The Moody Blues – To Our Children’s Children’s Children: 50th Anniversary Edition

To Our Children's Children's Children: 50th Anniversary Edition by The Moody Blues

Release date: April 6, 2023
Label: UMC

by Zachary Nathanson | July 9, 2023 | Reviews

In the fall of 1969, The Moody Blues were riding high after achieving critical success. Moving from their R&B roots and into the stratospheres of the progressive rock format, they knew that they had to take the next logical step in their career. Following the release of their third album On the Threshold of a Dream, which reached number one in the UK charts. It also included a mind-blowing artwork that Decca did, followed by a gatefold sleeve which included the lyrics and liner notes from Lionel Bart, known for his work such as; Fings Ain’t Wot They Used to Be, and Oliver!

But during the summer of that year, they were in a strained relationship with the label. According to the 2008 liner notes John Lodge admits that they had to fight tooth and nail with Decca. “We wanted to have our own label, where we didn’t have to argue about having gate-fold sleeves or inserts our albums. We saw both music and artwork as a complete package and felt that the advertising and promotion should also become part of this package”.

So, following in the footsteps of The Beatles own label Apple Records, the Moodies launched Threshold Records under the backing from Decca. They signed bands and artists like Asgærd, Trapeze (featuring Glenn Hughes of Deep Purple fame), Providence, and Nicky James. The first album to be released on the Threshold label was their fifth studio album, To Our Children’s Children’s Children.

The themes for the album were based on Apollo 11’s first landing on the Moon from July 16 to the 24th. And with their fellow comrade Tony Clarke on the production realms once more, the stories of exploring, space travel, and discovery were the right choices for the Moodies follow-up.

Now in a 3-CD, 1 Blu-Ray set, this incredible reissue takes us back into space once more with even more adventures that await us. One of the CDs on this album is their performance at the Royal Albert Hall recorded on December 12, 1969. This was originally released as Caught Live + 5 in 1977.

Featuring a powerful race through the world with Mellotron’s sparking like diamonds with ‘Beyond’, Pinder has his gears up and running and Edge pounding those drums, it becomes a sonic exploration with a dooming scenario being lost in Space before it goes back to basics with a cross between early Floyd and pre-Premiata Forneria Marconi’s Per Un Amico years.

Stuck in a parallel universe with the powerful themes of never coming home on ‘Gypsy (Of A Strange and Distant Time)’, Hayward puts you right in the middle to know that there’s no turning back while the launch into space on ‘Higher and Higher’ gets the Moodies rhythm section seeing the stars in all of its glory thanks to Pinder’s spoken dialog through Edge’s poetry.

It’s a great way to start the album off by making you being a part of the Moodies space travel. But deep, deep, deep in the dark cavernous place, the surreal beauty on ‘Candle of Life’ takes us back into the folk-like textures and rain-pouring arrangements on the piano and mellotron before taking the drive home to say goodbye with a romantic twist to take the last dance on ‘Watching and Waiting’.

Stephen W. Tayler, whose done incredible remixes ranging from Be-Bop Deluxe, Van der Graaf Generator, Renaissance’s Azure d’Or, and Barclay James Harvest’s gem Once Again has proven to be the right person for the job handling The Moody Blues classic. He brings a sense of a lucid presentation on their fifth studio album by bringing the instruments and vocals into a simplistic form.

Whether you’ll prefer the original, or the new mixes that’s on To Our Children’s, Children’s, Children, Tayler gets listeners prepare for lift-off throughout our galaxy that is beyond your wildest dreams. And what he’s done on the live recording from the Royal Albert Hall in December of 1969.

The Albert Hall recording, which contains songs from On the Threshold of a Dream, Days of Future Passed, and In Search of the Lost Chord, sees the Moody Blues at their peak bringing the venue to a standstill in December of 1969. You can just imagine yourself being at the Albert Hall, rooting the Moody Blues, and being in awe going track after track.

Whether it’s the explosive take of ‘Peak Hour’, ‘Dr. Livingstone, I Presume’, ‘Legend of a Mind’, or the climatic search for guidance on ‘The Voyage’, they proved that it’s more than just ‘Nights in White Satin’ and ‘Tuesday Afternoon’, but taking the next logical step with audiences that’ll be talked about in the years to come.

To Our Children’s Children’s Children remains one of the Moodies stronghold, and its been reborn for 2023. The themes behind space travel and incredible psychedelic arrangements adds enough light speeds to get you going. And it’s one hell of a ride that’ll put you through the incredible sights and sounds from the Moody Blues.