From The Pit To The Album: The Moody Blues – In Search of the Lost Chord 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition Review

 

The Moody Blues are one of the shining stars of the original British invasion of musical acts to the United States back in the 1960s. Their music captured people’s hearts and minds over the airwaves during the 1960s and into the early 1970s before they took a hiatus and only to come back even stronger in the late 1970s to our current present day. It’s hard to find someone who doesn’t know the anthemic “Nights In White Satin”, “Tuesday Afternoon”, or “Your Wildest Dream”. With over 70 million albums sold worldwide, 18 Gold and Platinum certifications, and inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018, The Moody Blues music found a way to connect with fans of both rock and pop to become one of the most successful British acts still active today.

On July 26, 1968 the band released their third album ‘In Search of the Lost Chord’ through Deram. The concept album focused on spiritual and philosophical concerns during what some would define as the psychedelic era. Instead of using an orchestra to accompany them, the band decided to experiment and play with various instruments including the Mellotron, sitar, flute, cello, and tabla for their recordings. The album was a huge success peaking at #5 on the UK Albums Chart and peaking at #23 on the U.S. Billboard 200. Two singles were released from the album, “Voices in the Sky” released on July 28, 1968, and “Ride My See-Saw” released on October 12, 1968.

50 years later and a few months later, on November 2, 2018,  The Moody Blues released a 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition of ‘In Search of the Lost Chord’. The Deluxe edition is a 3 CD/2 DVD set that includes the original album, a stereo remix of the album, bonus and unreleased tracks, plus tracks from BBC One radio DJ John Peel’s ‘Top Gear’ and ‘Afternoon Pop Sessions’. The 1st DVD is an audio 96kHz/24 bit 5.1 Surround of the original and new stereo remix of ‘In Search of the Lost Chord’. The 2nd DVD includes visual recordings of BBC TV ‘Colour Me Pop: In Search of the Lost Chord’ (September 14,1968); ‘Ce Soir On Danse: The Moody Blues’ ORTF French TV (July 13, 1968, previously unreleased) and ‘Carte d’Or’ ORTF French TV (October 29, 1968, previously unreleased). The Deluxe edition also includes a 76-page book of sleevenotes, rare photos of the band and memorabilia. This release also has a standard and limited edition vinyl edition available.

I had the opportunity to listen to the CD version of the album. The original recordings still stand strong 50 years later. Some of my favorites from this album included the single “Ride My See-Saw”, “Dr. Livingstone, I Presume”, and “House of Four Doors”. The stereo remixes are even better. The instrumental and vocal clarity is quite impressive for tracks that are 50 years old. I personally appreciated the BBC One ‘Top Gear’ Session tracks to hear them perform in a more intimate setting. They even performed “Tuesday Afternoon” from their previous album ‘Days of Future Passed’. The Mecca Studio remixes I found unique to include. For example, the alternate remix of “Legend of the Mind” didn’t seem too much different than the stereo remix or original track outside of clarity of the vocals and instrumentation. On the other hand, the Mecca Studio remix of “The Word” listed as the Mellotron mix I found much better than the original and stereo remix. The Mellotron track was raised much higher, which I felt gave more emphasis to the vocals spoken on the album. This should have been the version on the original album. And the full version of “What Am I Doing Here?” is a nice added bonus.

‘In Search of a Lost Chord: 50th Anniversary Deluxe Edition’ is a gem for any fan of The Moody Blues. Those who own the original album will appreciate the remixed version of the songs. Those who don’t own the album will love listening to the original format and comparing it to the new remix. The bonus tracks are also great adds as I truly enjoyed going through them all. The album is available now and you can use this link HERE to order physical, digital, and vinyl copies.