The Moody Blues - Hall Of Fame
(Live From The Royal Albert Hall)
Performance
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The Moody Blues - Hall Of Fame
Performance
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The Moody Blues second album, 1967's Days of Future Passed was so far ahead of its time that only The Beatles' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, from the same year, could equal its ambition and originality. This was 1967 folks, and until then there was no such thing as symphonic/progressive-rock. The Moody Blues were the first band to successfully combine classical orchestration with pop, rock, and psychedelia, to produce two of the greatest songs of its kind with "Nights in White Satin", and "Tuesday Afternoon". The fact that these guys were still going strong in 2000, having just released a solid new album, with 1999's "Strange Times", is amazing, and makes for a very memorable recording. Hall Of Fame was recorded live at the Royal Albert Hall, on May 1st, 2000, and features original members (since the Days of Future Passed album) Justin Hayward, John Lodge, Ray Thomas, and Graeme Edge. Joining them are an additional drummer, two keyboardists, two female backing vocalists, and the superb World Festival Orchestra. The concert begins with the orchestra performing a four minute overture that features excerpts from "Nights in White Satin", "Tuesday Afternoon", and "Legend Of A Man". The orchestra sounded excellent and the DTS surround mix, captured the acoustics of the Royal Albert Hall admirably. The band then took to the stage and immediately launched into "Tuesday Afternoon". Justin Hayward's vocals sounded very rusty at the beginning, but after about a half-song warm-up he recovered nicely and sounded excellent for the rest of the show. It was obvious from this point on that bass guitar was going to be neglected in this mix. Both the DTS and Dolby surround mixes are only 5.0 channels, therefore the subwoofer is not fully utilized. Although not terrible, the bass was noticeably subdued more than I would have liked. The rest of the instruments were crisp and clear, and the lead vocals were especially loud in the mix. These tracks provided a very nice surround experience making you feel like you were sitting in the middle of the hall. Unfortunately, the video transfer is only presented in full frame, and is not 16x9 enhanced, because it was originally filmed for a PBS television special. The picture is exceptionally clear and sharp, and the wonderful colors and architecture of the Royal Albert Hall are presented beautifully. The camera work was outstanding overall, with only the occasional over-exuberance on the directors part to squeeze in too many quick camera angle changes. The Moodies performed three new songs from their then-latest album, Strange Times. The second song into the set was "English Sunset", a highly enjoyable pop number, that even has a little techno drum thing going on. "Words You Say" is a beautiful ballad featuring some poignant vocals from John Lodge, and was made even more powerful by the accompanying orchestration. "Haunted", another nice ballad, was performed about half-way into the set, and features Haywood on lead vocals. Although they were certainly no match for the 30 year old classics, I found it refreshing to hear these fine new songs performed along side them. The only problem with the setlist for this show was that it was much too short. There are plenty of fan favorites that are missing, but all of the essential Moody Blues classics are present. The band touches on all facets of their career, from their late-sixties beginnings, through the early eighties hits, on up to the new Strange Times material of 1999. This was originally recorded for a TV special, and not specifically for DVD, so that would explain the rather short set, and unfortunate song edits, such as skipping Graeme Edge's spoken poetry intro to "Nights in White Satin". I hadn't listened to The Moody Blues for quite some time, before watching this DVD. Getting to see them perform these great songs, especially with the backing of a full orchestra, was a real treat, and really makes you appreciate what a unique and charming sound they have. I'd say The Moody Blues are long overdue for Rock and Roll Hall of Fame consideration - how about you? Reviewed by Paul M. Roy - February 2005 |
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Running Time: 81 Minutes |
DVD Release Date - November 2000 |