Track Listing

1. In the Beginning
2. Lovely to See You
3. Dear Diary
4. Send Me No Wine
5. To Share Our Love
6. So Deep Within You
7. Never Comes the Day
8. Lazy Day
9. Are You Sitting Comfortably?
10. Dream
11. Have You Heard, Pt. 1
12. Voyage
13. Have You Heard, Pt. 2

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #39767 in Music
• Released on: 1997-05-20
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered

Album Description
Digitally remastered and expanded edition of the original stereo mix of this 1969 classic from the UK Pop/Prog pioneers featuring nine bonus tracks including alternate mixes and extended versions of songs from the album, two songs recorded for John Peel's Top Gear and two songs recorded for The Tony Brandon Show. Previously released as an SACD disc, this regular CD issue features sleeve notes and rare photographs. 22 tracks. Decca

Amazon.com
Released in 1969, just eight months after In Search of the Lost Chord, Threshold continues the Moody Blues's journey as cosmic seekers but in a less exotic manner. Here, Justin Hayward packs away the sitar and the band has swept most of the mystical and Eastern influences under the Kilim rug, replacing them with a science-fictional search for meaning and futuristic production methods. As on two earlier albums, Graeme Edge regales listeners with esoteric poetry, this time adding a whimsical, ironic edge to his ponderous verse. The songs have also undergone a similar overhaul, allowing the band's talent for melody to overcome the psychedelic whirls that embellished the earlier albums. John Lodge's assertive bass takes control of the bucolic "Lovely to See You," Roy Thomas's deceptively cheerful "Dear Diary," and the upbeat "Lazy Days," which also contains an unexpected lyrical sting. Indeed, the entire album is underpinned with a wistful melancholy as the grandiose rockers capture the bittersweet fleeting moments of the '60s. --Jaan Uhelszki

Customer Reviews

Enter the Dream
"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?
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.

Is This Not the Greatest Album Ever Made?
Looking back, and listening to many great albums over the past 35 years or so, there are certain ones that never get old, never get dull, or become dated. Zeppelin's Physical Graffiti comes to mind. Floyd's Wish You Were Here, Simon & Garfunkel's Parsley, Sage, Rosemary, & Thyme, Rush's Permanent Waves, The Doors' debut...among others. I hesitate to use the word 'masterpiece' because it is so overused (and mostly associated with garbage), but these are true masterpieces in music, both for the awesome song writing, original melodies, as well as the AHEAD OF IT'S TIME PRODUCTION! The Moody Blues' On the Threshold of a Dream is right up there with all of them. All 5 members contribute to its content, with Tony Clarke at the helm. It is an experience to listen to this album. If you have never heard it, prepare yourself, because someday in the future, you will remember where you were when you first heard what is possibly the greatest musical work ever made (and I don't say that about just anything....this album is wonderful). Folks...this thing was released 35 years ago! And to think these 5 men were 20 something year old kids at the time. Totally unbelievable. And how sad it is to know that there are millions of young people worldwide who have never, and probably will never, experience this true ...forgive me...masterpiece!