The Moody Blues
The Moody Blues, which is nearing the half-century mark as a band, has been too busy planning its future to pay much attention to its upcoming milestone.“We haven’t really thought about 50 years — we’ll let the (Rolling) Stones do that first,” Moody Blues bassist-singer John Lodge says.
Indeed, the veteran band, which will perform 9 p.m. Friday, Nov. 30, at Caesars Atlantic City, has a full concert schedule through the end of the year, followed by its first music cruise in March and a tour of the U.K. in late spring. Also, in the works for a 2013 release is a “huge” box set that will span 10 to 12 CDs, Lodge says.
Whenever the Moody Blues gets around to considering its long run, the band will find much to celebrate, including being among the first to release a four-minute single — 1967’s “Nights in White Satin,” which is featured on this year’s “Dark Shadows” soundtrack — and one of the earliest outfits to record in stereo.
Then, there’s The Moody Blues’ 1967 classic album, “Days of Future Passed,” which helped establish the group’s multilayered sound mixing elements of rock, classical and pop. The band has sold more than 70 million albums, charting such singles as “I’m Just A Singer (In A Rock And Roll Band),” “Tuesday Afternoon,” “Isn’t Life Strange” and “Your Wildest Dreams.”
Lodge talks about the buzz surrounding the making of “Days of Future Passed” and how original songwriting has helped The Moody Blues keep its edge these many years.
Q: How do you approach your setlist — do you highlight any one part of your career?
A: The show is put together like an album, really. We take the audience on a nice musical journey, irrelevant to when the songs were first recorded or released.
Q: Did you realize that “Days of Future Passed” would prove a career landmark when you were recording it?
A: There was a huge buzz when we were making the album. There was an energy in the studio which I’ve never experienced before. Something special was happening, so much so that when we finished album, we put speakers on the side of the stage, and had an invited audience come along and listen to the very first playback.
We sat there in the dark and it was pitch black, and we put the tape on and played the album for everyone. The album finished, and there was absolute silence. Everyone was mesmerized.
When we heard that playback, we knew it was something special, but we never knew it was going to be commercial.
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The Moody Blues