I saw my first Moody Blues concert in the early 1970s. What really struck me was how similar they were to their records. Many bands do a good job of recreating their sound in concert, but Moody Blues, my choice for Godfathers of Progressive Rock, had a very orchestrated sound. What I didn’t know when I was a teenager was the existence of a keyboard instrument called the Mellotron. Appropriately named, the Mellotron looked like a small organ, but was actually a large recorder. Each key triggered a fast-rewinding, eight-second tape recording. These tapes can be of just about anything, from the flute-sounding introduction to the Beatles’ Strawberry Fields Forever to a full symphony orchestra. The tapes allowed for the “attack” at the beginning of a violinist bowing a string for the first time to the final decay and gave a believably accurate reproduction. The Musicians Union of Great Britain banned them for fear they would put musicians out of work, which, to some extent, probably did.
There were several serious drawbacks to using a Mellotron aside from annoying local session players; they were notoriously prone to failure. Audio tape tends to stretch, which on a regular cassette tape isn’t too noticeable as the entire band flattens out and slows down at least in unison, but when the particular tape depicts a single instrument playing along with a live band, better stay. in tune and on time. The tape is also prone to tearing, and the mechanics of the keys, triggers, and electronics didn’t work quite right, which is a real drag on the touring musician. It also had the eight second limit and delay time required for the tapes to be rewound in time for the next note. This made playing fast lines not recommended, but for soft pads and slower counter-melody in arrangements, it was ideal. With a Mellotron bands like the Moody Blues could sound like they had the whole orchestra recording in the concert hall with them, and it was magnificent.
Lots of bands used the Mellotron, like Lynyrd Skynyrd on his classic hit, Free Bird, and didn’t have the ethereal feel of Moody’s, so what made them the veteran “cosmic” rockers? Certainly the fact that they are quintessentially English, singing with a British accent even though they started out by imitating American Rhythm and Blues with their first hit, Go Now. Once singer Denny Laine was replaced by “the cosmic kid” Justin Hayward and they bankrupted their record label by recording the symphonic concept album, Days of Future Past, instead of recording the rock and roll versions of the classic compositions that the label thought they would be modern (because of the popularity of Walter Carlos’ Switched On Bach) and profitable (because classical music is copyright-free), they headed into a future past of their own.
Hayward had the romantic voice and the look that went with it that added to his other worldliness, but it was the message of the songs themselves that gave the Moody Blues their spiritual air. Are You Sitting Comfortably evoked the specter of Merlin the wizard and as they entered the psychedelic age, Legend of a Mind used Timothy Leary’s image as a symbol of inner space travel.
Of all the members of the Moody Blues, it is perhaps Ray Thomas, the band’s piper, who best managed the fans’ perception of the band. He is the author of Veteran Cosmic Rocker, which directly acknowledges the band’s image and songs like My Little Lovely with references to “fairy dust and fairy glue” help cement their image as a fairy tale character. Whereas John Lodge could write a song titled I’m Just A Singer In A Rock And Roll Band, decrying the band’s image of them as having some esoteric knowledge that is only mockingly dispersed among their waiting, searching followers. of some “truth”, Ray acknowledges the perception without giving it any credit but having fun nonetheless.
Lastly, there is great irony in the song Nothing Changes from the Strange Times CD released in 1999 and perhaps the last record in the Moody Blues discography to feature Ray. In it is a litany of dates and events predicted throughout the literature as times of apprehension; 1984 (George Orwell), 1986 (the passage of Halley’s comet), and 2001 (A space odyssey or like M2K, the fear of the millennium at the end of time), and for all of them they profess; nothing changes. The irony is that after September 11, 2001 everything changed. So much for the Moody Blues knowing something we don’t.
