"Blue World" by The Moody Blues

Song#:  1689
Date:  11/12/1983
Debut:  88
Peak:  62
Weeks:  6
Genre:  Soft Rock



Pop Bits:  After the Moodies got their second #1 album with Long Distance Voyager, they issued the new disc The Present. The LP's first single, "Sitting at the Wheel," was a moderate hit getting to #27 at Pop while going to #3 at Rock. The song wasn't really making the album sell so they hoped this follow-up would help it along. Unfortunately it didn't. The tune barely made it out of the basement at Pop and could only muster a #32 showing at Rock. In their UK homeland, the single would get to #35 and become their final Top 40 hit there. It would push the album to #15 there, but in the US it stopped at a disappointing #26.

ReduxReview:  Although I really like this song, it makes for a weak single. It pales in comparison to their more recent hits like "Gemini Dream" and "The Voice." It also takes a couple minutes for it to rev up and arrive at the chorus, which is not good for Pop radio. It seems caught between a ballad and something more uptempo and exciting. I would have liked for the song to do better on the chart, but the peak is not surprising. Lovely tune, just not a good single.

ReduxRating:  6/10

Trivia:  The lead singer and songwriter on this track and a good chunk of the band's hits is Justin Hayward. When the band took breaks between albums and tours, Hayward did his own side projects including solo works. His first solo LP, Songwriter, came out in 1977 and did moderately well in both the UK (#28) and US (#37). The following year Hayward lent his voice to the prog rock classic Jeff Wayne's Musical Version of War of the Worlds. The concept album, based on the H.G. Wells story, was developed by British producer/composer Jeff Wayne. It featured the song "Forever Autumn," which was sung by Hayward. It ended up being a UK hit reaching #5. It would reach #47 in the US. The album was a big success in the UK hitting #5 and spending 290 weeks on the chart. The disc would also hit #1 in several European countries and Australia. Unfortunately, it didn't capture the imagination of US record buyers and it failed to reach the album chart. After the LP's success, Wayne set out to produce Hayward's next solo album. Night Flight was issued in 1980, but it was not received well (#41 UK, #166 US) and it quickly disappeared.

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