{"id":6998,"date":"2015-01-07T05:30:58","date_gmt":"2015-01-07T10:30:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/?p=6998"},"modified":"2024-01-05T11:40:51","modified_gmt":"2024-01-05T16:40:51","slug":"go-now-and-then-the-ray-thomas-interview-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/2015\/01\/07\/go-now-and-then-the-ray-thomas-interview-part-1\/","title":{"rendered":"“Go Now” and Then: The Ray Thomas Interview, Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Moody Blues<\/strong> made their most indelible mark on pop music with the landmark LP Days of Future Passed<\/em>. That concept album was one of the earliest successful combinations of light-classical music and rock. Though it was released in 1967 \u2013 the fertile period that also gave the world Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band<\/em> \u2013 the album-proper didn’t make its mark on American charts until 1972. (They did hit the US singles chart a number of times, however.) And by that time, the band’s pre-Days<\/em> music had largely been forgotten (if was ever known at all). The earliest music made by The Moody Blues features a significantly different lineup of musicians, and \u2013 at least initially \u2013 a sound almost completely removed from the approach used on Days of Future Passed<\/em> and subsequent albums.<\/p>\n

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The original Moody Blues featured Denny Laine<\/strong> \u2013 later of Wings<\/strong> with Paul McCartney<\/strong> \u2013 on lead vocals and guitar, as well as bassist Clint Warwick<\/strong>. The other three members \u2013 drummer Graeme Edge<\/strong><\/a>, keyboardist Mike Pinder<\/strong><\/a> (with Laine, the band’s chief songwriter at this stage), and vocalist\/flautist Ray Thomas<\/strong> \u2013 would stay on to become the foundation of the more well-known lineup featuring Justin Hayward<\/strong> and John Lodge<\/strong>. The early Moodies sound was built around readings of American rhythm and blues and Merseybeat-flavored tracks; they were for the most part a cover band. As the group progressed, they began writing original material that established a more focused identity, but it was songs such as a cover of Bessie Banks<\/strong>‘ \u201cGo Now\u201d that established the group. They were rewarded for such tunes with spots on the British music charts: \u201cGo Now\u201d reached number one in Britain.<\/p>\n

The original group’s sole album The Magnificent Moodies<\/em> has been reissued and repackaged countless times in the the ensuing nearly-fifty years. In the US the album was reordered and released as Go Now: The Moodies #1<\/em>, though \u2013 like The Magnificent Moodies<\/em> \u2013 it did not chart. Subsequent reissues added various non-album tracks from the era \u2013 the group was essentially a singles band \u2013 but none of the releases could truly be called comprehensive.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/center>That has changed now, with the new release of The Magnificent Moodies<\/em> that includes everything the group cut in those pre-Days of Future Passed<\/em> years, plus a collection of radio broadcast material. Fifty-odd tracks document the period in full. Showing a band in transition from beat group to tunes that tip the group’s hand, the music gives subtle hints of the direction they’d follow soon after Laine’s departure.<\/p>\n

Of course 1965 was a long time ago, so perhaps it should come as little surprise that when I ask Ray Thomas the story behind there being two versions of \u201cGo Now\u201d on the new box set \u2013 the well-known version plus a slower take with softer piano part \u2013 he responds, \u201cI haven’t got a clue.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI can imagine,\u201d he continues, \u201cwe were just trying things out in the studio. Some of these tracks that have been dug up, I can’t remember ever recording! Denny might remember.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taken together, the bonus tracks on the first disc alone of\u00a0 The Magnificent Moodies<\/em> box set add up to enough material for a whole additional album. The material is strong, and is weighted more toward originals than the album-proper. \u201cWe were really busy \u2013 either playing or recording \u2013 in those days,\u201d says Thomas. \u201cWe were doing a lot of cover versions: James Brown<\/strong>, Tim Hardin<\/strong> stuff.\u201d Thomas doesn’t remember cutting some of the material that ended up on the box set, most notably the songs cut in 1966 with producer Denny Cordell<\/strong>. \u201cI was just doing an interview with another guy in the States, and he was going on about [our cover of] ‘Hang Onto a Dream’ by Tim Hardin. I was absolutely knocked out! The vocal backing on that particular track, I thought, were great. I’m blowing me own trumpet here, but I thought, ‘That’s mighty good.’\u201d Thomas also doesn’t remember cutting \u201cThe 23rd<\/sup> Psalm\u201d another bonus track (from 1964) included on the box set.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/center>\u201cWhen we got an eight-track machine in the studio, we were gobsmacked: ‘Look at all this!’\u201d Thomas laughs. \u201cBut these were all four tracks. If you had to do any four-to-two to make room for overdubs, it was all razorblades and sellotape. Derek Varnals<\/strong> [producer] was amazing. We’d all sit around and watch while he took one note out. Now, you just press a button.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn those days,\u201d Thomas recalls, \u201cWe’d do three tracks in two hours. Decca had so many A&R [artists and repertoire] people in those days, for classical, Mantovani<\/strong>-type stuff right through. They had three studios in West Hampstead, London, and they were always booked full. To get studio time was bloody impossible.\u201d So the groups had best be prepared when they got their time in the studio. When the Moody Blues got their turn at the mic, \u201cWe used to play live, near enough,\u201d says Thomas. \u201cYou had to have ’em all rehearsed up.\u201d<\/p>\n

Thomas hopes that this latest \u2013 and greatly expanded \u2013 version of The Magnificent Moodies<\/em> will be considered the definitive release of that period of Moody Blues music. \u201cThe only thing that I’m a bit pissed off about,\u201d Thomas says, \u201cis that we did a hell of a lot of work on television in France. We were very popular earlier on in France. We did shows with Johnny Hallyday<\/strong>, Josephine Baker<\/strong>. When Cherry Red were putting together this box set, we got in touch with the French version of the BBC; they have reams and reams of these old rock shows. We said, ‘Can we have some of this to put on our box set?’ And they said, \u201cYes, you can, but this is how much we want.’ It just wasn’t worth it; they wanted so much money.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Moody Blues made their most indelible mark on pop music with the landmark LP Days of Future Passed. That concept album was one of the earliest successful combinations of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[19,41,62,64],"tags":[1512,1794],"class_list":["post-6998","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-compilation","category-interview","category-rawk","category-reissue","tag-moody-blues","tag-ray-thomas","cat-19-id","cat-41-id","cat-62-id","cat-64-id"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6998","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6998"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6998\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":26759,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6998\/revisions\/26759"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6998"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6998"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/blog.musoscribe.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6998"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}

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