I was a fan of the early Moody Blues when I was just a little kid. Even before I learned to speak English, I was a huge fan of American/British popular music. My mom was a ardent Elvis fan, even when we lived in the wilds of British Columbia (until 1960).
In those days, the Moodies were an R&B outfit — white and British (c. Them, The Animals, early Stones, et al.).
In 1967, they reformed, added a couple of new players, and became the New Agey band that many of us remember (and perhaps contemn). Highlight: 1967's Days of Future Past, which included such tunes as "Tuesday Afternoon," "Nights in White Satin," and "Dawn is a Feeling."
I was a huge fan then, too, and I twice saw them in concert, always at the LA Forum, a shitty venue. But I lost interest starting about 1970, when the Moodies got too flaky and New Agey even for the young Roy Bauer. (I still listen to "Watching and Waiting," however. Most excellent.)
Owing to my academic training, I eventually adopted a hardcore "skeptical" perspective re things New Agey and, um, spiritual. Still, some of this music remains swoon worthy for me.
Waddya gonna do?
(Oddly, some of my favorite music is devoutly religious. Who can fail to love Big Star's "Jesus Christ" or Joan Osborne's "One of Us"?)
Gotta love that crazy front woman and her over-the-top singing/shredding.
She's like a cross between Buffy St. Marie and Angus Young. Always worth watching. In interviews, she's seriously surly. Cool.
