The Moody Blues - Days of Future Passed (1967)

Dan:

I will always remember the day I first heard "The Night: Nights in White Satin" from Days of Future Passed. I was driving home from Presque Isle in Erie PA and it was playing on the car radio. I thought to myself "What is this?" By the time I reached the recitation "Breathe deep the gathering gloom..." I was spellbound. Then that famous gong sounded, and I couldn't wait any longer for the deejay to say who it was. The Moody Blues? Never heard of them.

That was my introduction to what became known as prog. Only prog could turn a mundane telling of life's daily activities into a wondrous, dream-like fantasy, complete with symphony orchestra and poetry.

Although not immediately successful, Days of Future Passed laid the groundwork for subsequent albums, notably In Search of the Lost Chord; On the Threshold of a Dream; To Our Children's Children's Children; A Question of Balance, and Every Good Boy Deserves Favour. Each album in the sequence features a climactic piece with spoken words and a decidedly optimistic posture. For the Moodies, spiritual enlightenment, social justice, and human potential were common themes, as they were for many prog bands of the period. 

Looking back, those themes may seem naive and idealistic, but they were more than just a sign of the times. They were popular expressions of morality, delivered to millions of listeners in a highly accessible form. I would personally defend this branch of prog for its unabashed commitment to seeing the possibilities for a better world. 

Cold-hearted orb that rules the night
Removes the colours from our sight
Red is grey and yellow, white
But we decide which is right
And which is an illusion
- Graeme Edge

Steve:

In my personal prog discovery timeline, this was not among my first Moody Blues albums, and as such it doesn't hold significance for me as a personal touchstone. However, each time I listen to it, I'm amazed at how fully formed the band had become as creative songwriters and arrangers, so soon after they were a failed R&B band not far from breaking up.  Apparently, the band were asked by Decca to participate in a rock/classical adaptation of some classical piece, and the band and conductor Peter Knight conspired to ditch that idea and record the Moodies' original material instead. Somehow, they got away with it, and Decca released it anyway (let that be a lesson, kids!).  

I can only hope Decca heard what the rest of the world would soon hear, that this was a fantastic album. The orchestral variations by Knight (including a clever "overture" in "The Day Begins") work as intros and interludes, with the Moody Blues' songs remaining the focus. Since Mike Pinder had recently discovered the flute/string sounds of the Mellotron, the band's own songs were conducive to the orchestra/rock band idea. The "day in the life of an ordinary guy" concept offered a great tool for thematic unity, capitalizing on the newly confirmed (via the Beatles) idea that an album-length work can be a viable commercial endeavor for a rock band. Also, it greatly helped that the band had "Nights in White Satin/Late Lament" to close the work, wisely making it the climax of the album, and fully integrating the orchestra with the band for a stunning finale.