The Mellotron Group

Jason, I've encountered this a number of times in recent years and never 
cease to be surprised by it, but there seems to be this tendency to try 
and classify the Moodies as prog and lump them into a comparison with 
Crimson and Yes.  I don't remember anyone doing this when all this stuff 
was contemporary back in the early '70s.  Yes and Crimson were 
considered much heavier and meatier bands by just about everyone I knew 
and the Moodies were sort of a folky pop group that had evolved into 
something slightly more.

I've never thought of the Moodies as anything other than a very melodic 
pop outfit that I happen to like.  They've done some beautiful things 
and some absolute dreck - all on those core seven albums.  I happen to 
think that Tuesday Afternoon and Watching A Waiting are two of the most 
beautiful songs ever recorded, and that a large percentage of Question 
of Balance and EGBDF are absolute crap.  I happen to think that Hayward 
has a beautiful singing voice and that Pinder was the creative soul of 
the band, and that his Mellotron playing put them where they were.  By 
the same token, if you want to hear some absolutely dreadful 
songwriting, just listen to the stuff that Denny Lane and Mike Pinder  
were writing in the band's original incarnation.

At the end of the day, I find early Crimson as being much closer to the 
Moodies (musically Crimson were far superior, but melodically closer) 
than to much of the material that Yes was putting out. Just my opinion 
and your mileage may vary.
best
johnb


Jason Locke wrote:
>  The instrumentation doesn't seem to weave in and out like a Yes or a 
> King Crimson piece would.  Maybe that isn't the goal, though, so 
> again, it's a preference.  Nothing hits me in the gut, though.  What 
> am I not getting, because I want to understand!  What aspects of their 
> music do the fans here appreciate and enjoy?
>  
> Jason 
>
> *//*