Mike Pinder has died at age 82. He was one of the founding members of the Moody Blues.
It was my late cousin, David, who introduced me to the Moodys. He had an impressive record collection. One day, he pulled out "In Search of the Lost Chord" and played it for me. It was as if somebody had opened this door to a whole new universe for me. I still consider Chord to be the most important album I ever heard.
There was just so much going on. The layers of arrangements, the use of the mellotron, the lyrics...the sheer magnitude of the whole thing. It wasn't just a rock album. It was theater. It was poetry. It was connecting with something so big you felt you couldn't adequately describe it to anyone. To this day, I just tell people to listen to the album. Really listen to it. Give it your full attention. It can take you places.
Of Mike Pinder, I think the most apropos homage to him is..
"He'll take you up, he'll bring you down,
He'll plant your feet back firmly on the ground.
He flies so high, he swoops so low,
He knows exactly which way he's gonna go....."
