Long Distance Voyager – George Agnos

Long Distance Voyager was sort a comeback album for the
Moody Blues in 1981, generating two middling hits: “Gemini Dream”
and “The Voice.” The album came out at a good time: after the disco
scene fizzled out and just before new wave exploded on the U.S. pop
scene. Otherwise I wonder how this album would have fared, because
even by 1981 standards, this is indeed an old-fashioned rock album.
Not that there’s anything wrong with that if the songs are there.
And yes, the songs are good, but do not expect this band to break
any new ground here.

The album immediately sweeps the listener into a world awash of
keyboards and guitar with “The Voice.” Justin Hayward’s sweet
vocals combined with the song’s strong melody makes this one a
repeat listen. I interpret the lyrics to be about the Moody Blue’s
own comeback; a theme that is repeated more explicit throughout the
album. The other single “Gemini Dream” sounds like an okay Electric
Light Orchestra song with its spacey instrumentation and somewhat
hooky melody. I suppose it was the obvious choice for a single, but
I prefer the third single “Meanwhile” because it boasts a good
midtempo melody and an immediate lyric about the pain caused by
infidelity. No song on this album is as short and to the point as
this one.

Which brings us to three slow ballads, two of them clocking in
at over seven minutes long. “Talking Out Of Turn” is a pretty John
Lodge song about lost love. I like the string arrangement used
here, but at over seven minutes long, the song is a bit
repetitious. The same can be said for Hayward’s “In My World.”
Again, another pretty song which does not hold my interest for the
full seven minutes, especially with the tepid electric guitar solo
at the end. Lodge also checks in with the lovely ballad “Nervous.”
Here I think he should have let the song speak for itself and
avoided some of the bombastic production values.

Drummer Graeme Edge is represented with “22,000 Days” another
song which seems to be about the band: “So start the show and this
time/feel the flow.” The song is a nice change of pace being more
rhythmic than melodic.

However, it is flutist Ray Thomas that ends the album on the
most audicious note. “Painted Smile” is a song in which Thomas
poignantly describes himself as a court jester, performing joyfully
on the outside, but crying on the inside. With its organ-grinder
sounding keyboard and over the top singing, this could be a number
off of a Broadway musical. Is it corny? Sure, but it does make
sense within the context of the song. A brief spoken word passage
segues into the song “Veteran Cosmic Rocker” which is the most
rocking number on the album and basically is a sequel to “I Am Just
A Singer In A Rock & Roll Band.”

There really is not a bad song on
Long Distance Voyager, but occasionally the bloated
production values are frustrating. Otherwise, this could have been
a much better album. The songs are simple and appealing and could
have used a more subtle approach. The theme running throughout the
album about the life of aging rockers is interesting, but it is too
bad that they had to sound just like that – aging rockers. Still,
when this album works, it works very well.