The Present
	Produced by Pip Williams
	Released on August 23, 1983
	UK CHART POSITION #15 . . . US CHART POSITION #26
	Find it at GEMM
810 119-2 cover [gatefold sleeve scan]

T wo years after Long Distance Voyager re-energized their career, The Moody Blues returned with batteries only partly recharged for The Present. The winning melodies are still there, the formula from the opening “Blue World” to the last two Ray Thomas tracks intact from V-ger, and producer Pip Williams is again sitting at the wheel, but The Present feels cold by comparison. Of course, they didn’t get any hotter with time, so maybe we should just accept this present with a gracious Thank You. Songs like “Meet Me Halfway,” “Under My Feet” and “It’s Cold Outside of Your Heart” are at least easy to warm up to. The Moodies of The Present remain gifted songwriters, though the synthetic production places them slightly out of their time. In truth, the golden age of the Moodies was over. The minor-key Beatlesque ballads and progressive pop songs are still engaging, but the band themselves seem less engaged. Of course, there was always a dreamlike quality to their music, which required but the gentle nudging of time to turn to sleepy. Voyager was a band with something still left to prove, The Present is not. It’s a good record, arguably their last, lacking only a standout single. I had earlier mused in a review for AMG that the album paralleled the decline between ELO’s Discovery and Time. Both Time and The Present left me feeling slightly deflated, like the last slope on a roller coaster ride, a pleasant sensation but weak in comparison to the peaks behind it.

TRL-1-2902 lyric gatefold	TRL-1-2902 inner sleeve

TRACK LISTING

1. BLUE WORLD    (Justin Hayward)
2. MEET ME HALFWAY    (Justin Hayward/John Lodge)
3. SITTING AT THE WHEEL    (John Lodge)
4. GOING NOWHERE    (Graeme Edge)
5. HOLE IN THE WORLD    (John Lodge)
6. UNDER MY FEET    (John Lodge)
7. IT'S COLD OUTSIDE OF YOUR HEART    (Justin Hayward)
8. RUNNING WATER    (Justin Hayward)
9. I AM    (Ray Thomas)
10. SORRY    (Ray Thomas)

CREDITS

GRAEME EDGE -- drums
JUSTIN HAYWARD -- guitars, vocals
JOHN LODGE -- bass, vocals
PATRICK MORAZ -- keyboards
RAY THOMAS -- flutes, harmonicas, vocals
Greg Jackman -- engineer, mixing
The Studio -- booklet design & illustrations
David Wedgbury -- booklet coordination
Cliff O'Sullivan -- compact disc design

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