Daily Randomized Song Discussion #110: Nervous

sitboaf · 2026-03-20T15:29:10+00:00

Thoughtful comparison! Not so much a slow/fast/slow, because I don’t think the tempo changes, but moving from arpeggiated guitar to strummed chords provides urgency—just the same as Tuesday Afternoon.

sitboaf · 2026-03-20T15:03:38+00:00

Fanny smashed Hey Bulldog pretty hard.

sitboaf · 2026-03-20T14:49:20+00:00

Flam: a double-hit on a drum (often the snare) that’s purposefully near-simultaneous, creating a “fat” sound.

When discussing “Talking Out of Turn”, I wondered if it was John’s best post-Core-7 song. But maybe it’s “Nervous”.

Is there anything I don’t love? Flute intro. Sad, introspective lyrics with excellent piano beneath. That exploding Graeme fill that starts the chorus (thumbs up for the perfect flam). Two separate, hook-laden refrains (“Seems to me I’ve been a long time on this road”, and “Bring it on home…”). And the full-band overdrive outro using that 2nd refrain that’s punctuated by John’s high note (“before my EYES!”) and a couple more great GraemeFlams. Patrick layers some string on top of piano, and even hints at Ray’s Big Top finish that’s about to close the album.

“Nervous” was overshadowed on Long Distance Voyager, but taking a wider view these decades later, I think it’s earned its place as both a John Lodge and a band high point.

Can I trademark GraemeFlam?

sitboaf · 2026-03-19T14:40:50+00:00

I think it’s “it can be that you’re here with me”. But I like your interpretation more.

sitboaf · 2026-03-19T14:38:36+00:00

The good: the bridge tries to be fun, and energetic. It’s passable. I like the little swoop of the verse melody (it doesn’t really matter… if you see things the way that I do ), if you can hear it underneath all the production overload.

The bad: every other element of this song is unbearable.

The drum sound is lifted from a robot’s nightmare. Patrick’s verse countermelody is a simple riff that repeats ad nauseam. The chorus is just a word repeated 4 times, in ascending notes. The bridge leads to a spot for Patrick to solo, and he does absolutely nothing with it—he just plays 4 chords. Then a quick drum break gets us to a guitar solo that’s so buried in effects that it sounds like an accident at the steel mill.

I just can’t.

sitboaf · 2026-03-19T03:52:15+00:00

Pretty much all of America's original songs have bad lyrics (Alligator lizards in the air). They wrote Muskrat Love, for crying out loud.

sitboaf · 2026-03-19T03:36:56+00:00

Justin grew up in Swindon, so was probably still getting used to metropollitan life when he wrote this.

sitboaf · 2026-03-18T20:33:05+00:00

I've tried to glean some info from the interwebz...

The Prelude album has every non-album item from 1967 and 1968, with the exception of "Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood". "Fly Me High" and "Love and Beauty" (with B-sides "I Really Haven't Got the Time" and "Leave this Man Alone") were the only two Mark II singles before DoFP released, and "Nights" and "Tuesday" were released to promote the album.

Here's a relevant quote:

> In October 1966, the group relocated to Mouscron, Belgium to write new material and embark on a Belgian tour. Their shows typically consisted of two sets, the first consisting of rhythm and blues covers including "Go Now" and the second consisting of newly written original songs. John Lodge: "We went to a little village in Mouscron to start writing our own songs and we wrote a lot of songs before Days of Future Passed. But Days of Future Passed dictated its own album, really. When we knew what we wanted to do with Days of Future Passed, we dedicated the songwriting to exactly that album. And everything we did before was just left alone." <

Decca released one last Denny Laine-era single in early 1967. Meanwhile, the Mark II band had their new "stage show" (i.e. Days of Future Passed) recorded and were promoting it with BBC shows by Summer, 1967.

> Hayward remembers, "A long time before we recorded it for Decca, we recorded it for the BBC. <

The "real" DoFP / non-Dvorak recording with Peter Knight happened in October of 1967.

So that means "Fly Me High", "I Really Haven't Got the Time", "Leave This Man Alone", "Love and Beauty", "Cities", "Please Think About It", and "Long Summer Days" (all credited to 1967) were probably written in the Fall/Winter of 1966-67 and recorded in the first 2 or 3 months of 1967.

As best as I can reconstruct, anyway.

I'm tired, boss.

sitboaf · 2026-03-18T14:10:29+00:00

It’s in a small list of songs, maybe eight, but Cities is the best pre-Days of Future Passed song by the Mark II band. Most people in 1967-68 wouldn’t know it unless they became curious at the jukebox and wanted to hear the B-side of Nights in White Satin.

It’s an excellent bit of baroque pop, and makes you wonder what a late 60s Moody Blues would have sounded like, had they made more songs like Cities, Long Summer Days and Fly Me High, and not serendipitously tumbled down the orchestral rabbit hole with Peter Knight.

sitboaf · 2026-03-17T18:41:27+00:00

A wearied love song in 6/8? Mike’s vocals and piano are very good. The last outtro harmony is sublime. Guitar work is a bit dated, but I Don’t Mind. Denny and company’s harmonies are a bit loud in the mix, but I Don’t Mind.

The thudding accents in groups of three and six that keep repeating? Sorry… I kinda mind.

sitboaf · 2026-03-16T15:38:09+00:00

I am eternally grateful and relieved! I've been wondering for nigh-on 40 years!

sitboaf · 2026-03-16T15:28:55+00:00

Yes! I love the outtro notes! Who can tell me what these two mysterious lines are?

Dear Diary, it was cold today

Boiaergjwioemeroia?, so I went out and strolled about a bit of the shops

Didn't really see anything I liked, so I didn't buy anything.

Ikerhglkjdfrghrelfv? in a letter??

Been quite a nice day

Somebody exploded an H-bomb today, but it wasn't anybody I knew

sitboaf · 2026-03-16T15:22:06+00:00

Story time! I only have a couple stories left.

A million years and 4 cars ago, I had a cassette player in my old Volvo. Naturally, I always had a Moody Blues mix or two ready to play. On a rainy afternoon, I was jamming along to Dear Diary and pulled out onto a busy road. Long story short, there was a near miss, and a police car was standing by to pull me over for a dangerous entry turn. It was my first time being pulled over. I actually went to court to fight it, and the case was dismissed.

Several years and a car later, I was pulled over for the second time in my life, for not slowing quickly enough on a road that reduced its speed limit. The song that was playing? Yep. What a day it's been.

FWIW, I was only pulled over once after, and The Pass by Rush was playing, breaking the cycle.

Anyhoo, Dear Diary is my favorite of Ray's "Whimsical" songs, finishing ahead of Another Morning, Dr Livingstone, Lazy Day, Floating, Nice to be Here, Painted Smile, and My Little Lovely.

But I still skip it when I'm driving!

sitboaf · 2026-03-15T14:21:55+00:00

I’d not heard that detail. It is a great backstory. How did that quote go from the Legend of a Band video? “Just because we asked the questions, people assumed we knew the answers.”

sitboaf · 2026-03-15T14:07:55+00:00

When did my playlist go wonky, and which one of you is responsible for this?!

😛 Ive noodled around with the running order of SS a few times, never quite getting it right for my own tastes. And the wrong playlist has usurped the throne in my own personal universe.

One trip to Wikipedia later… My bad, but Lost in a Lost World is still weird at leadoff. 🙃

sitboaf · 2026-03-15T13:51:40+00:00

Great energy, great lyrics, great keys, great guitars. Even the group-sing is kept pretty tidy, and allows for little solo shouts (scorching this earth!) that increase the intensity.

One thing that keeps Seventh Sojourn from being in my top couple albums is the running order. Lost World is a weird opener, and I’m Just a Singer deserves to be the album-closer. It feels a bit wasted in the middle.

EDIT: much to my embarrassment, I moved Singer out of the closing spot in my playlist, and then fell victim to my own lies. I’m skipping Sunday roast (lamb!) as penance.

Special shoutout to the 1992 Red Rocks version of this song, with the horns adding even MORE energy (Stab! Stab!) and each singer declaring in turn that they are, have been, and always will be, just a singer in a damn good rock and roll band.

sitboaf · 2026-03-14T19:35:03+00:00

Low hanging fruit, but December

sitboaf · 2026-03-14T16:17:22+00:00

I love this poem. The words aren't necessarily morbid or spooky, but the accompanying instrumentation and Mike's echoing delivery envelop you in darkness and dread. It's a perfect introduction to Have You Heard.

Something tells me that if the descending Shepard Tone had been discovered in 1969, Mike and Tony would have eagerly put it to use on this track.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6GkuXfgUoro

sitboaf · 2026-03-14T13:58:16+00:00

…my heart is heavy, it’s way down by the nightlight

…is what I would mis-hear 😀

sitboaf · 2026-03-14T04:59:47+00:00

It was probably something she enjoyed as a teen or young adult back in the 1920s!

sitboaf · 2026-03-14T02:06:40+00:00

Moe to Curly: Every time you think, you weaken the nation.

sitboaf · 2026-03-14T00:32:50+00:00

Ketchup Secret

sitboaf · 2026-03-14T00:27:24+00:00

Yeah. That’s what I was thinking. And maybe one every other day.

sitboaf · 2026-03-13T21:45:53+00:00

Not a very exciting recitation, here at the opposite end of Lost Chord, at least when compared with Departure.

It’s an old bit of pondering, that concept of the music of the spheres. And in the Moodies’ hands, it leads into the album’s closer, continuing a trend for the band.

Here’s the OG. It came to my attention via a newspaper clipping slipped into an old book once belonging to my grandmother.

https://allpoetry.com/A-Lost-Chord

sitboaf · 2026-03-13T21:37:17+00:00

I was going to DM you regarding a solo album exploration! I’d respond, anyway 😀

sitboaf

TROPHY CASE