This Is The Moody Blues is a two LP (later two CDs) compilation album by the Moody Blues, released in late 1974 while the band was on a self-imposed sabbatical. Though all of the songs were previously released on albums (with the exception of "A Simple Game" which was a 1968 B-side), several of them are heard here in distinctly different mixes. Like the Moody Blues albums of the time — but unlike most compilation albums, including later Moody Blues compilations — the songs on this album segue seamlessly, without a gap of silence. On the original LP, this was true of the songs on each side; when the album was remastered for CD, each disc was also blended, so that "Legend of a Mind" segues into "In The Beginning", and "Watching and Waiting" segues into "I'm Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band)". The album is particularly notable for being the first release to provide a separate name for "Late Lament", the symphonic coda and spoken poem that closes "Nights in White Satin". This Is the Moody Blues was a commercial and critical success, reaching #14 in the United Kingdom and #11 in the United States before 1974 was out. This Is The Moody Blues is a two LP (later two CDs) compilation album by the Moody Blues, released in late 1974 while the band was on a self-imposed sabbatical. Though all of the songs were previously released on albums (with the exception of "A Simple Game" which was a 1968 B-side), several of them are heard here in distinctly different mixes. Like the Moody Blues albums of the time — but unlike most compilation albums, including later Moody Blues compilations — the songs on this album segue seamlessly, without a gap of silence. On the original LP, this was true of the songs on each side; when the album was remastered for CD, each disc was also blended, so that "Legend of a Mind" segues into "In The Beginning", and "Watching and Waiting" segues into "I'm Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band)". The album is particularly notable for being the first release to provide a separate name for "Late Lament", the symphonic coda and spoken poem that closes "Nights in White Satin". This Is the Moody Blues was a commercial and critical success, reaching #14 in the United Kingdom and #11 in the United States before 1974 was out. false 2022-11-04 04:17:44 10 1974 1974-01-01 1974-01-01 47 Classic Rock Folk Rock Progressive Rock Psychedelic Rock Rock Soft Rock 111727 2326133 2b622bba-a43d-4bee-bbd5-562ccbefa1b2 774666d2-2064-4d6c-856c-f8cda0aaf9f0 422528e0-fe62-366b-95eb-34838b34e44f /media/data/media5/Music/The Moody Blues/This Is The Moody Blues (1974)/12 Vinyl 01/folder.jpg The Moody Blues AlbumArtist The Moody Blues Artist The Moody Blues The Moody Blues 1 05:39 2 04:08 3 00:51 4 02:35 5 03:46 6 06:35 7 02:04 8 02:34 9 04:39 10 05:32 11 00:51 12 01:22 13 04:09 14 02:09 The Moody Blues were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in May 1964. The band initially consisted of drummer Graeme Edge, guitarist and vocalist Denny Laine, keyboardist and vocalist Mike Pinder, multi-instrumentalist and vocalist Ray Thomas, and bassist and vocalist Clint Warwick, with Edge being the group's sole continuous member throughout their entire history. Originally part of the British beat and R&B scene of the early–mid 1960s, the band came to prominence with the UK No. 1 and US Top 10 single "Go Now" in late 1964/early 1965. Laine and Warwick left the band by the end of 1966, being replaced by guitarist and vocalist Justin Hayward and bassist and vocalist John Lodge. They embraced the psychedelic rock movement of the late 1960s, with their second album, 1967's Days of Future Passed, being a fusion of rock with classical music (performed with the London Festival Orchestra) that established the band as pioneers in the development of art rock and progressive rock. It has been described as a "landmark" and "one of the first successful concept albums".The group released six more albums and toured extensively until they went on hiatus in 1974. Their records from this period were among the most successful in the progressive rock genre and produced FM radio hits such as "Nights in White Satin" (1967; charting again in 1972), "Tuesday Afternoon" (1968), "Question" (1970), "The Story in Your Eyes" (1971), "Isn't Life Strange" (1972), and "I'm Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band)" (1973). After resuming activities in 1977, Pinder left the following year and was replaced by Swiss keyboardist Patrick Moraz, formerly of Yes. In the 1980s they took on a more synth-pop sound, having hits with "Gemini Dream" (1981), "The Voice" (1981), "Your Wildest Dreams" (1986) and "I Know You're Out There Somewhere" (1988). "Your Wildest Dreams" made the Moody Blues the first act to earn each of its first three Top 10 singles in the United States in three different decades. Moraz departed in 1991 followed by Thomas in 2002; Thomas died in 2018. The band's last studio album was the Christmas album December (2003), after which they decided against recording any further studio albums. However, they continued to tour throughout the 2000s and later reunited periodically for events, one-off concerts, short tours and cruises, until Edge's retirement in 2018; he died in 2021. The Moody Blues have sold 70 million albums worldwide, including 18 platinum and gold LPs. They produced 16 studio albums, six of which made the US Top 20 (with two reaching No. 1) and eight of which made the UK Top 20 (with three reaching No. 1) In 2018, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, for "over 50 years of exhilarating and significant music that has influenced countless musicians and rocked fans around the world." 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