The Moody Blues Songs Ranked
The Moody Blues are a rock band formed in Birmingham, England in 1964, initially consisting of keyboardist Mike Pinder, multi-instrumentalist Ray Thomas, guitarist Denny Laine, drummer Graeme Edge, and bassist Clint Warwick. The group came to prominence playing rhythm and blues music. They made some changes in musicians but settled on a line-up of Pinder, Thomas, Edge, guitarist Justin Hayward, and bassist John Lodge, who stayed together for most of the band’s “classic era” into the early 1970s. The band’s most recent album was December (2003), a collection of Christmas music. It continued to tour throughout the first decade of the 2000s and still reunites periodically for events, one-off concerts, short tours, and cruises. The Moody Blues’ most successful singles include “Go Now”, “Nights in White Satin”, “Tuesday Afternoon”, “Question”, “Gemini Dream”, “The Voice” and “Your Wildest Dreams”. The band has sold 70 million albums worldwide,[which includes 18 platinum and gold LPs. They were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2018. Here are all of The Moody Blues songs ranked.
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20. Legend of a Mind (In Search of the Lost Chord, 1968)
“The depth of this composition is unsurpassed in the Moody Blues catalog. Ray Thomas, with his songwriting, flute, and soprano vocals has written a masterpiece. This song is just perfect – psychedelic, with an amazing flute solo, very dreamy and upbeat, just, well ya know, just fantastic!”
19. Sooner or Later (Walkin’ On Air) (Strange Times, 1999)
“Catchy and very uplifting, Justin, John and Ray did well together in a triple duet vocal resonation. I wish that song should have been a single sung by three members. Golly!”
18. Bless the Wings (That Bring You Back) (Keys of the Kingdom, 1991)
“That song is really describing and not a moment too soon, it’s very unique and beautiful in all its listening. Don’t care if one person thinks that it’s depressing.”
17. The Swallow (Strange Times, 1999)
“The Swallow even marks somewhat of a novelty to the Moody Blues sound, as the band are backed with a string quartet tightly integrated with them rather than an orchestra blowing in the background.”
See more: The Moody Blues Albums Ranked
16. Tuesday Afternoon (Forever Afternoon) (Days of Future Passed, 1967)
“The music & lyrics of the Moody Blues songs are some of the most beautiful & meaningful ever written. They still sound amazing live, too!”
15. Are You Sitting Comfortably (On the Threshold of a Dream,1969)
“Justin has said said that he did drugs back in the 60’s, so it’s possible there was some influence there with this great song. One of their best for sure!”
14. One More Time to Live (Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, 1971)
“One More Time To Live is probably my favourite track of all times, its middle eight with those lower hamonies layering against the lush background of organ and moog hardly ever fails to astound me (and I’m 32 now!). A splendid combination of the pastoral and the grandiose.”
13. Melancholy Man (A Question of Balance, 1970)
“Best song of them, very emotional vocal, such a powerful guitar and good back vocalists. One of the saddest, most depressing songs, yet one of the most beautiful ever.. just brilliant”
12. Gemini Dream (Long Distance Voyager, 1981)
“The ‘Blues sort of push their way into the 1980s, coming up with a sort of new-wave prog-rock sound that was a little weird but agreeable. “The Voice” had a bigger hook, but this one seemed to be more deliberately “deep, man”. A nice addition to a 1981 mixtape as an example of all the disparate stuff coexisting side-by-side on pop radio that year.”
11. The Voice (Long Distance Voyager, 1981)
“My very first favorite song. There I was: a beardless and illiterate toddler, about the size of a “fun size” Snickers bar, frequently whining, often crying, easily drawable, enjoying the Moody Blues on the radio in my mother’s car. For some reason, from the sound of his singing voice, I imagined Justin Heyward as a dark-haired man with a long beard. Like Jesus. My fetish for songs that are both “cosmic” and pretty starts here.”
10. What Am I Doing Here? (In Search of the Lost Chord, 1968)
“I listened to the snippets of all of the bonus tracks now available and thought this one sounded like it had potential so it was the first one I bought. After listening to it a few times now I’ve decided that it deserves a place among the best of the Justin Hayward MB songs. I can’t imagine why it was left off of the original album. It’s actually a beautiful and emotionally moving song that I really enjoy.”
9. The Other Side of Life (The Other Side of Life, 1986)
“The band really seemed to be pushing themselves here. This isn’t just a “modern”-sounding number, but something a bit beyond that. The lyrics are somewhat hippy-dippy metaphysical, but the song maintains a dark edge that, along with the guitar solo, makes the whole thing sound pretty different from most of what I was hearing at the time. The keyboard bit after the chorus is a bit overly-80s, but that’s a mild quibble.”
8. Eternity Road (To Our Children’s Children’s Children, 1969)
“This song is presumably about someone trying to seek causation of his sins so he can travel the eternal road. Just my take on it. nothing in stone obviously so comment on it so this song doesn’t feel left out”
7. I Know You’re Out There Somewhere (Sur la Mer, 1988)
“One of their noteworthy songs and like Your Wildest Dreams. The tune is a memo-rising reserve to its meaning and always listen to it a lot.”
See more: The Black Keys Albums Ranked
6. Go Now! (The Magnificent Moodies, 1965)
“This is how I knew the Moody Blues in the mid-60s. Such a great tune for that time in my life. What a shock to find out that this was the same band that came out with Days of Future Passed. The transformation gave me instant respect and loyalty to one of my favorite groups.”
5. Question (A Question of Balance, 1970)
“One of the best Moody Blues tracks, “Question” begins as an uptempo piece before slowing down for the middle section, a ballad. That ballad section is stunning, with a beautiful and riveting chorus, sung with great power by Justin Hayward. After this section it reverts back to the uptempo pace. ending the same way it began,”
4. Your Wildest Dreams (The Other Side of Life, 1986)
“I like to think “Your Wildest Dreams” will be adored by generations to come, much as I and many others in my generation adore this song. And I’m sure there are others who agree with me that this mere pop song rates as transcendent art.”
3. I’m Just a Singer (In a Rock & Roll Band) (Seventh Sojourn, 1972)
“They sound a lot like Love on here(yeah awesome, we know) any way this song is bad ass in most ways. My biggest concern is that I should rate it 4 or 3.5 either way it is awesome, guitars are good, drums or good, but vocals are just incredible will make you melt, even if they are simplistic as I said sounds like Love.”
2. The Story in Your Eyes (Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, 1971)
“Their albums from Days of Future Passed thru Seventh Sojourn were their best works. Brilliant album art as well. Leaving them out of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is nonsense, ridiculous, illogical and insulting.”
1. Nights in White Satin (Days of Future Passed Live, 2018)
“Nights in White Satin is a haunting tune, thanks to its psychedelic, wall of sound production. Whenever it comes on, it turns any moment I’m experiencing into a slightly poignant one. It’s a simple love song that transforms into a specter on whatever equipment you use to listen to it. The Moody Blues always produced their songs as if they’re going to blow up your stereo. While I dislike the backing orchestra prevalent throughout Days of Future Passed, everything works extremely well here”