Search - Moody Blues :: On the Threshold of a Dream (Reis)

Enter the Dream

Lonnie E. Holder | Columbus, Indiana, United States | 06/10/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

""On the Threshold of a Dream" followed "In Search of the Lost Chord". This album has a darker feel to it than "The Lost Chord," which periodically became lightly whimsical ("Dr. Livingstone, I Presume" as an example) and was generally upbeat."Threshold" begins with a somewhat paranoid interchange between several characters that in a few short sentences explores individuality in modern computerized society. While Graeme Edge is generally upbeat in that he says that as individuals we can "...perceive the web they weave and keep on thinking free," the sinister tone of "Big Brother's got your number" starts the album off darkly. From this beginning, the other songs in the album are now interpreted by this initial tone. Furthermore, the closeout by the last three Mike Pinder selections, "Have You Heard" parts 1 and 2 and "The Voyage," end the album in a melancholy fashion that also reflects on the other tracks, of which many are melancholy themselves.In spite of the dark mood of the album, it is still great for those times when you are a bit moody yourself. For some reason I enjoy listening to this album when it's raining outside, or when I'm feeling down. You would think that the album would drive me further into the depths of depression, but it does not. Instead, it tends to make me think about why I am depressed and ultimately overcoming those issues cheers me up. Okay, it's a little weird, but it works for me.How is the album? Very good. This album was again experimental and further associated the Moodies name with progressive rock. The dialogue at the beginning of the album and "The Dream" by Graeme Edge seguing into "Have You Heard Part 1", followed by "The Voyage" which then takes you back to "Have You Heard Part 2", while being a signature feature of Moodies albums, was still very new to the world in 1969. While the music is very mellow, even for 1969, it was also in some ways more dreamily psychedelic than "In Search of the Lost Chord". As examples, the aforementioned Mike Pinder selections, "Never Comes the Day" by Justin Hayward, and "Are You Sitting Comfortably", an awesome way-too-short song by Justin Hayward and Ray Thomas. This album is great for a bottle of good wine, a dimly lit room, perhaps some black light posters (seriously!), and whatever else you want to add that fits the mood.The lyrics are often cryptic in this album, for example, just what the heck do the lyrics of "Never Comes the Day" by Justin Hayward mean anyway? One enjoyable feature of Moodies lyrics are that that is exactly the point of the lyrics: they are intentionally cryptic. Yes, they meant something to the authors. However, the authors are often vague enough to allow you to interpret them to fit your own life. The Moodies have traditionally been able to make lyrics sufficiently vague that they can easily be interpreted to fit your needs, while making very listenable songs that don't really have to be interpreted. I believe this album may have been the best of the classic 7 to achieve both these abilities for a majority of the songs. A very interesting approach that works well for the Moodies that others have not been able to pull off nearly as well or at all.Graeme Edge, as noted above, has two selections on this album. I truly enjoy "The Dream", which may be Graeme Edge's very best "poem monologues" on any album by the Moodies. There is a lot of symbolism and true blues in this poem that is the perfect lead-in for the three Mike Pinder selections following.Ray Thomas authored "Dear Diary", "Lazy Day" and coauthored "Are You Sitting Comfortably" with Justin Hayward. "Are You Sitting Comfortably" is by far the best of the three, and I think is the best song on the album. "Lazy Day" is likely the most whimsical song of this CD, and perhaps the least blue.Mike Pinder, in addition to the last three songs, also penned "So Deep Within You," a love song about knowing what's in your lover's heart. This song is very beautiful and easy to understand. Mike's contributions to this album are consistently good and among the best of the album.John Lodge wrote back to back love songs, "Send Me No Wine" and "To Share Our Love". Both are fast-paced (for this album), and both are good. "To Share Our Love" is the better of the two, and exploits John's voice well.Justin Hayward, in addition to the excellent "Are You Sitting Comfortably", also wrote "Lovely to See You", which is a song of friendship helping alleviate the blues (which you may need after listening to this album!), and "Never Comes the Day", which I think is a song of love, but it's mixed with other concepts that are difficult to put my finger on. Regardless, it's a good song.If you are a Moodies fan, buy this. If you are not, and want to listen to something different, buy this. Is it dated? A little perhaps, but not a lot. The lyrics are about concepts that transcend time. This album is incredibly mellow. It is the third album of the second incarnation of the Moody Blues, and the last album by the Moodies to be this spacey and psychedelic. After this they begin to tackle issues of the environment and how we treat each other and our role in the universe. This album is very unique and should be part of the reason to induct the Moody Blues into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (why that hasn't yet I haven't the foggiest clue). It is fitting that this album was released in 1969, a fitting close to an exotic decade."

Have You Heard The Moodies?

Alan Caylow | USA | 07/19/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With their third album, 1969's "On The Threshold Of A Dream," the Moody Blues shifted gears once more, going from the psychedelic sounds of "In Search Of The Lost Chord" to a more cosmic, spacey, otherworldy feel. The end result is another classic Moodies album, with everyone in the band contributing excellent tracks. Drummer Graeme Edge's strong spoken-word intro, "In The Beginning," along with it's spooky keyboard lead-in & clock sound effects, instantly sets the mood. Guitarist Justin Hayward's "Lovely To See You" is a classic melodic rocker (and the band have used it to open many of their concerts). Flautist Ray Thomas' slow-shuffler "Dear Diary" is a memorable gem, one of Ray's finest compositions. Bassist John Lodge hands in a fine pair with the country-flavored atmospheres of "Send Me No Wine" and the rockin' "To Share Our Love," and keyboardist Mike Pinder's seductive "So Deep Within You" is one of *his* best contributions to the Moodies, and a mighty powerful song. Hayward's "Never Comes The Day" is a gorgeous ballad, Thomas' "Lazy Day" has an endearing childlike quality to it, and Hayward's "Are You Sitting Comfortably" is another luscious, dreamy song. Finally, after Edge's fine poetry of "The Dream," comes Pinder's astonishing, classic mini-epic of "Have You Heard (Part One)/The Voyage/Have You Heard (Part Two)," an amazing, heavenly journey into cosmic rock. The band sound fantastic on this album, and there's not a dull track anywhere. With "On The Threshold Of A Dream," the Moody Blues deliver another progressive rock classic."

The Cover Caught My Eye...

Barron Laycock | 02/05/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I had never bought a record album without knowing, at least, one of its songs. I knew who the Moody Blues were because of "Nights In White Satin," "Tuesday Afternoon," and "Ride My See Saw" but had not pursued them further. Then that April day in 1969 while thumbing through record albums at the local Payless Drug store in Hayward, California I came upon "On The Threshold Of A Dream." I picked it up and stared at it. I looked at the front, then the back, then the front again. The deep blue cover design intrigued me so! Here's what I saw... · The Establishment Robot's tentacles grasping and choking off life; a rose in its right tentacle and a tree with a face, on its left tentacle... · Merlin the wizard, looking on with his magic wand... · A White Eagle swooping down upon its prey, the Establishment Robot · Three ships sailing through foreboding waters... · A haunting castled nestled in the west. It seemed as though the Moody Blues had a message to share with me and I had to hear it! I remember taking this potential treasure to the register thinking to myself, "You've never done this before. You've never bought a record because of its cover!" With anticipation building, I went straight home and opened this very unique package. When I saw the photographs of the Moody Blues it was like they were challenging me to step through the threshold and take the journey with them into the beckoning forest beyond. They looked upon me as a freiend. I got comfortable upon my bed and opened the lyric booklet to follow along. Then I listened... My beginning with the Moody Blues began with "In The Beginning." The first 60 seconds of pure travel assured me I had embarked upon an adventure that would be "Soul Rewarding." When I heard the "first man" question his identity, I thought of myself. I was startled when the "voice of the establishment" came upon the scene rather abruptly and blurted out "Of course you are my bright little star... you're magnetic ink!" Then when his inner man encouraged him to "face piles of trials with smiles... and keep on thinking free..." I knew I was hooked! What a delightful discovery! The song that followed confirmed my earlier suspicions. "Lovely to see you again my friend, walk along with me to the next bend." I was being invited to travel somewhere I had never been before, and I was being referred to as a friend. I was truly somewhere I had never been before. Each song had it's own melody, it's own rhythm, it's own lyrics but they were tied into a bigger project, the whole album. There were no breaks, no silence between each song. They seemed to entwine around each other. The music was so soothing, then exhilarating! The mellotron, the piano, the guitars, the flute, the percussion all blending together to reinforce the message! I noticed each member of the band was able to contribute to the message by participating in the song writing. The different voices who sang each song led me to believe each songwriter was able to sing his own song, making the message ever more entrancing. The vocals blended together so melodiously! Their lush harmonies ensnared me! I loved the "Ah's" in Dear Diary and Lazy Day, the "oohs" in To Share My Love and the "let Merlin cast his spell" in Are You Sitting Comfortably. The instrumentation was riveting! The guitar rifts in Send Me No Wine amazed me. The driving drum and guitar beat in To Share My Love definitely drove home the message. The yelling at the end of the song also got my attention. The guitar, mellotron, flute and drums in So Deep Within You all had lives of their own. I marveled at the mastery of Never Comes The Day; so gentle, then so strong. I heard the gentle guitar and mellotron, followed by the definitive drums and hand clapping! I simply floated away with the guitar-flute duet in Are You Sitting Comfortably! It was like a warm beam of light had permeated my body and had lifted me to a higher plane. I wanted to stay there forever! Then the volume of the flute grew in intensity and took me into The Dream The poetry of Graeme Edge simply blew me away! A poem on a rock and roll album! What a concept! What a dynamic addition to an already exhilarating album. The haunting mellotron in the background gave it even more impact. Have You Heard seemed like a door way into The Voyage. The Voyage lulled me into a state of euphoria, then jolted me with bolts of lightning. (Unless you've heard it, it might be hard to understand what I experienced!) The "lightning charges" were ones of energy! Then the piano took me on a definite road to freedom! What a charismatic experience! Coming out of The Voyage the lyric was sung, "Now you know how nice it feels..." I did! I had never seen, heard or felt anything like it before. And the ending? Like the beginning! Or did it end? I remember the phonograph arm lifting up before any silence! Though everything about this album impressed me so; the cover, the lyric booklet, the photographs, the music, the vocals, the harmonies, the unity... it was the message that I so appreciated! At the impressionable age of 16, I appreciated the message... I could thank a lot of people for bringing the Moody Blues to all of us, and I do! There is one person who I especially am grateful to, Phil Travers! His cover painting caught my eye and allowed the Moodies to catch my life! Thanks Phil"