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Original released on LP Threshold THS 1

(UK, November 1969)

Maybe I'm an odd duck, but I seriously go back and forth about this album being my absolute favorite of all time. Much of its impact on me comes from its atmosphere - this is a serious 'vibe' album if there ever was one - so it makes sense that some days this is a no-brainer best-of-all-time, and other days I prefer my "White Album" or my "Live at Leeds". Regardless, it's always somewhere in my top two or three favorites. When I'm in the mood for this, though, it's an unbelievably amazing listen. It's even better that I'm in that mood a lot. I've listened to this album more than any other in my collection, and 15 years (as of this writing) after first hearing it, I love it now even more than ever. Hands down, this is the Moody Blues' best album. In fact, for me, this album is somewhat of an anomaly in their catalogue. The reason I say this is because no other album of theirs (as great as some of them are) even approaches the level of majesty, cathartic beauty, or pensive introspection that abounds here. Honestly, I’m not even sure how they pulled it off. Not only is it easily the most consistent album they ever made, it also just happened to be written while every member of the band was at the top of his respective songwriting arc. And it's not simply a matter of consistency, either. The way these songs play off each other and the thoughtful, meditative atmosphere they create simply astounds me. It's light years ahead of even their second-best work.

In addition to being the peak of their democratic songwriting and functioning as a band, it represents the peak of the Moodies' classic "mellotron-drenched" sound. There are tons of overdubs here, and if anyone is keeping score, this album has got to be the greatest mellotron showcase in the history of the instrument. The album concept is based loosely on the moon landing of the same year, and mankind's 'mastery' of science in general. Also prevalent in the loose concept is the idea of eternity and the loneliness of infinite time. Or something like that. All I know is that the 'concept' is broad enough to accommodate lots of actual thought-provoking philosophizing, even from the sometimes banal Moody Blues. Edge's "Higher and Higher" is a fantastic opener. It starts off with a laudable recreation of a rocket launch with some choral vocals joining in before launching into a blistering rock song. In light of the lyrics, «Higher and higher / now we've learned to play with fire / we go higher and higher and higher» this progression of science is brilliantly emphasized. The music is no slouch either; it is one of the few times that the Moodies actively cut loose. Just listen to that wild guitar playing from the usually reticent Hayward. Good stuff. John's first contribution, "Eyes of a Child" is simply gorgeous, and is my pick for the best John Lodge song ever. The harmonies, the contra-flute (or whatever that is), the lyrics, and the emotion really come together to make the ultimate Moody Blues song. It’s a total winner. The reprise of "Eyes" takes the form of a rock song, but it is in no way repetitive, and in fact it is too short with a running time of only a minute twenty. I could have used some more of this.

Ray Thomas is in top form on this album, contributing two absolute classics in "Floating" and "Eternity Road". The former is an ode to moon walking, and is just perfect: it really makes you feel like you're "bouncing about on the moon" and is also poignant in its underlying sense of loneliness. It also helps that it is absurdly catchy, and contains some of the group's best harmonizing. The latter is my pick for Ray's best song ever, and also the best song on the album; it simply boasts one of the greatest culminations of lyrics and atmosphere I've ever heard, especially the last minute or so of the song. To my ears it’s the most complex track on here. It also has the best guitar playing on the album with Hayward’s wonderful double-tracked solo and layers upon layers of jazzy noodling guitar lines in the outro, along with a great flute solo during the fade-out. Hayward also contributes the dark and brooding "Gypsy". In my opinion it's the best up-tempo number Hayward's ever penned, which really says a hell of a lot. It is the perfect embodiment in song of the feeling of rushing from danger into danger. It also kicks off the best three-song stretch on any MB album ever: "Gypsy", the above-mentioned "Eternity Road", and Lodge's amazing "Candle of Life". The song is soooo damned beautiful, and giving to Hayward to sing was a good move - his voice in 1969 was one of the best in rock music - but the best contribution to the song is that of Mike Pinder. "Candle of Life" could be Mike's showpiece because it's like a mini-mellotron symphony, and the mid-section piano part... all I can say is that Mike Pinder is brutally and unjustly overlooked as a keyboardist. An untrained ear would probably think that "Candle of Life" was recorded with an orchestra.

Speaking of Mike, his contributions include "Out and In" (which is co-written by Lodge) and "Sun Is Still Shining." "Out and In" is, again, quite a mellotron showpiece, and is just as dark and brooding as any other Pinder song, but "Sun Is Still Shining" finds him in a rare cheerful mood. They are both quintessential Pinder, in that they are both meditations on, well, meditation and reincarnation, I guess. The remaining tracks are all more or less mood-setters, but they are all winners. "Beyond" is an Edge-penned instrumental that oscillates back and forth between rockin' passages and ambient, ominous stretches. Hayward's "I Never Thought I'd Live to Be a Hundred" are quite short and economical, and while they might not astound on their own, without them, the album would really suffer grievously. You cannot deny the shiver-inducing vocals, though. The album closer "Watching and Waiting" was supposedly penned as a "Nights in White Satin"-type single effort. I myself don't hear much of a resemblance, as it is much more spare than I would expect from a "Nights" clone. Honestly, as great of an album-closer as "Nights in White Satin" is, this one is better for its relative sparseness. I really like how the album ends up on such a subtle, non-bombastic manner, leaving a feeling of almost irresolution. I’ve also seen the lyrics of this song take a beating elsewhere, but I love them: «Don't be alarmed / by my fields and my forests / they're here for only you to share.» It's like a cry of loneliness from a planet (Earth, perhaps), which is interesting, to say the least. Please buy this album. It really and truly is one of the high points of art/progressive rock, and definitely a 'sleeper' album if there ever was one. I can completely understand how some can miss the greatness of this album, because it took a long time for it to really grow on me. Once it did, though, it has moved me in ways that no other album ever has. (in RateYourMusic)