John Lodge, Justin Hayward - Blue Jays

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Music reviews of Blue Jays

Music Review: Deserves more than 5 stars...
Rating: 5 Stars

Every song on this CD is worthy of radio airplay, and have stood up without chinks over the passage of time. Terrific melodies, tight vocals, and some excellent musicianship mark this CD. Both Hayward and Lodge were at the peak of their songwriting prowess (just listen to "I Dreamed Last Night" and try to tell me it isn't as good if not outright better than any other ballad Hayward has written, and he's written some outstanding ones; or listen to "Saved by the Music" by Lodge, and try to keep yourself from getting picked up and carried along with it). The CD marked the first time that Hayward and Lodge collaborated on songs ("Remember Me (My Friend)" and "When You Wake Up"), and both showcase two creative songwriters collaborating at what was fortunately their peak form. The opening track, "This Morning", a song of lost love (hey, this is pop, so you've gotta have that subject) contrasts nicely with what was on the original album release the last song, "When You Wake Up", which features some great vocal harmonies. The CD has on it the song "Blue Guitar" -- a Hayward effort that was originally released as a single and not on the album; it is a terrific song and thank heavens the record company and Messrs. Hayward & Lodge agreed on its being put on the CD. Some soaring lead guitar work and (as usual) visual imagery lyrics stand out on the single. The album also features the reunion of Hayward and Lodge with composer/conducter Peter Knight, who'd done the orchestral arrangements for the Moodies' seminal "Days of Future Passed" back in 1967; on "Blue Jays" Mr. Knight arranged the orchestration for "Nights, Winters, Years", "I Dreamed Last Night", and "Maybe" -- all excellent.

Little bit of trivia about the album: the original album's ending of "When You Wake Up" featured at the fadeout, the melody hook from the opening song "This Morning" -- that's lost on the CD since "Blue Guitar" starts up before the complete fadeout on "This Morning". Oh well, on the album you had to listen for it anyway, but it was kind of neat, sort of made a musical wrap-around for the album.

One difference between this and most preceding Moodies albums -- this isn't a "concept" album. No poetry, no unifying lyric theme. Reportedly, the title "Blue Jays" came about simply because they hadn't come up with a title for the album, and someone noted that Justin and John were both in the Moody Blues and their first names both started with J. Hence, "Blue Jays." Don't know if that is 100% true or not (the liner notes from the CD I have don't mention it; I don't know if the current CD release include the liner notes or not), but it is quirky enough that it might be true.

Bottom line: this one is a must for Moodies and Hayward fans. Even people lukewarm to the Moodies will probably enjoy this one, as it leaves off some of the excesses (in some critics eyes) that marked Moodies albums (the Edge poems, some of the mystical Pinder efforts).

Description of Blue Jays

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