|
| |
 
The Moody Blues
Seventh Sojourn
[DTS Surround Sound Edition]
(Threshold/Polydor/DTS)
First Appeared in The Music Box, June 2005, Volume 12, #6
Written by John Metzger
The Moody Blues recorded and toured relentlessly in the wake of Days of
Future Passed, issuing seven albums within the five-year period of
1967–1972. By the time the group released Seventh Sojourn — the final
outing of its "classic era" — its members were understandably weary. Each
subsequent effort seemed more difficult than the last to formulate, and most of
the material proved to be cumbersome to perform in concert. With the 1971
release of Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, The Moody Blues began to
streamline its sound, utilizing fewer sonic layers and considerably reducing the
conceptual flow of its endeavors. Despite these attempts to ease its burden, its
stresses continued to mount, and while caught in the midst of constructing Seventh Sojourn, the ensemble also was on the brink of disbanding. Indeed,
throughout the effort, one can hear the cracks beginning to rip through The
Moody Blues’ foundation, and its eight songs were as distinctly divided as
anything that the then-current line-up of Graeme Edge, Justin Hayward, John
Lodge, Mike Pinder, and Ray Thomas ever had dispensed.
It’s a wonder, then, that Seventh Sojourn developed into such a solid
outing, but almost in spite of itself, The Moody Blues’ sheer determination and
collective philosophy — which largely amounted to concern about the state of
human existence and an unshakable belief in the power of love — bound the tracks
into a cohesive whole. Perhaps, the song that best defined the album is the
concluding I'm Just a Singer (In a Rock & Roll Band), an angst-filled and
edgy tune that deals directly with the tension that surrounded the group,
although there were plenty of other worthwhile moments, too. On When You’re a
Free Man, Pinder offered a dirge-like follow-up to Thomas’ more playful Legend a Mind, while Lodge relays a cautionary commentary tale on the
brevity of life and the regrets that can fill it. Elsewhere, Hayward reflected
upon the death of his father as well as the birth of his daughter during New
Horizons, and Pinder encapsulated the turbulence surrounding the Vietnam War
during Lost in a Lost World. Granted, the group’s biggest deficiency —
its sometimes overwrought sentiments and pedestrian lyrics disguised as highbrow
poetry — began to peek around the edges of its compositions, but the
multifaceted music with its grand, majestic eloquence succeeded in
counterbalancing these flaws — a notion that also serves to pinpoint precisely
where the band’s post-Long Distance Voyager material has gone so horribly
wrong.
Given the difference between Days of Future Passed and Seventh
Sojourn, it’s not surprising that the DTS-encoded, surround sound rendition
of the outings would be approached from different perspectives. Where the former
reconfiguration enhanced the theatricality of the original production, the
latter effort has had its textural dimensionality significantly embellished. On
For My Lady, for example, the vocals during the chorus seem to trail one
another ever so slightly; a piano accompaniment wisps through Lost in a Lost
World as the haunted backing vocals flutter in the distance like ghosts;
You and Me’s squiggly bass pattern is brought to the forefront; When
You’re a Free Man is transformed into a dark and biting blues excursion; and
Isn’t Life Strange is stretched into a sonic cosmos as drums explode like
distant suns. Indeed, throughout the updated version of Seventh Sojourn,
a greater emphasis is placed upon the percussion, which, of course, is fitting
considering how important a role Edge’s accompaniments played in setting the
rock-oriented mood for the album. In essence, by raising the profile of the
underlying rhythm and utilizing it as a focal point around which the rest of the
instrumentation can revolve, The Moody Blues’ more simplified material
inevitably becomes all the more interesting.  ½
Editor's Note: This surround sound DTS edition of Seventh Sojourn will play
on any DTS-capable DVD Player when connected to a DTS-capable receiver. DTS comes built into most modern home theater receivers and DVD players on the
market.
Seventh Sojourn [DTS Edition] is available
from Amazon.com. To order, Click Here!
For Canadian orders, please
Click Here!
For UK orders, please
Click Here!
Seventh Sojourn [Remastered Stereo Edition] is available
from Amazon.com. To order, Click Here!
For Canadian orders, please
Click Here!
For UK orders, please
Click Here!
Ratings
1 Star: Pitiful
2 Stars: Listenable
3 Stars: Respectable
4 Stars: Excellent
5 Stars: Can't Live Without It!!
Copyright © 2005
The Music Box
|
