The Moody Blues - The Other Side of Life
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Free Music Notes for The Other Side of Life
Free Music Review: The Other Side Of Liff
Hit: 3 Stars
This album was a watershed moment for the Moodies. Having survived a change of membership with Mike Pinder (and just as significantly, a producer change from Tony Clark to Pip Williams), they were definitely revitalized by the success of their tour and album for Long Distance Voyager. The Present in 1983, showed a bit of a slow in their momentum, they already seemed to be in 'coasting' mode, with a small but noticeable drop in energy. There just wasn't as much attention paid to detail in comparison to LDV, and the songs were a little weaker, relying on synth gimmickry to carry some of the music. By the time they recorded TOSOL, I would think the record company had definitely noticed that The Present hadn't sold as well (as LDV), I'm sure there were subtle hints to try and sound like 'the latest trend' and in all fairness I'm sure they were listening to what was on the radio (and those days, MTV) and thinking, "we've gotta try that".
They changed producer AGAIN to Tony Visconti, and the direction the band went in was a very obviously commercial one, and what was even then derided as synthesiser soup, but at least one reviewer I remember was kind enough to call it 'elegant techno-slush'. Which it is. Like most of the music out in 1986, it sounds like everything is played by a computer, because it is. Tony Visconti was a big fan of using this method to record (and at times it sounds great, but overall gives the album a cold edge). At this point, there is much less attention to detail and instead lots of keyboard lines that sound more like breezy pop music than their traditional orchestral roles. Patrick Moraz complained that he didn't have much to do because a performance would get determined and recorded, quantized, and he wouldn't have to work on that track anymore. I imagine the drummer would say the same thing. Listen to the evolving textures of "Talking Out Of Turn" or "Meet Me Halfway", played with REAL bands, and using the keyboards to augment and smooth out the sound. Unlike using brassy synthesisers to ANCHOR the sound, as Visconti does in most of these songs, in particular the cruel and unusual "Rock and Roll Over You".
And last but not least, Ray Thomas is absent from this CD, at least to my ears. I don't know if he's singing some backing vocals somewhere but he doesn't have any writing credits or sing any songs. I don't know if this is because he just wasn't interested at the time, or this was influence from the record company (ok, you get 3 bowls of M&Ms backstage per gig, and we'll let you do one song that is not by Justin and John! Just one!).
But still, there is some truly great music here. Their R&B influence has never sounded as good as in "Running Out Of Love", greased up with some oddly fitting progressive rock riffs by Moraz (and an simple, but EXCELLENT guitar solo.) The title track is very good, with a typically excellent vocal hook by Justin and a great guitar solo. "The Spirit" is a strange song, with compelling harmonies, key twists and tempo twists, and one of Patrick Moraz' best solos ever, his manic style tempered by trying to fit into a pop group. "Slings and Arrows" is very odd sounding as well, incorporating a number of seemingly disparate styles (and a ridiculous baritone), but somehow it all works. "It May Be A Fire" is a simple song by John that is at least not as sappy as he can be, but Justin Hayward's soaring guitar leads bring it to life.
As for the rest of the songs, "Your Wildest Dreams" was the hit. It's likeable, has a nice melody, if a bit predictable; the synthesised bass adds to its clarity and gives it a modern feel. Synthesised bass is used to good effect on "I Just Don't Care", which is otherwise a pretty bland song by Justin. "Talkin Talkin" is a bit better, with some half-decent harmonies (and a creative way to end the song!) "Rock N Roll Over You" is a pretty horrid song by John Lodge, who seems to be behind a number of reprehensible 'rockers' in their 80s version of the band. This song was his most wretched attempt so far, but he actually surpassed it on Sur La Mer's "Here Comes The Weekend". Better to invoke Dead or Alive than Bananarama I guess. Maybe the admittedly funky 'bass solo' redeems it.
Overall, this isn't a bad album. It's not comparable to The Present or LDV, let alone their classic 7 albums. But it's still worth listening to, there are more good songs than bad songs. After this album, they just turned to using sequenced keyboards to flesh out their songs and having everything just done by Justin, John, and Tony, and the resulting albums (Sur La Mer, Keys Of The Kingdom) were more suitable for blasting at the Vatican to get Noriega to come out, than listening to for pleasure.
Free Music Review: Still better than today's "music"
Hit: 4 Stars
TOSOL is not my favorite of the Moodies and it certainly is not their best work by far. Still, it's the Moody Blues, and even at their worst, they are better than 99% of the "stuff" being peddled today and labeled music.
I enjoyed Justin Hayward's Your Wildest Dreams, I just Don't Care, and The other Side of Life. Hayward and Lodge collaborated on Running out of Love and I love the song on all levels, especially their sweet harmony.
John Lodge's It May Be a Fire isn't my fave of his but it was a pleasant surprise as was Rock n Roll Over You.
This CD is for die-hard MB's completists or those who love 80's sounding music. The "core 7 MB only" folks probably hate this one. I love The Moodies and am willing to stick by them thru thick and thin. This CD isn't vintage Moody Blues, but hey it WAS the 1980's.
Free Music Review: The beginning of the drum machine with acoustic guitar era
Hit: 3 Stars
And now for all you Miami Vice fans The Moody Blues. I remember when this album came out as I still had high hopes for the band. Unfortunately, this would also mark the end for my hopes for this band. One of the Moodies strengths for me anyway was the band's ability to make what felt like organic music but with this album all that changed. The band's last album The Present hadn't sold as well as the band had hoped and also the band's label had now been taken over by Polygram. The idea was to come up with an album that would bring in new fans while still keeping the old. Enter new producer Tony Visconti who was most known for working with David Bowie. This album was also the first to feature no playing OR songwriting by Ray Thomas although he's shown in all the group photos and listed as a band member. This album did suceed in creating a new generation of fans thanks to the videos Your Wildest Dreams and The Other Side Of Life getting heavy airplay on MTV. In fact, both videos won MTV video awards. Rock And Roll Over You was featured in the Kirate Kid 2 movie. This was also the first tour the band did with many backup singers and additional musicians. As for the album itself sounds very processed and very 1986 if you know what I mean. There are a few good songs on here to be sure: Your Wildest Dreams, Running Out Of Love, Slings And Arrows, and It May Be A Fire. However, most of the rest is more than forgettible and some is even hard to listen to.Free Music Review: Moody Blues sell their soul
Hit: 2 Stars
This album is pretty bad (Moody Blues wise), and hasn't aged very well. It's got a few good songs, "Wildest Dreams," "Running Out Of Love" & "The Other Side Of Life," but most of it is so far off track to what makes the Moody Blues magical. It sounds like they're using a drum machine instead of Edge, and there's no Ray Thomas to be found. It reminds me of what happened to another band called Heart; selling your musical soul to keep up with the times.
I remember buying this album along with Deep Purple's "House Of Blue Light" in early '87. I didn't really like either very much. Can you imagine, two of your favorite bands crumbling to the ugly sounds of the mid '80's. To this day, I still don't like this album, but Deep Purple's did grow on me. I guess Purple didn't sound so dated in hindsight, because of the fact they were using real drums and all five of their members were involved. But not the Moodies.
Anyway, the next Moody Blues album, 1988's "Sur La Mer," was a lot better, if you like that "80's sound." But, if you are looking for a really good follow up to 1981's "Long Distance Voyager," you need to find 1983's "The Present."
Free Music Review: The Moodies go technopop...yikes!!!
Hit: 3 Stars
For devoted Moody freaks, this album takes a little getting used to. When I first picked it up and listened to it in 1986, the first cut "Your Wildest Dreams" sounded like a sure winner for being a huge pop hit WHICH IT WAS, going all the way to #1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary Chart, and peaking at #9 on the Billboard Pop chart. From there, the album takes a very unusual turn, and when I heard "Talkin' Talkin'", I about jumped out of my skin as I said to myself "Oh my God, the Moodies have gone technopop!!!" Then the next track "Rock And Roll Over You" (which was also included in the soundtrack of Karate Kid Part Two) left me feeling even more astonished and flabbergasted. The music then returns to "normal", with the ballad "I Just Don't Care", and "Running Out of Love", a song about being in a quandry of what to do with a fractured love relationship. The title cut is weird and spooky in its content, and the accompanying video (if you have ever seen it) is ten times as freaky. "Slings and Arrows" is a catchy track, with all the instruments falling into place one by one at the beginning of the song, while the remaining two tracks on the album, "The Spirit" and "It May Be A Fire" rank as average. Avid Moodies fans will find the best cuts here worth purchasing this album, but be prepared for a very different Moodies sound on a few of the tracks. Worthy of 3 1/2 stars.