Culture
John Lodge of the Moody Blues talks ‘Days of Future Passed’
By: Emily Votaw
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CLARKSBURG, West Virginia (WOUB) – John Lodge and Justin Hayward joined the Moody Blues in 1966, just before the group embarked on recording the landmark album Days of Future Passed. The band had recently parted ways with founding members Denny Laine, a vocalist and guitarist who later joined Wings, and bassist Clint Warwick. Laine had been instrumental in shaping the band’s initial R&B sound, highlighted on their debut album, The Magnificent Moodies (which opens with a cover of James Brown’s “I’ll Go Crazy.”)
Days of Future Passed, however, would mark a radical shift in the band’s direction. The album merged rock with the symphonic grandeur of the London Festival Orchestra, producing a lush, orchestral sound that would go on to shape the progressive rock genre. Released in 1967, it introduced Nights in White Satin and pioneered the concept album format, uniting its songs into a cohesive, cinematic journey.
Lodge revisited the album in studio, releasing Days of Future Passed – My Sojourn last October. Now, he’s taking the record on the road, kicking off a five date run of shows with a performance at the Robinson Grand Performing Arts Center (444 West Pike Street) Tuesday.
Ahead of that show, Lodge talked with WOUB’s Emily Votaw about the enduring impact of Days of Future Passed, how its legacy surprised him, and what it’s been like to bring those songs to younger audiences.
Find a transcript of their conversation, edited for length and clarity, below. Listen to their conversation by clicking “play” in the Soundcloud widget above.
Emily Votaw:
Days of Future Passed has such a legacy. I’m curious what inspired you to bring it back in a live format now?
John Lodge:
I want to celebrate an anniversary of Days of Future Passed. And I went to into rehearsals with my group, the 10,000 Light Year Band, and I went to see Graeme Edge (drummer for the Moody Blues) and I said ‘I’m going to do Days of Future Passed live, on the road. Would you record the poetry for me?’ Because Graeme wrote all the poetry on the record. He said he would love to, so he did. Now he has a place on stage with me, forever.
Looking back, what are your thoughts on the album’s initial reception? Did you foresee how that would change over the decades?
Lodge:
No. When we recorded Days of Future Passed, we were young musicians discovering ourselves. We went into the studio and recorded like no one else had recorded before. We went into the studio and we made the complete album within a week. And we didn’t know what we’d made. We didn’t think about it being successful. We were ecstatic that we’d been allowed to go in the studio and record our own music.
But when we played it back to the record company, they didn’t understand the album at all. And we really fortunate because the head of classical music at the Decca record company in England (Hugh Mendle) understood us. And also Walt McGuire, the Vice President of London Records, heard the album and he understood where we were going. And those two people became mentors really.
The album didn’t take up straight away. It took a long time to be recognized. It took five years to become a major hit in the U.S. Looking back today, when I went into the studio to re-record a new version of the album (Days of Future Passed – My Sojourn) it was my way of saying: ‘listen to my album and then go and find the original.’ Because the original for me still has some really magical moments. And it was a magic time and you can’t relive a magic time.
You joined the Moody Blues in 1966. How do you feel your addition changed the group’s dynamic?
Lodge:
Well, it changed because Justin Hayward and I joined at the same time. Before that, the Moody Blues were playing mostly American blues songs. And we hadn’t even been to America. The thing about the blues is that it is very personal, and it’s also always about growing up where you are. So we thought, ‘ah, let’s start writing our own songs, our own English blues, about where we grew up.’ I grew up in Birmingham, which is a motor city with a heavy steel industry, but it also had a great orchestra. So that’s the influence I brought, that contradiction of influences.
How do younger audiences respond to these songs?
Lodge:
Well, that’s one of the reasons I released the album Days of Future Passed – My Sojourn, to open up a door to younger people who are now discovering albums. Young people who are discovering 180 gram albums instead of streaming songs from the Internet. That’s a great thing about touring live. You see the people who are appreciating your music, and that’s really important. Like at a concert last year, there were two young people on the front row. They must have been eight and 10 years of age, can you believe? And they were singing every lyric. It was unbelievable. I invited them backstage afterwards – obviously they’re with their parents – and I asked ‘how come these guys know these songs?’ And they said, ‘well, we played some on CDs at home. And they just picked up on themselves.’
What do you hope new fans and old fans take away from experiencing these songs live?
Lodge:
I hope it will open the door to the entirety of the Moody Blues. When you say “Moody Blues,” people say, ‘Oh, Nights in White Satin.’ But it’s much more than that. There’s a whole history of music to explore it. It’s like, in a way, it’s like a TV series on Netflix. Perhaps you see the eighth episode of a series and you love it. You probably didn’t start with the eighth episode on purpose – but if you did, you’ll probably go back and start with the first episode. No matter how you are initially exposed, you’ll find a way to see the whole series, and you’re going to enjoy the whole journey.