Track Listing

1. Question
2. How Is It (We Are Here)
3. And The Tide Rushes In
4. Don't You Feel Small
5. Tortoise And The Hare
6. It's Up To You
7. Minstrel's Song
8. Dawning Is The Day
9. Melancholy Man
10. The Balance

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #28134 in Music
• Released on: 1997-03-03
• Number of discs: 1
• Formats: Original recording reissued, Original recording remastered
• Dimensions: .22 pounds
• Running time: 39 minutes

CD Description
The beautifully remastered version of the Moody Blues's 1970 back-to-basics album (translation: they cut way back on the overdubs) strips away the original aural murk at last, andincludes informative liner-note interviews with the band about the recording process. Standout tracks include the classic sort-of protest song "Question" and "It's Up to You", oneof singer/guitarist Justin Hayward's most authoritatively wistful riff-rockers.
There is a clear attempt to pare back the lush excesses of their earlier work in favour of a leaner rock sound, as heard on cuts like John Lodge's pell-mell"The Tortoise and the Hare". Still, one of the album's standouts is Ray Thomas's "And the Tide Rushes In", a lovely psychedelic ballad of the sort that moved the Who's Pete Townshend to remark that the Moody Blues' albums were so gorgeously produced that listening to them was like "being in church". A QUESTION OF BALANCE is a fine album, and a clear preparation for its successor EVERY GOOD BOY DESERVES FAVOUR, one of the band's finest moments.

Customer Reviews

a question of taste...
'A Question of Balance', the fifth album released by the Moody Blues during their first string of releases, often suffers from an unjustifiable volume of criticism from those who felt the band lost their way somewhat with this work. Certainly, it's not their greatest or most consistent release, but if one looks at it as a separate work in its own right rather than what it followed ('Days of Future Passed') and what was yet to come ('Seventh Sojourn') then it still proves capable of standing the test of time.

With their previous release ('To Our Children's Children's Children') the Moody Blues had fallen into a trap which many bands find themselves unable to escape - that of increasing lush, even extravagant production and instrumentation - a sound that proved both difficult to reproduce live and also left the band wondering if they could outdo themselves with the next 'epic' in the sequence. Rather than bow to this pressure which would come to bear on so many prog-rock bands of the ensuing decade, the band chose to stand still, even step back to allow a more clear-cut sound to emerge. Not only that, but they managed to do so without losing either their definitive sound or sense of musicianship.

The result might not have been to all tastes, but even the harshest critics can't deny the quality exuded by tracks such as 'Question' (cruelly denied a UK No 1 by a combination of the BBC and England's World Cup squad) and 'Melancholy Man' which hold their own against anything ever recorded by the band. Sure, some of the songs (How Is It, Tortoise and the Hare, Minstrel's Song) suffer against these two by comparison, but so would many tracks from their other releases. And as a package, A Question of Balance achieves exactly that in terms of the way it flows as a whole album.

A worthwhile purchase, if you're a keen fan of their work. If not, perhaps you'd be better off with a Best Of package anyway...

don't believe everything you see
contrary to other reviewer opinions, if you need to chill, stick this album on. true, it is really for moody afficionados, but when the time comes for a major de-stress (and it will) these gentle songs will work wonders. this album sees the moodies in more reflective frame of mind. my favourite track has to be "don't you feel small", but "and the tide rushes in" has to come a very close second. call me an old romantic if you like, but I promise this set of songs will soothe you. anyway, it must be good, I've worn out the vinyl, and the cassette, and now i'm working on the cd.

An string of rare pearls
It's a shame the rating being limited to only five stars. Nine would come closer (10 stars are reserved for their Seventh Sojourn album). An excellent piece of work. There are no flaws on this alnum only positive exception. Milke's Melancholy Man may easily be regarded as one of the most beautiful songs ever written. And Ray's And the tide rushes in is another extraordinary gem on this string of pearls. If it wasn't for Seventh Sojour, A Question of Balance would be there best album.