‘Moodies’ not blue over snubbing

By Kirk Baird

Friday, March 30, 2001 | 8:55 a.m.

The title of the Moody Blues' latest album, "Hall of Fame," is a bit misleading.

The name of the 10-song disc, recorded live at Albert Hall in London with the World Festival Orchestra would seem to indicate the 30-plus-year-old band is taking a shot at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum for not voting them in.

That isn't the case, insists John Lodge, Moody Blues bassist and, along with Justin Hayward, the bands chief songwriter.

"The Albert Hall in London, it really is the hall of fame," Lodge said in a recent phone interview from the band's studios in London. "It's been there since Queen Victoria built it in the 19th century. And if you think of all the artists that have performed there, some of the greatest classical composers, some of the greatest musicians, some of the greatest people ever ... to us, that really is our hall of fame."

On tour in support of the album, the Moody Blues play Thursday through April 8 at Paris Las Vegas' Le Theatre des Arts.

Still, there is that nagging question: Why aren't the Moody Blues in the Hall of Fame?

There's the band's groundbreaking "Days of Future Past," released in 1967, which was the first rock album to feature a full orchestra; and one of its singles, "Nights in White Satin," is perenially voted one of the top 100 rock songs of all time.

And if that's not reason enough, there's the Moody Blues' rabid following, which has accounted for sales of 70 million records worldwide, as well as strong concert attendance, wherever and whenever the band plays.

Even the 55-year-old Lodge is a bit perplexed at the exclusion.

"I think in all those things there's a lot of politics," he said. "I don't know why that is. So, whether anyone will ever find out, I have no idea."

Theresa Murley, co-editor and co-founder of Higher & Higher, a Moody Blues fan magazine based in Geneva, Fla., said one reason for the omission is that the band doesn't project the image the Hall of Fame Voting Committee might be looking for.

"Rock 'n' roll is crotch-oriented music, and the Moody Blues don't have a rebel atmosphere to their music," Murley said.

Neither do other progressive or art-rock bands such as ELO, Yes, Rush, Jethro Tull and Emerson Lake and Palmer -- none of which have been inducted. These are groups, she said, that are considered more "intellectual" than most bands.

"I don't know if that's the bias, but it would be ironic to omit them because of that. One of the whole testimonials of rock 'n' roll is freedom of expression," Murley said.

She also cited one source, Goldmine, a record-collectors magazine, which lists the Moody Blues as its readers' choice for the band most deserving to be inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Still, even with those credentials and public sentiment, she wasn't sure if the band would be elected.

For Lodge and the band, however, not being voted in doesn't really matter. Nor does the lack of radio play given to the Moodies -- as the group's fans call the band.

For example, its 1999 studio effort, "Strange Times," which, with its lush harmonies and guitar-driven melodies, harkens back to the band's earlier days, failed to find radio success.

Lodge said he wasn't surprised by the lack of commercial support given the album.

"The airplay in America is totally negative to an artist like the Moody Blues," Lodge said. "I read a quote the other day from Mark Knopfler (of Dire Straits). When he was asked about his music, he said, 'Well, I think I'm a musician, but no one plays my music.' And that really sums it up. Dire Straits came around later than us, and if they can't get airplay ..."

So what's behind the lack of industry notice? Chalk it up to changing times.

The Moodies have continued with the same sound -- both melodic and symphonic, which beg for longer, more complicated segments -- while the tastes of the industry have moved to quicker, less intricate songs.

"(Music) needs to be encapsulated in a very short time span -- about 30 seconds," Lodge said. "And if people don't understand the song in 30 seconds, they think something is wrong."

What's disappointing to him, then, is the fact that "Strange Times" is an album that fits nicely into the genre of Moody Blues music, in that it's both innovative and progressive.

"To be honest, I'm incredibly proud of 'Strange Times' because I think it's the best album -- irrelevant to album sales -- that we've made in 20 years," he said. "I think it's an album that will be around a long, long time."

So, apparently, will the Moodies. When asked just how long, Lodge said he didn't know and hadn't really discussed it with the other band members.

"There's always something to fire the imagination and fire the excitement, where you say, 'Yep, I want to do that,' " Lodge said.

At the moment that fire is focused on projects such as the soon-to-be-released soundtrack the band recently completed for the IMAX film "Journey Into Amazing Caves." The disc features two new songs as well as a series of instrumentals by the band.

And there's another studio album in the works, he said.

But don't look for an autobiography on the band anytime soon. Even though there was discussion earlier of a coffee table-type book, Lodge said the timing wasn't right then and isn't right now.

His reason?

"The story isn't finished yet."

After all, there's still a chapter on the Hall of Fame to be written.

Kirk Baird

is an Accent feature writer. Reach him at kirk@lasvegassun.com or at 259-8801.

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