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.

Take your chances (Justin Hayward) (LP 2710 - 2712)

Justin Hayward - John Lodge  Blue Jays (Vinyl and CD, Threshold Records, 1975) ***  

Justin Hayward   Songwriter  (Vinyl and CD, Deram Records, 1977) ***  

Justin Hayward  Moving Mountains  (Vinyl, Towerbell Records, 1985) ***

Genre: Prog rock

Places I remember: Chaldon Books and Records; Fopp; Amoeba Music

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Remember Me (My Friend) (Blue Jays)

Gear costume: Blue Guitar  (Blue Jays)

Active compensatory factors: Justin has made one appearance on Goo Goo so far with his 1980 solo album, Night Flight, featured here, so this post looks at the rest of his solo albums with and without John Lodge.

The solo stuff started with Blue Jays, a collaborative effort with his fellow Moody Blue - John Lodge. The vinyl version doesn't include the hit single Blue Guitar, recorded with 10CC, but the CD version does.

Lodge and Hayward share songwriting duties on this album, made after Seventh Sojourn, during The Moody Blues' 5 year break from each other.

For the most part, it's a lovely, groovy sound they've conjured up - Remember Me (My Friend) is an excellent Hayward song.

My only quibbles on Blue Jays and Songwriter are the lack of his distinctive guitar and the inclusion of strings on some songs. One word, Justin - mellotron. But I guess that would be too Moody Bluesy, so I get it. But I still miss it.

Songwriter isn't a favourite of mine. The songs feel like they've been worked on too much and so it has a contrived feel for me.

His fourth solo album was 1985's Moving Mountains. We are into mid eighties synth sounds by this stage and I miss the mellotron even more.

Where do they all belong? I'm not a completist of the Moodies solo albums so this will do unless I spot his post Moving Mountains albums.

New horizons (The Moody Blues) (LP 289)

The Moody Blues Seventh Sojourn (Vinyl - Threshold, 1972) *****

Genre: Prog rock  

Places I remember: Sydney and the record shop in Davy Jones Ltd department store 1973  

Fab, and all the other pimply hyperboles: Loads of fab on this one - but I can't go past John Lodge's amazing I'm Just A Singer In A Rock and Roll Band.




Gear costume: For My Lady gets me every time!  

Active compensatory factors: My favourite album by The Moody Blues has it all - the band hit a creative peak with this one that couldn't subsequently be replicated.

In 1973, the family holiday was to Sydney and resulted in me buying Deep Purple's Made in Japan, Led Zeppelin's Houses of the Holy, a few others, and this magnificent, classic record.

Every track instantly takes me back to that time, and I often need to play this and be transported to those new horizons.

Have I really changed? Nope. Just on the outside! On the inside I'm still that teenage kid playing this album in my bedroom on the Garrard SP25 Mk 3. 

Where do they all belong? Octave was next, but sadly, by the time it came out, like many - I'd lost some interest in keeping current with the band. I still don't own a copy - must rectify that anomaly! 

P.S. Just bought a vinyl copy of Octave and The Present. The move away from Pinder's mellotron into moog stylings wasn't a good one but The Present holds up pretty well)