MOODY BLUES “DAYS OF FUTURE PASSED” ALL TIME CLASSIC

MOODY BLUES “DAYS OF FUTURE PASSED” (U.S. DERAM) 1967 VG++/VG++ LITE WEAR ON EACH A musical treasure and an essential album for anyone who does not live in a cave and scratch his/her private parts in public. This is an album that bridges generations and spans genres; in fact, the longtime (and decidedly conservative) classical musical critic of the Detroit Free Press, the late John Guinn, said simply that ‘Days of Future Passed’ was an album he ‘cherished’, and that speaks volumes for the reach of this recording. Aside from the Neanderthal grunts of some inane reviewers here at RYM, ‘Days of Future Passed’ is simply a great album, the best of all orchestra/rock band collaborations (the only comparable brilliant collaboration would be Procol Harum and orchestra playing ‘Conquistador’), and ‘DoFP’ is downright beautiful in spots. One of the major concerns I have with music in the past few decades, and particularly rock music, is that no on really writes beautiful songs anymore. No one can seem to variate between their particular rock genre and pen a piece that is graceful and elegantly rendered. The Beatles did it, so did Simon & Garfunkel, as well as Traffic, Yes, Genesis, Tull and other bands that had their greatest triumphs in the 60’s and 70’s. They had the compositional skill to offer songs that really rocked, others that were full of grandeur, and still others that were, for want of a better word, beautiful. There is very little contrast in current rock music, and even less innovation and variation. Once you’ve been put through the Walmartian musical meat-grinder, there is only hamburger, or whatever meat substitute passes for popular music these days. In the case of the Moody Blues, they certainly could compose an elegant love song, and nowhere is this more evident than on ‘Days of Future Passed’. I would suggest that ‘Forever Afternoon (Tuesday?)’ and ‘Nights in White Satin’ are two of the greatest love songs ever written. Also of note is the exquisite ‘Dawn is a Feeling’ (great with coffee on the patio on a summer morning), and ‘Twilight Time’. And the use of the London Festival Orchestra is an integral part of the album as a whole, rather than an afterthought to give an album a classical flair. The orchestra and band have separate parts and themes throughout the album, and only during ‘Night in White Satin’ do the two mesh together for a magnificent crescendo as the song reaches its climax. The poem ‘Late Lament’ is also a memorable moment in rock history, and an appropriate ending for a day in the life as written by the Moody Blues.
Track listing
A1
The Day Begins5:45
A2
Dawn: Dawn Is a Feeling3:50
A3
The Morning: Another Morning3:40
A4
Lunch Break: Peak Hour5:21
B1
The Afternoon: Forever Afternoon (Tuesday?): (Evening) Time to Get Away8:25
B2
Evening: The Sun Set: Twilight Time6:39
B3
The Night: Nights in White Satin7:41
Total length: 41:21