Appena nato e già così promettente. Il brit-pop nel '68 era ancora assai minorenne (tipo mia cugina) ma già sfornava idee a raffica: gli Who, i Beatles, i primissimi Pink Floyd, ecc...
I Moody Blues erano coevi di questi mostri sacri, ma non hanno ottenuto un successo sì ampio e proverbiale (per lo meno fuori dal Regno Unito). Nati come complesso r'n'b ebbero vita travagliata ma scalarono più volte le classifiche. La band subì vari cambi di formazione fino alla line-up composta da Hayward-Pinder-Lodge-Thomas-Edge, una line-up fantastica che verso la fine dei sixties ha dato luce a vari capolavori.
Il primo è sicuramente 'Days Of Future Past', fusione in tempi non sospetti di psichedelia armonie vocali e musica sinfonica, mentre il secondo (e forse più riuscito) s'intitola 'In Search Of The Lost Chord' in cui la vena orchestrale viene accantonata, preferendole un uso quasi pionieristico del mellotron.
Dopo l'intro di dovere per un concept album parte Ride my see-saw, maestosa cavalcata di chitarre e cori che sfondò in tutte le possibili classifiche dell'epoca. Segue Dr. Livingstone, I presume che col suo inizio altalenante anticipa gli Smiths più sarcastici e swing per poi sporcarsi tutta col suono del mellotron. House of four doors parte progressive come non mai, tralasciando però qualsiasi sfogo genialoide e cervellotico, e pian piano si fa sempre più mistica e ariosa. La stessa atmosfera si respira anche nel commosso e giustamente lisergico omaggio a Timothy Leary.
Un altro pezzo in cui si respira tanta ispirazione ed emozione è Voices of the sky, grazie al suo dolce avanzare fu l'ennesimo hit di un gruppo che ben flirtava con chart aperte e spettacolari come mai più negli anni. Il resto del disco è meno memorabile ma non per questo meno solido ed intrigante, a parte a mio avviso la deludente traccia di chiusura Om: i virtuosismi strumentali e la troppo strampalata e strombazzata infatuazione per il folklore e la musica indiana trasformano quello che doveva essere il vertice dell'album in una breve odissea di rara noiosità.
Peccato soltanto che i Moody non abbiano chiuso prima questa piccola pietra miliare della psichedelia.
Elenco tracce testi samples e video
01 Departure (00:44)
Be it sight, sound, smell, or touch,
There's something inside, that we need so much.
The sight of a touch, or the scent of a sound,
Or the strength of an oak, with roots deep in the ground.
The wonder of flowers, to be covered, and then to burst up,
Through tarmac, to the sun again, or to fly to the sun
Without burning a wing; to lie in a meadow
And hear the grass sing; to have all these things
In our memory's hoard, and to use them,
To help us, to find......
02 Ride My See-Saw (03:38)
Ride, ride my see-saw,
Take this place
On this trip
Just for me.
Ride, take a free ride,
Take my place
Have my seat
It's for free.
I worked like a slave for years,
Sweat so hard just to end my fears.
Not to end my life a poor man,
But by now, I know I should have run.
Run, run my last race,
Take my place
Have this number
Of mine.
Run, run like a fire,
Don't you run in
In the lanes
Run for time.
Left school with a first class pass,
Started work but as second class.
School taught one and one is two.
But right now, that answer just ain't true.
Ah ah ah ah, ah ah ah ah, ah ah ah ah ah
Ah ah ah ah, ah ah ah ah, ah ah ah ah ah
My world is spinning around,
Everything is lost that I found.
People run, come ride with me,
Let's find another place that's free.
Ride, ride my see-saw,
Take this place
On this trip
Just for me.
Ride, take a free ride,
Take my place
Have my seat
It's for free.
Ride, my see-saw.
Ride, ride, ride, my see-saw.
Ride, my see-saw...
03 Dr. Livingstone, I Presume (02:58)
Doctor Livingston, I presume,
Stepping out of the jungle gloom
Into the midday sun.
What did you find there?
Did you stand awhile and stare?
Did you meet anyone?
"I've seen butterflies galore,
I've seen people big and small,
I've still not found what I'm looking for."
We're all looking for someone.
We're all looking for someone.
We're all looking for someone.
Captain Scott, you were so bold,
Now you're looking rather cold
Out there in the snow.
What did you find there?
Did you stand awhile and stare?
Did you meet anyone?
"I've seen polar bears and seals,
I've seen giant Antarctic eels,
I've still not found what I'm looking for."
We're all looking for someone.
We're all looking for someone.
We're all looking for someone.
Columbus, where are you bound?
So you think the world is round.
Sailed off in the blue.
What did you find there?
Did you stand awhile and stare?
Did you meet anyone?
"There are Indians by the score
In many places that I saw.
I've still not found what I'm looking for."
We're all looking for someone.
We're all looking for someone.
We're all looking for someone.
05 Legend of a Mind (06:36)
Timothy Leary's dead.
No, no no no, he's outside, looking in.
Timothy Leary's dead.
No, no no no, he's outside, looking in.
He'll fly his astral plane,
Takes you trips around the bay,
Brings you back the same day.
Timothy Leary.
Timothy Leary.
Timothy Leary's dead.
No, no no no, he's outside, looking in.
Timothy Leary's dead.
No, no no no, he's outside, looking in.
He'll fly his astral plane,
Takes you trips around the bay,
Brings you back the same day.
Timothy Leary.
Timothy Leary.
Along the coast you'll hear them boast
About a light they say that shines so clear.
So raise your glass, we'll drink a toast
To the little man who sells you thrills along the pier.
He'll take you up, he'll bring you down,
He'll plant your feet back firmly on the ground.
He flies so high, he swoops so low,
He knows exactly which way he's gonna go.
Timothy Leary.
Timothy Leary.
He'll take you up, he'll bring you down,
He'll plant your feet back on the ground.
He flies so high, he swoops so low.
Timothy Leary.
He'll fly his astral plane,
He'll take you trips around the bay,
He'll bring you back the same day.
Timothy Leary.
Timothy Leary.
Timothy Leary.
Timothy Leary.
Timothy Leary.
08 The Best Way to Travel (03:12)
And you can fly
High as a kite if you want to
Faster than light if you want to
Speeding through the universe
Thinking is the best way to travel
It's all a dream
Light passing by on the screen
And there's you and I on the beam
Speeding through the universe
Thinking is the best way to travel
We ride the waves
Distance is gone, will we find out?
How life bean, will be find out?
Speeding through the universe
Thinking is the best way to travel
And you can fly
High as a kite if you want to
Faster than light if you want to
Speeding through the universe
Thinking is the best way to travel
10 The Actor (04:39)
The curtain rises on the scene
With someone shouting to be free
The play unfolds before my eyes
There stands the actor who is me
The sleeping hours takes us far
From traffic, telephones and fear
Put out your problems with the cat
Escape until a bell you hear
Our reasons are the same
But there's no-one we can blame
For there's nowhere we need go
And the only truth we know comes so easily
The sound I have heard in your hello
Oh, oh, darling, you're almost part of me
Oh, oh, darling, you're all I'll ever see
Ah, ah, ah
It's such a rainy afternoon
No point in going anywhere
The sounds just drift across my room
I wish this feeling I could share
It's such a rainy afternoon
She sits and gazes from her window
Her mind tries to recall his face
The feeling deep inside her grows
Our reasons are the same
But there's no-one we can blame
For there's nowhere we need go
And the only truth we know comes so easily
The sound I have heard in your hello
Oh, oh, darling, you're almost part of me
Oh, oh, darling, you're all I'll ever see
The sound I have heard in your hello
Oh, oh, darling, you're all I'll ever see
Oh, oh, darling, you're almost part of me
Ah, ah, ah
12 Om (05:46)
The rain is on the roof.
Hurry high, butterfly,
As clouds roll past my head.
I know why the skies all cry.
Om. Om. Heaven. Om.
The Earth turns slowly round.
Far away, the distant sound
Is with us everyday.
Can you hear what it says?
Om. Om. Heaven. Om.
-----
The rain is on the roof.
Hurry high, butterfly,
As clouds roll past my head.
I know why the skies all cry.
Om. Om. Heaven. Om.
Carico i commenti... con calma
