"Visions of Paradise" | |
---|---|
Song by The Moody Blues | |
from the album In Search of the Lost Chord | |
Released | July 1968 |
Recorded | 4 June 1968 |
Length | 4:15 |
Label | Deram Records |
Songwriter(s) | Justin Hayward, Ray Thomas |
Producer(s) | Tony Clarke |
Official audio | |
"Visions of Paradise" on YouTube |
"Visions of Paradise" is a 1968 song by the progressive rock band the Moody Blues. First released on their album In Search of the Lost Chord , it was written jointly by band members Justin Hayward and Ray Thomas, and was the first of many collaborations between them. The song is primarily led by Justin Hayward's voice and Ray Thomas's flute, with the lyrics describing the writer's perception of paradise.
The song has been described as ".. little else than Thomas’s flute riff and Hayward’s softly picked acoustic. Apparently resuming the drug-trip theme, this song may be even further "out there" than "The Best Way to Travel" with a surreal perception of paradise." [1]
Regarding the song, Hayward has explained:
You have to start with the Mellotron that Mike Pinder was playing. The way he got that sound was by bouncing between machines. We were only on 4-track machines, going up to 8-track for Lost Chord, so he would bounce the whole thing across many times to get that layered sound. That would be very time consuming for him and Derek Varnals, the engineer. They would work on it together.
Meanwhile, other guys were writing in the studio going [imitates a high-pitched, wavering Mellotron] through a progression of chords. So Ray and I found this broom cupboard that was attached to the studio. I'd go there with my acoustic guitar and flute, and we would write those things. It had a sound-proofed door so that the cleaners didn't disturb us. It also had an entrance from the corridor that was also sound-proofed. It was a sealed little place. Everything that we wrote together – including "Visions of Paradise" – all of those things were written there. [2]
In 2008 the band issued a "instrumental sitar mix" of the track as a bonus on their 2008 CD remastered reissue. [3]
The Moody Blues were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in May 1964. The band initially consisted of drummer Graeme Edge, guitarist/vocalist Denny Laine, keyboardist/vocalist Mike Pinder, multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Ray Thomas, and bassist/vocalist Clint Warwick. Originally part of the British beat and R&B scene of the early–mid 1960s, the band came to prominence with the UK No. 1 and US Top 10 single "Go Now" in late 1964/early 1965. Laine and Warwick left the band by the end of 1966, being replaced by guitarist/vocalist Justin Hayward and bassist/vocalist John Lodge. They embraced the psychedelic rock movement of the late 1960s, with their second album, 1967's Days of Future Passed, being a fusion of rock with classical music that established the band as pioneers in the development of art rock and progressive rock. It has been described as a "landmark" and "one of the first successful concept albums".
Days of Future Passed is the second album and first concept album by English progressive rock band The Moody Blues, released in November 1967 by Deram Records. With its fusion of orchestral and rock elements, it has been cited as one of the first examples of progressive rock.
On the Threshold of a Dream is the fourth album by The Moody Blues, released in April 1969 on the Deram label. The album reached the top of the album charts, the group's first No. 1 album in the UK.
David Justin Hayward is an English musician. He was the guitarist and frontman of the rock band the Moody Blues from 1966 until that group's dissolution in 2018. He became the group's principal vocalist and its most prolific songwriter over the 1967–1974 period, and composed several international hit singles for the band.
In Search of the Lost Chord is the third album by The Moody Blues, released in July 1968 on the Deram label.
To Our Children's Children's Children is the fifth album by the Moody Blues, released in November 1969.
Octave is the ninth album by The Moody Blues, released in 1978, and their first release after a substantial hiatus following the success of the best-selling Seventh Sojourn in 1972. Released after a considerable break, which saw The Moody Blues returning in an era of punk music and disco, Octave produced a reduced commercial outcome for the band, but reached No. 6 in the United Kingdom and went platinum in the United States, where the album reached No. 13. The album produced the hit single "Steppin' in a Slide Zone", which hit No. 39 in the US, in addition to "Driftwood". The album's title is a musical pun: it references both the notion of an octave; and as a word derived from the Latin octavus it refers to this being the eighth album by this line-up of the Moody Blues.
Every Good Boy Deserves Favour is the seventh album by The Moody Blues, released in 1971. The album reached No. 1 on the British album chart, in addition to a three-week stay at No. 2 in the United States, and produced one top-40 single, "The Story in Your Eyes".
Raymond Thomas was an English musician, singer and songwriter. He was best known as a founding member of the English progressive rock band the Moody Blues. His flute solo on the band's 1967 hit single "Nights in White Satin" is regarded as one of progressive rock's defining moments. In 2018, he was posthumously inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Moody Blues.
"Ride My See-Saw" is a 1968 single by the English progressive rock band the Moody Blues. It was written by the band's bassist John Lodge, and was first released on the Moody Blues' 1968 album In Search of the Lost Chord. It was the second of two singles from that album, the other being "Voices in the Sky".
"Voices in the Sky" is a hit 1968 single by the progressive rock band the Moody Blues, and it was written by their lead guitarist Justin Hayward. It was released as a single in June 1968, with "Dr. Livingstone, I Presume" on the B-side. It was later released on their 1968 album In Search of the Lost Chord, and was the first of two singles from that album, the other being "Ride My See-Saw".
"Legend of a Mind" is a song by the British progressive rock band the Moody Blues, and was written by the band's flautist Ray Thomas, who provides the lead vocals. "Legend of a Mind" was recorded in January 1968 and was first released on the Moody Blues' album In Search of the Lost Chord. Prominently featuring the Mellotron, it was the first song recorded for the album.
"Watching and Waiting" is a 1969 single by the progressive rock band the Moody Blues, and was written by band members Justin Hayward and Ray Thomas.
"Dr. Livingstone, I Presume" is a 1968 song by the English rock band the Moody Blues. It was written by the band's flautist Ray Thomas, although he does not play the flute in the song. First released in June 1968 on the B-side of "Voices in the Sky," "Dr. Livingstone, I Presume" is one of Ray Thomas's signature child-themed songs, much like his first composition "Another Morning."
"Om" is a song by the British progressive rock band the Moody Blues that was released in July 1968 as the final track of their album In Search of the Lost Chord. It was composed by the band's keyboardist, Mike Pinder. "Om" has a heavy Indian influence and sound to it. The word "Om", which is chanted repeatedly throughout the song, represents Aum, a sacred mantra in the Hindu, Jain, Sikh and Buddhist religions.
"The Best Way to Travel" is a 1968 song by the progressive rock band the Moody Blues. Written by keyboardist Mike Pinder, it was released on the album In Search of the Lost Chord. A wide stereo panning effect, made by the pan pots on the Decca Studios custom-built four-track recording console used during 1967–68, is noticeable on this track.
"Beyond" is a three-minute long instrumental song by the band the Moody Blues from their 1969 album To Our Children's Children's Children, a concept album about space travel. "Beyond" was written by the Moody Blues' drummer Graeme Edge. It was the Moody Blues' second fully instrumental song on one of their albums. The first was the song "The Voyage" from their previous album On the Threshold of a Dream. It was also the first released Moody Blues song written by Edge that did not involve spoken vocals.
"Procession" is a 1971 song by the Moody Blues and is the opening track of their album Every Good Boy Deserves Favour. It is the only song to have been co-written by all five members of the band.
Michael Thomas Pinder is an English musician. He is a founding member and the original keyboard player of the rock group the Moody Blues. He left the group following the recording of the band's ninth album Octave in 1978. Pinder is especially noted for his technological contribution to music. In 2018, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of the Moody Blues. He is the last surviving member of the group's original lineup.
"A Simple Game" is a 1968 song by the progressive rock band the Moody Blues. Written and sung by Mike Pinder, it was released as a non-album B-side to "Ride My See-Saw", a track from the album In Search of the Lost Chord. The song was produced by Tony Clarke and arranged by Arthur Greenslade. The track was covered by The Four Tops, and their version was issued as a single in the United States in January 1972, reaching #90 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song had already been issued as a single in Britain in September 1971, having reached #3 in the UK and #14 in Ireland.