page_title: The Moody Blues
section_title: Days of Future Passed
hierarchical_section_title: The Moody Blues / Deram Records, Threshold Records, 1967–1972 / Days of Future Passed
caption_attribution_description: Nederlands: Collectie / Archief&#160;: Fotocollectie Anefo Reportage / Serie&#160;: Grand Gala du Disque Populaire in Congrescentrum Beschrijving&#160;: Moody Blues Datum&#160;: 7 maart 1969 Trefwoorden&#160;: muziek, popgroepen Fotograaf&#160;: Fotograaf Onbekend / Anefo Auteursrechthebbende&#160;: Nationaal Archief Materiaalsoort&#160;: Negatief (zwart/wit) Nummer archiefinventaris&#160;: bekijk toegang 2.24.01.05 Bestanddeelnummer&#160;: 922-1824
context_page_description: The Moody Blues are a rock band formed in Birmingham, England in 1964, initially consisting of keyboardist Mike Pinder, multi-instrumentalist Ray Thomas, guitarist Denny Laine, drummer Graeme Edge, and bassist Clint Warwick. The group came to prominence playing rhythm and blues music. They made some changes in musicians but settled on a line-up of Pinder, Thomas, Edge, guitarist Justin Hayward, and bassist John Lodge, who stayed together for most of the band's "classic era" into the early 1970s.
  Their second album, Days of Future Passed, which was released in 1967, was a fusion of rock with classical music which established the band as pioneers in the development of art rock and progressive rock. It has been described as a "landmark" and "one of the first successful concept albums". The group toured extensively through the early 1970s, then took an extended hiatus from 1974 until 1977. Founder Mike Pinder left the group a year after they re-formed and was replaced by Swiss keyboardist Patrick Moraz in 1978.
context_section_description: The Moody Blues' contract with Decca Records was set to expire and they owed the label several thousand pounds in advances. The second album had never materialised either. They had the support, however, of Decca A&R manager Hugh Mendl, who had been instrumental in the recent establishment of London/Decca's new subsidiary imprint Deram Records. With Mendl's backing, the Moody Blues were offered a deal to make a rock and roll version of Antonín Dvořák's New World Symphony to promote the company's new Deramic Stereo Sound audio format in return for which the group would be forgiven their debt.
  The Moody Blues agreed, but insisted that they be given artistic control of the project, and Mendl (as executive producer) was able to provide this despite Decca's notoriously tight-fisted attitude to their artists. The group was unable to complete the assigned project, which was abandoned. However, they managed to convince Peter Knight, who had been assigned to arrange and conduct the orchestral interludes, to collaborate on a recording that used the band's original material instead.
  Deram executives were initially sceptical about the hybrid style of the resulting concept album. Released in November 1967, Days of Future Passed peaked at number 27 on the British LP chart. Five years later it reached number 3 on the Billboard chart in the US. The LP was a song cycle or concept album that takes place over the course of a single day.  The album drew inspiration in production and arrangement from the pioneering use of the classical instrumentation by the Beatles, to whom Pinder had introduced the mellotron that year. It took the form to new heights using the London Festival Orchestra, a loose affiliation of Decca's classical musicians given a fictitious name, adding the term "London" to sound impressive, to provide an orchestral linking framework to the Moodies' already written and performed songs, plus overture and conclusion sections on the album, including backing up Graeme Edge's opening and closing poems recited by Pinder. Strings were added to the latter portion of the album version of Hayward's "Nights in White Satin" (absent on the single) but the orchestra and group never performed together on the recording, with the band's rock instrumentation centred on Pinder's mellotron. Despite being a lush concept album, the LP was cut in a very workmanlike manner, with the band recording a particular song, then the track being presented to Peter Knight who quickly composed a suitable "linking" orchestral portion, which the Decca musicians ("London Festival Orchestra") then recorded. The album was as much an original work by Knight himself as the group. The composing credits were listed on the sleeve as: "Redwave-Knight", although Hayward wrote "Nights..." and "Tuesday Afternoon", Thomas provided "Another Morning" and "Twilight Time", Lodge penned "Peak Hour" and "Evening (Time To Get Away)", and Edge contributed the opening and closing poems (the first "Morning Glory" and the latter titled "Late Lament") read by Mike Pinder who composed both "The Sun Set" and "Dawn is a Feeling" (sung by Hayward, with Pinder singing the bridge section).
  Clarke produced the album, and afterwards continued working with the band. Sometimes known to fans as "The Sixth Moodie", he produced their albums and singles for the next eleven years. Engineer Derek Varnals also contributed heavily to the creation of the early Moody's studio sound, working with Pinder and Clarke to create a more symphonic overlapping sound on the mellotron as opposed to the sharp 'cut off' the instrument normally gave, partly achieved by removing all the "sound effects" tapes (trains, whistles, cockerel crowing, etc.) and then 'doubling up' the tapes of orchestral instruments' sounds, which combined with Pinder's ability and sensitivity at playing (Pinder having earlier worked for the company that manufactured the mellotron) and Varnals' recording skills at creating an orchestral 'wave' sound that characterised their non-orchestra accompanied sound thereafter.
  The album, plus two singles 
caption: The Moody Blues in the Netherlands (1969)
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