it starts. The longest and the most psychedelic here with its almost 7 minutes of superb performance, complex, changing melodies and rhythm patterns and interesting, although I guess not quite serious text. As far as I know, Ray was not at all so much into "opening the doors of perception" with the stuff Timothy Leary proposed...So, was it a praise or rather gentle joke? Who knows, Ray's lyrics are often strange and intelligent (check out "Lazy Day" from the next album). But the song was taken seriously and soon became one of the hymns of this era - funny thing because MB were into the flower power movement just for this one album, with some distance; very English way. Musically this song is maybe the best psychedelia in existence, beating everything from early Pink Floyd to Jefferson Airplane. Unbelievably great 10/10

House Of Four Doors part 2 - see part one 6/10

Voices In The Sky - this song started side 2 of the original vinyl album. It's offers the most ethereal and beautiful rock music ever created , bringing the minstrels of old ages to mind...Fine acoustic guitars, tablas, sitars, woodwinds, eastern and medieval flavours, beautiful soft voices and trademark mellotron create the unique, dreamy atmosphere. This song is also dreamy, also good, but maybe too pastoral and soft, on the verge of being dull. But pastoral scenes described pleasantly recall feelings we could experience lying on a green meadow on a sunny summer day...8/10

The Best Way To Travel - the killer song of Pinder. I love everything here: the praise of imagination and will as a driving force that allows us do and know virtually everything we need, to travel through endless space outside and within. Uptempo rhythm and the melody full of dignity but also very uplifting... The song that may bring the power and faith to depressed and weak, change their lives for better... 10/10

Visions Of Paradise - this song starts the most ethereal, mystical and profound part of the album. Also very psychedelic with its intriguing and varied instrumental backgrounds of acoustic guitars, flutes, woodwind instruments and eastern flavours. The dreamy atmosphere is emphasised by it's lyrics; it's a mystical love song...10/10

The Actor - again, the beautiful dreamy song. Pure escapism - dreaming, daydreaming, feelings of love...The stream of consciousness, loose pictures in a relaxing mode, so is the music. Evokes the feel of the music of old...the minstrels 10/10

The Word/OM
"Two notes of the chord, that's our poor scope, and to reach the chord is our life's hope. And to name the chord is important to some, so they give it a word, and the word is OM" so ends the fine mystical introduction of Graeme Edge (as always, a piece of fine poetry). And so starts Mike Pinder's song that may help us find the lost chord.
The answer might be eastern philosophy that sees the unity of all things... I don't know, but I love this song, its eastern flavour, sitar improvisations, its slow pace. It really may help you find this lost chord if you try at least a little bit... 10/10

I recently bought the mellenium collection--very awesome but it misses on RIDE MY SEE-SAW. So I got this on cd for the first time in years and this cd is awesome. Why they steered away from this format I'll never know but I think they suffered on the remainder of their works. There's no other music like this so the band has stood the test of time. Don't forget to buy this re-mastered work for your collection. Get it now!

With the huge success of their landmark classical-meets-rock album, 1967's "Days Of Future Passed," and it's smash hit single, "Nights In White Satin," the Moody Blues had beaten the odds & successfully transformed from the rhythm & blues combo of "Go Now" fame, to the masterful progressive-rock band known the world over. For the follow-up disc, 1968's "In Search Of The Lost Chord," the Moodies decided to retain the classical instruments from their previous hit album, with one major difference: they would play all the instruments themselves, including cello, oboe, harp, harpsicord, and, for a touch of Indian-flavored music, sitar. "In Search Of The Lost Chord" is arguably the Moody Blues' most psychedelic album, but it is also one of their all-time greats. Bassist John Lodge's rockin' "Ride My See-Saw," and flautist Ray Thomas' wonderful ode to Timothy Leary, "Legend Of A Mind," remain Moody Blues concert staples to this day. There's also Thomas' playful "Dr. Livingstone, I Presume," the experimental delights of Lodge's "House Of Four Doors" (with "Legend Of A Mind" sandwiched within it), guitarist Justin Hayward's beautiful "Voices In The Sky," "Visions Of Paradise," and "The Actor," keyboardist Mike Pinder's spacious "The Best Way To Travel," and the spiritual "Om," and drummer Graeme Edge's fine poetry in the forms of "Departure" and "The Word." Marvelously written, played, & sung by the band, handsomely produced by Tony Clarke, and remastered for superior sound quality, "In Search Of The Lost Chord" remains one of the Moody Blues' finest works.

The Moody Blues has to be one of the most controversial rock/pop bands to emerge from the 1960's. The band has been enormously popular, had several hit songs, and sold lots of albums. But despite the public popularity, these guys were savaged by many critics. A critic in the "Rolling Stone Album Guide" comments "no major band has so relentlessly parlayed nonsense...were it not for their titanic success, in fact, they might easily be dismissed as an odd and overlong joke." The article goes on to describe the Moodies as bombastic, pretentious and pompous, with their biggest hits "tricked out with furiously strummed acoustic guitars [like those] from the Who".

That's pretty harsh stuff. If they're so bad, why have they been so popular? To be fair, their lyrics are often a little corny, especially now. Further, they probably weren't as musically creative as the Beatles, the Who, or some others. Nevertheless, the were among the first to experiment with the idea of the concept album, among the first to make effective use of sythesizers, and among the first to employ symphonic sounds in a rock format. Most especially, though, many simply found the Moodies' music nice to listen to. Their songs were based on pleasant melodies and featured nice harmonies. Critics may look for depth and originality, but the average consumer just wants a good sound. The Moody Blues, at their best, delivered that big time.

IN SEARCH OF THE LOST CHORD was the band's second attempt at a concept album (DAYS OF FUTURE PASSED was the first, but was somewhat different because of the attempt to connect the songs with orchestral interludes). It was based around a consideration of "levels of consciousness" and eastern philosophical ideas that had been popularized at the time (circa 1967-8) by the Beatles. Lyrically, it may come across now as a little silly (if you don't recall the times or find such speculation of interest), but the music still sounds good. Much of the album has a bright, airy quality. Acoustic guitars and flutes dominate many of the cuts. The melodies are soft, but the tunes remain lively. I never hear this album without finding something from it playing in my mind hours later.

I originally bought this album soon after it was released. Now, I have it on CD as well. It's a purchase I have never regretted, and I still listen to it. It may not be brilliant and it may be a bit dated, but the sound is good. Compared to most of the contemporary rock music I've heard, it's great. Take a "trip around the bay" with these guys. You'll probably be glad you did.