The Magnificent Moodies

60年代初期から活動を続けるUKプログレッシヴロック・バンド ムーディー・ブルースの65年リリースのデビュー・アルバム『The Magnificent Moodies』の発表50周年を記念したCD2枚組デラックス・リマスター・エディション。第一世代の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したオリジナル・アルバム収録の12曲のほか、64年から66年にかけて発表された全シングルや同時期にレコーディングされた様々なセッション音源など、29曲の未発表音源を含む43曲のボーナストラックを追加収録する。セットには他に、ポスターやポストカード3枚、未公開写真や新規エッセイなどを掲載した豪華ブックが付く。

The pre-psychedelic Moody Blues were represented in England by this album, which is steeped in American soul. The covers include songs by James Brown, Willie Dixon, and Chris Kenner, plus the chart-busting "Go Now" (originally recorded by Bessie Banks), interspersed with a brace of originals by lead singer/guitarist Denny Laine and keyboardist Mike Pinder, and one Jeff Barry/Ellie Greenwich number, "I've Got a Dream." The shouters, like "I'll Go Crazy" and "Bye Bye Bird," will be the big surprises, showcasing the rawest sound by the group, but "I've Got a Dream" shows a lyrical, harmony-based sound that is vaguely reminiscent of the Four Tops (which is ironic, as that group later cut a single of the latter-day Moody Blues original "So Deep Within You"), while "Thank You Baby," a Laine/Pinder original, offers them doing a smooth, dance-oriented number with some catchy hooks. The group's sound is good and loud, and Laine was a phenomenal singer, though the band lacked the charisma and built-in excitement of such rivals as the Rolling Stones and the Animals. This album is more interesting than its American equivalent, but also not as good, since it leaves off such single sides as "Steal Your Heart Away" and the Pinder/Laine "From the Bottom of My Heart," the latter being the best side this version of the group ever recorded. ~ Bruce Eder