Moody Blues - Long Distance Voyager
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CD Details
Artist: Moody BluesBrand: MOODY BLUES
Edition: Music CD
Audio: English (Original Language)
Published: 1990
CD Release Date: 1990-10-25
Music Label: Polydor / Umgd
Soundtracks:
- The Voice
- Talking Out Of Turn
- Gemini Dream
- In My World
- MeanWhile
- 22,000 Days
- Nervous
- Painted Smile
- Reflective Smile
- Veteran Cosmic Rocker
Music reviews of Long Distance Voyager
Music Review: The Moody Blues Blast Back
Rating: 5 Stars
After most of the '70's apart, the Moody Blues reunited in 1978 with their eighth album, "Octave." It was a disppointing piece, sounding a lot like a series of solo numbers. Listen to each member's contributions to "Octave," and you have a good picture of what their solo work was like. Ray Thomas' two songs were even arranged by the same arranger he used on his solo albums. This didn't bode well.
It boded even less well when Mike Pinder couldn't go back to touring and quit the group after "Octave" came out. The promotional videos were basically concert pieces with no keyboard player at all. The group even re-created the back album sleeve shot without Mike.
Another blow came when long-time producer Tonay Clarke bowed out during the "Octave" sessions. He and his studio wizardry were so imprtant to the group that his picture appeared on several of the Magnificant 7. Someone named Pip Williams took over for this and 1983's "The Present," and Tony Visconti helmed 1986's "Te Other Side of Life" and 1988"s "Sur La Mer." So the Moodies had to carry on without two pieces of the puzzle.
Patrick Moraz didn't so much replace Mike as succeed him. He specialized, I guess, in substituting for original keyboard players (he was Rick Wakeman's successor in Yes). Pat added a more percussive sound although he could do the dreamy synth thing as well. In concert, he bounded around the stage with a portable keyboard and livened up the Moodies' stage presence considerably. He quit (or was fired, depending on the source) in 1990.
With "Long Distance Voyager," the Moddies blasted out of the chocks in 1981 and did not look back. The album beigns with a synthesizer piece that simulates take-off, climb to altitude, and crusing at altitude, all in 30 seconds or so. Then a synth trumpet blast kicks in and we are off and running with "The Voice." John Lodge's bass really rumbles on this one, especially in concert. His bass is dominant throughout the album.
The album represents a departure from the Moodies' earlier sound. The many layered guitar tracks are largely gone (there seems to be no rhythm guitar in "The Voice," the rhythm carried entirely by the bass and drums). Lyrically, Justin seems to have been coasting. Some of the ideas appeared earlier on the "Blue Jays" album and would surface again on "The Present" two years later. The thump of "The Voice" segues into the regret of "Talking out of Turn," a fine John Lodge tune they still perform. Then the synth'd bass of the first hit, "Gemini Dream," kicks in and we are running again. Justin and John began writing together for the Blue Jays album and have continued ever since. The mood mellows out for "In My World," an unabashedly romantic song, with wonderful vocal overdubs and several different guitar styles. "Meanwhile" is carried along mostly on acoustic strumming, but John's bass emphsizes the lines.
With the next song, Ray Thomas, who was absent form the first side, makes his voice felt. He and John Lodge sing Graeme Edge's "22,000 days," a thumping rumination on the life of Man. Justin's lead is all over this one, and there is a synthsized harmonica from Ray (no one plays harp any more) that sets the whole piece off.
John's "Nervous" is probably the weakest song in the whole set. It features his weak, thin, voice and lots of strings. It sets the mood. however, for Ray to take over and finish the album with a bang. His playful "Painted Smile" about the clown laughing on the outside and crying on the inside segues into his poem "Reflective Smile." Largely gone from this album is the cosmic gobbledygook that characterized, and sometimes marred, their earlier albums, but it reasserts itself here. Pat does some great synth noodling behind Ray, and then the whole thing crashes into "Veteran Cosmic Rocker." I saw them in Reno in 1986, and Ray said he got the title from a reporter reviewing a Moodies concert who called Ray that. More harp and flute in the bridge. The whole thing builds to a crescendo and then our long distance voyage, which started with take-off, comes to a crashing halt. I really was not ready for it to end.
LDV is tied in my view with 1991's "Keys of the Kingdom" as the best of the Moodies post-break-up albums. It is also the most consistent and the most group oriented. Ray's contributions would dwindle in the '80's, especially after Tony Visconti took over as producer.
Another defect is that for the most part whoever wrote the song appears to have sung all the parts. As Ray declined creatively, his voice became heard less and less. Unlike "Octove," the album never really sounds like a collection of solo efforts, but more vocal variety would have been helpful.
Forget everything you thought you knew of the Moodies from the Magnificent 7. As the opening run suggests, LDV is a significant departure and inaugurated a new era for the group. Great thumping rock and roll.
Cordo
Description of Long Distance Voyager
Japanese only SHM pressing. The SHM-CD [Super High Material CD] format features enhanced audio quality through the use of a special polycarbonate plastic. Using a process developed by JVC and Universal Music Japan discovered through the joint companies' research into LCD display manufacturing SHM-CDs feature improved transparency on the data side of the disc allowing for more accurate reading of CD data by the CD player laser head. SHM-CD format CDs are fully compatible with standard CD players. Universal. 2009.A regular fixture on the pop charts throughout the '70s, the Moody Blues roared into the '80s with this tremendously successful record. In fact, the album sounds only slightly different than its predecessors; the synthesizer textures are heavier (thanks to former Yes keyboardist Patrick Moraz), but the band's flair for catchy, melodic compositions is still very much in evidence. In retrospect, songs like "The Voice," "Talking Out of Turn" and "In My World," while solid, don't exactly measure up to such all-time Moodies classics like "Ride My See-Saw" or "Tuesday Afternoon." Still, this is probably the last truly consistent album the band ever made. --Dan Epstein
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