The Moody Blues – A Question of Balance

Weirdly, I was standing around outside an open mic the other night, waiting in line, and in a conversation with another performer about how much he loved the ’70s classics, he said “A Question of Balance, that’s a great album.” And I had to say that I had just lifted the needle on it when I left the house. Remarkable coincidence, at least in 2022, that someone would mention an album from 1970, and I would have just been listening to it.

I’ve had a copy of this album for probably more than 40 years now – though I only had a few of the original Moody Blues albums back then (because the “This Is The Moody Blues” collection was so comprehensive).

This 1970 release was a big record for them, their highest charting album since “Days of Future Passed” – both hit No. 3 on the US charts, and it was definitely a presence in the ’70s, an album that I heard about throughout those years. Less psychedelic than their previous few offerings, more of a straightforward rocker, but it’s still evident that they’re part of what could well be called prog. If you asked me, I would say that I do not like prog rock, not really at all – but as with most things, there are some exceptions, and to the extent that The Moody Blues are prog, then I guess that’s an exception.

Maybe because it’s more rock, less orchestral, while I like it just fine, it’s not one of my top Moodies albums. I would put on “In Search of The Lost Chord,” “To Our Children’s Children’s Children,” or “On The Threshold of a Dream” first – but it’s still a damn fine example of the kind of music that I’m not sure anyone is making anymore.