In Search of the Lost Chord

Infobox Album | Name = In Search of the Lost Chord
Type = Album
Artist = The Moody Blues

| Released = 26 July 1968
Recorded = January - June 1968
Genre = Progressive rock
Length = 42:07
Label = Deram Records
Producer = Tony Clarke
Reviews =
* Allmusic Rating|3|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:n6jqear04xa7 link]
* Allmusic Rating|4|5 [http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:jzfoxqydldte link]
Last album = "Days of Future Passed"
(1967)
This album = "In Search of the Lost Chord"
(1968)
Next album = "On the Threshold of a Dream"
(1969)
Misc =Singles
Name = In Search of the Lost Chord
Type = Studio
single 1 = Voices in the Sky
single 1 date = June 1968
single 2 = Ride My See-Saw
single 2 date = October 1968

"In Search of the Lost Chord", released in 1968, was the second album by The Moody Blues' psychadelic-era line-up. The album was released through Deram Records.

Content and style

The album may be considered a concept album because several of the tracks deal with the theme of a person's search for spiritual fulfillment. Another concept dealt with in the album is the search for a mythical "lost chord," which is revealed to be the mantra "Om" (in the last stanza of Graeme Edge's poem "The Word").

After using the London Festival Orchestra on "Days of Future Passed", the Moody Blues played all instruments themselves - approximately 33Fact|date=December 2007 - on "In Search of the Lost Chord." Indian instruments such as the sitar (played by guitarist Justin Hayward) and the tamboura (played by keyboardist Mike Pinder) made audio appearances on several tracks (notably "Departure," "Visions of Paradise," and "Om"). Other unconventional (for the Moody Blues) instruments were also used, notably the oboe (played by percussionist/flute player Ray Thomas) and the cello (played by bassist John Lodge, who tuned it as a bass guitar). The mellotron, played by Pinder, produced many string and horn embellishments.

Sessions for the album commenced in January 1968 with the recording of Thomas's "Legend of a Mind". The song's title does not appear in the lyrics, which are about LSD guru Timothy Leary.

Having already experimented with spoken word interludes on "Morning Glory" and "Late Lament" on "Days of Future Passed", the Moody Blues tried the practice again on "In Search of the Lost Chord", on the Graeme Edge-penned pieces "Departure" and "The Word." The latter was recited by Pinder, who was the primary reciter of Edge's poems on this and other Moody Blues albums. "Departure", which escalates from mumbling to hysterical laughter, is a rare example of Edge doing his own recitation.

"In Search of the Lost Chord" peaked at #23 on the U.S. album charts upon release in July 1968.Fact|date=December 2007 In the UK, the album reached #5. Neither of the two singles from the album, "Ride My See-Saw" and "Voices in the Sky," charted in the top 40 on the "Billboard" charts, although the latter reached #27 on the UK singles chart.

Original track listing

ide one

#"Departure" (Graeme Edge) – 0:48
#"Ride My See-Saw" (John Lodge) – 3:37
#"Dr. Livingstone, I Presume" (Ray Thomas) – 2:58
#"House of Four Doors" (Lodge) – 4:11
#"Legend of a Mind" (Thomas) – 6:40
#"House of Four Doors Pt. 2" (Lodge) – 1:43

ide two

#"Voices in the Sky" (Justin Hayward) – 3:32
#"The Best Way to Travel" (Mike Pinder) – 3:12
#"Visions of Paradise" (Hayward, Thomas) – 4:15
#"The Actor" (Hayward) – 4:38
#"The Word" (Edge) – 0:49
#"Om" (Pinder) – 5:27

2006 reissue

"In Search of the Lost Chord" was remastered into SACD in March 2006 and repackaged into a 2 CD Deluxe Edition.

Extra tracks on the Deluxe Edition are:
#"Departure" (Alternate Mix) – 0:55
#"The Best Way to Travel" (Additional Vocal Mix) – 4:03
#"Legend of a Mind" (Alternate Mix) – 6:43
#"Visions of Paradise" (Sitar Mix) – 4:30
#"What Am I Doing Here?" (Alternate Mix) – 3:53
#"The Word" (Mellotron Mix) – 1:01
#"Om" (Full Version) – 6:07
#"A Simple Game" (Justin Hayward Vocal Mix) – 3:26
#"King and Queen" – 3:53
#"Dr. Livingstone, I Presume" (BBC Top Gear Session 16/7/68) – 2:57
#"Voices in the Sky" (BBC Top Gear Session 16/7/68) – 3:52
#"Thinking is the Best Way to Travel" (BBC Top Gear Session 16/7/68) – 3:38
#"Ride My See-Saw" (BBC Top Gear Session 16/7/68) – 3:49
#"Tuesday Afternoon" (BBC Afternoon Pop Show 7/10/68) – 3:23
#"A Simple Game" (Single Version) – 3:44

Personnel

*Justin Hayward – vocals, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, 12-string guitar, sitar, harpsichord, piano, mellotron, bass guitar, percussion, tablas
*John Lodge – vocals, bass guitar, acoustic guitar, cello, tambourine, snare drum
*Graeme Edge - vocals, drums, piano, timpani, tambourine, tablas,
*Ray Thomas – vocals, C flute, alto flute, soprano saxophone, tambourine
*Mike Pinder – vocals, mellotron, piano, harpsichord, acoustic guitar, cello, autoharp, bass guitar

Chart positions

Album

ingles

ee also

* The Lost Chord