[.ca] On The Threshold Of A Dream

From Amazon.co.uk:
Released in 1969, just two years after the groundbreaking Days Of Future Passed, the Moodies' third collection kicked off in high gear with a gutsy Justin Hayward rocker--"Lovely To See You"--before seguing into typically cosmic territory. As ever, keyboardist Mike Pinder contributed the most unabashedly trippy numbers here: both "The Voyage" and "Have You Heard" float along dreamily on a raft of dope smoke and good karma--though the album also found the group moving away from Oriental and Indian influences, in favour of more traditional Western melodies and instrumentation, notably, Pinder's Mellotron. As ever, there's a slightly bittersweet quality to these songs, a sense of melancholy--as if the band were aware, even as they celebrated the counterculture's heyday, of its actual ephemerality. In this vein, Hayward's "Never Comes The Day" set the stage for the stoic, devotional love songs of his later work, while John Lodge's "To Share Our Love" betrayed the influence of the 1960s British blues scene upon his song writing. All in all, a strong, diverse set. --Andrew McGuire

very dreamy:
I was first introduced to a few songs from this album when I purchased the Singles+ 2-disc set of the Moody Blues. Those songs were "Lovely to See You", "Dear Diary", and "Never Comes the Day". They also happened to be some of the only songs on that compilation not to be edited. Another song I'd heard before I bought the album was "Lazy Day", which I heard on the Musicchoice classic rock station on my Comcast digital cable. I will do a brief review of the songs that make this album worth purchasing rather than getting some compilation. "In the Beginning"-once their album is opened up with a poem by Graeme Edge just as on the next album. As usual it's used as an intro to the next song or if you will the first song "Lovely to see You" a rocker by Justin Hayward who normally rights romantic ballads. To be honest this song actually gets a little boring. I know it's included on at least three of there compilations and you can hear it live on A NIGT AT RED ROCKS, but there's other better songs on the album like "Dear Diary" by Ray Thomas. It's a very relaxing song and it also features a flute solo. You can hear him saying something towards the end of the song, but you can't really understand what it is he's saying. "Send Me No Wine" and "To Share Our Love" are two back-to-back songs by John Lodge. They are not really filler but they also don't really go anywhere except seques on to the next song. These two are also the only contributions by John. Kind of a regression since his big hit with "Ride my See Saw" on their previous LP "In Search of the Lost Chord", but he would do much better in the next album and the ones that followed. "So Dee Within You" by Mike Pinder is a fun song to listen to. It happened to have been covered by the Four Tops along with another song penned by Pinder "A Simple Game" which was the B-Side to the aforementioned "Ride My See Saw" both produced by Tony Clarke. Note: In the liner notes of the CD I think it's the first one to have a picture of each member with their name in a caption. I don't if DAYS OF FUTURE PASSED does because I only have it on vinyl. There is a photo of Clarke their producer with a caption to as he was considered to be the six member of the band at that time. On to the second side of the album It starts off with "Never Comes the Day" by Justin Hayward. It starts of slow and gets louder in the chorus. It's one of those songs of his like "Tuesday Afternoon" and "The Other Side of Life" that just repeat the same lyrics after the chorus. You can hear a live version of this song on CAUGHT LIVE +5 another CD I own. They still perform it to this day although you wont hear it on either of the last two live albums. "Lazy Day" is another great song by Ray. It's a good song to listen to on a Sunday afternoon. On both of the last two songs you can hear him playing the harmonica which is kind of rare. "Are You Sitting Comfortably" was co-written by Justin and Ray. This is one of the best songs on the album. You can also hear it live on CAUGHT LIVE. It then segues onto a poem by Greame Edge titled "The Dream"- not much to say I'm not good at critiqing poetry but it's a pretty damn good. Have You Heard pt.1/The Voyage/Have You Heard pt.2 is Pinder's masterpeice. It doesn't hold up very well in concert, but its an example of what you can do with the mellotron and since then keyboard and synthesizers have improved drastically. The best songs here are by Ray Thomas and Mike Pinder.

awesome:
this album is great. the first few songs are pretty good: the upbeat "lovely to see you", followed by the lovely and wonderfully mellow "dear diary" and then the laid back "send me no wine". "to share our love" is rather irritating though. but the album hasn't really even started yet. to me, the album _really_ begins right when "so deep within you" begins. wow! one of the greatest moody blues songs. you wouldn't think it'd get any better, until you hear "never comes the day", which is without a doubt the greatest most beautiful song on the album. these two songs are the power of this album, and right at the center. and then there's another lovably mellow song "lazy day", and by far the mellowest, "are you sitting comfortably?" a few words, and then a nice ending with "have your heard" with the awesome instrumental in the middle i love this album. almost as good as "in search of the lost chord"..

The Moodies' On A Threshold of A Dream:
To correct another reviewer (Alan Caylow) this is The Moody Blues' FOURTH Album...NOT third. Now onto the music. The album is chock full of airy tones that make for enjoyable and relaxing music. Highlights for me include Lovely To See You Again, Never Comes A Day, the Jethro Tullish sounding So Deep Into You, and Send Me No Wine. The rest of it is very good as well -- offering up that music that only The Moody Blues can offer. Sit back, relax and take a journey with The Moody Blues...On A Threshold Of A Dream!! A+

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!

Un giro hacia lo simple en medio de la experimentación:
De los 4 discos de que lanzaron en los 60, Threshold es el más simple musicalmente hablando, dejando a un lado la recargada sicodelia de Search y la experimentación sonora de To Our Children. Siempre se ha criticado a los Moody Blues de repetirse álbum tras álbum, lo que no me parece justo, y en todo caso no se puede acusar a un grupo en el que 4 integrantes componen y cantan en forma casi equitativa. Comenzando por Hayward, su aporte aqui no está a la altura que nos tiene acostumbrados, sus 3 temas son buenos, en especial la rockera Lovely To See You y la balada que comparte con Thomas Are You Sitting Comfortably?, pero definitivamente no brilla como antes o después. Ray Thomas en su particular estilo de hacer canciones con aires infantiles aporta Dear Diary, con un buen bajo y su distorsionada voz, en tanto Lazy Day es tal vez su mejor canción con los Moody. John Lodge se encarga de la rockera To Share Our Love y la country Send Me No Wine, ambas agradables sin ser espectaculares. Graeme Edge hace sus típicas introducciones de poesía esotérica y para el final dejo a Mike Pinder, sin lugar a dudas el más místico, experimental y grandilocuente del grupo, quien retoma sus influencias orientales en So Deep Within You. Mención aparte merece su trilogía Have You Heard (Partes 1 y 2) y The Voyage, la que se inicia como una balada sicodélica con similitudes a Pink Floyd para desembocar en el viaje, 4 minutos de fantasía instrumental en la que abunda Mellotron, órgano, piano y percusion, tras lo cual vuelve el mismo tema de introducción, un gran final para un disco que si bien no aporta mucho a la evolución del grupo, deja algunas joyas para recopilaciones futuras.

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