Natural Avenue: Expanded Edition

ムーディ・ブルースのベーシスト/ヴォーカルでソングライティングも手掛けるジョン・ロッジが77年に発表したソロ・アルバム『Natural Avenue』に、ボーナストラック2曲を追加収録した拡大リマスター盤。ムーディ・ブルースは72年のアルバム『Seventh Sojourn』発表後活動を休止、その期間中にレコーディングされたのが本作。ゲスト・ミュージシャンとして、ケニー・ジョーンズ/クリス・スペディング/メル・コリンズ/ミック・ウィーヴァーらが参加しており、プロデュースはムーディ・ブルースも手掛けたトニー・クラークが務める。ボーナストラックは80年発表のシングルから。オリジナル・マスターテープから新たに起こしたリマスター音源を使用。復刻したオリジナルのアートワークとエッセイを掲載したブックレット付。

This 1996 reissue of the Moody Blues' esteemed guitarist's 1977 solo effort reminds listeners of various important things. First, that he's a great rocker who enjoys an inspirational, jamming tune that can flash his electric prowess, as on the locomotive "Natural Avenue." Second, that once a Moody, always a Moody, as every song to a certain extent has that ethereal, orchestral flair to it, and incorporating this can be sappy or effective, depending on the strength of the tune ("Summer Breeze" is a bit on the melodramatic side). And finally, that Justin Hayward was and is the lead singer for a good reason. Lodge has a serviceable voice, and charms effectively on kindly ballads like "Carry Me," but there's an airy quality to his delivery that skims over the potentially deeper emotions of each tune. The album is best listened to as a nostalgia session because many of the cheesier '70s production techniques were employed, dating it pretty severely. Perhaps the fact that Lodge's solo career never fully took off is something we should be grateful for; had it, the Moody Blues might not have endured intact so many decades beyond their original heyday. ~ Jonathan Widran|