Moody Blues - "A Question Of Balance" (1970)

From the research I've done, I've come to the conclusion that this LP is something as rare as an UK original press in my collection. In addition, a cover in mint condition with everything in it that should be there. Sometimes this kind of records are worth some money, and given that I found it very cheap (I paid maybe 4-5 USD ), you can wonder if I've done a brilliant investment. So you can wonder until you play the record. Then, more clearly than I would wish, deep scratches and dents are revealed. So deep that the record practically is unplayable. And so did Markus' retirement insurance fly away into cosmos on its white wings. Dreams are meant to be crushed.

Luckily, I have the album on CD too, so I can enjoy the music anyway. This was Moody Blues' sixth album and when you read about it, it's repeated time and time again that this was a departure from their usual big and lush productions in which they used a lot of overdubbing to create their sound. Instead, this album has a simpler and more basic production and sound, an important reason for this was that the band wanted to play as many songs as possible from the album live. More rockn'roll than psychedelia. Justin Hayward (vocals and guitar) says that "It was like a move from marijuana to alcohol".

Personally I don't think it's such a huge difference between this album and the band's other albums from the same period. In general, I think it's about the same soft and relatively large soundscape, the same sweeping choruses calling for a sing-along, the psychedelic-progressive touch, the same quality to the songs and so on. Certainly a difference can be heard regarding the production, but I don't think it is as great as it appears in information out there.

The opening song Question was Moody Blues first detour into the political landscape inspired by things happening like the Vietnam War. Hayward describes it as a protest song about a world that was beginning to be lost. It starts out like a hot smokin' rock song but a minute into the song it changes shape and suddenly becomes a sweeping, romantic song, and then again ends as a rocker. It was released as a single and became a #1 on the lists.

The album is filled with beautiful songs, and as usual regarding the MB records, a few more boring numbers. Worth mentioning a little extra is the beautiful And The Tide Rushes In, and the equally fine Dawning Is The Day. The semi-neurotic Don't You Feel Small is also really good as well as the sing-along Minstrel's Song. The closing track The Balance is also a nice song whose sweeping, powerful chorus on the theme of spiritual mysticism is a nice contrast to the spoken verses.

Speaking of mysticism, some of the band members held a serious interest in Eastern teachings and practices. During the years they were more and more given different identities - Pinder the impassioned mystic, Lodge the rocker, Edge the poet, Thomas the playful mystic, and Harvard the romantic. Some people began to see them as spiritual guides as much as musicians. The band got tired of this and Lodge wrote the song I'm Just A Singer (In A Rock And Roll Band) as a reaction to this, a song on the later album Seventh Soujourn.

The Moody Blues albums that were created the years 1967-1972 is often called the famous (core) seven, of which A Question Of Balance is one. It's difficult to rank these albums but A Question Of Balance stands up very well in comparison with the others. I discovered the Moody Blues in my adult years and they are one of few new discoveries where I have bought, not the entire discography, it's too big, but still a relatively large number of albums. In my case, all the albums of the mentioned famous seven. For a while, I was pretty hooked on the Moody Blues and I listened to them a lot. I still think they are amazing in their best moments, but as mentioned, every album also hold a few more boring songs. But when I'm in the right mood, I still mention Moody Blues as one of my favorite bands.

In any case, A Question Of Balance is a record I with a good conscience can recommend.

Tracklist

Side A
1. Question 5:40
2. How Is It (We Are Here) 2:48
3. And The Tide Rushes In 2:57
4. Don't You Feel Small 2:40
5. Tortiose And The Hare 3:23

Side B
1. It's Up To You 3:11
2. Minstrel's Song 4:27
3. Dawning Is The Day 4:22
4. Melancholy Man 5:49
5. The Balance 3:33