Exactly 50 years ago, two of the most memorable rock albums were released. The first, Days Of Future Passed by the Moody Blues, is considered by many to be the mother of concept albums, with the song ‘Nights In White Satin’ achieving slow but enormous success. And Cream’s Disraeli Gears was a shining example of psychedelic rock.
Releasing their second studio records, both bands represented the British rock sound of the times. Cream, featuring guitarist-vocalist Eric Clapton, bassist-vocalist Jack Bruce and drummer Ginger Baker, had huge and instant success on the album with the songs ‘Sunshine Of Your Love’, ‘Strange Brew’, ‘Tales of Brave Ulysses’ and ‘We're Going Wrong’. The band still remains hugely popular among vinyl and DVD hunters.
In contrast, the Moody Blues took time to garner an audience. Formed in 1964, their initial sound was more inspired by rhythm 'n' blues. Their debut album The Magnificent Moodies had a mixed response. Days Of Future Passed changed that, and critics consider it to be one of the early trendsetters in progressive rock. The idea was to produce a rock-based version of classical composer Antonin Dvorak's New World Symphony, but the Moodies did it their own way. The album features the classic line-up of vocalist-guitarist Justin Hayward, bassist-vocalist John Lodge, keyboardist Mike Pinder, flautist Ray Thomas and drummer Graeme Edge, with accompaniment from the London Festival Orchestra conducted by Peter Knight.
The sound was a mix of rock elements and symphonic music, with Pinder's Mellotron playing a key role. And the concept was to write songs based on different parts of the day. Both Hayward and Lodge had enormous vocal abilities, but all musicians pitched in with their pipes. The revolutionary sound took a while to gain acceptance, but slowly sunk in. ‘Nights In White Satin’ and ‘Tuesday Afternoon’ were the biggest hits, and ‘Dawn Is A Feeling’, ‘Peak Hour’ and ‘Sunset’ were well-appreciated. The idea of beginning and ending with poetry recitation was also received plaudits.
The Moodies released six more fantastic albums over the next five years - In Search Of The Lost Chord , On The Threshold Of A Dream , To Our Children's Children's Children , A Question Of Balance , Every Good Boy Deserves Favour and Seventh Sojourn . Songs like ‘Legend Of A Mind’, ‘Question’, ‘Voices In The Sky’, ‘Higher And Higher’, ‘A Candle Of Life’, ‘Isn't Life Strange?’ and ‘For My Lady’ were among those to attain a cult following.
After a 1974 tour the band took a hiatus, but returned with the 1978 record Octave. Their later recordings have great songs like ‘Gemini Dream’ , ‘Your Wildest Dreams’, ‘The Other Side Of Life’ and ‘I Know You're Out There Somewhere’, but lack the innovation and consistency for the earlier classics. Their last studio effort was December, a collection of Christmas tunes released in 2003. Pinder and Thomas quit, and the others tour off and on.
In India, the band has a dedicated following among diehard rock fans. What many old-timers remember is the late Mumbai singer Nandu Bhende's rendition of ‘Nights In White Satin’ in his 1970s bands Velvette Fogg and Atomic Forest. On the album’s golden anniversary, this one’s a dedication to Bhende.
