Days of Future Passed Live[Blu-ray]

Hayward and Lodge's voices have both seen better years, but their performances are still quite good. Hell, I'm only about 8 years behind them and my voice is almost totally shot. Edge, was apparently still recovering from a stroke when this was recorded, so it probably isn't a big surprise that there is a second drummer on stage with him to carry the more heavy loads. His constant grin when they pan to him is, in itself, really moving. I'm not too much of a fan of the later 70s and 80s stuff, but except for the vocals (which are great but you can tell they are being rendered by older performers), everything sounds pretty much like it does on the original LPs/CDs. They did include "Isn't Life Strange" & "The Story In Your Eyes" as part of the intro set, though. Clearly, however, the thing that makes this a 5-star performance is the playing of "Days of Future Past" in its entirety. I was moved to tears by the orchestra and especially the intros to "Tuesday Afternoon" and "Nights in White Satin". For some reason, both Hayward and Lodge sounded a lot younger during this set. The encore, "Question" and "Ride my See-Saw" are also played along with the orchestra and are great!Both the videography and sound are really up to Blu Ray standards, here. Also, the mixing engineer managed to balance the sound perfectly, and even when there was audience applause, the sound leves remauned pretty constant without noticible compression of the audio. I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the audio on this disk. So many times, before, I have been let down by audio that was no way near Blu Ray standards for exceptional audio quality.Yes, it's too bad Mike Pinder wasn't there and that Ray Thomas had died before this project, but Norda Mullen is, from a technical standpoint, a much better flutist than Thomas (and she's a lot more pleasant to look at). Alan Hewitt played the mellotron parts perfectly (although there isn't much screen time of him while he did it), and between him and Julie Ragins, more than compensated for Pinders absence.If you were a fan of the late 60s & early 70s Moody Blues, you will love this disk. I really is too bad we didn't have 2017 recording technology in 1967 so we could have been treated to this kind of spectacle back then. I never got to see the Moody Blues until the very early 90s, not too long after Patrick Moraz took over for Pinder, but this performance is about as close as I'm likely to ever get.

It’s 2017 and this fantastically fully orchestrated Days of Future Past rendition is preceded by MB & their excellent current accompaniment playing several of their top hits and album favorites. No Ray Thomas of course, but Graham Edge is harmless and still lovable as support drummer, and Justin’s and John’s vocals are still amazing for their 70+ years. I just love this DVD and am hoping to find the same sort for Threshold of a Dream (my favorite), but I’m not sure they ever did it.

I'm so glad this was presented, filmed and released! Definitely one of the most important works to come out of the time period. And while not every original member was there, most were, and the orchestra was excellent! The score (and parts for the musicians to play) were not found, so the conductor reconstructed them! I'd call him a genius just for that, but he also conducted the orchestra perfectly, in my humble opinion as a musician.

I never got a chance to see them live when the the album came out but this makes up for it. I first saw this on PBS, but see and hear on my home theater was even greater. So if you love the album get this bluray.

The Moody Blues. 50 years on and they are still performing better than ever. Of course, the world was treated to other ‘live’ performances:1969 – Caught Live +51970 – Isle Of Wight1991 – Live At Montreux1992 – Live At Red Rocks2000 – Royal Albert Hall2005 – Lovely To See YouEach concert is different and memorable, but this latest set from May of 2017 with a full orchestra at the Sony Centre For The Performing Arts in Toronto really shines.Recreating and celebrating the 50th anniversary of ‘Days Of Future Passed”, the Moody Blues are in perfect form – possibly more, despite the lack of Mike Pinder and the sad passing of Ray Thomas. There are four support members to make up the difference without outshining Hayward, Lodge and Edge.The concert is magically lit with laser and spotlights, a perfectly arranged band and orchestra and a huge panoramic screen in the back showcasing psychedelic photos, videos and all album covers – sometimes moving about. The ‘spoken word’ of Graeme Edge is done by a prerecorded actor Jeremy Irons on the back screen with so much emphasis on the words, it adds immense magic and gravity to the presentation.The concert begins with nine classic Moody Blues songs from over the decades before it jumps in ‘Days Of Future Passed’. Then it really becomes interesting. The entire album is played exactly as on the album, but each song is done from start to finish without any overlap or direct sequencing. One really gets to appreciate the orchestral versions played note for note by the orchestra. The back screen portrays amazing photos and videos representing parts of one day – morning to night - the theme of the album.The camera work is stellar with shots of the members of the orchestra and the audience without too much emphasis on either. It really is one of their best live performances ever recorded. Of course, there has to be the classic encore of ‘Question’ and ‘Ride My See Saw’. It is a grand finale to a spectacular event.Blu-Ray also includes generous interviews with Hayward, Lodge and Edge describing what it was like to record this classic album. There are also lots of ‘set-up’ options. The sound is so crystal clear and the video is hypnotizing.We still miss Mike Pinder and Ray Thomas; Rest In Peace.

Alta qualidade musical, alta qualidade sonora e de imagem.

ジャケ写の真ん中は、今も在籍する結成メンバーのグレアム・エッジ（dr. vo..）。　両脇はプログレ路線へ移行する契機となった途中加入のジョン・ロッジ（右 b vo.）、同じくギター中心に鍵盤やシタール等も器用にこなすジャスティン・ヘイワード。　頭が下がる程元気なジジイ三名大相撲の三役揃い踏みといった感がある、実にドラマティックな名盤『デイズ・オブ・フューチャー・パスト』（1967年）リリース50周年記念ライヴをメインにした構成のDVD。　思えば、キング・クリムゾンの１ｓｔ『クリムゾン・キングの宮殿』が日本盤で出たのが、確かイギリス盤の２年後くらい。　ムーディ・ブルースも７枚目の『Every Good Boy Deserves Favour』（邦題『童夢』）が英米でヒット・チャート１位、２位まで駆け上がったのを機に日本盤の発売が決まり、後追いで過去のアルバムも出ることになったのではなかったか。　時々旧メンバーが集まり同窓会的ツアーやアルバム製作を行ったイエスを別にすれば、目まぐるしくメンバーが代わりロバート・フリップのソロ・プロジェクトと化したキンクリ、ロジャー・ウォーターズ脱退後は明らかに形骸化感は否めないピンフロ、最早ドラマーのカール・パーマーしか生存していないEL&Pという各有力プログレ・バンドの歴史的事実を鑑みれば、当時の面子三人を中心として、たった今から２年前にこれだけしっかりしたコンサートを実現してしまうって、やっぱ凄いと思う。　そして、気が付かなかったが、ナレーションは、何とイギリスの名優『戦慄の絆』の主役ジェレミー・アイアンズではないか。　個人的な欲を言えば、『デイズ～』以外の曲を集めた第一部で、アルバム『クエスチョン・オブ・バランス』に収録され、笑ってしまう程劇的に暗い「メランコリー・マン」を演って欲しかったなあ。

前回（といっても50年近く前）来日コンサートでのトイレットペーパー投げ込み事件？のせいか、その後来日のうわさもなく、忘れ去られた感が強い（特に日本では）かもしれませんが、このライブ映像は、本当に素晴らしいです。あの「days of future..」がオーケストラと一体となって完全に再現されており、メンバー二人がいないのは残念ですが、その楽曲を二人のＪが演じる姿は感動的で、約５０分間、至福のひと時を過ごすことができました。

1967年発表の歴史的名盤（実験盤でもある）を現在のメンバーで再演した記念碑的作品です。発表当時の５人のメンバーのうち現在も活動しているのは３人となってしまいましたが、この作品を製作・発表した意図と意義を「５０周年記念」ツアーで再現してくれたところを高く評価をします。　収録されたのは２０１７年７月、カナダ・トロントでの公演で、映像から類推すると７０００人から１００００人くらいのキャパの会場のように見えます。　メンバーはJustin , John ,Graemeの３人にドラマーとキーボード（男性）が１名ずつ、そしてキーボード・ギター・サックス担当の女性とフルート・ギター担当の女性の計４名が加わっておりレッドロックスでのライブ作品と比べても遜色ありません。　第一部は１時間弱で、往年のヒット曲を主体にJustin HaywardとJohn Logdeが交互に歌っています（オープナーが"I'm Just A Singer In A Rock'n'Roll Band"なのには驚きましたが・・・）。休憩を挟んで第二部では名盤"Days Of Furre passed"がオーケストラとの共演で再現され、アンコールにまた代表曲を２曲演奏して終演という構成で合計で１時間５４分の収録。　近年のロックコンサートでは自分たちの自信作や名盤を完全再現するという試みが多数ありますが、The Moody Blues が演るとしたらやはりこの作品か"Seventh Sojourn"が妥当なところですし、１９６０年代後半のプログレ音楽を目指したバンドの中では最もオーケストラとの相性が良かったのは彼らのような気がします。　Justin も john も顔に刻まれた皺は深くなり、歌声も高音が出しにくくなってきましたし、Graemeのドラミングも（キーとなる軸のドラミングはもう一人のドラマーに任せて）シンプルなものになってしまいましたが、パフォーマンス全体はそれほど衰えておらず、５０年経ってもこの作品が高く評価されていることに誇りを持って演奏しているようです。201７年のこのツアー時点ではツアー不参加ではあるもののオリジナルメンバーでフルート担当のRay Thomasnはまだ存命中。彼に代わる女性フルートプレイヤーはRay以上に前面に出ており、コーラスでもかなり貢献していますが、この５０周年記念ツアーではRayの姿を見たかったな～。とは言え、The Moody Bluesとしての新作はもう製作しないと明言されており、コンサートもクルーズツアーのような形で小規模でしかやらないようなのでこの作品は貴重な作品だと言えるでしょう。レッドロックスのライブ作品とこの作品の両方とも彼らの魅力を十分に伝えてくれる好作品です。

All good