Track Listing

1. English Sunset
2. Haunted
3. Sooner or Later (Walkin' on Air)
4. Wherever You Are
5. Foolish Love
6. Love Don't Come Easy
7. All That Is Real Is You
8. Strange Times
9. Words You Say
10. My Little Lovely
11. Forever Now
12. One
13. Swallow
14. Nothing Changes

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #39329 in Music
• Published on: 1999
• Released on: 1999-08-17
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .23 pounds

Amazon.com
It figures that the Moody Blues' dignified brand of pop rock would age well. The group's second studio album of the 1990s--its first in eight years--reveals a veteran foursome still capable of delivering sophisticated goods in a satisfying manner. The 57-minute package, the first self-produced recording the group has released since this current lineup formed in the mid-60s, takes a yearning, cautiously optimistic view of our modern state of being and adorns it with a pleasant sheen of mature energy. The sound ranges from politely symphonic to playfully Beatle-esque. Strange Times, in fact, offers a few nods to the Moody Blues' storied history, even including a spoken-word coda by Graham Edge à la Days of Future Past. (The poetic content is a bit baffling, though.) Justin Hayward is in fine voice, and the album's uptempo pieces ("Foolish Love," "The One," "English Sunset") rate as highlights Though a touch too sweet in places, Strange Times is an engaging listen for long-time fans. --Terry Wood

Customer Reviews

The Moodies Grow Up
The Moodies were somewhat adrift from the time they released "Long Distance Voyager" to 1993. With "Strange Times" they have found their way back to perhaps where they really want to be.

If you are a Moodies fan, buy this CD. Play it over and over, and loud, but make sure you have time to focus on the music. The first time I heard this CD, I didn't care for it. Now it is one of my favorites, and it seems like I can't play it enough (it's addictive that way).

The music is much more the pure Moodies sound, without some of the overpowering electronics of some or their 80's CDs. The lyrics are much better than the typical 80s CDs as well. There are a number of love songs, but several of the songs contain elements of the transcendental concepts they once entertained in their 60s and early 70s music. Some of the lyrics are directly on point to concepts that try to consider a more objective view of life on planet Terra and life in general.

Onward to the details:

One of the most interesting pieces is Graeme Edge's contribution, "Nothing Changes." This piece could almost be the last Moodies song/poem of the last Moodies album. I was almost suspicious that was the case, though I now know the Moodies are cutting tracks for a new album to possibly be released fall 2002. Nothing changes takes a look back to the 60s music of the Moodies, and reminisces that while they, and many others, thought that all kinds of turbulent and possibly catastrophic events might occur, they didn't. We are still here, and the world is not really all that different from what it was 40 years ago. Somewhat of a reassuring thought for those of us that lived through the 60s.

Ray Thomas has one contribution to this CD, "My Little Lovely," a song that clearly makes use of his wonderful voice, a voice that remarkably has gotten so much better over time. The only drawback of Ray's contribution to this CD is that there wasn't enough of him. Note to Justin and John: More Ray on the next CD.

John Lodge has a significant contribution on this CD, listed as either writer or co-writer (with Justin, of course!) of 7 of the 14 songs. A few highlights of the solo and combined songs:

"Strange Times" (Hayward/Lodge): This song would have fit on any of their early albums. There is an excellent bridge, and had there been 45 minutes of music just like this, you could have called it 8th Sojourn and it could have been released in 1974 (except the orchestration is much improved over the early albums).

"Sooner or Later" (Hayward/Lodge): This song is an upbeat pop song. The lead guitar I really enjoyed. The only drawback is that I thought John's voice was a bit strained in a couple of places.

"The One" (Hayward/Lodge): My least favorite song on the CD. I think had this song not been on there, I wouldn't have missed it in the least. But, now that I have it, I'd rather have 3.5 minutes of less than great Moodies than none at all.

"Love Don't Come Easy" and "Wherever You Are" (Lodge): Both are very good songs. The first is very good, the second is simple, but beautiful. Neither is as good as John's best, but some of the best of the last 20 years.

"Forever Now" (Lodge): This song supports the theme of the CD. It's a contemplative song that harkens back to the themes of the earliest Moodies albums, again with the reflection that we all wish things could just keep on going, because there is so much more that we could do and feel if we had but the time.

"Words You Say" (Lodge): My vote for John's best on this CD. The orchestration is very good. The eerie ending (and the whole song) is best on a mellow day with the music cranked. The transition to "My Little Lovely" gives me a wonderfully weird feeling, like there was a point to be made, and maybe I missed it. But that's the way a Moodies CD SHOULD make you feel.

Justin is last, listed as either writer or co-writer of 8 songs. Having covered the works with John, only the solos remain:

"English Sunset": The lyrics for this are fair, and occasionally a little corny, but the orchestration is very nice and the bridge is outstanding. The song is a one of longing, maybe longing for roots, but it also subtly says: THE MOODIES AREN'T GOING AWAY!

"All That Is Real Is You": An excellent song in its simplicity. The orchestration is great. This song would be killer as a top 40 song.

"Foolish Love": The lyrics sound a little contrived in places, such as "...no danger, no doubt." Give me a break. I think Justin could have done better. The style of this song reminds me of his CD "The View from the Hill." Like "The One," this song could have been lost and I wouldn't have missed it all that much, but you sometimes have to take the mediocre with the good.

"Haunted" and "The Swallow": Justin really does the moody part of The Moody Blues with these two. Both are reminiscent of the early Moodies music. "Haunted" particularly seems to have a double meaning, exactly what the words say and the reflection back on the Moodies' past. "The Swallow" could be Justin's best song on this CD, and perhaps THE best song on the CD. It would have fit on "In Search of the Lost Chord."

Enough of my blathering on. Stop reading what I wrote and go buy it. This CD is how the Moodies should sound in 2002. You can't recapture precisely the sound of the 60s and early 70s. But you change your sound to fit the (Strange) times, have the flavor of how you started, incorporated with the lessons of what you learned. We all do this in our lives, the Moodies did it in theirs. Go enjoy!

Where we have been..and where we are going...
We waited eight long years for "Strange Times", almost a decade and while we have all grown older and have changed,why then is it surprising to find that the Moody Blues have also matured and changed as a band?

I like this CD for what it isn't! It isn't a dinosaur of a band trying to be what they once were. It isn't "Core 7" revisited!

I like the interweaving of the decades on this CD, it's like they have given us a very subtile version of Day's only this time, the CD opens with the very modern technopop sounds of "English Sunset" and ends with a very sharp reminder of where this all began with Graeme Edge's "Nothing Changes" and that ladies and gentleman is why I find "Strange Times" such an appropriate album for the Moodies to give us at the close of this century. A reminder of where we are and a chance to look back and see where we have been.

The Moody Blues very simply gave us the fans our own little time capsule called "Strange Times" in which if you simply listen will hear strains of the very new and touches of the past.

I highly recommend this CD to anyone who has ever listened to a Moodies album and been transported to another time and place, and also to anyone who can appreciate truly exquisite music.

Their best ever?
The Moody Blues have been my favourite band since I was a child in the 60's, and I was one of the many who dreamed with "Tuesday afternoon", "Legend of a mind", "Have you heard", "My song"...

I liked what they did afterwards, too, but until a few weeks ago I thought that the real Moodies magic had gone for good with Mike Pinder. Then, oh miracle... I heard some samples from "Strange Times" (thanks Amazon!), immediately bought the album and have listened to it about a hundred times since, each time better than the previous.

Simply put, the magic is back. I love all the 14 tracks: it's uplifting, soul-warming music, with great sound production and arrangements (for example, the mysterious flutey sounds in "Wherever you are" send shivers down my spine).

Each one of the Fab Four gives a superb contribution here: Justin's songs are as beautifully romantic as ever, with his evergreen voice and guitar plus a terrific rhythmic texture in "English Sunset" (one hears and sees the train running through the English countryside) and "The Swallow". John's sound like short symphonic pieces, with a great use of the orchestra and the music developing through the songs in the unique Lodge way... remember "Talking out of turn"?. I agree with many other reviewers that it's a pity Ray composed only a short, though delightful, song here: on the other hand, he sings most beautifully in "Sooner or later" and "Strange times", too. And Graeme... what a joy hearing his deep voice again, and drums played by human hands.

Also, I am a little proud that "Strange Times" was recorded in Italy, a few miles from my home, with Italian engineers, and Danilo Madonia at the keyboards has been, hands down, the best since the unforgettable Mike.

Let's all hope that this has not been the Moodies' magnificent sunset, and that they will keep delighting us... but in any case, thanks, really thanks old boys for all the joy you have given us all these years!