Moody Blues - A Question Of Balance Hybrid SACD (stereo/stereo) : Release Information

Moody Blues - A Question Of Balance. Hybrid SACD (stereo/stereo). (UMC - 9837706) The final release in this line of Moody Blues reissues (wot no 'EGBDF' or 'Sojourn' then? Boo hoo!!) that commemorate the fortieth anniversary (2006) of the band as a recording act (their pre-1966 R 'n B period with a different line-up notwithstanding). 'A Question Of Balance' was their fifth album since the inception of the Hayward/Lodge lineup, and was indeed more balanced than its dark and harshly cold sounding predecessor. As well as being the first Moodies album to be recorded entirely in stereo with no mono mix available, it also cut down on what bandmembers felt was the extraneous instrumentation that had maybe cluttered the sound of its predecessor, resulting in a more streamlined sound. Subsequently it spawned (albeit in an edited version) Hayward's "Question", the line-up's biggest UK hit single to date: other highlights were Thomas' romantic and heartfelt "And The Tide Rushes In" based on an argument with his wife (!): Lodge's galloping pomp-rocker "Tortoise And The Hare" which was often stretched out as an in-concert improv fave: Edge's otherworldly "Don't You Feel Small" (his first attempt at writing an actual sung song) Pinder's relentlessly morose "Melancholy Man" (often cited by rock writers as the most depressive song ever recorded!!) and closing track "The Balance" (a rare Thomas/Edge collaboration), which in direct contrast to the bleakness of the preceding song, ends on one of the most positive notes possible. Their biggest-selling album up to that point in both the UK and US: ironically, though, this was where the stability of the band slowly began to collapse. This SACD version has also been expanded and now includes 6 previously released alternate takes.

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