To Our Children's Children's Children

To Our Children's Children's Children, released in 1969 (see 1969 in music), was The Moody Blues' fourth album. It represents the end of an era for the Moodies - after this album, their sound became progressively stripped down until their hiatus in 1972.

Related Topics:
1969 in music - Moody Blues

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To Our Children's Children's Children, however, was the lushest, densest-sounding album the band would ever put out. Songs like "Out and In", "Eternity Road", and "Watching and Waiting" would have made Phil Spector proud, so thick was their "Wall of Sound". As a concept album, it truly was meant to work together as a single document - none of the songs sound nearly so good apart as they do together. The general theme is around space travel, in commemoration of the 1969 moon landing, though it deals with it from a "worldview" standpoint and how unity is the only means to true achievement.

Related Topics:
Wall of Sound - Concept album

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In spite of its grand aspirations, and the fact that it's actually a very good album, it sold poorly compared to the group's previous releases, and aside from "Gypsy", its songs were almost impossible to reproduce live. As a result, its followup, A Question of Balance, was far more stripped down in sound. The band would also never sound quite as positive again, with subsequent LPs sounding increasingly desperate and disconnected. One could say this was, stylistically and emotionally, a high point they could never quite achieve again.

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