In Search of the Lost Chord

In Search of the Lost Chord
Studio album by The Moody Blues
Released 26 July 1968
Recorded January – June 1968 at Decca Studios, West Hampstead, London
Genre Progressive rock, psychedelic rock
Length 42:07
Label Deram
Producer Tony Clarke
The Moody Blues chronology
Days of Future Passed
(1967)		 In Search of the Lost Chord
(1968)		 On the Threshold of a Dream
(1969)
Singles from In Search of the Lost Chord
  1. "Voices in the Sky"
    Released: 28 June 1968
  2. "Ride My See-Saw"
    Released: 12 October 1968
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Rolling Stone(average)[2]

In Search of the Lost Chord is the third album by The Moody Blues, released in 1968 through Deram Records.

Content and style

In Search of the Lost Chord is a concept album around a broad theme of quest and discovery, including world exploration ("Dr. Livingstone, I Presume"), music and philosophy through the ages ("House of Four Doors"), lost love ("The Actor"), spiritual development ("Voices in the Sky"), knowledge in a changing world ("Ride My See-Saw"), higher consciousness ("Legend of a Mind"), imagination ("The Best Way to Travel"), and space exploration ("Departure"). Space exploration would go on to become the theme of the Moodies' 1969 album To Our Children's Children's Children, inspired by and dedicated to the Apollo 11 mission. The mysterious "lost chord" of the title is revealed to be the mantra "Om" (in the last stanza of Graeme Edge's poem "The Word").

According to keyboardist Mike Pinder, the title was inspired by Jimmy Durante's humorous song, "I'm the Guy that Found the Lost Chord," itself a reference to The Lost Chord by Sir Arthur Sullivan.[3]

After using the London Festival Orchestra for the interludes (but not the songs) on Days of Future Passed, the Moody Blues played all instruments themselves - approximately 33 - on In Search of the Lost Chord. Indian instruments such as the sitar (played by guitarist Justin Hayward), the tambura (played by keyboardist Mike Pinder) and the tabla (played by drummer and percussionist Graeme Edge) made audio appearances on several tracks (notably "Departure", "Visions of Paradise" and "Om"). Other unconventional (for the Moodies) instruments were also used, notably the oboe (played by percussionist/flute player Ray Thomas) and the cello (played by bassist John Lodge, who tuned it as a bass guitar). The mellotron, played by Pinder, produced many string and horn embellishments.

Sessions for the album commenced in January 1968 with the recording of Thomas's "Legend of a Mind". The song's title does not appear in the lyrics, which are about LSD advocate Timothy Leary.

Having already experimented with spoken word interludes on "Morning Glory" and "Late Lament" on Days of Future Passed, the Moody Blues tried the practice again on In Search of the Lost Chord, on the Graeme Edge-penned pieces "Departure" and "The Word". The latter was recited by Pinder, who was the primary reciter of Edge's poems on this and other Moody Blues albums. "Departure", which escalates from mumbling to hysterical laughter, is a rare studio example of Edge reciting his own words.

In Search of the Lost Chord peaked at #23 on the US album charts upon its release in July 1968.[4] It reached #5 in the UK. Neither of the two singles from the album, "Ride My See-Saw" nor "Voices in the Sky", charted in the top 40 on the Billboard charts, although the latter reached #27 on the UK singles chart.

In March 2006 the album was remastered into SACD format and repackaged as a two-CD Deluxe Edition.

In 2008 a remaster for single standard audio CD was issued with the nine bonus tracks.

In the Q and Mojo Classic Special Edition Pink Floyd & The Story of Prog Rock, the album came #37 in its list of "40 Cosmic Rock Albums".[5]

Original Track Listing

Side One

  1. "Departure" (Graeme Edge) – 0:44 (Narrator: Graeme Edge)
  2. "Ride My See-Saw" (John Lodge) – 3:38 (Lead singers: John Lodge, Ray Thomas, Justin Hayward, Mike Pinder)
  3. "Dr. Livingstone, I Presume" (Ray Thomas) – 2:58 (lead singer: Ray Thomas)
  4. "House of Four Doors" (Lodge) – 4:13 (Lead singer: John Lodge)
  5. "Legend of a Mind" (Thomas) – 6:37 (Lead singer: Ray Thomas)
  6. "House of Four Doors" (Part 2) (Lodge) – 1:42 (Lead singer: John Lodge)

Side Two

  1. "Voices in the Sky" (Justin Hayward) – 3:30 (Lead singer: Justin Hayward)
  2. "The Best Way to Travel" (Mike Pinder) – 3:12 (Lead singer: Mike Pinder)
  3. "Visions of Paradise" (Hayward, Thomas) – 4:15 (Lead singer: Justin Hayward)
  4. "The Actor" (Hayward) – 4:39 (Lead singer: Justin Hayward)
  5. "The Word" (Edge) – 0:49 (Narrator: Mike Pinder)
  6. "Om" (Pinder) – 5:47 (Lead singers: Mike Pinder, Ray Thomas)

2006 SACD Deluxe Edition bonus tracks

In Search of the Lost Chord was remastered into SACD in March 2006 and repackaged into a 2-CD Deluxe Edition. Unlike the other Moody Blues albums released in Deluxe Editions at the time, this did not come with a new 5.1 surround sound mix as the original multitrack masters could not be found.

Extra tracks on the deluxe edition are:

  1. "Departure" (Alternate mix) (Edge) – 0:55
  2. "The Best Way to Travel" (Additional vocal mix) (Pinder) – 4:03
  3. "Legend of a Mind" (Alternate mix) (Thomas) – 6:43
  4. "Visions of Paradise" (Instrumental version) (Hayward, Thomas) – 4:30
  5. "What Am I Doing Here?" (Original version) (Hayward) – 3:53
  6. "The Word" (Mellotron mix) (Edge) – 1:01
  7. "Om" (Extended version) (Pinder) – 6:07
  8. "A Simple Game" (Justin Hayward vocal mix) (Pinder) – 3:26
  9. "King and Queen" (1968 studio recording) (Hayward) – 3:53
  10. "Dr. Livingstone, I Presume" (Thomas) (BBC Top Gear Session 16 July 1968) – 2:57
  11. "Voices in the Sky" (Hayward) (BBC Top Gear Session 16 July 1968) – 3:52
  12. "Thinking is the Best Way to Travel" (Pinder) (BBC Top Gear Session 16 July 1968) – 3:38
  13. "Ride My See-Saw" (Lodge) (BBC Top Gear Session 16 July 1968) – 3:49
  14. "Tuesday Afternoon" (Hayward) (BBC Afternoon Pop Show 7/10/68) – 3:23
  15. "A Simple Game" (1968 single 'B' side) (Pinder) – 3:44

2008 Single Standard CD Remaster bonus tracks

  1. "A Simple Game" (Justin Hayward vocal mix) (Pinder) – 3:26
  2. "The Best Way to Travel" (Additional vocal mix) (Pinder) – 4:03
  3. "Visions of Paradise" (Instrumental version) (Hayward, Thomas) – 4:30
  4. "What Am I Doing Here?" (Original version) (Hayward) – 3:53
  5. "The Word" (Mellotron mix) (Edge) – 1:01
  6. "Om" (Extended Version) (Pinder) – 6:07
  7. "Dr. Livingstone, I Presume" (Thomas) (BBC Top Gear Session 16 July 1968) – 2:57
  8. "Thinking is the Best Way to Travel" (Pinder) (BBC Top Gear Session 16 July 1968) – 3:38
  9. "A Simple Game" (1968 single 'B' side) (Pinder) – 3:44

Personnel

Chart positions

Album

Year Chart Position
1968 UK Albums Chart 5
Billboard 200 23

Singles

Year Single Chart Position
1968 "Voices in the Sky" UK Singles Chart 27
"Ride My See-Saw" UK Singles Chart 42
Billboard Hot 100 61

Notes

  1. ↑ Allmusic review
  2. ↑ Rolling Stone review
  3. ↑ Moody Blues documentary, 2013, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4aCbxoiJBAY
  4. ↑ Joel Whitburn, The Billboard Book of Top 40 Albums, p.214 (revised & enlarged 3rd ed. 1995).
  5. ↑ Q Classic: Pink Floyd & The Story of Prog Rock, 2005.

External links

See also

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