A Question of Balance
Encyclopedia
A Question of Balance, released in 1970, is the sixth album by The Moody Blues
. The album was an attempt by the group to strip down their well-known lush, psychedelic sound in order to be able to better perform the songs in concert. In order to be able to play as many new songs as possible from their new album live, the group decided (temporarily) to abandon their method of heavy overdubbing for A Question of Balance.
For the first time, The Moody Blues used political strife as a basis for songwriting with the British number two hit in May 1970, "Question", which dealt with the controversy resulting from the ongoing Vietnam War
.
Released in 1970, the album reached #1 in the United Kingdom and #3 in the United States. However, the group would abandon the stripped-down sounds of A Question of Balance for the lusher sounds of their next two albums, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour
and Seventh Sojourn
.
In March 2006 the album was remastered into SACD
format and repackaged with six extra tracks.
In 2008 a remaster for standard audio CD was issued with the same bonus tracks.
The Moody Blues
The Moody Blues are an English rock band. Among their innovations was a fusion with classical music, most notably in their 1967 album Days of Future Passed....
. The album was an attempt by the group to strip down their well-known lush, psychedelic sound in order to be able to better perform the songs in concert. In order to be able to play as many new songs as possible from their new album live, the group decided (temporarily) to abandon their method of heavy overdubbing for A Question of Balance.
For the first time, The Moody Blues used political strife as a basis for songwriting with the British number two hit in May 1970, "Question", which dealt with the controversy resulting from the ongoing Vietnam War
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War was a Cold War-era military conflict that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. This war followed the First Indochina War and was fought between North Vietnam, supported by its communist allies, and the government of...
.
Released in 1970, the album reached #1 in the United Kingdom and #3 in the United States. However, the group would abandon the stripped-down sounds of A Question of Balance for the lusher sounds of their next two albums, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour
Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (album)
Every Good Boy Deserves Favour is the seventh album by the Moody Blues, released in 1971. The album was the last to feature only the Mellotron, as it would be assisted by the Chamberlin on the Moody Blues' next studio album, 1972's Seventh Sojourn.This album featured the only track to be written...
and Seventh Sojourn
Seventh Sojourn
Seventh Sojourn, released in 1972, is the eighth album by The Moody Blues.In Seventh Sojourn, The Moody Blues used, besides the Mellotron, a keyboard called the Chamberlin, a device similar to the Mellotron created by the original inventor of the device, Harry Chamberlin...
.
In March 2006 the album was remastered into SACD
Super Audio CD
Super Audio CD is a high-resolution, read-only optical disc for audio storage. Sony and Philips Electronics jointly developed the technology, and publicized it in 1999. It is designated as the Scarlet Book standard. Sony and Philips previously collaborated to define the Compact Disc standard...
format and repackaged with six extra tracks.
In 2008 a remaster for standard audio CD was issued with the same bonus tracks.
Side One
- "Question" (Justin HaywardJustin HaywardJustin Hayward is an English musician, best known as singer, songwriter and guitarist in the rock band The Moody Blues.Hayward was born in Dean Street, Swindon, Wiltshire, England...
) – 5:40 - "How Is It (We Are Here)" (Mike PinderMike PinderMichael Thomas "Mike" Pinder is an English rock musician, and is a founding member or the British rock group, the Moody Blues. He left the group following the recording of the band's album, Octave, in 1978...
) – 2:48 - "And the Tide Rushes InAnd the Tide Rushes In"And the Tide Rushes In" is song from The Moody Blues 1970 album A Question of Balance. Written by band member Ray Thomas, "And the Tide Rushes In" connotes a sense of strife in a relationship with the narrator's lover symbolized as the tide, rushing in and washing the narrator's efforts away...
" (Ray ThomasRay ThomasRay Thomas is an English musician, best known as the flautist and as a singer and composer in the rock band, The Moody Blues.-Career:...
) – 2:57 - "Don't You Feel Small" (Graeme EdgeGraeme EdgeGraeme Charles Edge is best known as the drummer and a songwriter for the Moody Blues, but has also led his own outfit, the Graeme Edge Band.-Biography:...
) – 2:40 - "Tortoise and the Hare" (John Lodge) – 3:23
Side Two
- "It's Up to You" (Hayward) – 3:11
- "Minstrel's Song" (Lodge) – 4:27
- "Dawning is the Day" (Hayward) – 4:22
- "Melancholy Man" (Pinder) – 5:49
- "The BalanceThe Balance"The Balance" is the closing track of The Moody Blues 1970 album A Question of Balance. Written jointly by band members Graeme Edge and Ray Thomas, "The Balance" describes the balance reference in the album's title...
" (Edge, Thomas) – 3:33
2006 SACD Expanded Edition Tracks (also 2008 remaster)
Bonus tracks on the SACD version:- "Mike's Number One (Previously Unreleased)" (Pinder) – 3:36
- "Question (Alternate Version)" (Hayward) – 6:08
- "Minstrel's Song (Original Mix)" (Lodge) – 4:35
- "It's Up to You (Original Mix)" (Hayward) – 3:19
- "Don't You Feel Small (Original Mix)" (Edge) – 3:02
- "Dawning is the Day (Full Original Mix)" (Hayward) – 4:36
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | UK Albums Chart UK Albums Chart The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart... |
1 |
| 1970 | Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
3 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | "Question" | UK Singles Chart UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ... |
2 |
| 1970 | "Question" | Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
21 |
Personnel
- Justin HaywardJustin HaywardJustin Hayward is an English musician, best known as singer, songwriter and guitarist in the rock band The Moody Blues.Hayward was born in Dean Street, Swindon, Wiltshire, England...
: vocals, guitar, mandolin - John Lodge: vocals, bass
- Ray ThomasRay ThomasRay Thomas is an English musician, best known as the flautist and as a singer and composer in the rock band, The Moody Blues.-Career:...
: vocals, flute, tambourine - Graeme EdgeGraeme EdgeGraeme Charles Edge is best known as the drummer and a songwriter for the Moody Blues, but has also led his own outfit, the Graeme Edge Band.-Biography:...
: drums, percussion, whispered vocal on "Don't You Feel Small" - Mike PinderMike PinderMichael Thomas "Mike" Pinder is an English rock musician, and is a founding member or the British rock group, the Moody Blues. He left the group following the recording of the band's album, Octave, in 1978...
: vocals, MellotronMellotronThe Mellotron is an electro-mechanical, polyphonic tape replay keyboard originally developed and built in Birmingham, England in the early 1960s. It superseded the Chamberlin Music Master, which was the world's first sample-playback keyboard intended for music...
, Moog synthesizerMoog synthesizerMoog synthesizer may refer to any number of analog synthesizers designed by Dr. Robert Moog or manufactured by Moog Music, and is commonly used as a generic term for older-generation analog music synthesizers. The Moog company pioneered the commercial manufacture of modular voltage-controlled...