The Middle will be a wonder…
The Moody Blues create music you cannot approach casually. Yes, they have amazing – well everything – but it forces me to think — hard — wonder about things. Even the album title puts you in a different place – like today’s – To Our Children’s Children’s, Children. Those don’t exist for me – yet – but I can see them from here as a Grandfather of 4. It changes your stance on many things – wondering what you are leaving for the grandkids 9 to 5… that will go to their children. A good friend and I were talking about where the world is, what we have contributed to that, and how we can change it – for the better…
Another key member of the Moody’s is Ray Thomas, whose flute solo in Nights of White Satin introduced a new rock sound. His father encouraged him to play the harmonica, and he loved singing harmony in youth choirs across Birmingham. In different pairings, he was in early bands with Lodge, Pinder, and Edge, ultimately founding the Moody’s with Pinder. After the original bass player and singer left, he helped recruit Lodge to replace him, and with the addition of Hayward, the core elements of The Moody Blues were in place. Watching Justin write songs, Ray became a cornerstone of the writing of many songs – nearly 30 with multiple collaborators, including today’s with Justin.
… blending different voices and styles…
This album was lushly produced, with multiple overdubs of instruments, and built their reputation for well-constructed and recorded masterpieces. Influenced by the Apollo 11 landing, it included a rocket launch as the initial song on the album. Focusing on exploration, it also was the most personal and introspective, almost dark, of Moody’s albums. Continuing their success on the charts, they slowly gathered a following in the US. They even sold out Madison Square Garden for 2 shows, back to back, on the same day – earning them the Golden Ticket award for the most seats sold. Ray and Justin went out between shows and walked the city, musing that they didn’t think they had “made it” yet – even when they saw their names on the billboard. They bought tickets from scalpers outside the venue and handed them to strangers – and wondered if the lucky recipients would look up during the show … and think – hey, wait… Sadly, Ray’s health declined through the last 10 years of his life and kept him from performing, but he lived long enough to know the Moody’s would be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame just AFTER his death at the beginning of 2018.
… wonder what you can hear when you listen?
As I crested the hill west of Tyler in 1976, heading west to SMU, I was off on my own journey. Throughout those experiences, I was guided by my grandparents’ voices, who were an active and vital part of my upbringing. All of them raised their children through the Depression. I don’t know much about their parents — the ones that the album title would apply to. There is a story about my great-grandfather hitting his father over the head with a broom before running away from home — in Chicago — just before the Spanish Flu outbreak. That saved his life… and for sure, it sounds like me. I do know that they were, at best, the middle class, and yet none of them or us ever thought we lacked anything. They embraced The Middle, and conforming to the norms of either side was frowned on.
Much is written these days about The Middle, and most people think they are in it. It is the other people that aren’t… and if only “they”… leaving us all pointing at everyone ELSE who needs to change. One thing my grandparents taught me was the value of hard work. It is not enough to wonder about the garden, the farm, the people around you, your Lodge, or your church… It is the doing that matters. Ray was encouraged by his Grandfather, who he observed playing the flute as a young boy, then taking it up… and changing the world of music.
The picture below is of my Grandfather, Archie, on the far left, me next, then my youngest son Kyle, and then my youngest grandaughter, Kennedy. Think of your own place in that line of your family – and how important The Middle can be in translating important “notes” to those you care the most about. Whatever you are wondering about now, use this soundtrack for your journey inward. The whole album is worth a relisten, but this masterpiece by Ray and Justin is sufficient… think about how much longer you will continue… Watching and Waiting.
Watching and waiting
For a friend to play with
Why have I been alone so long
Mole he is burrowing his way to the sunlight
He knows there’s some there so strong
‘Cause here there’s lot of room for doing
The thing you’ve always been denied
Look and gather all you want to
There’s no one here to stop you trying
Soon you will see me
‘Cause I’ll be all around you
But where I come from I can’t tell
But don’t be alarmed by my fields and my forests
They’re here for only you to share
‘Cause here there’s lot of room for doing
The things you’ve always been denied
So look and gather all you want to
There’s no one here to stop you trying
Watching and waiting
For someone to understand me
I hope it won’t be very long
