This part concert film and part retrospective documentary is a treasure for Moody Blues fans. Released in 2009 it contains (at that time) contemporary interviews with Justin Hayward, Graeme Edge, John Lodge and Mike Pinder, who reflect on the massive concert and the changes in time since then. My writing about it here for Imdb is the passing of Mike Pinder this week. We lost a great man and artist and this concert is one of the only filmed concerts from his time in the band when they recorded the "Core 7" albums along with Ray Thomas, who was the only member not interviewed in 2009.
There is a nice background on the band starting with a brief history of the Moodies from their start as a blues-based band in 1964 to how they changed when Justin and John joined the band which is when Mike started playing the mellotron. The instrument has long been replaced with keyboards, samplers and digital programs, so seeing Mike demonstrate this pioneering instrument in his 2009 interview is educational for anyone interested. As Justin says, the mellotron helped give them an identity when they first used it.
The Isle of Wight festival was amazing. The Moodies were so big in August 1970 that they played on the last night and they were followed by Jethro Tull and by Jimi Hendrix, in his final concert before his untimely death. This was the biggest show the Moodies ever played - over 600,000 people attended. Graeme comically described it as if 10% of the audience booed, then that meant 60,000 people were upset with you! Not all of the songs performed were filmed, so what filmmaker Murray Lerner wisely does is to play the audio of those songs like, 'Are You Sitting Comfortably?' and 'Ride My See Saw' and he edits in cut-away shots of the band and uses narration from band members to describe the songs/experiences for these. What was filmed is spectacular. We see Ray and Mike emcee the show, introducing the songs which include, 'Gypsy', 'Tuesday Afternoon', 'Never Comes the Day', 'Tortoise and the Hare', 'Question', 'Sunset', 'Melancholy Man', 'Nights in White Satin', and 'Legend of a Mind'. For fans who only saw concerts after the 1970s, it is a wonderful opportunity to see Mike and Ray on their side of the stage, including the band's epic performance of 'Melancholy Man'. There are precious few performances of Mike singing his songs available to see today and this one is awesome! Seeing the band so young, especially now as three of the members have passed, is a treat and this concert and festival are of great historical importance in music history. As Justin says in an interview, the Isle of Wight came at the end of the period of innocence of the sixties. The festival was so gigantic and caused a bit of havoc locally, that ultimately this was the last truly gigantic festival of rock music from that legendary era. The band is simply terrific and locked in.
So, if you are a Moody Blues fan, you must own this and if you do own it, you need to watch it again sometime soon. Their talent, music of peace, philosophy, love and thoughtfulness shines through in an authentic, soul-enriching experience. Rest in peace, Mike Pinder.
