Threshold 7
Producer: Tony Clarke
Track listing: Lost in a Lost World / New Horizons / For My Lad 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)
December 9, 1972
5 weeks
“It was quite a traumatic time for the group,” says Moody Blues singer‑guitarist Justin Hayward of the months the veteran British act spent making its seventh album, appropriately titled Seventh Sojourn. “We were going through a lot of personal anxiety and that’s reflected in the material.” Indeed, the lyrics and even the song titles on Seventh Sojourn suggest that the Moodies did in fact have the blues.
Formed in Birmingham, England, in 1964, the band was originally fronted by singer-guitarist Denny Laine, who was featured on its top 10 hit “Go Now!” Laine, who left the group along with bassist Clint Warwick in 1966, went on to join Paul McCartney & Wings in 1971. With Hayward and singer bassist John Lodge recruited, the Moodies, who also included Ray Thomas (flute, vocals), Mike Pinder (keyboards, vocals), and Graeme Edge (drums), became known for a grandiose, orchestrated sound and spacey lyrics. Their third album, 1968’s Days of Future Passed, featured live string accompaniment, but often the group relied on a Mellotron—a keyboard instrument that reproduces string sounds—to create its symphonic sound.
Yet for Seventh Sojourn, the Moodies opted for some new technology. “We dumped the Mellotron and discovered an instrument called the Chamberlain, which gave us a much better orchestral sound,” says Hayward.
Although the Moodies had failed to crack the top 20 of the singles chart after the early success of “Go Now!,” their popularity was increasing with each album release. By 1972, they were one of the premiere rock acts in the world.
“There was a lot of pressure,” Hayward recalls. “The nature of the business then was that every record you made was tremendously important.” With stress and heightened expectations mounting, the Moodies had tentative plans that Seventh Sojourn would be their last hurrah.
Ironically, just as the Moody Blues were preparing to go on hiatus, they experienced the biggest success of their career. “Isn’t Life Strange,” released in advance of Seventh Sojourn, stalled at number 29 in June 1972. Then something strange happened. Disc jockeys picked up on the Moodies’ four-year-old epic “Nights in White Satin” from Days of Future Passed. The single hit number two in November, while Days of Future Passed climbed to number 3, paving the way for Seventh Sojourn. The new album shot to the top spot of the Billboard Top LP’s & Tape chart in four weeks. “It was almost as if ‘Nights in White Satin’ was the single from Seventh Sojourn,” Hayward says. “The record company was trying to stop it by suggesting to radio stations that they shouldn’t play it, but it didn’t matter.”
A second single from Seventh Sojourn, “I’m Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band),” peaked at number in March.
After completing an extensive world tour, the Moodies began recording their eighth album, but it was quickly aborted, leaving the band members free dive into outside projects. The band would not regroup until 1978. As Hayward puts it, “Seventh Sojourn closed a particular part of the book.”
THE TOP FIVE
Week of December 9, 1972
1. Seventh Sojourn, The Moody Blues
2. All Directions, Temptations
3. Rhymes & Reasons, Carole King
4. Catch Bull at Four, Cat Stevens
5. Close to the Edge, Yes