Mike Pinder and his mellotron is what made the Moody Blues famous. He did not get the true recognition he deserved. Rip, Mike Pinder. You gave me the most wonderful gift of the mellotron and Melancholy Man.
@@crazygetupI know what you mean but a lot of songs after Mike left such as ‘I Know your’e out there somwhere’ and ‘Your Wildest Dreams’ are not pop rubbish. I agree they were not as good. ‘
In 1970 a couple of weeks before Isle of White they played the whole show till mid-morning at Rota Spain Naval Air Stations, NCO club. they were perfect, and ready for the performance of their lifetimes. Sometime around 3;30 Am I passed out on a Base I did not know, and missed my watch. My punishment was extra duty picking up trash along base roads in the Shara Desert South Spain truly is. That was an adventure too. LOL
@@norms3913 Not at all. They have keys. That's where the similarity ends. Mellotrons were tape replay devices, Moogs had two or more oscillators used to produce electronic signals which were then manipulated via filters.
@@indigohammer5732 yea it was a prelude to the synthesizer moogs or Roland's cause the mellotron was last played on a album by the moody blues by Mike Pinder in 1973 or 1974 on the seventh sojourn album
@@norms3913 Mellotrons were a prelude to nothing. They made them smaller....That's it. Bob Moogs work developed over time. Cheaper, single or duo oscillator synths like the Wasp or Korg MS10/20 came on the market. The technology in mellotrons went nowhere. That's why I've two, bought for £100 in the eighties.
They eased the pain of the Beatles break up, right on time too. The 60s gave rise to The Moody Blues who were also Knighted . By a caring Queen of England, celebrating the beauty of life.
I’ve owned 3 MelloTron’s in my lifetime. Bought my 1st one in 1976 from EJ’s stash, went to my music room with it and didn’t come out for a month! Although I own an arsenal of keyboards & string libraries on my computers, like LA Scoring strings, there’s still nothing like the Mellotron. It stands out with an original orchestral sound of its own.
I first heard Mike's gorgeous work on the Mellotron as most folks did; "The Days of Future Passed." At first, it was an obscure little record the DJ's would play on the AM stations which shut down around sunset. (Something about FCC regs. I never understood that because the Mexican stations south of the border cranked it up about then and we could hear them all the way to Phoenix, AZ where my family lived for about seven years.) I had an early curfew and bedtime in those days, and sunsets come late in the summer in Arizona, so I'd tuck my little battery transistor radio under my pillow and drift off, listening to "Nights in White Satin." (Anyone here ever do that? Go to sleep listening to the little radio under your pillow so your folks wouldn't yell at you for "listening to that damn rock and roll"?) Naturally I had to hear MORE, so I snuck down to the record shop and bought "On the Threshold of a Dream." Mind BLOWN. (My dad confiscated it when he discovered my stash of "forbidden records" but that didn't stop me.) I was DETERMINED to make gorgeous sounds like that. So when I was on my own and exploring music, I found a shop--Rose City Sound--in Portland which actually had a Mellotron for sale: around $2000 if memory serves. But they rented it out a lot too, as well as a big old Hammond B-3 and TWIN stereo Leslie 147's. I started hanging around the shop and pestering the sales crew with questions. One day, Bianca, the sales director and rental crew chief, let me play it. They had a preamp in stock for the Leslie, designed for regular keys, so I plugged that Mellotron into the twin Leslies and let rip on "The Firebird Suite," the abbreviated recorded track Yes used to open their shows way back in the day. I swear, EVERY jaw in the joint hit the floor. People DROPPED what they were doing and came over to listen, even the crew in the back room. I stumbled through "Nights in White Satin" (to wild applause), then bits and pieces of "Legend of a Mind" and "Have You Heard?" (More applause and one or two of those tough, road-hardened crew members even whistled.) I finished with "Gypsy" and they ROARED in delight. I was patted on the back, greasy, grubby roadies shook my hand and said, "Great job, man!" Bianca came up to me and said, "Anytime you want to drop in and play, anything you want to rent in this shop, it's yours. That was INCREDIBLE." No, MIKE PINDER was incredible because HE wrote those tunes with Justin and Ray and John. I just played them. I was only 19 at the time and I KNEW I was on the right track. I played professionally for over twenty-five years and put in more road miles than an Amway salesman. (Remember them?) I LOVED every minute of it too. Best job I've ever had--even if it didn't pay shit most of the time. RIP, Mike. You reached down into my soul with your gorgeous melodies and superb technique and helped make me a damn good musician, even though we never met. I OWE you, sir.
God bless the Moody Blues. Such a big influence on me as a poet. Back in the day. And Micke Pinder especially. I knew that he was the depth of the Moodies. And outside of Graeme they had 4 part harmonies. They could rock hard but man did they give you an atmosphere to live in. I burned a lot of candles listening to the Moody Blues albums. I didn't see them until 81 and I missed Mike but Graeme was a powerhouse and Ray was all over the stage doing Legend of a Mind. Wonderful. And I was blessed to see them with an small orchestra in 95 with 1st row seats. I didn't care what they cost with my girl. And we danced out in front to Nights and John Lodge made eye contact with me then. I loved them all. Still do.
We are so blessed to have such a beautiful band of men, to bring us loveliness to everyone..🎶🎶🎶... Justin, is a dream come true, his voice is so soothing and dreamy, it bring's me back to my youthful day's filled love, fun, walking on the beach, laying in the grass, with the sun shining on my face.. Those beautiful memorie's are so precious to me.... The beauty of each day, is brought to me from, Justin...💙💙💙💙...... 🥀🥀🥀🥀... 2022.....
Beautiful history from a band that got my attention at the age of 12,Orchestra? Poetry? On a rock station? They brought the arts into rock and roll like nobody else in this incredible era when Rock was the new classical.
The whole world is blessed that these lads intentionally chose to go their own path insted of the typical bluesy heavy guitar sound that so many contemporaries went. The result is an original timeless sound that transports you and opens up pages in your mind that you never realized were there.
I saw the Moody's in concert 5 times back in the 90's. As good as their studio sound is, their live sound was even better. I wish I had been able to see them when Mike Pinder was still on tour.
I was at the Isle of Wight festival..1970....Jimmy Hendrix was the standout..,.,but came on at 3:00 am....Bands played all night and all day for 3 days....Helicopters would fly the acts in from Heathrow..and would immediately go on stage..Looking at the video...my girlfriend and me were on the hill looking down on the stage...
I love that Classic Lineup Of MOODY BLUES. MIKE PINDER brought so much to there Sound. RAY THOMAS as well. KING CRIMSON with that first record especially with Ian McDonald . KING CRIMSON up until RED. Used that Mellotron in more of a Darker Tone. Early GENESIS as well. THE BEATLES on Strawberry Feilds. I love that whole period of music.
Not mentioned here was the influence of an album recorded by Mort Garson and the Wrecking Crew and released in May 1967 called "The Zodiac: Cosmic Sounds". Here you have a thematic song cycle, spoken word bits, flute, early Moog synthesizer, psychedelia everywhere, etc. It heavily influenced "Days of Future Passed" per JH. One can imagine a very smoky listening party among the lads in the spring of 1967. DOFP would be recorded six months later.
The mellotron was a tricky, strange instrument. Pinder with the Moodies, Ian McDonald, Fripp & David Cross w/ King Crimson and Banks with Genesis were probably the artists who were able to utilize it best (though all quite differently).
DarkeningSkies1 They were so fussy and subject to change with the vagaries of travel that the Moodies stashed them in different parts of the US for tours.
yeah, I suppose with an enlarged tape machine with all the reals and tapes that it is easy to see the potential problems. Pinder said he went over to John Lennon's place to record a track for Imagine album. He had sold Lennon the mellotron years previous. When he arrived he was disappointed to find that the tapes were jumbled like spaghetti, totally useless. I believe Pinder ended up playing a percussion instrument instead. Would have loved to hear Pinder play his mellotron on a Lennon track.
I knew that Pinder worked in a factory where they made Mk 2's...I wonder if he helped design them...at least modified them since he was their pinnacle player.
8:30 ''Music doesn't lie. If there is something to be changed in this world, then it can only happen through music.'' ~Jimi Hendrix, said rhat. ''The 7 piece trumpet section in Revelation 8:6-12'' ~The bible, say's that.
@arcadiame Cool man! Do you remember the reception to the Moodies those times? Cause now we read that the only time everybody respected them was the brief moment between "Days of Future Passed" and "In the search of the Lost chord"
Everything in the film is excellent except for the introduction part from Jimmy Saville. It is the same angry sick to my stomach turning feeling I have every time I look at Bill Cosby.
"Seeking and searching for some kind of enlightenment in our lives and that is a worthy occupation for a young man." Justin Hayward. Beautiful, this is what draws me to these guys.
Mike Pinder and his mellotron is what made the Moody Blues famous. He did not get the true recognition he deserved. Rip, Mike Pinder. You gave me the most wonderful gift of the mellotron and Melancholy Man.
R.I.P. Mike Pinder
That Moody Blues sound was you.
So grateful, so saddened
That Mellotron was beautiful, thanks to Mike Pinder. 👍♥️
Thank you for that explanation of the sound behind the sound that altogether made the sound. Been listening to the Moody Blues since 1968.
SIR MICHAEL PINDER GAVE THEM BIRTH....
🙏😇💖
Mike Pinder was really an awesome musician, singer, and songwriter.
I call them the Mile Pinder Quintet. When Mike left the music became pop rubbish.
LDV in 1981 was not pop trash.
@@crazygetupI know what you mean but a lot of songs after Mike left such as ‘I Know your’e out there somwhere’ and ‘Your Wildest Dreams’ are not pop rubbish. I agree they were not as good.
‘
The mellotron drew me into the Moody Blues in 1968 and I have never left.
In 1970 a couple of weeks before Isle of White they played the whole show till mid-morning at Rota Spain Naval Air Stations, NCO club. they were perfect, and ready for the performance of their lifetimes. Sometime around 3;30 Am I passed out on a Base I did not know, and missed my watch. My punishment was extra duty picking up trash along base roads in the Shara Desert South Spain truly is. That was an adventure too. LOL
The mellotron was such an amazing invention even to this day.....
It was a prelude to moog synthesizers that came out in the 70s
@@norms3913 Not at all. They have keys. That's where the similarity ends. Mellotrons were tape replay devices, Moogs had two or more oscillators used to produce electronic signals which were then manipulated via filters.
@@indigohammer5732 yea it was a prelude to the synthesizer moogs or Roland's cause the mellotron was last played on a album by the moody blues by Mike Pinder in 1973 or 1974 on the seventh sojourn album
@@indigohammer5732 if you only understand how much trouble it is to transport a mellotron everywhere you basically have to tune it up
@@norms3913 Mellotrons were a prelude to nothing. They made them smaller....That's it. Bob Moogs work developed over time. Cheaper, single or duo oscillator synths like the Wasp or Korg MS10/20 came on the market. The technology in mellotrons went nowhere. That's why I've two, bought for £100 in the eighties.
I was introduced to the Moody Blues when I was 5 years old.
The Moody Blues were All Magicians and their Magic was Music !
They eased the pain of the Beatles break up, right on time too. The 60s gave rise to The Moody Blues who were also Knighted . By a caring Queen of England, celebrating the beauty of life.
@@rodneycaupp5962 i never knew they were Knighted too the Moodies ....!
Thanks for your music!
Bill Eberline past President of Mellotron USA!
I’ve owned 3 MelloTron’s in my lifetime. Bought my 1st one in 1976 from EJ’s stash, went to my music room with it and didn’t come out for a month!
Although I own an arsenal of keyboards & string libraries on my computers, like LA Scoring strings, there’s still nothing like the Mellotron. It stands out with an original orchestral sound of its own.
FASCINATING
I first heard Mike's gorgeous work on the Mellotron as most folks did; "The Days of Future Passed." At first, it was an obscure little record the DJ's would play on the AM stations which shut down around sunset. (Something about FCC regs. I never understood that because the Mexican stations south of the border cranked it up about then and we could hear them all the way to Phoenix, AZ where my family lived for about seven years.)
I had an early curfew and bedtime in those days, and sunsets come late in the summer in Arizona, so I'd tuck my little battery transistor radio under my pillow and drift off, listening to "Nights in White Satin." (Anyone here ever do that? Go to sleep listening to the little radio under your pillow so your folks wouldn't yell at you for "listening to that damn rock and roll"?)
Naturally I had to hear MORE, so I snuck down to the record shop and bought "On the Threshold of a Dream." Mind BLOWN. (My dad confiscated it when he discovered my stash of "forbidden records" but that didn't stop me.) I was DETERMINED to make gorgeous sounds like that.
So when I was on my own and exploring music, I found a shop--Rose City Sound--in Portland which actually had a Mellotron for sale: around $2000 if memory serves. But they rented it out a lot too, as well as a big old Hammond B-3 and TWIN stereo Leslie 147's. I started hanging around the shop and pestering the sales crew with questions. One day, Bianca, the sales director and rental crew chief, let me play it. They had a preamp in stock for the Leslie, designed for regular keys, so I plugged that Mellotron into the twin Leslies and let rip on "The Firebird Suite," the abbreviated recorded track Yes used to open their shows way back in the day.
I swear, EVERY jaw in the joint hit the floor. People DROPPED what they were doing and came over to listen, even the crew in the back room. I stumbled through "Nights in White Satin" (to wild applause), then bits and pieces of "Legend of a Mind" and "Have You Heard?" (More applause and one or two of those tough, road-hardened crew members even whistled.) I finished with "Gypsy" and they ROARED in delight. I was patted on the back, greasy, grubby roadies shook my hand and said, "Great job, man!" Bianca came up to me and said, "Anytime you want to drop in and play, anything you want to rent in this shop, it's yours. That was INCREDIBLE."
No, MIKE PINDER was incredible because HE wrote those tunes with Justin and Ray and John. I just played them. I was only 19 at the time and I KNEW I was on the right track.
I played professionally for over twenty-five years and put in more road miles than an Amway salesman. (Remember them?) I LOVED every minute of it too. Best job I've ever had--even if it didn't pay shit most of the time.
RIP, Mike. You reached down into my soul with your gorgeous melodies and superb technique and helped make me a damn good musician, even though we never met. I OWE you, sir.
Thanks for sharing.
I love the way Graeme expressed that. "We're just getting wrecked" . 😂
God bless the Moody Blues. Such a big influence on me as a poet. Back in the day. And Micke Pinder especially. I knew that he was the depth of the Moodies. And outside of Graeme they had 4 part harmonies. They could rock hard but man did they give you an atmosphere to live in. I burned a lot of candles listening to the Moody Blues albums. I didn't see them until 81 and I missed Mike but Graeme was a powerhouse and Ray was all over the stage doing Legend of a Mind. Wonderful. And I was blessed to see them with an small orchestra in 95 with 1st row seats. I didn't care what they cost with my girl. And we danced out in front to Nights and John Lodge made eye contact with me then. I loved them all. Still do.
one of the BEST Moody Blues interviews ever !
The voices of Ray John Mike n Justin together
I absolutely LOVED this!
Thank you so much for sharing!!!
Excellent series. Thanks heaps !
We are so blessed to have such a beautiful band of men, to bring us loveliness to everyone..🎶🎶🎶... Justin, is a dream come true, his voice is so soothing and dreamy, it bring's me back to my youthful day's filled love, fun, walking on the beach, laying in the grass, with the sun shining on my face.. Those beautiful memorie's are so precious to me.... The beauty of each day, is brought to me from, Justin...💙💙💙💙...... 🥀🥀🥀🥀... 2022.....
Beautiful history from a band that got my attention at the age of 12,Orchestra? Poetry? On a rock station? They brought the arts into rock and roll like nobody else in this incredible era when Rock was the new classical.
I think the Moody Blues did change things. Really.
They were Big participant's toward the shift in consciousness that is ongoing today.
The whole world is blessed that these lads intentionally chose to go their own path insted of the typical bluesy heavy guitar sound that so many contemporaries went.
The result is an original timeless sound that transports you and opens up pages in your mind that you never realized were there.
I MISS BOTH OF THEM....WE WILL MEET ON "ETERNITY ROAD"...
🙏😇💖
Thanks for posting this great documentary of one of the greatest bands ever!!
I saw the Moody's in concert 5 times back in the 90's. As good as their studio sound is, their live sound was even better. I wish I had been able to see them when Mike Pinder was still on tour.
I was at the Isle of Wight festival..1970....Jimmy Hendrix was the standout..,.,but came on at 3:00 am....Bands played all night and all day for 3 days....Helicopters would fly the acts in from Heathrow..and would immediately go on stage..Looking at the video...my girlfriend and me were on the hill looking down on the stage...
I love that Classic Lineup
Of MOODY BLUES.
MIKE PINDER brought so much to there Sound.
RAY THOMAS as well.
KING CRIMSON with that first record especially with Ian McDonald .
KING CRIMSON up until RED.
Used that Mellotron in more of a Darker Tone.
Early GENESIS as well.
THE BEATLES on Strawberry Feilds.
I love that whole period of music.
Cool seeing the inner workings of the mellotron!
I heard that a Moody Blues Album was included in a time capsule on the moon. Anyone else heard this?
I read somewhere that the album "To Our Children's Children's Children" was written and influenced by the landing on the moon in 1969.
Apollo 15 Astronaut Al Worden brought tapes of On The Threshold of a Dream and To Our Children's Children's Children to the moon.
I saw them at Stanford around the same time, '70-'71? I dunno if anyone recorded this, but it was great!!!
Not mentioned here was the influence of an album recorded by Mort Garson and the Wrecking Crew and released in May 1967 called "The Zodiac: Cosmic Sounds". Here you have a thematic song cycle, spoken word bits, flute, early Moog synthesizer, psychedelia everywhere, etc. It heavily influenced "Days of Future Passed" per JH. One can imagine a very smoky listening party among the lads in the spring of 1967. DOFP would be recorded six months later.
The mellotron was a tricky, strange instrument. Pinder with the Moodies, Ian McDonald, Fripp & David Cross w/ King Crimson and Banks with Genesis were probably the artists who were able to utilize it best (though all quite differently).
DarkeningSkies1 They were so fussy and subject to change with the vagaries of travel that the Moodies stashed them in different parts of the US for tours.
yeah, I suppose with an enlarged tape machine with all the reals and tapes that it is easy to see the potential problems. Pinder said he went over
to John Lennon's place to record a track for Imagine album. He had sold Lennon the mellotron years previous. When he arrived he was disappointed to find that the tapes were jumbled like spaghetti, totally useless. I believe Pinder ended up playing a percussion instrument instead. Would have loved to hear Pinder play his mellotron on a Lennon track.
I knew that Pinder worked in a factory where they made Mk 2's...I wonder if he helped design them...at least modified them since he was their pinnacle player.
8:30 ''Music doesn't lie. If there is something to be changed in this world, then it can only happen through music.'' ~Jimi Hendrix, said rhat.
''The 7 piece trumpet section in Revelation 8:6-12''
~The bible, say's that.
Ken hensley used a mellotron for uriah heeps Salisbury song
Sorry for the Moodies that they were introduced by Jimmy Savile🤢
Odyssey and Oracle by the Zombies is a great mellotron soaked album.
@arcadiame Cool man! Do you remember the reception to the Moodies those times? Cause now we read that the only time everybody respected them was the brief moment between "Days of Future Passed" and "In the search of the Lost chord"
I don't really like the NIGHTS IN WHAT SATIN song but it looks as if it should have been a (Hayward, Pinder) penned song
Yikes, that was Jimmy Savile that introduced them. Rotten person; evil and vile 😠 They had to have known about him. 😠
I thought the same thing. Thanks for clarifying.
Who would know about him? The Moodies? If so how would they know?
WHO WAS JIMMY ????
No, the Moody's would have zero chance of knowing anything he did, if that's what you mean.
Everything in the film is excellent except for the introduction part from Jimmy Saville. It is the same angry sick to my stomach turning feeling I have every time I look at Bill Cosby.
L
S
D
Boy these sucked compared to Bieber
No troll that's your brain farts music taste that actually stinks.
"Seeking and searching for some kind of enlightenment in our lives and that is a worthy occupation for a young man." Justin Hayward. Beautiful, this is what draws me to these guys.
Absolutely correct, to most of us children of the 60s and then 70s. The World was wide open by these Bands
The guy who filmed this and the original footage, Murray Lerner, died in 2017. He was 90 years old.