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Rating: Just born and already so promising. The brit-pop in '68 was still quite juvenile (like my cousin) but was already churning out ideas at a rapid pace: the Who, the Beatles, the very first Pink Floyd, etc...
The Moody Blues were contemporaries of these sacred monsters, but they didn't achieve such widespread and legendary success (at least outside of the United Kingdom). Born as an r'n'b group they had a troubled life but climbed the charts multiple times. The band underwent several line-up changes until the line-up composed of Hayward-Pinder-Lodge-Thomas-Edge, a fantastic line-up that towards the end of the sixties brought forth various masterpieces.
The first is surely 'Days Of Future Past', a fusion in unsuspecting times of psychedelia, vocal harmonies, and symphonic music, while the second (and perhaps more successful) is titled 'In Search Of The Lost Chord' in which the orchestral vein is set aside, preferring an almost pioneering use of the mellotron.
After the necessary intro for a concept album, Ride my see-saw starts, a majestic ride of guitars and choirs that broke into all possible charts of the era. It is followed by Dr. Livingstone, I presume which with its wavering start anticipates the more sarcastic and swing of the Smiths, only to be entirely imbued with the sound of the mellotron. House of four doors begins as progressive as ever, but leaving out any genius and convoluted flair, and gradually becomes more mystical and airy. The same atmosphere is present in the touching and rightly lysergic tribute to Timothy Leary.
Another piece that breathes much inspiration and emotion is Voices of the sky, thanks to its sweet advancement it was yet another hit for a group that flirted well with charts as open and spectacular as never again in the years. The rest of the album is less memorable but no less solid and intriguing, apart from in my opinion the disappointing closing track Om: the instrumental virtuosity and the overly bizarre and brassy infatuation with folklore and Indian music transform what should have been the pinnacle of the album into a brief odyssey of rare tedium.
It's just a shame that the Moody didn't close this small milestone of psychedelia sooner.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Departure (00:44)
Be it sight, sound, smell, or touch,
There's something inside, that we need so much.
The sight of a touch, or the scent of a sound,
Or the strength of an oak, with roots deep in the ground.
The wonder of flowers, to be covered, and then to burst up,
Through tarmac, to the sun again, or to fly to the sun
Without burning a wing; to lie in a meadow
And hear the grass sing; to have all these things
In our memory's hoard, and to use them,
To help us, to find......
02 Ride My See-Saw (03:38)
Ride, ride my see-saw,
Take this place
On this trip
Just for me.
Ride, take a free ride,
Take my place
Have my seat
It's for free.
I worked like a slave for years,
Sweat so hard just to end my fears.
Not to end my life a poor man,
But by now, I know I should have run.
Run, run my last race,
Take my place
Have this number
Of mine.
Run, run like a fire,
Don't you run in
In the lanes
Run for time.
Left school with a first class pass,
Started work but as second class.
School taught one and one is two.
But right now, that answer just ain't true.
Ah ah ah ah, ah ah ah ah, ah ah ah ah ah
Ah ah ah ah, ah ah ah ah, ah ah ah ah ah
My world is spinning around,
Everything is lost that I found.
People run, come ride with me,
Let's find another place that's free.
Ride, ride my see-saw,
Take this place
On this trip
Just for me.
Ride, take a free ride,
Take my place
Have my seat
It's for free.
Ride, my see-saw.
Ride, ride, ride, my see-saw.
Ride, my see-saw...
03 Dr. Livingstone, I Presume (02:58)
Doctor Livingston, I presume,
Stepping out of the jungle gloom
Into the midday sun.
What did you find there?
Did you stand awhile and stare?
Did you meet anyone?
"I've seen butterflies galore,
I've seen people big and small,
I've still not found what I'm looking for."
We're all looking for someone.
We're all looking for someone.
We're all looking for someone.
Captain Scott, you were so bold,
Now you're looking rather cold
Out there in the snow.
What did you find there?
Did you stand awhile and stare?
Did you meet anyone?
"I've seen polar bears and seals,
I've seen giant Antarctic eels,
I've still not found what I'm looking for."
We're all looking for someone.
We're all looking for someone.
We're all looking for someone.
Columbus, where are you bound?
So you think the world is round.
Sailed off in the blue.
What did you find there?
Did you stand awhile and stare?
Did you meet anyone?
"There are Indians by the score
In many places that I saw.
I've still not found what I'm looking for."
We're all looking for someone.
We're all looking for someone.
We're all looking for someone.
05 Legend of a Mind (06:36)
Timothy Leary's dead.
No, no no no, he's outside, looking in.
Timothy Leary's dead.
No, no no no, he's outside, looking in.
He'll fly his astral plane,
Takes you trips around the bay,
Brings you back the same day.
Timothy Leary.
Timothy Leary.
Timothy Leary's dead.
No, no no no, he's outside, looking in.
Timothy Leary's dead.
No, no no no, he's outside, looking in.
He'll fly his astral plane,
Takes you trips around the bay,
Brings you back the same day.
Timothy Leary.
Timothy Leary.
Along the coast you'll hear them boast
About a light they say that shines so clear.
So raise your glass, we'll drink a toast
To the little man who sells you thrills along the pier.
He'll take you up, he'll bring you down,
He'll plant your feet back firmly on the ground.
He flies so high, he swoops so low,
He knows exactly which way he's gonna go.
Timothy Leary.
Timothy Leary.
He'll take you up, he'll bring you down,
He'll plant your feet back on the ground.
He flies so high, he swoops so low.
Timothy Leary.
He'll fly his astral plane,
He'll take you trips around the bay,
He'll bring you back the same day.
Timothy Leary.
Timothy Leary.
Timothy Leary.
Timothy Leary.
Timothy Leary.
08 The Best Way to Travel (03:12)
And you can fly
High as a kite if you want to
Faster than light if you want to
Speeding through the universe
Thinking is the best way to travel
It's all a dream
Light passing by on the screen
And there's you and I on the beam
Speeding through the universe
Thinking is the best way to travel
We ride the waves
Distance is gone, will we find out?
How life bean, will be find out?
Speeding through the universe
Thinking is the best way to travel
And you can fly
High as a kite if you want to
Faster than light if you want to
Speeding through the universe
Thinking is the best way to travel
10 The Actor (04:39)
The curtain rises on the scene
With someone shouting to be free
The play unfolds before my eyes
There stands the actor who is me
The sleeping hours takes us far
From traffic, telephones and fear
Put out your problems with the cat
Escape until a bell you hear
Our reasons are the same
But there's no-one we can blame
For there's nowhere we need go
And the only truth we know comes so easily
The sound I have heard in your hello
Oh, oh, darling, you're almost part of me
Oh, oh, darling, you're all I'll ever see
Ah, ah, ah
It's such a rainy afternoon
No point in going anywhere
The sounds just drift across my room
I wish this feeling I could share
It's such a rainy afternoon
She sits and gazes from her window
Her mind tries to recall his face
The feeling deep inside her grows
Our reasons are the same
But there's no-one we can blame
For there's nowhere we need go
And the only truth we know comes so easily
The sound I have heard in your hello
Oh, oh, darling, you're almost part of me
Oh, oh, darling, you're all I'll ever see
The sound I have heard in your hello
Oh, oh, darling, you're all I'll ever see
Oh, oh, darling, you're almost part of me
Ah, ah, ah
12 Om (05:46)
The rain is on the roof.
Hurry high, butterfly,
As clouds roll past my head.
I know why the skies all cry.
Om. Om. Heaven. Om.
The Earth turns slowly round.
Far away, the distant sound
Is with us everyday.
Can you hear what it says?
Om. Om. Heaven. Om.
-----
The rain is on the roof.
Hurry high, butterfly,
As clouds roll past my head.
I know why the skies all cry.
Om. Om. Heaven. Om.
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