Discovering, and rediscovering the Moody Blues

It just sounded so good.It was 1986, and my parents had on their favorite radio station, Lite Rock 106 ½ out of Cleveland.The song that came on the radio was "In Your Wildest Dreams" by the Moody Blues.It was bouncy and upbeat. It was very easy for a six-year old to bop his head to and sing along.My family liked the song so much that we bought the album on compact disc; one of our first CDs.Being so young, the song defined the Moody Blues for me.I thought the Moody Blues were just a normal, modern pop group of the time. To me, it sounded very much in place with Madonna songs, Michael Jackson or whatever else was playing on the radio.I didn't realize that the Moody Blues were best known from another time, with a different style of music."In Your Wildest Dreams" was a fun little pop song. But as the years went on, as their other music played on the radio, it was clear.The Moody Blues were different.The band, which was formed in Birmingham, England, had a big hit in the mid 1960s with "Go Now," an R&B song originally recorded by Bessie Banks.It was only the band's second single.At that time, the Moody Blues had a different lineup than they'd have for most of their hits. The group was fronted by Denny Laine, who in the next decade would join Paul and Linda McCartney to form Wings.The recording remains stunning every time I hear it, with Mike Pinder banging away on the piano and giving the song a desperate intensity.Ray Thomas and Graeme Edge, along with Pinder, all were part of the recording, and would remain part of the band for years.It is a great song (and you should look up and listen to Banks' version; it's great in a different way) but it isn't an indicator of what the Moody Blues became.By 1967, with a different lead singer and bassist, the Moody Blues began to embrace a more "art rock" sound.Guitarist Justin Hayward and bassist John Lodge joined the band, and they released "Knights in White Satin," which is probably the group's most famous song.The song itself has a little bit of everything. It has a bombastic orchestra, a flute solo by Thomas and then – at the six-minute mark-- a spoken word section.The poem, written by Edge and recited by Pinder, rarely makes it onto the radio.I'd heard "Nights in White Satin" for years on the radio before I even knew the section existed.But the band used spoken word portions in other songs. In their 1968 album "In Search of the Lost Chord," the record begins with "Departure," another poem by Edge. Edge recites this one, then bursts into maniacal laughter before the song "Ride My See-Saw" begins.Since "Ride My See-Saw" is played primarily on long form classic rock stations, you often hear "Departure" and "Ride My See-Saw" as a single entity.The spoken-word poems became something of a Moody Blues trademark.In "Mystery Science Theater 3,000" a comedy program where a man and two robots riffed on bad movies, there was a common joke when a movie character had long voiceover monologue:"Who are you? Graeme Edge of the Moody Blues?," asked one of the robots.The band had some other classic songs, including "Tuesday Afternoon," which featured Hayward's strong lead vocal, as well as Pinder on the mellotron.The Moody Blues endured – with a break in the 1970s – for decades. The band's final studio album was released in 2003. At that time, the band consisted of Hayward, Lodge and Edge.Edge died in 2021. Lodge died last week.I don't think the band has been properly appreciated. It took until 2018 for them to be inducted into The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.How many groups have that many classic songs over that many years?In writing this column, I listened to more Moody Blues than I had in years. The joy, for me, was not just listening to the old songs I knew, but discovering ones I didn't.The Moody Blues could blend classical music and rock. They could be experimental.Or they could just record a fun pop song. The music still sounds so good. Zach Baker is sports editor of The Courier.