''Every Good Boy Deserves Favour'' is the seventh album by

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 came to ...

, released in 1971.

Background

This album featured the only track to be written by all five members of the band. The opening "

Procession A procession is an organized body of people walking in a formal or ceremonial manner. History Processions have in all peoples and at all times been a natural form of public celebration, as forming an orderly and impressive ceremony. Religious ...

" was a piece that was intended to describe the history of music from the beginning of time up until the album's recording. The only three words heard in this track—"desolation," "creation," and "communication"—were similarly used (along with many other "-ation" words) in "One More Time to Live." The album reached #1 on the British album charts, in addition to a three-week stay at #2 in the United States, and produced one top-40 single, "

The Story in Your Eyes "The Story in Your Eyes" is a 1971 hit single by the English rock band the Moody Blues. Written by the band's guitarist Justin Hayward, it was first released as a single with "My Song" on the B-side, and then on the 1971 album '' Every Good Boy ...

." The track "Emily's Song" was written by John Lodge for his newborn daughter.

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 ...

wrote and sang the album's concluding track "My Song." The title is taken from the student

mnemonic A mnemonic ( ) device, or memory device, is any learning technique that aids information retention or retrieval (remembering) in the human memory for better understanding. Mnemonics make use of elaborative encoding, retrieval cues, and imag ...

for the lines of the treble

clef A clef (from French: 'key') is a Musical notation, musical symbol used to indicate which Musical note, notes are represented by the lines and spaces on a musical staff (music), stave. Placing a clef on a stave assigns a particular pitch to ...

: E-G-B-D-F. These notes are heard played on piano during "Procession." The album was the last to feature the

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. A ...

as the sole tape-driven instrument, as it would be utilized in conjunction with the

Chamberlin The Chamberlin is an electro-mechanical keyboard instrument that was a precursor to the Mellotron. It was developed and patented by the American inventor Harry Chamberlin from 1949 to 1956, when the first model was introduced. There are severa ...

(another device that uses recorded tape to generate sound) on the Moody Blues' next studio album, 1972's ''

Seventh Sojourn ''Seventh Sojourn'' is the eighth album by the Moody Blues, released in 1972. Music and lyrics Although the album's lyrics address political concerns, in the 1990 documentary ''The Moody Blues: Legend of a Band'', bassist John Lodge describ ...

''. The album was mixed and released in both

stereo Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...

and

quadraphonic Quadraphonic (or quadrophonic and sometimes quadrasonic) sound – equivalent to what is now called 4.0 surround sound – uses four audio channels in which speakers are positioned at the four corners of a listening space. The system allows for th ...

. In April 2007 the album was remastered into

SACD Super Audio CD (SACD) is an optical disc format for audio storage introduced in 1999. It was developed jointly by Sony and Philips, Philips Electronics and intended to be the successor to the Compact Disc (CD) format. The SACD format allows mul ...

format and repackaged with the two extra tracks. In 2008 a remaster for standard audio CD was issued with the same bonus tracks. The cover art created by artist Phil Travers was inspired by the work named ''Der Kristall'' (''The Crystal'') by German artist

Sulamith Wülfing Sulamith Wülfing (January 11, 1901 – 1989) was a German artist and illustrator. The author Michael Folz explains that Wülfing's art was a "realistic reflection of the world she lives in: she has seen the angels and elfin creatures of her painti ...

.Yvette Endrijautzki
"Sulamith Wülfing the forgotten daughter of the town"
''Yumpu'', retrieved 04 November 2022. The front cover has been imitated by the leader of the dark progressive band

Current 93 Current 93 are an English experimental music group, working since the early 1980s in folk-based musical forms. The band was founded in 1982 by David Tibet, who has been Current 93's only constant member. Background Tibet has been the only const ...

, David Tibet, for ''Halo'', a live album released in 2004.

Track listing

Personnel

The Moody Blues

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 ...

– vocals, guitars,

sitar The sitar ( or ; ) is a plucked stringed instrument, originating from the Indian subcontinent, used in Hindustani classical music. The instrument was invented in medieval India, flourished in the 18th century, and arrived at its present form in ...

* John Lodge – vocals, bass,

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

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 "Night ...

– vocals, flute, tambourine,

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. A ...

woodwinds Woodwind instruments are a family of musical instruments within the greater category of wind instruments. Common examples include flute, clarinet, oboe, bassoon, and saxophone. There are two main types of woodwind instruments: flutes and reed ...

, harmonica *

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 ...

– drums, percussion, electronic drums and vocals on "Procession" *

– vocals,

harpsichord A harpsichord ( it, clavicembalo; french: clavecin; german: Cembalo; es, clavecín; pt, cravo; nl, klavecimbel; pl, klawesyn) is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. This activates a row of levers that turn a trigger mechanism ...

Hammond organ The Hammond organ is an electric organ invented by Laurens Hammond and John M. Hanert and first manufactured in 1935. Multiple models have been produced, most of which use sliding drawbars to vary sounds. Until 1975, Hammond organs generated s ...

, piano, celesta,

Moog synthesizer The Moog synthesizer is a modular synthesizer developed by the American engineer Robert Moog. Moog debuted it in 1964, and Moog's company R. A. Moog Co. (later known as Moog Music) produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 20 ...

Production

Tony Clarke Anthony or Tony Clarke may refer to: * Tony Clarke (British politician) (born 1963), English Labour Party politician, MP for Northampton South from 1997 to 2005 * Anthony Clarke (judoka) (born 1961), Australian athlete *Tony Clarke (activist) (born ...

– producer * Derek Varnals – recording engineer * David Baker – assistant engineer * Harry Fisher – cutting engineer * Phil Travers – sleeve artist * J. Randall Nelson – lyrics sheet photograph

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1971 albums The Moody Blues albums Threshold Records albums Albums produced by Tony Clarke (record producer)