This past year, the progressive rock band The Moody Blues swiftly became one of my new favorite bands. Often overlooked and underrated by critics, the Moodies never fully received the appreciation and recognition they deserved. The band is arguably most famous for “Nights in White Satin,” but while they were at their prime in the ’60s and ’70s, the Moodies released plenty of albums chock-full of great music.
All too often “Top Songs” lists will fail to do justice to the artists’ work by mostly focusing on their popular singles. For this list, I have excluded all singles and chosen the best tracks that showcase the songwriting talents of all the Moodies.
1. Let Me Go (written by Denny Laine and Mike Pinder)
Before morphing into the progressive rock band they became most famous as, the Moodies were a rhythm and blues group featuring Denny Laine on lead vocals. “Let Me Go” is a slow but catchy original track off their 1965 debut album The Magnificent Moodies.
2. Twilight Time (written by Ray Thomas)
On their masterpiece concept album Days of Future Passed, “Twilight Time” is the track that precedes and leads into “Nights in White Satin.” The song’s instrumentation conveys an ethereal and mystical sound, while Thomas’ lyrics illustrate the beauty of darkness enveloping the sky.
3. What Am I Doing Here? (written by Justin Hayward)
Recorded in 1968, this track wasn’t officially released until 1977, when it was included on the live album Caught Live + 5. “What Am I Doing Here?” is a haunting piece with a sound comparable to “Nights in White Satin.” Hayward’s lyrics paint the image of a tragic love between a young squire and a princess.
4. The Actor (written by Justin Hayward)
“The Actor” is yet another Hayward-penned love song. Included on 1968’s In Search of the Lost Chord, the exquisite track features Hayward’s acoustic guitar accompanied by Thomas’s flute. The lyrics tell a story of unrequited love between a young woman and an actor.
5. The Voyage (written by Mike Pinder)
“The Voyage” is a breathtaking instrumental piece featured towards the end of 1969’s On the Threshold of a Dream. In accordance with the overall concept of the album, “The Voyage” takes the listener on a dream-like journey, guided by the sound of Pinder’s mellotron.
6. Higher and Higher (written by Graeme Edge)
“Higher and Higher” has the distinction of being the first full-length Moodies song written by the band’s drummer, Graeme Edge. Upbeat and exciting, it is the opening track on 1969’s To Our Children’s Children’s Children. Edge was inspired to write the song after seeing the Apollo 11 crew members walk on the moon for the first time.
7. The Balance (written by Graeme Edge and Ray Thomas)
In 1970, the Moody Blues released A Question of Balance, which addressed some of the controversy surrounding the Vietnam War. As the closing track on the album, “The Balance” is a powerful and hopeful piece that combines spoken word with singing.
8. One More Time to Live (written by John Lodge)
“One More Time to Live” comes from the band’s 1971 album, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, which is a concept album about the history of music. One of the band’s most intriguing songs, it features harmonized vocals, as well as repetition of the words “desolation,” “creation” and other -tion words.
9. Lost in a Lost World (written by Mike Pinder)
In 1972, Seventh Sojourn was the first Moody Blues album to top the American charts. As the opening track, Pinder’s “Lost in a Lost World” is a brooding and melancholy piece that addresses the crises of the world, namely racial tension and revolution.
10. Survival (written by John Lodge)
After finishing their tour in 1974, the Moodies went on hiatus and didn’t release another album until 1978’s Octave. This album marked the switch toward a more synth-oriented sound, and it was also the last album to include keyboardist Mike Pinder. Lodge’s “Survival” deserves recognition as one of the album’s strongest and most thought-provoking efforts.
