Go Now
	previously released material
	Released on July 26, 1965
	no chart information
	Find it at GEMM
WISE 005 cover [high resolution scan]

T he magnificently marginal Moodies, who mustered a dozen tracks and played them with the alluvial sentiment of every other washed-up R&B band from the mid ‘60s. Their claim to fame was the #1 hit “Go Now.” An album was requested, recorded, ignored. Apparently, Go Now’s golden moment had come and gone. Today, the Moodies’ first album is mostly of historical interest; there isn’t anything on it that wasn’t immediately eclipsed by Days of Future Passed. Finding a good copy of the original album (which was retitled Go Now The Moody Blues #1 in the US because apparently subtlety is lost on us) could set you back some coin. Fortunately, inexpensive CD repackages exist. The version I bought, simply titled Go Now, even tacked on nonalbum singles from the same period while opting to delete some original elpee tracks in the process. I’d gripe about the various mutations of magnificence out there, but this was product to begin with--no points for preserving it intact. And what’s here is past preserving anyway; the recording quality of “Go Now” doesn’t measure past my bootlegs. I do enjoy hearing some of this, especially the handful of originals like “Let Me Go,” “Stop” and “From The Bottom of My Heart.” The rest of the songs are pasty R&B covers. The Stones smoldered, The Kinks rocked, the Moodies walk but meekly in their steps. If you’re the sort of fan who’s found themselves defending the first fruits of Genesis or David Bowie (both of whom were similarly bundled in Decca’s never-ending In The Beginnings), then go now and buy this; it’s fruitier. However, the shape of things to come hadn’t, at least not yet. I know the idea of a pre-Wings Denny Laine playing with The Moodies is nigh irresistible, but you’d rather be listening to a tinny-sounding compilation of the early Kinks than this.

TRACK LISTING

GO NOW THE MOODY BLUES #1 original track listing

1. I GO CRAZY
2. AND MY BABY'S GONE
3. GO NOW
4. IT'S EASY CHILD
5. CAN'T NOBODY LOVE YOU
6. I HAD A DREAM
7. LET ME GO
8. I DON'T WANT TO GO ON WITHOUT YOU
9. TRUE STORY
10. IT AIN'T NECESSARILY SO
11. BYE BYE BIRD
12. FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART
    
    Expanded CD track listing
    
1. GO NOW    (Larry Banks/Milton Bennett)    3:10
2. LOSE YOUR MONEY    (Mike Pinder)    1:57
3. I DON'T MIND    (James Brown)    3:25
4. FROM THE BOTTOM OF MY HEART    (Mike Pinder/Denny Laine)    3:24
5. LET ME GO    (Denny Laine/Mike Pinder)    3:11
6. IT'S EASY CHILD    (Sue Sandler/Kay Bennett/Gene Redd)    3:11
7. STOP    (Denny Laine/Mike Pinder)    2:04
8. COME BACK (I DON'T WANT TO GO ON WITHOUT YOU)    (unknown)    2:43
9. SOMETHING YOU'VE GOT    (Chris Kenner)    2:50
10. I'VE GOT A DREAM    (Jeff Barry/Ellie Greenwich)    2:49
11. CAN'T NOBODY LOVE YOU    (Philip Mitchell)    4:00
12. BYE BYE BIRD    (Sonny Boy Williamson)    2:48
13. TIME IS ON MY SIDE    (Junior Campbell/William McAleese)    3:01
14. AND MY BABY'S GONE    (Mike Pinder/Denny Laine)    2:19

CREDITS

GRAEME EDGE --
DENNY LAINE --
MIKE PINDER --
RAY THOMAS --
CLINT WARWICK --

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