Title: Maiden voyage
Review: An album of pop songs interspersed with orchestral segues is a dangerous idea that probably shouldn't be tried again, but the Moody Blues pulled it off fairly well. The first third of the album, where the orchestra is prominent, is tiresome, but once the suite of songs kicks into high gear with "Peak Hour" and `Tuesday Afternoon", you are in the spell of one of the great and most unique bands of all time in a maiden voyage of uncommon beauty. An overlooked gem is "Twilight Time", one of Ray Thomas' best songs ever, a rocker pulsed by a hammering piano bass line, Justin Hayward's evocative backing vocal, and colorful imagery that really works. Unfortunately you can't sample this song here since it is coupled on the same track as the much less interesting "Sunset". "Nights in White Satin" is overplayed, and the Moodies' reputation is excessively connected to this song, so it is easy to forget that it once sounded fresh.
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