Post by erik on Sept 4, 2021 15:35:35 GMT -5
Perhaps the greatest exponent of British classical progressive rock for decades, the Moody Blues achieved their first serious American breakthrough in that style with the song in this week's Pop Music Hits Spotlight.
TUESDAY AFTERNOON (FOREVER AFTERNOON) (The Moody Blues; Deram; 1968)—Although they first came to the world’s attention in 1965 with the R&B-influenced “Go Now”, the Moody Blues were not necessarily thought of as part of the British Invasion as such; and by the time 1967 rolled around, they were starting to move into their comfort zone of celestial, impressionistic progressive rock. The album that is regarded as the band’s masterpiece is Days Of Future Passed, a concept album chronicling the typical life cycle of a single day. Although it was not necessarily the first album to use classical instrumentation (the Beatles had already used such instruments as far back as their 1965 classic “Yesterday”), it was the first one not only to feature an actual full orchestra (the London Festival Orchestra, under the direction of Peter Knight), but also to use a new kind of keyboard known as a Mellotron, which could emulate string sections of an orchestra. The most prominent song on the album is “Nights In White Satin”, which was a large hit in England for the band in 1968, but not a hit in America until the fall of 1972, when it hit #2 on the Hot 100. But it did give the Moody Blues their first significant hit in their new prog-rock direction all the same in the form of lead singer/songwriter Justin Hayward’s “Tuesday Afternoon (Forever Afternoon)”, utilizing both the Mellotron and light, Debussy-influenced orchestral elements. Although it was an unusually long song for AM radio of the time, at a length of nearly five minutes, “Tuesday Afternoon” managed to peak at a respectable #24 on the Hot 100 in September 1968, leading to a series of hits for the Moody Blues, including “Ride My See Saw”; “Question”; “The Story In Your Eyes”; “Isn’t Life Strange?”; and “I’m Just A Singer In A Rock And Roll Band”. The group also found favor during the 1980’s with “Gemini Dream”, “The Voice”, and “Your Wildest Dreams”. The Moody Blues, after much prodding from fans and fellow musicians on both sides of the Atlantic, finally got inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.
TUESDAY AFTERNOON (FOREVER AFTERNOON) (The Moody Blues; Deram; 1968)—Although they first came to the world’s attention in 1965 with the R&B-influenced “Go Now”, the Moody Blues were not necessarily thought of as part of the British Invasion as such; and by the time 1967 rolled around, they were starting to move into their comfort zone of celestial, impressionistic progressive rock. The album that is regarded as the band’s masterpiece is Days Of Future Passed, a concept album chronicling the typical life cycle of a single day. Although it was not necessarily the first album to use classical instrumentation (the Beatles had already used such instruments as far back as their 1965 classic “Yesterday”), it was the first one not only to feature an actual full orchestra (the London Festival Orchestra, under the direction of Peter Knight), but also to use a new kind of keyboard known as a Mellotron, which could emulate string sections of an orchestra. The most prominent song on the album is “Nights In White Satin”, which was a large hit in England for the band in 1968, but not a hit in America until the fall of 1972, when it hit #2 on the Hot 100. But it did give the Moody Blues their first significant hit in their new prog-rock direction all the same in the form of lead singer/songwriter Justin Hayward’s “Tuesday Afternoon (Forever Afternoon)”, utilizing both the Mellotron and light, Debussy-influenced orchestral elements. Although it was an unusually long song for AM radio of the time, at a length of nearly five minutes, “Tuesday Afternoon” managed to peak at a respectable #24 on the Hot 100 in September 1968, leading to a series of hits for the Moody Blues, including “Ride My See Saw”; “Question”; “The Story In Your Eyes”; “Isn’t Life Strange?”; and “I’m Just A Singer In A Rock And Roll Band”. The group also found favor during the 1980’s with “Gemini Dream”, “The Voice”, and “Your Wildest Dreams”. The Moody Blues, after much prodding from fans and fellow musicians on both sides of the Atlantic, finally got inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018.