In my mind (John Lodge) (LP 3024 -3025)

John Lodge Natural Avenue (Vinyl, Decca Records, 1977) ***  

John Lodge 10,000 Light Years Ago (Vinyl, Esoteric Antenna Records, 2015) ***  

Genre: Pop, rock

Places I remember: Chaldon Books and Records (Caterham on the hill); Real Groovy Records

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: In My Mind (10,000 Light Years Ago)

Gear costume:  Natural Avenue

They loom large in his legend (The Album Collection playlists): Part 1; Part 2; Part 3; Part 4; Part 5

Active compensatory factors: John Lodge is, of course, the bassist for The Moody Blues and at times part of a duo with fellow Moodie, Justin Hayward, in Blue Jays.

That description doesn't really do him credit as he's an excellent song-writer and vocalist in his own right. These are his only two solo studio albums. I'm not a completist for Moody Blues' solo efforts but I find myself buying them because I generally find them interesting and fun to listen to, so it's not a chore to buy them.

Natural Avenue was released in 1977, during the time The Moody Blues had gone into hibernation. It's a lush set of songs - very close to the Moody Blues in fact. Justin Hayward has a better vocal presence and John is more of a harmony vocalist than a lead singer, so this is a bit of a weakness in a solo setting.

It took a while for the second solo album to arrive - 38 years! The Moodies links are here still, with both Ray Thomas and Mike Pinder making an appearance on one track (Simply Magic). 

The music is a few leaps ahead of Natural Avenue, with Chris Spedding playing some great David Gilmour-esque cosmic guitar solos on the album. John's vocals are also presented better in the mix on this album, except for Lose Your Love where he sounds like latter day Dylan. The album has a really good side 1 and a disappointing side 2.

Where do they all belong? A nice guy (by all accounts) and a nice brace of solo adventures.