Notes & Personnel Info |  | The Moody Blues: Ray Thomas (harmonica); Mike Pinder (keyboards); John Lodge (bass instrument); Graeme Edge (percussion); Justin Hayward. | | Personnel: Justin Hayward, John Lodge (vocals, guitar); Ray Thomas (vocals, flute); Michael Pinder (vocals, keyboards); Graeme Edge (drums). | | Audio Remasterers: Justin Hayward; Paschal Byrne; Alberto Parodi; Steven Fallone. | | Liner Note Author: John Reed. | | Recording information: 11/04/1970-11/09/1970. | | Illustrator: Phil Travers. | | Photographer: Barry Plummer. | | Unknown Contributor Roles: John Lodge; Ray Thomas; Graeme Edge; Michael Pinder. | | The best-realized of their classic albums, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour was also the last of the group's albums for almost a decade to be done under reasonably happy and satisfying circumstances -- for the last time with this lineup, they went into the studio with a reasonably full song bag and a lot of ambition and brought both as far as time would allow, across close to four months (interrupted by a tour of the United States right in the middle). Virtually everywhere you listen on this record, the lush melodies and the sound of Michael Pinder's Mellotron (augmented here by the Moog synthesizer and a brace of other instruments) just sweep over the music, and where they don't, Justin Hayward's guitar pyrotechnics on pieces like "The Story in Your Eyes" elevate the hard rocking side of the music, in tandem with John Lodge's muscular bass work -- which still leaves plenty of room for a cello here, and a grand piano there, on top of Ray Thomas' flute, and Graeme Edge's ever more ambitious percussion. "Emily's Song." "Nice to Be Here," and "My Song" are among the best work the group ever did, and "The Story in Your Eyes" is the best rock number they ever cut, with a bracing beat and the kind of lyrical complexity one more expected out of George Harrison at the time. Sad to say, the group would never be this happy with an album again -- at least not for a lot of years -- or with their commitment to being a group, though they would leave one more highly worthwhile album before taking a hiatus for most of the rest of the 1970s. ~ Bruce Eder | | Though this 1971 release was issued at a time of enormous commercial success for the Moody Blues, EVERY GOOD BOY DESERVES FAVOUR contains some of the band's most adventurous music. The band had recently discovered the Moog synthesizer, and its presence is felt on much of the album. The opening "Procession" instantly sets this collection's experimental course, landing like a spacecraft among reams of cascading synthesizer before evolving into a soundscape of cricket chirps, thunderclaps, and tribal chanting. The next three minutes contain one of the most cathartic sonic explorations the band has ever put forth. | | Other standout tracks include "After You Came," which features tessellated vocal layering and bluesy guitar work; "Emily," a song that John Lodge wrote for his daughter; and the rapturously symphonic "You Can Never Go Home." Rich, complex, powerful, and beautifully produced, EVERY GOOD BOY DESERVES FAVOUR brings together all of the Moody Blues' best qualities in one album, standing as the culmination of their fine '60s work, and the standard-bearer for the music to come. |
Producer: Tony Clarke; Tony Clarke |
Engineer: Derek Varnals |
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