In Search of the Lost Chord

In Search of the Lost Chord, released in 1968, was The Moody Blues' third album. It has twelve tracks, with a total running time of 47:07. The album was published by Deram Records.

Related Topics:
1968 - Moody Blues - Deram Records

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The album is considered by some to be a concept album because several of the tracks deal with the theme of a person's search for spiritual fulfillment. Another concept dealt with in the album is the search for a mythical "lost chord," which is revealed to be the mantra "Om" (in the last stanza of Graeme Edge's poem "The Word").

Related Topics:
Concept album - Mantra

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After using the London Festival Orchestra on Days of Future Passed, the Moody Blues instead used the mellotron to produce any necessary string and horn embellishments on In Search of the Lost Chord. The mellotron, along with all the keyboards on the album, was played by Mike Pinder.

Related Topics:
Days of Future Passed - Mellotron

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The band made use of approximately 33 instruments during the making of In Search of the Lost Chord. Indian instruments such as the sitar (played by guitarist Justin Hayward) and the tamboura (played by Pinder) made audio appearances of several tracks (notably "Departure," "Visions of Paradise," and "Om"). Other unconventional (for the Moody Blues) instruments were also used, notably the oboe (played by percussionist/flute player Ray Thomas) and the cello (played by bassist John Lodge, who tuned it as a bass guitar).

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One track on the album, Thomas's "Legend of a Mind," was recorded during the Days of Future Passed sessions. The song's title does not appear in the lyrics, which reference LSD guru Timothy Leary and his astral plane. A prominent line in the song is "Timothy Leary's dead"/"No, no, no, he's outside looking in", which would carry new meaning upon Leary's death in 1997, when his ashes were launched into space.

Related Topics:
Days of Future Passed - Timothy Leary - Astral plane

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Having already experimented with spoken word interludes on "Morning Glory" and "Late Lament" on Days of Future Passed, the Moody Blues tried the practice again on In Search of the Lost Chord, on the Grame Edge-penned pieces "Departure" and "The Word." Both pieces were recited by Pinder, who was the primary reciter of Edge's poems on this and other Moody Blues albums.

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In Search of the Lost Chord peaked at #23 on the U.S. album charts upon release in July 1968. In the U.K., the album reached #5. Neither of the two singles from the album, "Ride My See-Saw" and "Voices in the Sky," charted in the top 40 on the Billboard charts.

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On the Moody Blues' next album, On the Threshold of a Dream, the Indian instruments were not used on the album, as the group used more traditional instruments during the album sessions (the flute and Mellotron were still used). However, the sitar would be used on two further Moody Blues songs, "Sun Is Still Shining" (on 1969's To Our Children's Children's Children) and "Procession" (from 1971's Every Good Boy Deserves Favour).

Related Topics:
On the Threshold of a Dream - To Our Children's Children's Children - Every Good Boy Deserves Favour

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