062: The Moody Blues - Seventh Sojourn (1972)
“Seventh Sojourn is music to bask in and feel with your pores as well as your ears.”
—Steve Ditlea, Rolling Stone
It’s our third holiday episode, so why not sit comfortably and talk about a third Moody Blues album? By 1972, The Moody Blues had successfully transitioned their sound from the ’60s to the ’70s without losing their ability to generate top-5 charting albums in both the U.S. and the U.K., but they were also on the verge of total burnout that would lead to them taking a six-year hiatus between new studio albums. Seventh Sojourn is the last entry in the band’s core period before they went on break, and it has some of the band’s very best material despite not having any poetry or a single second of Mellotron. Come listen to John, Rich, Amanda, and Phil indulge themselves with an album they know and love from the podcast’s unofficial mascot band, and especially listen for when Amanda confesses to the single hottest take in the history of Moody Blues podcasting.
Miscellany
The band has said that the theme for this album is based on the Canterbury Tales, in which a group of people from different backgrounds get together at an inn and tell stories that may or may not be connected to one another. So basically there’s no theme at all.
Amanda misremembered the setlist from the 2017 concert. “I’m Just a Singer” was the opener, and they closed with “Ride My See-Saw,” as they have done at every show since approximately 1968.
As John mentioned, you can hear Producer Mike’s explanation of the Chamberlin in our Helium episode.
Producer Mike would like you to know that Amanda’s opinion of “Isn’t Life Strange” and John’s opinion of “When You’re a Free Man” coincide with his own.
The full list of Hayward Specials:
Tuesday Afternoon
Never Comes the Day
The Land of Make-Believe
Running Water
The Other Side of Life
Other links
Contemporary reviews of Seventh Sojourn (superseventies.com)
“I’m Just a Singer” official video, featuring decorative tambourines (YouTube)
The Moody Blues’ official website, where you can buy Moodies face masks (MoodyBluesToday.com)
John’s Moody Blues page (johnmcferrinmusicreviews.org)
Discord & Rhyme Roll Call
Phil Maddox (moderator)
Rich Bunnell
John McFerrin
Amanda Rodgers
Seventh Sojourn tracklist
Lost in a Lost World
New Horizons
For My Lady
Isn’t Life Strange
You and Me
The Land of Make-Believe
When You’re a Free Man
I’m Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band)
Other clips used
The Moody Blues:
Question (This Is the Moody Blues mix)
Here Comes the Weekend
I’m Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band) (Live 2017)
Ride My See-Saw
Island
Who Are You Now (Hayward & Lodge)
You and Me (Beckthorns Backing Track)
Others:
Genesis - Who Dunnit?
The New Pornographers - Falling Down the Stairs of Your Smile
R.E.M. - Texarkana
Band/album personnel
Justin Hayward - vocals, guitars
John Lodge - vocals, bass, acoustic guitar
Ray Thomas - vocals, flute, tambourine, saxophone (?), oboe
Graeme Edge - drums, percussion, vocals
Mike Pinder - vocals, Chamberlin, piano, harmonium
Credits
“Discord & Rhyme (theme),” composed by the Other Leading Brand, contains elements of:
Duran Duran - Hungry Like the Wolf
Amon Düül II - Dehypnotized Toothpaste
The Dukes of Stratosphear - What in the World?? ...
Faith No More - Midlife Crisis
Herbie Hancock - Hornets
Kraftwerk - Autobahn
Talking Heads - Seen and Not Seen
The Moody Blues - Lost in a Lost World (this episode only)
You can buy or stream Seventh Sojourn and other albums by the Moody Blues at your local record store, or the usual suspects such as Spotify, iTunes, YouTube, and Amazon. Follow Discord & Rhyme on Twitter @DiscordPod for news, updates, and other random stuff. Editing is by Rich, and special thanks to our own Mike DeFabio, the Other Leading Brand, for production and original music. See you next album, and be ever wonderful.