Moody Bluegrass is a

bluegrass music Bluegrass music is a genre of American roots music that developed in the 1940s in the Appalachian region of the United States. The genre derives its name from the band Bill Monroe and the Blue Grass Boys. Like mainstream country music, it la ...

project that produced two

tribute album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early 20th century as individual 78 rpm records co ...

s to the British

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

band

the Moody Blues The Moody Blues were an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1964, initially consisting of keyboardist Mike Pinder, multi-instrumentalist Ray Thomas, guitarist Denny Laine, drummer Graeme Edge and bassist Clint Warwick. The group c ...

. The albums consist of bluegrass-style

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song relea ...

s of Moody Blues songs performed by a variety of noted bluegrass and

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, o ...

artists.

Albums

''Moody Bluegrass: A Nashville Tribute to the Moody Blues''

The first album, ''Moody Bluegrass: A Nashville Tribute to the Moody Blues'', was conceived by Randey Faulkner and produced by bluegrass musician and

luthier A luthier ( ; AmE also ) is a craftsperson who builds or repairs string instruments that have a neck and a sound box. The word "luthier" is originally French and comes from the French word for lute. The term was originally used for makers of ...

David Harvey David W. Harvey (born 31 October 1935) is a British-born Marxist economic geographer, podcaster and Distinguished Professor of anthropology and geography at the Graduate Center of the City University of New York ( CUNY). He received his P ...

. The album, released September 28, 2004 by

Rounder Records Rounder Records is an independent record label founded in 1970 in Somerville, Massachusetts by Marian Leighton Levy, Ken Irwin, and Bill Nowlin. Focused on American roots music, Rounder's catalogue of more than 3000 titles includes records by Al ...

, included performances by

Alison Krauss Alison Maria Krauss (born July 23, 1971) is an American bluegrass-country singer and musician. She entered the music industry at an early age, competing in local contests by the age of 8 and recording for the first time at 14. She signed with ...

, Harley Allen,

John Cowan John Cowan (born August 24, 1953) is an American soul music and progressive bluegrass vocalist and bass guitar player. He was the lead vocalist and bass player for the New Grass Revival. Cowan became the band's bassist in 1972 after the departure ...

Sam Bush Charles Samuel Bush (born April 13, 1952) is an American mandolinist who is considered an originator of progressive bluegrass music. In 2020, he was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame as a member of New Grass Reviva ...

, Tim O'Brien, and Harvey himself, among others. A live concert based the album was performed at

Nashville Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and t ...

Ryman Auditorium Ryman Auditorium (also known as Grand Ole Opry House and Union Gospel Tabernacle) is a 2,362-seat live-performance venue located at 116 Rep. John Lewis Way North, in Nashville, Tennessee. It is best known as the home of the ''Grand Ole Opry'' fr ...

on October 23, 2005.

''Moody Bluegrass TWO...Much Love''

A follow-up album, ''Moody Bluegrass TWO… Much Love'', was released on June 21, 2011, by Bunny Rae Records. The second album includes performances by

Vince Gill Vincent Grant Gill (born April 12, 1957) is an American country music singer, songwriter and musician. He has achieved commercial success and fame both as frontman of the country rock band Pure Prairie League in the 1970s and as a solo artist ...

and

Ricky Skaggs Rickie Lee Skaggs (born July 18, 1954), known professionally as Ricky Skaggs, is an American neotraditional country and bluegrass singer, musician, producer, and composer. He primarily plays mandolin; however, he also plays fiddle, guitar, ...

in addition to many of the performers of the original album. Members of the Moody Blues themselves contributed to some of the tracks, with

Justin Hayward David Justin Hayward (born 14 October 1946) is an English musician best known as the lead singer, songwriter and guitarist of the rock band the Moody Blues. Hayward became the group's principal lead guitarist and vocalist over the 1967–1974 ...

, John Lodge, and

Graeme Edge Graeme Charles Edge (30 March 1941 – 11 November 2021) was an English musician, songwriter and poet, best known as the co-founder and drummer of the English band the Moody Blues. In addition to his work with the Moody Blues, Edge worked as t ...

providing lead vocals on one song each, as well as

Ray Thomas Raymond Thomas (29 December 1941 – 4 January 2018) was an English multi-instrumentalist, flautist, singer, founding member and composer in the English progressive rock band the Moody Blues. His flute solo on the band's 1967 hit single " Nigh ...

and

Mike Pinder Michael Thomas Pinder (born 27 December 1941) is an English rock musician, and is a founding member and original keyboard player of the British rock group the Moody Blues. He left the group following the recording of the band's ninth album ''O ...

providing some instrumentals. The album ends with an original instrumental composition, “Lost Chord”, which is a tribute to the album In Search of the Lost Chord. The track of the bluegrass cover of "It's Cold Outside Of Your Heart" from ''Moody Bluegrass TWO...Much Love'' was also released on Hayward's 2013 solo album, ''

Spirits of the Western Sky ''Spirits of the Western Sky'' is a solo album by Justin Hayward of The Moody Blues. It was Hayward's first solo album since his 1996 album '' The View from the Hill''. Background The album was recorded in Genoa in Italy and in Nashville. On i ...

''.

Compilation album

A compilation of the two tribute albums, also titled ''Moody Bluegrass: A Nashville Tribute to the Moody Blues'', was released October 29, 2013 by Red River Entertainment.

Reception

Critics praised both releases for their craftsmanship and serious treatment of the material. On AllMusic.com, James Christopher Monger provided this assessment of the first album: "With all of the other countless tongue-in-cheek bluegrass renderings of classic rock radio staples, it's hard not to toss off producer/mandolin player David Harvey's irony-free reimagining of the Moody Blues' greatest hits… oweverwhat was once an exercise in high camp turns into a lovingly crafted tribute that's as reverent as it is whimsical." For the second album, Jim Burn on folkalley.com wrote, “Harvey has once again sparked conversation with these arrangements, but pulls them off with such class that any suggestion of novelty instantly disappears once you listen. He adds vocal harmony (The Settles Connection) and strings at the right moments, but mostly lets his cast of stars deliver.”Blum, Jim
"Review: Moody Bluegrass TWO...Much Love: A Nashville Celebration of the Moody Blues”
''Folk Alley Blog'', 3 October 2011. Retrieved on 25 August 2015.

Track lists

The following listed tracks include lead singers / performers.

Moody Bluegrass: A Nashville Tribute to Moody Blues (2004)

* 1) '' Lovely to See You'' – Harley Allen * 2) ''Land Of Make Believe'' – Tim O'Brien /

* 3) '' The Voice'' –

* 4) '' The Other Side Of Life'' –

Larry Cordle Larry Cordle (born November 16, 1948) is an American country and bluegrass singer-songwriter . Cordle is most famous for his song "Murder on Music Row", which was recorded by George Strait and Alan Jackson and received the Country Music Associ ...

* 5) ''It's Up To You'' – Jan Harvey * 6) '' Ride My See-Saw'' – Harley Allen * 7) '' I'm Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band)'' – John Cowan * 8) '' Legend of a Mind'' – Tim O'Brien * 9) '' Your Wildest Dreams'' – Harley Allen * 10) ''

Nights In White Satin "Nights in White Satin" is a song by the Moody Blues, written and composed by Justin Hayward. It was first featured as the segment "The Night" on the album '' Days of Future Passed''. When first released as a single in 1967, it reached number 19 ...

'' – John Cowan * 11) '' Late Lament'' – Larry Cordle * 12) '' Never Comes the Day'' – John Cowan

Moody Bluegrass TWO… Much Love (2011)

* 1) '' I Know You're Out There Somewhere'' –

* 2) ''Nice to Be Here'' –

* 3) '' Dear Diary'' – Tim O'Brien, with

on Flute and

Mellotron The Mellotron is an electro-mechanical musical instrument developed in Birmingham, England, in 1963. It is played by pressing its keys, each of which pushes a length of magnetic tape against a capstan, which pulls it across a playback head. ...

* 4) '' Meanwhile'' – Harley Allen * 5) ''Dawn Is a Feeling'' – Peter Rowan * 6) '' It's Cold Outside of Your Heart'' –

* 7) ''You and Me'' –

* 8) '' Say It With Love'' – Jan Harvey * 9) '' Send Me No Wine'' – John Lodge * 10) '' The Story In Your Eyes'' – Ronnie Bowman * 11) ''

Voices in the Sky "Voices in the Sky" is a hit 1968 single by the progressive rock band the Moody Blues, and it was written by their lead guitarist Justin Hayward. It was released as a single in June 1968, with " Dr. Livingstone, I Presume" on the B-side. It was l ...

'' – Emma Harvey * 12) '' Have You Heard'' –

* 13) '' Higher and Higher'' –

* 14) ''

Tuesday Afternoon "Tuesday Afternoon" (sometimes referred to as "Forever Afternoon (Tuesday?)", or simply "Forever Afternoon") is a 1968 single by English symphonic rock band the Moody Blues, which was presented in its original album form on their 1967 album ''Day ...

'' –

* 15) ''Highway'' – Jon Randall * 16) ''Lost Chord'' –

& Tim May

References

External links

Official website
{{Moody Blues Bluegrass albums Progressive rock albums The Moody Blues tribute albums