When I was a teenager I made greater use of my oldest brother's record collection than he did. He was in his twenties, and of the great multitude that stop paying attention to any new music after age 19. I only listened to the rock, as I considered his liking for jazz to be pretty square. Now, as a jazz fan, I see that it was only his particular taste in jazz that was square.

This was why I was listening to Jefferson Airplane, the Doors, and CCR when my peers were listening to Journey and REO Speedwagon. I still listened to a lot of the "popular stuff", being the FM junkie and bucket of hormones that I was, but my lifelong love for 60's rock started there. This is where I first heard the band that would be my first live experience........The Moody Blues. 

The original Moody Blues were just that..... a moody blues band. In addition to the three longtime members Graham Edge (drums), Ray Thomas (flute, vox), and Mike Pinder (keys, vox) were short term members Clint Warwick (bass) and Denny Laine (guitar, vox, later member of Wings). They recorded about two l.p.s worth of singles, including the hit "Go Now", before a shift in both personnel and style.

When Justin Hayward (guitar, vox) and John Lodge (bass, vox) joined the band, they assumed most of the writing chores, and the band's sound sort of "melted". While keeping to their blues enough to justify the name, they became more "moody". The albums they almost immediately began recording are classics of psychedelia and straight pop. This was the Moody Blues that my brother's record collection introduced me to.

It was in 1981 that The Moodies, with Mike Pinder replaced by Patrick Moraz, had a big hit with their album Long Distance Voyager, and embarked on a world tour in support. Having blocked my hopes to see live rock shows on many occasions, dad allowed this because it was an outdoor show (and he couldn't use my asthma as an excuse to keep me home, away from the pot smoke) and because I'd be going with my older brother and his wife, who, being pregnant, could be trusted to keep a lid on things. Thus, I saw my first show on Saturday, July 18, 1981 at Poplar Creek Music Theater in Hoffman Estates, Il. It was the last date of the Moodies' American tour, and it is the same show that today's selection comes from. Here is the the Moody Blues that I saw:

Now, besides the thirteen items listed last week, I have also kept the World Tour program I bought that evening (Lord only knows what happened to that t-shirt!) That program's band history was the source for my original clue. To quote:

"Six years after its original release, 'Nights in White Satin' was re-released in America with the 'Days of Future Past' album and they both promptly soared to number one in both the singles and album charts repectively in the U.S. The release of their new album [ Seventh Sojourn ] at that time gave them the unprecedented achievement of having a number 1 and 2 slot in the American album chart - even the Beatles were unable to beat that."

Send any complaints, therefore, to the Moody Blues themselves. As it is, no one figured out that longtime McCartney collaborator Denny Laine was an original Moody. Wings Over America, in fact, features the song "Go Now". There were lots of good guesses, though. Maybe next time!

The song this week is one of my favorite Moody Blues songs, and was the wrapup song for the last show at Poplar Creek in 1981. Click here to listen to the Moody Blues asking a "Question."

In two weeks: When one mother made fun of another, a future band got its name.