Justin Hayward (The Moody Blues) - Songwriter [4 bonus tracks] (1977)

Year: February 11, 1977 (CD 2004)
Label: Decca Records (UK & Europe), 00422 8822832 5
Style: Soft Rock, Rock, Pop Rock
Country: Swindon, Wiltshire, England (14 October 1946)
Time: 54:45
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 403 Mb

Justin Hayward and John Lodge parted ways after Blue Jays, releasing solo albums in 1977. Songwriter and Natural Avenue were full of ideas, suggesting that both artists might have benefited from a wider canvas than that afforded to them in The Moody Blues. Not that Octave was a bad album, but it’s not demonstrably better than what Hayward and Lodge were able to do on their own. Songwriter sounds like the Moodies, The Beatles and 10cc, which is to say intelligent and inventive pop music that feels fresh with each song. Hayward plays much of the music himself; in fact, I’m pretty sure he plays everything—including the flute, cello and violin—on the closing Nostradamus. Though the album charted well, it didn’t produce a hit single. They’re one of the rare acts where the sum may actually be smaller than the parts, since I wouldn’t know where to begin editing on Blue Jays, Natural Avenue or Songwriter, and I couldn’t imagine any Moodies album without the contributions of its other three members. Maybe they should have been making double albums all along...
(progrography.com/justin-hayward/review-justin-hayward-songwriter-1977/)

01. Tight Rope (04:49)
02. Songwriter (Part 1) (03:32)
03. Songwriter (Part 2) (02:33)
04. Country Girl (04:02)
05. One Lonely Room (05:21)
06. Lay It On Me (02:55)
07. Stage Door (05:11)
08. Raised On Love (03:13)
09. Doin' Time (04:22)
10. Nostradamus (06:37)
11. Wrong Time, Right Place (bonus track) (02:35)
12. Marie (bonus track) (03:53)
13. Heart Of Steel (bonus track) (03:25)
14. Learning The Game (bonus track) (02:11)

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Darryl Way's Wolf (Curved Air) - Canis Lupus [Japanese Ed. SHM-CD] (1973)

Year:  (CD Nov 26, 2008)
Label: Decca Records (Japan), UICY-93826
Style: Progressive Rock, Acid Rock
Country: Taunton, Somerset, England
Time: 44:14
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 327 Mb

Despite releasing three albums of well-crafted songs and exceptional performances over just two years via Decca’s Deram imprint, Darryl Way’s Wolf remain largely ignored in most histories of progressive rock’s 70s heyday.
At the time, they enjoyed enthusiastic reviews and live popularity, but failed to break into the charts – a fact that may have contributed to their subsequent invisibility.
Their formidable 1973 debut, Canis Lupus, features the ex-Curved Air maestro Way’s masterly use of violin and keyboards, alongside John Etheridge’s frenzied legato-style guitar, Dek Messecar’s supple bass and Ian Mosley’s whip-cracking drumming. A nuanced production from King Crimson co-founder Ian McDonald refines the music’s subtler points.
(loudersound.com/music/albums/darryl-way-s-wolf-cadenza-box-set)

01. The Void (04:36)
02. Isolation Waltz (04:40)
03. Go Down (04:44)
04. Wolf (04:10)
05. Cadenza (04:51)
06. Chanson Sans Paroles (06:29)
07. McDonalds Lament (07:10)
08. Spring Fever (03:30)
09. Wolf (Single Version) (04:01)

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The Moody Blues - Days Of Future Passed [10 bonus tracks] (1967)

Year: 10 November 1967 (CD 2008)
Label: Deram Records (Europe), 530 663-1
Style: Symphonic Rock
Country: Birmingham, England
Time: 70:03
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 383 Mb

How The Moody Blues went from R&B to progressive rock magnificence in the span of two years is perhaps one of rock’s greatest mysteries. As a rhythm-and-blues band, it wasn’t getting them anywhere so they had to change their style and sound.
Though Days of Future Passed is their second album, it’s widely considered as their debut album considering it’s the first record with their classic lineup.
It’s ambitious and grand but unlike other albums which fell short of everyone’s expectations, this one delivered. It’s consistent, cohesive, and solid. It’s basically the culmination of the band’s musical brilliance and efforts and it’s clear from the get-go that they were at the height of their creative powers. Although it achieved moderate success after its release, over the years, it has been regarded as an important album that helped shape the sound of prog-rock. Thanks to new members Justin Hayward and John Lodge, The Moody Blues were steered towards the right direction. It was a risk but in the end, it paid off nicely.
While two songs stood out - “Nights in White Satin” and “Tuesday Afternoon”, the rest were still stellar. It’s groundbreaking, revolutionary, refreshing, and unique. From haunting ballads to psychedelic tunes, it’s interesting to note that Decca Records ALMOST rejected it because they simply didn’t know how to market it. The album was clearly way ahead of its time.
Days of Future Passed is complex and grandiose. It’s a mixture of rock and orchestral arrangements with some spoken word poetry - in paper, it shouldn’t work together but listening to one song segueing into another, it blends seamlessly. This album made The Moody Blues legends.
(societyofrock.com/album-review-the-days-of-future-passed-by-moody-blues/)

01. The Day Begins (05:51)
02. Dawn: Dawn Is A Feeling (03:49)
03. The Morning - Another Morning (03:56)
04. Lunch Break - Peak Hour (05:29)
05. The Afternoon a - Forver Afternoon (Tuesday) b - (Evening) Time To Get Away (08:23)
06. Evening a - The Sun Set b - Twilight Time (06:40)
07. The Night: Nights In White Satin (07:29)
08. (Bonus) Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood (BBC Radio Session) (02:24)
09. (Bonus) Fly Me High (1967 Mono Single Masters) (02:56)
10. (Bonus) I Really Haven't Got The Time (1967 Mono Single Masters) (03:09)
11. (Bonus) Love And Beauty (1967 Mono Single Masters) (02:26)
12. (Bonus) Leave This Man Alone (1967 Mono Single Masters) (03:01)
13. (Bonus) Cities (1967 Mono Single Masters) (02:26)
14. (Bonus) Tuesday Afternoon (Alternate Mix) (04:20)
15. (Bonus) Dawn Is A Feeling (Alternate Version) (02:20)
16. (Bonus) The Sun Set (Alternate Version Without Orchestra) (02:50)
17. (Bonus) Twilight Time (Alternate Vocal Mix) (02:28)

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Caravan - The Show Of Our Lives - Live At The BBC 1968-1975 [2CD] (1998)

Year: 1998 (CD 2007)
Label: Decca Records (Europe), 5301443
Style: Canterbury Scene, Art Rock, Progressive Rock
Country: Canterbury, Kent, England
Time: 71:36, 73:20
Format: Flac Tracks 16/44,1 kHz
Size: 358, 430 Mb

Caravan were formed in 1968, during the reign of the Canterbury sound – a sudden waft of enthusiasm for avant-garde progressive rock. By the mid-seventies, the band had become synonymous with the scene. They found themselves saddled with a titanic irony: having effectively scripted for the rulebook for a scene borne from a desire to defy all musical rules and conventions.
Throughout the eighties and nineties, the band faded quietly into the background. But, in recent years, shows like BBC 6 Music’s Freak Zone have acted like a life support machine for the band, with Stuart Maconie regularly dusting off their records, and generating intrigue in their quirky, jazz-riddled rock.
The Show Of Our Lives – the closest thing to a Caravan release for four years – is a collection of BBC archive recordings, charting the band’s youth from 1968 to 1975. It’s a rich resource, bringing together well-polished recordings of some of the band’s best known and most respected work.
It’s a release which will appeal exclusively to fans of Caravan. Of course, this’ll come as no surprise to the Caravan boys: after forty years of skirting the fringes of obscurity, they’ll be well aware that their indulgent organ solos and hysterical song structures aren’t to everyone’s tastes.
Like any album forged together from the archives, it does feel rather disjointed. For those unfamiliar with the Canterbury sound’s proudest survivors, The Show Of Our Lives will be a pretty slapdash and substandard introduction. But if you’re already well acquainted with their idiosyncratic sound, then it should be a different story.
(bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/vmf9/)

01. Place Of My Own (04:13)
02. Hide (04:18)
03. If I Could Do It All Over Again, I'd Do It All Over You (02:47)
04. Hello Hello (03:13)
05. As I Feel I Die (06:25)
06. Love To Love You (03:13)
07. Love Song Without Flute (03:34)
08. In The Land Of Grey And Pink (03:46)
09. Nine Feet Underground (14:28)
10. Feelin', Reelin', Squeelin' (09:31)
11. A Hunting We Shall Go (09:16)
12. Waffle Part One: Be Alright & Chance Of A Lifetime (06:46)

01. Memory Lain Hugh (05:04)
02. Headloss (04:29)
03. The Love In Your Eye (13:55)
04. Mirror For The Day (04:17)
05. Virgin On The Ridiculous (07:02)
06. For Richard (15:06)
07. The Dabsong Conshirtoe (15:13)
08. Stuck In A Hole (03:16)
09. The Show Of Our Lives (04:54)

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