The Moody Blues bringing decade-spanning hits to Pechanga

By: JAMES CURRAN - Staff Writer | Wednesday, February 14, 2007 2:56 PM PST ∞

With decades of songwriting on his biography ---- including hits in such culturally diverse generations as the 1960s and '80s ---- Justin Hayward said he has little idea what makes a piece of music appeal to the masses.

"You try not to think about it or analyze it so much," said the songwriter for the Moody Blues, who will perform Friday and Saturday at Pechanga Resort & Casino. "I listen to music every day. It's all around us, like a big swamp, isn't it?

"All I want is a song that moves me emotionally, to feel a little lighter, and if I get that feeling, I want to put it down on record. I'm very much aware of that when I'm writing songs. That's about the best I can answer."

Singer and guitarist Hayward, who discussed his lengthy career via phone while the band toured in Monaco, considers large parts of his career to be happy accidents. It seemed an odd belief, seeing as the band's earlier work ---- such as "Nights in White Satin" in 1967 ---- was so structured it appeared nothing was left to chance.

Yet, the wistful "Your Wildest Dreams" ---- which revived the Moody Blues for another era in 1986 ---- provided insight into Hayward's sensibilities. He said he was stunned when music executives thought the song was a sure-fire hit.

" 'Wildest Dreams' was kind of a throwaway track," he said. "I'm a really bad judge of what will work. I never thought of it as a single at all.

"But it was very, very gratifying. I thought that (having a hit) would never happen again."

Only after the fact did Hayward realize why "Wildest Dreams" worked. He cited two elements that helped propel the unlikely comeback in 1986. Lyrics that touched on a common feeling, wondering about what happened to a person's first love, was the first.

The second developed over time. Longtime fans of the band remember its multilayered orchestral sound. Once, the Moody Blues even recorded a rock version of Dvorak's Ninth Symphony. During a hiatus from the band, though, Hayward worked with producer Tony Visconti and discovered a new approach.

"He was able to cut through a lot of the overproduction," Hayward said. "We always wanted to keep a lot of stuff on the record. Some sounds would be on the record just because it was there, a surplus."

Hayward said the band had gotten into a packrat mentality, rarely discarding pieces of music. But what worked in the '60s ---- such as the wall of sound from Phil Spector ---- did not stay the same decades later.

"You would hear things on the record, something on the first verse that you wouldn't hear again until the fourth," Hayward said. "I think we had to learn to discriminate, to mix things properly."

One could hardly blame Hayward for not being selective early in his career. The Moody Blues were originally signed by a company with a "huge catalog" of classical music. Hayward said the studio was more befitting of a thicker sound than a three-man rock band.

Hayward again used the word "accident" to describe the Moody Blues' blend of classical and rock genres.

"I don't think it was ever our intention," he said. "What made the songs work was an instrument called the melotron that gave it an orchestral sound even when there's no orchestra playing. This was before there was any synthesizers or anything like that."

Thus, Hayward said the Moody Blues "are guilty as charged" for putting the classical in classic rock.

There were additional benefits and negatives for that early association with Decca Records. On the plus side, Hayward said Decca ---- which also signed the Rolling Stones ---- gave the band a chance to figure out how to express itself, a luxury many modern musical acts don't get.

"We were on a lousy deal, but we could use that studio and they said, 'We like what you're doing,' " Hayward said. "That wouldn't happen now."

The drag of being a young rock star, though, was that Hayward said touring was far too intense to appreciate the fruits of his labor. He could have been a cocky 21-year-old had he the time to celebrate the eventual success of "Nights in White Satin."

"Wouldn't it have been nice if it was like that?" he asked rhetorically. "The album only slowly took off, really. We only had more success with our second and third album while people were catching up with the first one. I didn't feel any success at all.

"I was in a race with my head down, not really noticing things. I never knew if we were making it or not. The only time I can remember having the feeling of being on top was in the '80s, with 'Your Wildest Dreams.' I told myself I'm going to enjoy this because I missed it the first time."

The Moody Blues

When: 8 p.m. Feb. 16-17

Where: Pechanga Showroom, Pechanga Resort & Casino, 45000 Pechanga Parkway, Temecula

Tickets: $60-$85

Info: (951) 303-2507

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