Mike Pinder

SATURDAY, MARCH 22, 2014

CD Review: Moody Blues’ Mike Pinder Keeps “The Promise” To Release “Among The Stars”

English musician Mike Pinder was one of the founding members of the British rock band The Moody Blues. In the early years of the band, Pinder and leader guitarist/singer Denny Laine became the primary song writers for the band before Laine left the band in the late sixties. Mike Pinder recorded his debut solo album “The Promise” in 1976 during a break from The Moody Blues, which led to his exit from the band in 1978.

After the mild success of “The Promise,” Pinder moved away from music to work for the Atari computer corporation until the mid-nineties. He would return to music to release his second solo album “Among the Stars” almost twenty years after his first album. Since then, he has become one of the most sought after studio musicians and has received praise for his spoken word album for children.

Now, Mike Pinder is once again receiving recognition with the newly released box set entitled “The Promise/Among The Stars.” It was released near the end of last year in Europe and is now available in the U.S. through Esoteric Recordings. The set includes a remastered version of Mike Pinder’s debut solo album “The Promise.” The sound is amazing as you would never know the album was almost 40 years old. Songs like “You’ll Make It Through” and “Someone To Believe In” show Pinder’s talents in front of the mic. The six-minute album closer “The Promise” showcases his keen sense to write great songs.

Also included in the set is Mike Pinder’s second solo album “Among The Stars,” which was only previously available as mail order only release. Now the album is presented here with three new bonus tracks by Mike and The Pinder Brothers. The three bonus tracks were produced by the late Tony Clarke (Moody Blues). While twenty years may have passed between recordings, Mike Pinder still sings with a passion to prove his talents as in the ballad “You Can’t Take Love Away.” He incorporates a little jazz into his sound on “Hurry Home” and gets a little funky on the album closer “The World Today.” The three bonus tracks are some of the real treasures in this set. The mellow rock of “If She Came Back,” which sound like a lost opportunity at a hit single, and “Waves Crash” and “Empty Streets” are performed by The Pinder Brothers and feature Ray Thomas on the flute.

Finally included in this set is a DVD of an interview with Mike Pinder from June 2012. Mike talks about his time in the Moody Blues, as well as his solo career. Also included are solo performances, as well as a bonus interview from 2008. Rounding out the set is a 16-page full color booklet with information and lyrics from the two albums and a newly written message from Pinder himself. To find out more about this great set from Moody Blues keyboardist Mike Pinder, please visit www.cherryred.co.uk/shopexd.asp?id=4389

POSTED BY JP’S MUSIC BLOG

 http://blog.musoscribe.com/?p=5501

http://blog.musoscribe.com/?p=5499

http://www.heralddeparis.com/the-moody-blues-masterful-mystical-michael-pinder/230695

http://frontrowfeatures.com/2014/02/box-set-commemorates-mellotronic-man-mike-pinder/

“We would have done surround sound at the time if it had been available.” Original Moody Blues keyboardist Mike Pinder is discussing the always-enveloping signature orchestral sound of the band he was a part of for its first 15 years. Much of the Moodies’ core “Classic Seven” catalog has since seen a series of 5.1 releases in the interim, and Pinder’s innovative usage of the mellotron helped take many of those mixes (“Higher and Higher,” “Watching and Waiting,” “Legend of a Mind”) to the threshold of aural perfection.

Pinder cut his first solo album, The Promise, in 1976, while the band was on a break. After leaving the group 2 years later and concentrating on computer-related projects in California, Pinder eventually followed it up with Among the Stars in 1994. Both releases, along with a behind-the-scenes DVD, are part of a new Cherry Red/Esoteric Recordings box set named after both albums. Here, Pinder, 72, and I discuss the evolution of production values, the joys of the vinyl experience, and his favorite mellotron moments.

Mike Mettler: Did the changes in recording technology in the almost 2 decades between the time you worked on and composed these two solo albums play a role in your production choices?

Mike Pinder: Of course. We used to have to layer guitar, strings, piano, flutes, drums, percussion, and any other orchestral instruments we wanted with the use of two 4-track machines. We would lose quality as we bounced things down to make room for the next instrument. Mixing often had to be done in the moment. Look how far we have come with production techniques in 40 years. One of the best things to come out of new technology is the home studio. Home recording was out of reach for most musicians of my generation. Now it is a more level playing field with writers being able to create without the support and funding of a record company.

Mettler: What are your favorite songs on these records? I happen to be partial to The Promise’s “You’ll Make It Through” and “Air,” as well as Among the Stars’ “World Today” and “Waves Crash,” to name but a few. And, of course, it’s also nice to hear [ex-Moodies member] Ray Thomas’ signature flute on one of the bonus tracks, “Empty Streets.”

Pinder: I recently listened to “World Today” myself, and I am sad to say, not much has changed in the world since I wrote that in the ’90s. I would like to see our world at peace and an end to hunger on our planet in my lifetime. I really liked the instrumentation and jazz-rock fusion that I achieved on that song. I had great players on that album who, like me, grew up with blues, jazz, and rock influences.

And this box set was a lovely opportunity for me to include two songs, “Waves Crash” and “Empty Streets,” written by my sons Michael Lee and Matt, a.k.a. The Pinder Brothers. They are both outstanding musicians and writers. Our longtime Moody Blues producer, the late Tony Clarke, produced those tracks, and it was great to have Ray Thomas playing flute too.

Mettler: Are you still a vinyl fan? Do you feel analog is the best way of listening to music?

Pinder: I still like the warmth of the vinyl experience. This is something that is just not captured in any contemporary medium. My friend Tom still has an extensive vinyl collection. In fact, Tom and I recently listened to Horowitz at Home on Deutsche Grammophon and had this same conversation. I also love the beauty of the album artwork and reading liner notes about the musicians as I listen to the music.

But I have also enjoyed all the advantages that technology has brought us. I do like the compactness of CDs and the easy access of digital. It is very convenient to send tracks over the Internet and have a library on a thumb drive.

Mettler: Is there a particular favorite mellotron performance of yours on record with The Moody Blues, one that you feel is the best in terms of sound quality?

Pinder: [Producer] Tony Clarke, [engineer] Derek Varnals, and I were always trying to create new and innovative sounds. A good example of my signature mellotron swoops are in Ray Thomas’ song, “Legend of a Mind” [from 1968’s In Search of the Lost Chord, perhaps best known for its “Timothy Leary’s dead” refrain]. I used the speed control on my Tron to create the swoops, and we would take advantage of the stereo effects to make the mellotron sound and the movement come from one side to the other side, i.e., left-right, and right-left. And I would use the reverb to make it come forward and back in the track as well. The listener would get an almost-3D sound that was unique for that time.

Mettler: Speaking of that, how do you feel about the various surround-sound mixes in the Moodies catalog? Personally, I feel the 5.1 mix for Days of Future Passed gave extra breadth to the dimensionality inherent in the original recording itself – especially your parts on “Dawn Is a Feeling,” and what both the band and the London Festival Orchestra played on “Nights in White Satin.”

Pinder: I agree. I love the surround-sound mixes. We would have done that at the time if it had been available.

Mettler: Did you also like the quad mixes Clarke and Varnals shepherded back in the day?

Pinder: Derek always did a wonderful job. He was innovative and talented. He and Tony Clarke were adept at driving the ship. We were all very committed to our music and it was an adventure. Lots of fun and laughs as well. Everyone worked very hard. We had creative freedom, and we were fortunate to be allowed to try new things. It was our musical wonderland.

An extended version of this interview appears on Mike Mettler’s own site, soundbard.com.

http://soundcolourvibration.com/2014/02/01/mike-pinder-reissue/

Mike’s good friend Scott May just released his new CD Outside the Inside.  Moody Blues fans would like this CD.  Great lyrics, musicians and groove.  Even a Moody Blues reference in the song “Long Shadows”  Mike played tambourine on the track “Love Song 369″

http://www.amazon.com/Outside-Inside-Scott-May/dp/B00I1GF082/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1391820969&sr=8-1&keywords=scott+may+outside+the+inside