I should add that Laine -- who found greater fame and fortune as a member of Paul McCartney's Wings -- wrote and sang that. Jeebus, he was the real soulful deal.
But speaking of the post-Laine Moodys, I have a story, and its not really a funny one.
The short version -- I went to see the mellotron version of those guys -- with the insufferable irony-free Justin Heyward fronting -- at the old Fillmore East, circa late 1968. They were opening for whatever the edition of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers was, and apparently the Moody's thought it was somewhat demeaning to be paired with them..
And when the crowd didn't respond with the enthusiasm they thought their whey-faced British prog-rock deserved, Moody's flutist Ray Thomas looked at the audience and sneered-- and I quote verbatim -- "We're not doing any 12-bars tonight. Too complicated."
What a fucking snob asshole.
6 comments:
What a dick
You think that's a dick move, how about,Jimi Hendrix complaining that it was too cold and he was stopping his set - Bridgeport, CT. - 1968
He's right. A 12-bar, played properly, is far too complicated, subtle, and emotionally true for those dinks.
Got to say that I saw Justin Heyward a few years ago and he was quite charming and still in good voice.
I remember when the Moodys were releasing solo efforts, and Ray Thomas dumped his turd "Mighty Oaks" on the public. Some unsuspecting friends bit on it. I don't think it even made the full rotation, except when it became a Frisbee.
Loved this record in the day -- one in a long long stream of U.K. hits I fervently wished would catch on here, or at least get some airply, but that did neither. A Brit DJ named Tommy Vance had a British Top 10 segment for awhile on L.A. AM radio (KRLA, I think), which is how I managed to hear (and record on my little Sony 101) discs like this, Them's "Call My Name," and other U.S. chart orphans.
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