In Search of the Lost Chord

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In Search of the Lost Chord
Studio album by The Moody Blues
Released	26 July 1968
Recorded	January - June 1968
Genre	Progressive rock
Length	42:07
Label	Deram / Polydor
Producer	Tony Clarke
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link All Music Guide link
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
"Voices in the Sky" Released: June 1968 "Ride My See-Saw" Released: October 1968

In Search of the Lost Chord, released in 1968, was the third album by The Moody Blues, and the second to feature Justin Hayward and John Lodge. The album was released through Deram Records.

Contents 1 Content and style 2 Original track listing 2.1 Side one 2.2 Side two 3 2006 reissue 4 Personnel 5 See also

[edit] Content and style

The album may be considered a concept album because several of the tracks deal with the theme of a person's search for spiritual fulfillment. Another concept dealt with in the album is the search for a mythical "lost chord," which is revealed to be the mantra "Om" (in the last stanza of Graeme Edge's poem "The Word").

After using the London Festival Orchestra on Days of Future Passed, the Moody Blues played all instruments themselves - approximately 33^{[citation needed]} - on In Search of the Lost Chord. Indian instruments such as the sitar (played by guitarist Justin Hayward) and the tamboura (played by keyboardist Mike Pinder) made audio appearances on several tracks (notably "Departure," "Visions of Paradise," and "Om"). Other unconventional (for the Moody Blues) 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 guru 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 example of Edge doing his own recitation.

In Search of the Lost Chord peaked at #23 on the U.S. album charts upon release in July 1968.^{[citation needed]} In the UK, the album reached #5. Neither of the two singles from the album, "Ride My See-Saw" and "Voices in the Sky," charted in the top 40 on the Billboard charts, although the latter reached #27 on the UK singles chart.

[edit] Original track listing

[edit] Side one

1. "Departure" (Graeme Edge) – 0:48
2. "Ride My See-Saw" (John Lodge) – 3:37
3. "Dr. Livingstone, I Presume" (Ray Thomas) – 2:58
4. "House of Four Doors" (Lodge) – 4:11
5. "Legend of a Mind" (Thomas) – 6:40
6. "House of Four Doors Pt. 2" (Lodge) – 1:43

[edit] Side two

1. "Voices in the Sky" (Justin Hayward) – 3:32
2. "The Best Way to Travel" (Mike Pinder) – 3:12
3. "Visions of Paradise" (Hayward, Thomas) – 4:15
4. "The Actor" (Hayward) – 4:38
5. "The Word" (Edge) – 0:49
6. "Om" (Pinder) – 5:27

[edit] 2006 reissue

In Search of the Lost Chord was remastered into SACD in March 2006 and repackaged into a 2 CD Deluxe Edition.

Extra tracks on the Deluxe Edition are:

1. "Departure" (Alternate Mix) – 0:55
2. "The Best Way to Travel" (Additional Vocal Mix) – 4:03
3. "Legend of a Mind" (Alternate Mix) – 6:43
4. "Visions of Paradise" (Sitar Mix) – 4:30
5. "What Am I Doing Here?" (Alternate Mix) – 3:53
6. "The Word" (Mellotron Mix) – 1:01
7. "Om" (Full Version) – 6:07
8. "A Simple Game" (Justin Hayward Vocal Mix) – 3:26
9. "King and Queen" – 3:53
10. "Dr. Livingstone, I Presume" (BBC Top Gear Session 16/7/68) – 2:57
11. "Voices in the Sky" (BBC Top Gear Session 16/7/68) – 3:52
12. "Thinking is the Best Way to Travel" (BBC Top Gear Session 16/7/68) – 3:38
13. "Ride My See-Saw" (BBC Top Gear Session 16/7/68) – 3:49
14. "Tuesday Afternoon" (BBC Afternoon Pop Show 7/10/68) – 3:23
15. "A Simple Game" (Single Version) – 3:44

[edit] Personnel

• Justin Hayward – vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, 12-string guitar, sitar, harpsichord, piano, mellotron, bass guitar, percussion, tablas
• John Lodge – vocals, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, cello, tambourine, snare drum
• Graeme Edge - vocals, drums, piano, timpani, tambourine, tablas,
• Ray Thomas – vocals, C flute, alto flute, soprano saxophone, tambourine
• Mike Pinder – vocals, mellotron, piano, harpsichord, acoustic guitar, cello, autoharp, bass guitar

[edit] See also

• The Lost Chord

v • d • e The Moody Blues Graeme Edge · Justin Hayward · John Lodge Denny Laine · Patrick Moraz · Mike Pinder · Ray Thomas · Clint Warwick Studio albums The Magnificent Moodies · Days of Future Passed · In Search of the Lost Chord · On the Threshold of a Dream · To Our Children's Children's Children · A Question of Balance · Every Good Boy Deserves Favour · Seventh Sojourn · Octave · Long Distance Voyager · The Present · The Other Side of Life · Sur la Mer · Keys of the Kingdom · Strange Times · December Live albums Caught Live + 5 · A Night at Red Rocks with the Colorado Symphony Orchestra · Hall of Fame · Lovely to See You: Live · Live at the BBC: 1967-1970 Compilations This Is The Moody Blues · Prelude · Greatest Hits · Time Traveller · The Best of the Moody Blues · Anthology · An Introduction to The Moody Blues