In Search of the Lost Chord

by The Moody Blues

Overview

This is the second expanded edition of this 1968 paean to psychedelia to have appeared in just 28 months -- it was preceded by a "Deluxe Edition" two-disc hybrid SACD/CD edition from Polydor's European division in the late winter of 2006; apparently, those in charge of the label either didn't think the U.S. could support that high-priced package, or that the Super-Audio CD market is purely a European and Japanese phenomenon. Whatever the reason, this edition has shown up here with no multi-channel SACD layer, but with the remastered CD sound from that hybrid release. In Search of the Lost Chord was originally the most poorly-served of all the Moodies' original albums on CD, with a late-'80s edition from Polydor that literally had a crack in the sound on one song. Since then successive remasterings have made it one of the group's more satisfying CDs, as the nuances and layers are brought out -- the original album was done in a spirit of experimentation that was unusual for a pop album, with the members very consciously seeking out the richest, most outre sounds that they could generate in the studio, piling on one exotic instrument after another, along with many layers of voices; they would get better and bolder at this process over the next two albums (until they realized, in 1969, that they'd painted themselves into a corner as far as actually performing their new material on-stage); but beneath the psychedelic sensibilities on numbers like "Voices in the Sky," "The Best Way to Travel," "Legend of a Mind" etc., as one listens to the cleanest, crispest mix the record has yet had on CD (and one should state here that the multi-channel SACD mix on the European Deluxe Edition does outdo it), in the layers of finely nuanced playing, one does get a real sense of five musicians reveling in their own skills (and perhaps a recently ingested controlled substance or two) and the freedom to take them as far as the moment will carry them. That experimental nature has always resided just below the surface of what was otherwise a very pretty and smooth exercise in pop music mysticism ("Visions of Paradise" is still one of the most profoundly beautiful records this reviewer has ever heard from the psychedelic era) -- but here it's a little more up front, amid the enhanced clarity, and one would like to think it could help this album hold and renew its audience for another 40 years. The sound is so good that it's almost a shame that anything was put on here after "Om," the original album closer, but it was obligatory in these times that there be bonus tracks -- and as there was less room here than on the Disc Two of the Deluxe Edition, some decisions had to be made about removing some extras. The released Mike Pinder-sung version and the alternate Justin Hayward-sung take of "A Simple Game" are present, bookending the bonus tracks, whilst the rest includes the Mellotron track for "The Word," the lost Hayward song "What Am I Doing Here," two BBC performances ("Dr. Livingston, I Presume," "Thinking Is the Best Way to Travel"), and extended, unfaded versions of "Om" etc. They would be certain to delight serious fans, except that it's hard to imagine too many of the latter not having already bought them on the Deluxe Edition of this album over the preceding two years. Still, they may open the door to the group's sound a little further for the casually curious. [The 2008 version included bonus tracks.] ~ Bruce Eder

Product Details

Release Date:	07/15/2008
Label:	Polydor / Universal Music
UPC:	0600753070697

Tracks

1. Departure
2. Ride My See-Saw
3. Dr. Livingstone, I Presume
4. House of Four Doors, Pt. 1
5. Legend of a Mind
6. House of Four Doors, Pt. 2
7. Voices in the Sky
8. The Best Way to Travel
9. Visions of Paradise
10. The Actor
11. The Word
12. Om
13. A Simple Game
14. The Best Way to Travel
15. Visions of Paradise
16. What Am I Doing Here?
17. The Word
18. Om
19. Doctor Livingstone, I Presume
20. Thinking Is the Best Way to Travel
21. A Simple Game

Album Credits

Performance Credits

The Moody Blues   Primary Artist
Graeme Edge   Tambourine,Spoken Word,Drums,Piano,Tabla,Timpani,Timbales,Percussion
John Lodge   Bass,Cello,Drums,Guitar,Vocals,Percussion,Tambourine,Lead Vocals,Drums (Snare),Guitar (Bass),Guitar (Acoustic)
Justin Hayward   Guitar (Bass),Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric),Guitar (12 String),Guitar (12 String Acoustic),Guitar (12 String Electric),Bass,Piano,Sitar,Tabla,Guitar,Vocals,Mellotron,Percussion,Harpsichord,Lead Vocals
Fraeme Edge   Drums,Piano,Tabla,Timpani,Tambourine
Ray Thomas   Tambourine,French Horn,Lead Vocals,Flute (Alto),Sax (Soprano),Wind Instruments,Bass,Oboe,Drums,Flute,Vocals
Michael Pinder   Bass,Cello,Piano,Guitar,Vocals,Autoharp,Keyboards,Mellotron,Harpsichord,Lead Vocals,Spoken Word,Guitar (Bass),Guitar (Acoustic)

Technical Credits

Derek Varnals   Engineer
John Lodge   Composer
Paschal Byrne   Remastering
Phil Smee   Package Design
Jeff Barry   Composer
Mike Pinder   Composer
Steve Fallone   Remastering,Digital Remastering
Gloria Caldwell   Composer
Willie Dixon   Composer
Adrian Martins   Assistant Engineer
John Reed   Interviewer,Liner Notes,Sleeve Notes
Justin Hayward   Composer,Remastering
Alberto Parodi   Remastering
Phil Travers   Artwork,Cover Art,Illustrations,Cover Painting
Tony Clarke   Producer,Liner Notes
Sonny Boy Williamson II   Composer
Sol Marcus   Composer
Michael Pinder   Composer
Ray Thomas   Composer
Joe Black   Project Coordinator
Ellie Greenwich   Composer
Bennie Benjamin   Composer
Graeme Edge   Composer