The Moody Blues - On the Threshold of a Dream
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Free Music Notes for On the Threshold of a Dream
Free Music Review: Another good effort
Hit: 4 Stars
Although perhaps not as good as the two previous albums ("Days of Future Passed" and "In Search of the Lost Chord") nor the subsequent one ("To Our Children's Children's Children"), "On the Threshold of a Dream" nevertheless holds its own as one of the great first seven albums of the Hayward-Lodge led Moody Blues. To me, "In the Beginning" is a frivolous version of the beginning of Genesis with technology thrown in, but the last 30 seconds or so serve as a fine introduction to the best song on the album "Lovely to See You" which clearly proves once again that Justin Hayward is the best songwriter in the group. When Hayward/Lodge/Thomas/Pinder sing together, the song really takes off. I love the stanza, "tell us what you've seen, in far away forgotten lands, where empires have turned back to sand."
After "Lovely to See You," though, the album is a bit uneven. I really don't care for the two Thomas entries, and think that the Pinder song "So Deep Within You" is simply annoying and not worthy to be on this album (why wasn't Pinder's powerful "Simple Game" recorded instead?). The two Lodge songs are average (have you ever noticed that the beginning riff on "To Share Our Love" is similar to that of "Victoria" by the Kinks?). On the other hand, the Hayward/Thomas collaboration, "Are You Sitting Comfortably," with its references to the Arthurian legend, is wonderful and moving, and is almost equaled by Hayward's "Never Comes the Day." The close of the album, consisting of Edge's "The Word" and Pinder's "Have You Heard" and "The Voyage," works for me, but I could see why others might find it over-the-top.
Overall, "Threshold" is a fine album, which highlights some of the best attributes of the Moody Blues, all of which would be enhanced on their brilliant, under-rated, next album, "To Our Children's Children's Children."
Free Music Review: Psychedelic, Progressive and Moody
Hit: 5 Stars
On the Threshold of a Dream" followed "In Search of the Lost Chord". This album has a darker feel to it than "The Lost Chord," which periodically became lightly whimsical ("Dr. Livingston, I Presume" as an example) and was generally upbeat.
"Threshold" begins with a somewhat paranoid interchange between several characters that in a few short sentences explores individuality in modern computerized society. While Graeme Edge is generally upbeat in that he says that as individuals we can "...perceive the web they weave and keep on thinking free," the sinister tone of "Big Brother's got your number" begins the album darkly. A listener will interpret the other songs in the album by this initial tone. Furthermore, the closeout by the last three Mike Pinder selections, "Have You Heard" parts 1 and 2 and "The Voyage," end the album in a melancholy fashion that also reflects on the other tracks, many of which are melancholy themselves.
In spite of the dark mood of the album, it is still great for those times when you are a bit moody yourself. For some reason I enjoy listening to this album when it's raining outside, or when I'm feeling down. You would think that the album would drive me further into the depths of depression, but it does not. Instead, it tends to make me think about why I am depressed and ultimately overcoming those issues cheers me up. Okay, it's a little weird, but it works for me.
How is the album? This album is excellent. This album was experimental and further associated the Moodies name with progressive rock. The dialogue at the beginning of the album and "The Dream" by Graeme Edge segueing into "Have You Heard Part 1", followed by "The Voyage" which then takes you back to "Have You Heard Part 2", while being a signature feature of Moodies' albums, was still very new to the world in 1969. While the music is very mellow, it was also in some ways more dreamily psychedelic than "In Search of the Lost Chord". Examples are the aforementioned Mike Pinder selections, "Never Comes the Day" by Justin Hayward, and "Are You Sitting Comfortably", an awesome way-too-short song by Justin Hayward and Ray Thomas. This album is great for a bottle of good wine, a dimly lit room, perhaps some black light posters (seriously!), and whatever else you want to add that fits the mood.
The lyrics are often cryptic in this album. For example, just what the heck do the lyrics of "Never Comes the Day" by Justin Hayward mean? One enjoyable feature of Moodies' lyrics is the point of the lyrics is to be intentionally cryptic. Yes, they meant something to the authors. However, the authors are often vague enough to allow you to interpret them to fit your own life. The Moodies have traditionally been able to make lyrics sufficiently vague that you can easily interpret the lyrics to fit your needs, while making very enjoyable songs that you need not interpret. I believe this album may have been the best of the classic 7 to achieve both these abilities for a majority of the songs; a very interesting approach that works well for the Moodies. Others have not been able to create the same kind of lyrics nearly as well or at all.
Graeme Edge, as noted above, has two selections on this album. I truly enjoy "The Dream", which may be Graeme Edge's very best "poem monologues" on any album by the Moodies. There is a lot of symbolism and blues in this poem that are the perfect lead-in for the three Mike Pinder selections following.
Ray Thomas authored "Dear Diary", "Lazy Day" and coauthored "Are You Sitting Comfortably" with Justin Hayward. "Are You Sitting Comfortably" is by far the best of the three, and I think is the best song on the album. "Lazy Day" is likely the most whimsical song of this CD, and perhaps the least blue.
Mike Pinder, in addition to the last three songs, also penned "So Deep Within You," a love song about knowing what is in your lover's heart. This song is very beautiful and easy to understand. Mike's contributions to this album are consistently good and among the best of the album.
John Lodge wrote back-to-back love songs: "Send Me No Wine" and "To Share Our Love". Both are fast-paced (for this album), and both are good. "To Share Our Love" is the better of the two, and exploits John's voice well.
Justin Hayward, in addition to the excellent "Are You Sitting Comfortably", also wrote "Lovely to See You", which is a song of friendship helping alleviate the blues (which you may need after listening to this album!), and "Never Comes the Day", which I think is a song of love, but it is mixed with other concepts that are difficult to put my finger on. Regardless, it's a good song.
If you are a Moodies fan, buy this. If you are not, and want to listen to something different, buy this. Is it dated? This album may be a little dated, but not a lot. The lyrics are about concepts that transcend time. This album is incredibly mellow. It is the third album of the second incarnation of the Moody Blues, and the last album by the Moodies to be this spacey and psychedelic. After this they begin to tackle issues of the environment and how we treat each other and our role in the universe. This album is very unique and should be part of the reason to induct the Moody Blues into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (why they have yet to be I do not have the foggiest clue). It is fitting that this album was released in 1969, a fitting close to an exotic decade.
Free Music Review: Absolutely...well...Dreamy!
Hit: 5 Stars
This is the third of the classic seven, and one of the most important chapters of all. This album is appropriately titled, as it feels like a dream. The albums loudest track "Lovely To See You" goes straight into one of it's softest, "dear Diary". Ray also wrote the amazing "Lazy Day", and Justin sings the beautiful "Never Comes The Day" and the joyous "Send Me No Wine". Mike Pinder ends the album with a wonderfully optimistic three part suite. "Life's ours for the making/ Eternities waiting"...what a wonderfully positive note to end on! "To Share Our Love" and "So Deep Within You" are my two least favorites on the album, but neither one is a bad song by any stretch.Free Music Review: Mediocre
Hit: 2 Stars
When compared to 'In search of the lost chord' and 'To our children's childrens children, this release falls way short on both performances and sound quality. A few good songs but not enough to recommend it. Despite being remastered, the sound is not that much improved: very little high end and an overall 'thin sound'. 13 tracks/37.06.Free Music Review: The Moodies' On A Threshold of A Dream
Hit: 5 Stars
To correct another reviewer (Alan Caylow) this is The Moody Blues' FOURTH Album...NOT third.Now onto the music. The album is chock full of airy tones that make for enjoyable and relaxing music.
Highlights for me include Lovely To See You Again, Never Comes A Day, the Jethro Tullish sounding So Deep Into You, and Send Me No Wine. The rest of it is very good as well -- offering up that music that only The Moody Blues can offer.
Sit back, relax and take a journey with The Moody Blues...On A Threshold Of A Dream!!
A+