Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: TUESDAY, June 28, 1994 TAG: 9406300014
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 6 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: By MARK MORRISON STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
It has been the key to the British band's enduring popularity.
Yet, it wasn't until 1992 - 25 years after the group struck gold with its flamboyant formula - that the band actually shared the stage with a live, flesh-and-blood orchestra.
Even when the Moody Blues recorded its seminal orchestral concept album, "Days of Future Past," in 1967, the band didn't play with an orchestra. The band taped its parts separate from the London Festival Orchestra.
So, when group members Justin Hayward, John Lodge, Graeme Edge and Ray Thomas finally started hiring orchestras to fill out their concert sound on signature classics like "Tuesday Afternoon" and "Nights in White Satin," they must have liked what they heard.
They have been using orchestras ever since. Wednesday night, the Moody Blues will perform with the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra at the Roanoke Civic Center.
One reason the band never used orchestras before had to do with technology. For years, orchestras were amplified solely with big overhead boom microphones that work perfectly when only the orchestra is playing. But add a rock band to the mix, and the only thing you hear is the rock band.
That changed with the development of mixing boards and sound consoles. Now, the Moody Blues can clip small, individual microphones on each orchestra musician and feed them all into a console capable of handling that many individual lines.
The result is that the orchestra now can compete for decibels with the band.
Another reason why the band shied away from orchestras is that after 1967, the group wanted to shy away from orchestras for fear of getting caught in a stylistic rut.
In fact, after "Days of Future Past" the Moody Blues never recorded another heavily orchestrated album until 1992, when it released a live recording of its first orchestra performances with the Denver Symphony Orchestra.
It's true also that the group originally didn't plan all the bombast and drama that made "Days of Future Past" such a hit.
The story goes that its British record label was interested in promoting the new stereo technology of the time to the booming rock 'n' roll market, and in response, the band's producer added the orchestration.
The group has since embraced the format to the point of adding orchestration in concert to many of its later songs.
In each city, the band rehearses only once with the host symphony, usually the afternoon before the show. The group has its own symphony director. Lori Gubala, director of development and public relations for the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra, said the musicians here will see the sheet music for Wednesday's show for the first time Wednesday. The rehearsal is supposed to last more than two hours.
It should be noted that Mike Pinder, often called the conscience of the Moody Blues, is not part of the band's current lineup. He left the group for good in 1978.
Going way back, only Ray Thomas and Graeme Edge really qualify as original Moody Blues members remaining in the band, which formed in 1964. John Lodge replaced original band member Clint Warwick early on in the group's history.
Lead singer Justin Hayward replaced Denny Laine before "Days of Future Past." Laine went on to become a major collaborator with Paul McCartney, and a longtime member of the former Beatles' band, Wings.
The Moody Blues: Wednesday, 8:30 p.m., Roanoke Civic Center. With the Roanoke Symphony Orchestra. $25 reserved seats, available at box office (981-1201), TicketMaster locations, or charge by phone (343-8100).
by CNB