The most romantic album to come out of
the Moody Blues' orbit, and the biggest success by any of the members during the group's five-year hiatus,
Justin Hayward and
John Lodge's
Blue Jays actually started life as a busted collaboration between
Hayward and
Moody Blues keyboardist
Mike Pinder, with
Tony Clarke producing and
John Lodge in a supporting role, until
Pinder pulled out.
Clarke then salvaged the early work by holding it together as a collaboration between
Hayward and
Lodge.
Hayward has the more distinctive body of songs, but their strength as a unit lies in their vocal pairing, which is as strong here as it ever was with the group. The pair play the guitars and basses, backed by a group that includes members of Providence, who were signed to
the Moodies' Threshold Records.
Hayward wrote or co-wrote seven of the original album's ten songs, and most of it is fairly impressive as soft romantic rock, although "Nights Winters Years," which ended the original LP's first side, is a little bit too melodramatic, making
Hayward's "Nights in White Satin" seem almost restrained by comparison.
Lodge has one of the better rockers to come out of the group's orbit, however, in "Saved By the Music," which opened the original LP's second side. An alternately exuberant and reflective song that manages to be surprisingly spiritual, it has a great break and a better beat, and features harmonizing that will delight any fan of either musician or the original group. It's also the perfect lead into "I Dreamed Last Night," the best of
Hayward's songs out of this entire project and period in his history. The production by
Clarke echoes the best
Moody Blues sound. The bonus track, "Blue Guitar," a follow-up single to the album that started life as a
Hayward solo track recorded with his longtime friends the members of
10cc -- with
Lodge and
Clarke adding their contribution for this release -- is an added attraction to the CD.
Blue Jays was reissued in the late spring of 2004 under the Decca Records imprint -- initially, at least, only in England -- with significantly upgraded sound and extremely thorough new annotation. It's definitely worth tracking down for the improved, audiophile-level sound quality. ~ Bruce Eder