The Moody Blues: A Retrospective (1964-2003)

The Moody Blues A Retrospective: 1964-2003

Overview: The Moody Blues formed in Birmingham, England in 1964. They were originally part of the British beat and R&B scene, rising to prominence with the hit song “Go Now” (#1 UK, #10 US). When founding guitarist Denny Laine and bassist Clint Warwick left in 1966, the band added singer/guitarist Justin Hayward and bassist John Lodge. The new version of the Moodies embraced psychedelia and became a prominent band at the forefront of the progressive rock movement which incorporated rock with classical music. During the ‘70s, the Moody Blues became a consistent presence at classic rock with hits including “Nights in White Satin,” “Tuesday Afternoon,” “Ride My See Saw,” “Question,” “The Story in Your Eyes,” and “I’m Just a Singer in a Rock and Roll Band.” In the ‘80s, the band maintained a core audience at album rock radio with more synth-driven fare including “The Voice,” “Gemini Dream,” “Your Wildest Dreams,” and “I Know You’re Out There Somewhere.” They only released two albums in the ‘90s and only one more after that, 2003’s December. They have sold 70 million albums worldwide. The Players Rodney Clarke (bass/vocals: 1966). Died 2025. Graeme Edge (drums: 1964-2018). Died 2021. Justin Hayward (vocals/guitar: 1966-2018) Denny Laine (guitar/vocals: 1964-66). Died 2023. John Lodge (bass/guitar/vocals: 1966-2018). Died 2025. Patrick Moraz (keyboards: 1978-91) Mike Pinder (keyboards/vocals: 1964-78). Died 2024. Ray Thomas (flute/harmonica/sax/percussion: 1964-2002). Died 2018. Clint Warwick (bass/vocals: 1964-66). Died 2004. Links DMDB encyclopedia entry for The Moody Blues MoodyBluesToday (official site) Facebook Wikipedia

Awards

Compilations PL Prelude (archives: 1967-68, released 1987) TM This Is the Moody Blues (1967-72, released 1974) OW Out of This World (1967-78, released 1979) V-UK Voices in the Sky: The Best of (UK version, 1967-81, released 1984) V-US Voices in the Sky: The Best of (US version, 1967-83, released 1985) VB The Very Best of (1964-88, released 1996) AN Anthology (1964-91, released 1998) Under each album snapshot, songs featured on the anthologies are noted. If the song charted, the date of the song’s release or first chart appearance and its chart peaks are noted in parentheses. Click for codes to charts. Spotify Playlist Check out my Spotify playlist The Moody Blues 1964-2003 which includes all of the songs from the above collections plus additional material.

The Magnificent Moodies/Go Now (1965): Steal Your Heart Away *** (Sept. ’64, 48 CL) Go Now (Nov. ’64, 10 BB, 6 CB, 6 GR, 8 HR, 4 Cl, 11 UK, 2 CN, 12 AU, 20 DF) VB, AN I Don’t Want to Go on Without You ** (3/6/65, 43 CL, 33 UK) From the Bottom of My Heart I Love You ** (6/5/65, 93 BB, 70 CB, 82 HR, 35 CL, 22 UK, 23 CN) Everyday *** (11/20/65, 44 CL, 44 UK) Stop! * (2/12/66, 98 BB, 93 CB, 89 HR, 45 CL, 88 CN) This Is My House But Nobody Calls *** (9/5/66) Life’s Not Life *** (1/13/67) * only on The Magnificent Moodies ** only on Go Now *** only on the 50th anniversary edition of The Magnificent Moodies The original album, The Magnificent Moodies, was released in the UK. A reworked version was released in the U.S. as Go Now. A 50th anniversary reissue included all of the songs from both versions plus additional material. Days of Future Passed (deluxe version, 1967/2017): Fly Me High (5/5/67) PR I Really Haven’t Got the Time (B-side of “Fly Me High,” 5/5/67) PR Long Summer Days * (recorded 5/19/67) PR Please Think About It * (recorded 6/29/67) PR Love and Beauty (10/1/67) PR Leave This Man Alone (B-side of “Love and Beauty,” 10/1/67) PR Cities (B-side of “Nights in White Satin,” 11/10/67) PR These songs were added to the 2017, 3-disc 50th anniversary edition of Days of Future Passed. They were also all featured on the 1987 Prelude archival collection. * First appeared on Caught Live + 5 (1977). Days of Future Passed (1967): Nights in White Satin (11/10/67, 2 BB, 1 CB, 1 GR, 1 HR, 37 AC, 1 CL, 9 UK, 1 CN, 8 AU, 1 DF) TM, OW, V-UK, V-US, GH, VB, AN Tuesday Afternoon (6/29/68, 24 BB, 26 CB, 7 GR, 27 HR, 5 CL, 12 CN, 4 DF) TM, OW, GH, VB, AN Late Lament (19 DF) PR, TM, AN Check out the DMDB page for this album here. In Search of the Lost Chord (1968): King and Queen * (recorded 2/13/68) PR Gimme a Little Somethin’ * (recorded 3/17/68) PR Voices in the Sky (6/28/68, 43 CL, 27 UK) OW, VB, AN Ride My See Saw (12/12/68, 61 BB, 50 CB, 21 GR, 46 HR, 6 CL, 42 UK, 33 CN, 5 DF) TM, OW, V-UK, V-US, GH, VB, AN Legend of a Mind (10 CL, 22 DF) TM, AN Dr. Livingstone, I Presume The Actor TM The Word TM A Simple Game * (B-side of “Ride My See Saw,” 10/12/68) PR, TM What Am I Doing Here? * (recorded 11/17/68) PR * These songs were first featured on Caught Live + 5 (1977), later added to the archival collection Prelude (1987), and included on the 50th anniversary edition of In Search of the Lost Chord.

Prelude The Moody Blues

Recorded: 1967-1968 Released: October 26, 1987 Peak: -- Sales (in millions): -- Genre: progressive rock

Tracks: (1) Fly Me High (2) I Really Haven’t Got the Time (3) Leave This Man Alone (4) Love and Beauty (5) Cities (6) A Simple Game (7) Gimme a Little Somethin’ (8) Please Think About It (9) Long Summer Days (10) King and Queen (11) What Am I Doing Here? (12) Late Lament About the Album: This archival collection gathers songs never released on a studio album before except “Late Lament” from Days of Future Passed. Four of the songs are singles and B-sides from before that album was released. Five cuts originally appeared on the 1977 Caught Live + 5 album. “Cities” and “A Simple Game” were B-sides for “Nights in White Satin” and “Ride My See Saw” respectively.

On the Threshold of a Dream (1969): Never Comes the Day (4/2/69, 91 BB, 90 CB, 89 HR, 25 CL, 74 CN) TM, V-UK, AN Dear Diary TM In the Beginning TM Lovely to See You TM, OW, AN The Dream TM Have You Ever Heard, Part 1 TM The Voyage TM Have You Ever Heard, Part 2 TM To Our Children’s Children’s Children (1969): Eyes of a Child (20 CL, 31 DF) TM, OW Watching and Waiting (10/31/69) TM, AN Floating OW Gypsy (Of a Strange and Distant Time) (26 CL) AN Candle of Life AN A Question of Balance (1970): Question (4/24/70, 21 BB, 19 CB, 14 GR, 19 HR, 4 CL, 2 UK, ,8 CN, 36 AU, 5 DF) TM, OW, V-UK, V-US, GH, VB, AN Melancholy Man (26 DF) TM, OW, AN And the Tide Rushes In (36 DF) TM Every Good Boy Deserve Favor (1971): The Story in Your Eyes (Aug. ’71, 23 BB, 14 CB, 10 GR, 16 HR, 6 CL, 7 CN, 68 AU, 11 DF) TM, OW, GH, VB, AN After You Came V-UK Seventh Sojourn (1972): Isn’t Life Strange (4/15/72, 29 BB, 20 CB, 24 GR, 23 HR, 8 CL, 13 UK, 9 CN, 39 AU, 5 DF) TM, OW, V-UK, V-US, GH, VB, AN I’m Just a Singer in a Rock and Roll Band (1/20/73, 12 BB, 8 CB, 12 GR, 10 HR, 6 CL, 36 UK, 39 AU, 4 DF) TM, OW, V-UK, V-US, GH, VB, AN New Horizons TM, OW For My Lady TM Lost in a Lost World AN Blue Jays (Justin Hayward & John Lodge, 1975): Remember Me, My Friends AN Blue Guitar (Sept. ’75) VB, AN Forever Autumn (July ’78) VB, AN Only “Remember Me, My Friends” was on the Blue Jays album. “Blue Guitar” was just released as a single but later added to reissues of the album. “Forever Autumn” is a solo song from Justin Hayward which was featured on Jeff Wayne’s War of the Worlds (1978).

This Is the Moody Blues The Moody Blues

Recorded: 1967-1972 Released: October 8, 1974 Peak: 11 US, 14 UK, 2 CN, -- AU, 14 DF Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, 0.1 UK, 0.6 world (includes US and UK) Genre: progressive rock Rating: 4.460 out of 5.00 (average of 11 ratings)

Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

Tracks, Disc 1: (1) Question (2) The Actor (3) The Word (4) Eyes of a Child (5) Dear Diary (6) Legend of a Mind (7) In the Beginning (8) Lovely to See You (9) Never Comes the Day (10) Isn’t Life Strange (11) The Dream (12) Have You Heard? (Part 1) (13) The Voyage (14) Have You Heard? (Part 2) Tracks, Disc 2: (1) Ride My See Saw (2) Tuesday Afternoon (3) And the Tide Rushes In (4) New Horizons (5) A Simple Game (6) Watching and Waiting (7) I’m Just a Singer in a Rock and Roll Band (8) For My Lady (9) The Story in Your Eyes (10) Melancholy Man (11) Nights in White Satin (12) Late Lament About the Album: After releasing seven studio albums from 1967 to 1972, the Moody Blues went on hiatus for six years. During that time, they released this two-disc anthology.

Octave (1978): Steppin’ in a Slide Zone (May ’78, 39 BB, 46 CB, 52 HR, 16 CL, 41 CN, 78 AU) OW, VB, AN Driftwood (Oct. ’78, 59 BB, 68 CB, 85 HR, 38 AC, 19 CL, 60 CN, 11 DF) OW, V-UK, V-US, AN

Out of This World The Moody Blues

Recorded: 1967-1978 Released: October 22, 1979 Peak: -- US, 15 UK, -- CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.10 UK Genre: progressive rock Rating: 3.165 out of 5.00 (average of 7 ratings)

Tracks: (1) Nights in White Satin (2) Question (3) Ride My See-Saw (4) Tuesday Afternoon (5) The Story in Your Eyes (6) Isn’t Life Strange (7) Steppin’ in a Slide Zone (8) I’m Just a Singer in a Rock and Roll Band (9) Voices in the Sky (10) Floating (11) Eyes of a Child (12) New Horizons (13) Driftwood (14) Lovely to See You (15) Melancholy Man About the Album: This was a UK-only release. It isn’t a bad collection, but Greatest Hits or Very Best of are better choices.

Long Distance Voyager (1981): Gemini Dream (May ’81, 12 BB, 13 CB, 6 GR, 14 HR, 6 RR, 13 AR, 1 CN, 36 AU, 24 DF) V-UK, V-US, GH, VB, AN The Voice (6/6/81, 15 BB, 15 CB, 7 GR, 16 HR, 6 RR, 16 AC, 1 AR, 9 CN, 91 AU, 2 DF) V-UK, V-US, GH, VB, AN Talking Out of Turn (Nov. ’81, 35 CL, 27 CN, 39 DF) V-UK, AN Veteran Cosmic Rocker (48 CL, 29 DF) V-UK, V-US The Present (1983): Blue World (8/20/83, 62 BB, 32 AR, 35 UK, 40 CN) VB, AN Sitting at the Wheel (9/2/83, 27 BB, 30 CB, 19 GR, 22 RR, 3 AR, 18 CN, 16 DF) V-US, AN Running Water (Mar. ’84)

Voices in the Sky The Moody Blues

Recorded: 1967-1983 Released: 11/21/84 (UK), 6/21/85 (US) Peak: 132 US, -- UK, 91 CN, -- AU, 3 DF Sales (in millions): -- US, -- UK, -- world (includes US and UK) Genre: progressive rock Rating: 4.037 out of 5.00 (average of 11 ratings)

Tracks (UK version): (1) Ride My See-Saw (2) Talking Out of Turn (3) Driftwood (4) Never Comes the Day (5) I’m Just a Singer in a Rock and Roll Band (6) Gemini Dream (7) The Voice (8) After You Came (9) Question (10) Veteran Cosmic Rocker (11) Isn’t Life Strange (12) Nights in White Satin Tracks (U.S. version): (1) The Voice (2) Question (3) Veteran Cosmic Rocker (4) Isn’t Life Strange (5) Nights in White Satin (6) Ride My See-Saw (7) Driftwood (8) Sitting at the Wheel (9) I’m Just a Singer in a Rock and Roll Band (10) Gemini Dream About the Album: This was the first Moodies’ collection to dip into the band’s ‘80s output, covering songs from 1981’s Long Distance Voyager and, on the U.S. version, 1983’s The Present.

The Other Side of Life (1986): Your Wildest Dreams (4/19/86, 9 BB, 10 CB, 14 GR, 11 RR, 1 AC, 2 AR, 55 CN, 20 AU, 1 DF) GH, VB, AN The Other Side of Life (6/7/86, 58 BB, 18 AC, 11 AR, 80 AU, 8 DF) GH, AN Rock and Roll Over You (9 DF) Sur La Mer (1988): I Know You’re Out There Somewhere (6/4/88, 30 BB, 40 CB, 32 GR, 36 RR, 9 AC, 2 AR, 52 UK, 15 CN, 37 AU, 9 DF) GH, VB, AN Here Comes the Weekend (9/3/88, 50 AR) No More Lies (10/29/88, 15 AC)

Greatest Hits The Moody Blues

Recorded: 1967-1988 Released: November 21, 1989 Peak: 113 US, 71 UK, -- CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, -- UK Genre: progressive rock Rating: 4.228 out of 5.00 (average of 11 ratings)

Tracks: (1) Your Wildest Dreams (2) The Voice (3) Gemini Dream (4) The Story in Your Eyes (5) Tuesday Afternoon (6) Isn’t Life Strange (7) Nights in White Satin / Late Lament (8) I Know You’re Out There Somewhere (9) The Other Side of Life (10) Ride My See-Saw (11) I’m Just a Singer in a Rock and Roll Band (12) Question (1988 version) About the Album: This is a seemingly unnecessary collection given the glut of compilations from Moody Blues up to this point. However, this is the first set to feature “Your Wildest Dreams” and “I Know You’re Out There Somewhere.” Still, one is better going with 1996’s The Very Best of if, for no other reason, it features the original version of “Question” instead of the 1988 re-recording featured here.

The Very Best of The Moody Blues

Recorded: 1964-1988 Released: September 3, 1996 Peak: -- US, 13 UK, -- CN, -- AU Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.30 UK Genre: progressive rock Rating: 4.238 out of 5.00 (average of 14 ratings)

Tracks: (1) Go Now (2) Tuesday Afternoon (3) Nights in White Satin (4) Ride My See-Saw (5) Voices in the Sky (6) Question (7) The Story in Your Eyes (8) Isn’t Life Strange (9) I’m Just a Singer in a Rock and Roll Band (10) Blue Guitar (11) Steppin’ in a Slide Zone (12) Forever Autumn (13) The Voice (14) Gemini Dream (15) Blue World (16) Your Wildest Dreams (17) I Know You’re Out There Somewhere About the Album: This was also released as The Best of. Of the single-disc anthologies highlighted on this page, this one is the best bet with 17 cuts covering the widest swath of the band’s career. It also is presented chronologically, which is important for a group who changed their sound enough over the years to make non-chronological sets more jarring.

Keys of the Kingdom (1991): Say It with Love (6/22/91, 31 AC, 22 AR, 36 CN, 26 DF) AN Bless the Wings That Bring You Back (Aug. ’91) AN Highway * AN * recorded during the sessions for Keys of the Kingdom but not released until 1994 on the Time Traveller box set.

Anthology The Moody Blues

Recorded: 1964-1991 Released: October 20, 1998 Peak: -- Sales (in millions): -- Genre: progressive rock Rating: 3.928 out of 5.00 (average of 10 ratings)

Tracks, Disc 1: (1) Go Now (2) Tuesday Afternoon (3) Nights in White Satin / Late Lament (4) Ride My See-Saw (5) Legend of a Mind (6) Voices in the Sky (7) Lovely to See You (8) Never Comes the Day (9) Gypsy (Of a Strange and Distant Time) (10) Candle of Life (11) Watching and Waiting (12) Question (13) Melancholy Man (14) The Story in Your Eyes (15) Lost in a Lost World (16) Isn’t Life Strange (17) I’m Just a Singer in a Rock and Roll Band Tracks, Disc 2: (1) Remember Me My Friend (2) Blue Guitar (3) Steppin’ in a Slide Zone (4) Driftwood (5) Forever Autumn (6) The Voice (7) Talking Out of Turn (8) Gemini Dream (9) Blue World (10) Sitting at the Wheel (11) Your Wildest Dreams (12) The Other Side of Life (13) I Know You’re Out There Somewhere (14) Say It with Love (15) Bless the Wings That Bring You Back (16) Highway About the Album: For fans looking for more than a single-disc anthology, this is absolutely the way to go. The selection and chronological presentation is well done.

Strange Times (1999): English Sunset (8/17/99) December (2003): December Snow (Nov. ’03)

Resources/References: Wikipedia page for The Moody Blues Related DMDB Links: First posted 5/11/2026.