The Magnificent Moodies

The Magnificent Moodies is the 1965 debut album by The Moody Blues, first released in the UK, and the first and only album featuring their R&B line-up of guitarist Denny Laine, bassist Clint Warwick, keyboardist Mike Pinder, flautist–percussionist Ray Thomas, and drummer Graeme Edge. Lead vocals were shared by Laine, Pinder and Thomas. The album is a collection of R&B and Merseybeat songs, including the cover of "Go Now", produced by Alex Wharton, that had been a Number 1 hit single earlier that year. For the U.S. release, on London Records, with the title of Go Now – The Moody Blues #1, four songs were replaced and the tracks re-ordered. The United States and Canadian versions also incorrectly titles three songs.

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Review scores
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AllMusic[1]

The Magnificent Moodies
Studio album by
The Moody Blues
Released23 July 1965 (1965-07-23)
RecordedOctober 1964 – March 1965
Genre
Length34:23
LabelDecca
Producer
The Moody Blues chronology
The Magnificent Moodies
(1965)		 Days of Future Passed
(1967)

Release history

The album did not make the Record Retailer/Music Week chart even though it reached number 5 in August 1965 in the New Musical Express album chart. The U.S. album did not make the Billboard chart.

The sleeve notes on the original UK release include an (undated) review by Virginia Ironside, music critic of Daily Mail, which concludes, "With the Moody Blues, all you need to write is "MAGNIFICENT" in pink lipstick and leave it at that"; and a prose poem by Donovan recommending the band. All the tracks on the UK release were produced by Denny Cordell; except for "Go Now", which was produced by Alex Wharton.[2]

Laine and Warwick left the group in 1966, and were replaced by guitarist Justin Hayward and bassist John Lodge respectively.

At the height of The Moody Blues' U.S. success in 1970, Deram Records reissued the U.S. version of the album with a new cover and title, In the Beginning (DES-18051). As with the original album, the reissue did not chart.

In the early 1980s, a double compilation album entitled A Dream, which included the entire The Magnificent Moodies LP along with the A and B sides of Moody Blues singles released between 1965 and 1967 (prior to the release of the Days of Future Passed album) was issued in much of western Europe, but only available on import in the UK.

In 1985 Intermediate Records reissued the album on vinyl and cassette as Go Now, with a mixture of songs from the original UK and US albums plus songs that would eventually be included as bonus tracks on the CD issues. Decca Records UK first issued The Magnificent Moodies on CD in 1988 with 13 bonus tracks, with mastering by Anthony Hawkins. Repertoire Records issued an abridged version of the CD in the 1990s with only seven bonus tracks. In 2006 the CD was reissued again, this time with 14 bonus tracks including the rare "People Gotta Go" not found on the 1988 Decca version. The CD also included, for the first time, a speed-corrected and undistorted version of "Go Now". The 2006 Repertoire CD was remastered by Eroc, who was the leader of the 1970s German rock band Grobschnitt.

Track listing

British version

All lead vocals by Denny Laine except where noted

Side one
No.TitleWriterLength
1."I'll Go Crazy"James Brown2:13
2."Something You Got"Chris Kenner2:49
3."Go Now"Larry Banks, Milton Bennett3:14
4."Can't Nobody Love You"James Mitchell4:06
5."I Don't Mind (lead: Mike Pinder)"James Brown3:26
6."I've Got a Dream (lead: Denny Laine, Clint Warwick)"Jeff Barry, Ellie Greenwich2:50
Side two
No.TitleWriterLength
1."Let Me Go"Denny Laine, Mike Pinder3:14
2."Stop"Laine, Pinder2:05
3."Thank You Baby"Laine, Pinder2:30
4."It Ain't Necessarily So (lead: Ray Thomas)"George Gershwin, Ira Gershwin3:21
5."True Story"Laine, Pinder1:46
6."Bye Bye Bird"Sonny Boy Williamson II, Willie Dixon2:49
Total length:34:23

United States and Canada version
Go Now: The Moody Blues #1
Studio album by
The Moody Blues
Released28 July 1965 (1965-07-28)
RecordedOctober 1964 – March 1965
Genre
Length34:03
LabelLondon
Producer
Side one
No.TitleWriterLength
1."I Go Crazy"James Brown2:08
2."And My Baby's Gone"Laine, Pinder2:15
3."Go Now"Banks, Bennett3:10
4."It's Easy Child"Kay Bennett, Sue Sandler, Gene Redd3:10
5."Can't Nobody Love You"Mitchell4:00
6."I Had a Dream"Barry, Greenwich2:50
Side two
No.TitleWriterLength
1."Let Me Go"Laine, Pinder3:08
2."I Don't Want to Go On Without You"Bert Berns, Jerry Wexler2:45
3."True Story"Laine, Pinder1:40
4."It Ain't Necessarily So"G Gershwin, I Gershwin2:47
5."Bye Bye Bird"Williamson, Dixon2:50
6."From the Bottom of My Heart"Laine, Pinder3:20
Total length:34:03

50th Anniversary Editions

On 15 December 2014, Esoteric Recordings issued a single CD version (ECLEC 2474) as well as a 2-CD deluxe edition (ECLEC 22473) of the album in honor of its upcoming 50th anniversary release. The single CD version and the first CD from the deluxe edition are identical and both versions utilize the original UK album artwork.

Tracks 1-12 on the single CD version and the first CD from the deluxe edition are from the original British album. The remainder are bonus tracks of A-Side and B-side of singles released around that time, a song from their French EP and a previously unreleased version of Go Now.

Tracks 1-7 on the second CD are previously unreleased from 1964-1966 sessions, tracks 8-20 are from the BBC's Saturday Club sessions and the remaining tracks are from the 1966 Denny Cordell sessions.

All tracks are in mono except for tracks 21-29 on CD 2, which are in stereo.

CD 1
No.TitleLength
1."I'll Go Crazy"2:12
2."Something You Got"2:53
3."Go Now"3:13
4."Can't Nobody Love You ?"4:03
5."I Don't Mind"3:28
6."I've Got a Dream"3:28
7."Let Me Go"3:13
8."Stop"2:06
9."Thank You Baby"2:29
10."It Ain't Necessarily So"3:21
11."True Story"1:45
12."Bye Bye Bird"2:54
13."Lose Your Money (But Don't Lose Your Mind) (A-side of single)"2:00
14."Steal Your Heart Away (Corresponding B-side)"2:15
15."Go Now! (First Version) (Previously unreleased)"3:49
16."It's Easy Child (B-side of single)"2:54
17."I Don't Want to Go on Without You (A-side of single)"2:47
18."Time Is On My Side (Corresponding B-side)"3:04
19."From the Bottom of My Heart (I Love You) (A-side of single)"3:27
20."And My Baby's Gone (Corresponding B-side)"2:22
21."Everyday (A-side of single)"1:49
22."You Don't (All The Time) (Corresponding B-side)"2:22
23."Boulevard de la Madeleine (A-side of single)"2:55
24."This Is My House (But Nobody Calls) (Corresponding B-side)"2:35
25."People Gotta Go (Taken from the French EP "Boulevard de la Madeleine")"2:36
26."Life's Not Life (A-side of single)"2:36
27."He Can Win (Corresponding B-side)"2:25
Total length:75:01
CD 2
No.TitleLength
1."Go Now! (Second Version)"3:54
2."Lose Your Money (But Don't Lose Your Mind) (Early Version)"2:04
3."Steal Your Heart Away (First Version)"2:20
4."I'll Go Crazy (First Version)"2:12
5."You Better Move On"4:00
6."Can't Nobody Love You (First Version)"3:32
7."23rd Psalm"2:34
8."Go Now"3:12
9."I Don't Want To Go On Without You"2:44
10."I'll Go Crazy"1:58
11."From The Bottom Of My Heart (I Love You)"3:25
12."Jump Back"2:42
13."I've Got A Dream"2:42
14."And My Baby's Gone"2:16
15."It's Easy Child"3:06
16."Stop"1:58
17."Everyday"1:41
18."Interview With Ray Thomas And Graeme Edge / You Don't (All The Time)"3:25
19."I Want You To Know"1:52
20."Coca Cola Commercial 1965"1:05
21."Sad Song"2:21
22."This Is My House (But Nobody Calls)"2:47
23."How Can We Hang On To A Dream (First Version)"2:17
24."How Can We Hang On To A Dream (Remake)"2:22
25."Jago & Jilly"2:45
26."We're Broken"3:12
27."I Really Haven't Got The Time (September 1966 Version)"3:18
28."Red Wine"2:59
29."This Is My House (But Nobody Calls) (Stereo Mix)"2:25
Total length:77:08

Musical personnel

The Moody Blues

Additional personnel
  • Elaine Caswell – percussion

Technical personnel

Release history
Date Label Format Country Catalog Notes
23 July 1965 Decca LP UK LK 4711 Original release.
1970 Decca LP UK LK 4711 Repress of the original release.
1988 London CD US 820 758-2 Original CD release including thirteen bonus tracks.
1 June 1989 London CD Japan P25L-25026
10 July 2006 Repertoire CD UK REP 5077 Reissue including fourteen bonus tracks.
15 July 2006 Air Mail Archive CD Japan AIRAC-1228 Reissue including seven bonus tracks.
2007 The Great American Music Company CD US 085 350 063 3 Reissue missing "Bye Bye Bird," includes five bonus tracks.
15 December 2014 Esoteric Recordings CD Europe ECLEC 22473 50th anniversary deluxe edition.
CD ECLEC 2474 Reissue including fifteen bonus tracks.
18 April 2015 LP ECLECLP 2474 Reissue of the original release.

References
  1. Eder, Bruce. "The Moody Blues: The Magnificent Moodies". www.allmusic.com. Retrieved 1 September 2018.
  2. Liner notes on Decca 4711.
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