Moody Blues Bassist John Lodge Discusses New "Icon" Albums

Oldies989.com The Moody Blues are among the latest bands to have highlights of their extensive catalog compiled for the Universal Music label's Icon series. Two versions of the cosmic rockers' Icon retrospective hit stores on Tuesday -- an 11-track single disc and a double-CD set featuring 24 songs, including such enduring classics as "Nights in White Satin," "Tuesday Afternoon," "Question" and "I'm Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band)." Bassist John Lodge tells ABC News Radio that, while many Moody Blues best-of albums have been released in the past, these are the first for which the band's entire catalog were available for consideration when it came to putting the collections together. "What happened last year is that we signed a catalog agreement with Universal, which meant we could bring all of our albums together into one house," he explained. Lodge added that, unlike previous Moodies compilations, the Icon albums will feature a standardized track list throughout world, "so the release of the Icon series in the U.S.A. be the same release now that's going in Canada, it'll be the same release that's in the UK and the same release in Australia and Scandinavia." While many Moodies diehards may already own many or most of the tunes featured on the Icon albums, Lodge suggested that the compilations may serve as valuable introductions to young fans. "One thing that happens when you're touring…is that the audience is a younger audience and so a lot of people have come along to see who the Moody Blues are," he pointed out. "And if they can get a taster as well from the Icon series, it may make them want to explore further and some day discover the albums themselves." Asked which of the band's famous tunes he considered his favorites, Lodge quickly responded, "All of them," before narrowing things down just a bit. "I'd have to say 'Tuesday Afternoon,' really, because that was the first song in the United States that meant so much to us…because that opened the first door for us to come across and start thinking about touring," he said. "And then, I suppose 'Ride My See-Saw' because that was sort of the engine room of the Moody Blues." Meanwhile, it's been a while since the Moody Blues have issued a new studio effort, but Lodge reports that he and his band mates -- singer-guitarist Justin Hayward and drummer Graeme Edge -- do have a new project on the horizon. "We're actually at the moment working on some acoustic songs which we may record in September," he revealed.