The Moody Blues - The Magnificent Moodies [14 bonus tracks] (1965)

Year: 23 July 1965 (CD 2006)
Label: Repertoire Records (UK), REP 5077
Style: Pop Rock, Beat
Country: Birmingham, England
Time: 70:52
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 260 Mb

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.
(allmusic.com/album/the-magnificent-moodies-mw0000653053) Review by Bruce Eder

01. I'll go crazy (02:11)

02. Something you got (02:52)

03. Go now! (03:14)

04. Can't nobody love you (04:03)

05. I don't mind (03:27)

06. I've got a dream (02:52)

07. Let me go (03:13)

08. Stop (02:05)

09. Thank you baby (02:30)

10. It ain't necessarily so (03:21)

11. True story (01:45)

12. Bye bye bird (02:50)

Bonus Tracks:

13. People gotta go (Bonus) (02:32)

14. Steal your love away (02:15)

15. Lose your money (but don't loose your mind) (02:00)

16. It's easy child (03:13)

17. I don't want to go on without you (02:46)

18. Time is on my side (03:03)

19. From the bottom of my heart (I love you) (03:28)

20. And my baby's gone (02:21)

21. Everyday (01:49)

22. You don't (all the time) (02:21)

23. Boulevard de la Madelaine (02:56)

24. This is my house (but nobody calls) (02:35)

25. Life's not live (02:35)

26. He can win (02:25)

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