''Prelude'' is a 1987 compilation 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 ...

consisting of non-album

singles Singles are people not in a committed relationship. Singles may also refer to: Film and television * ''Singles'' (miniseries), a 1984 Australian television series * ''Singles'' (1992 film), written and directed by Cameron Crowe * ''Singles'' ...

and rarities. Tracks 1–4 were previously released on singles in 1967 prior to the release of ''

Days of Future Passed A day is the time period of a full rotation of the Earth with respect to the Sun. On average, this is 24 hours, 1440 minutes, or 86,400 seconds. In everyday life, the word "day" often refers to a solar day, which is the length between two so ...

''. They are the first Moody Blues releases to feature

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 ...

and John Lodge.
Tracks 5 and 6 were released as non-album B-sides. Track 6, "

A Simple Game "A Simple Game" is a 1968 song by the progressive rock band the Moody Blues. Written and sung by Mike Pinder, it was released as a non-album B-side to "Ride My See-Saw", a track from the album ''In Search of the Lost Chord''. The song was produce ...

", was later recorded by the

Four Tops The Four Tops are an American vocal quartet from Detroit who helped to define the city's Motown sound of the 1960s. The group's repertoire has included soul music, R&B, disco, adult contemporary, doo-wop, jazz, and show tunes. Founded as the ...

and (as "Simple Game"), went to #3 in the UK charts in 1972. Tracks 7–11 formed the "+5" portion of the 1977 ''

Caught Live + 5 ''Caught Live + 5'' is a live album by The Moody Blues, consisting of a 12 December 1969 live show at the Royal Albert Hall and five previously unreleased studio recordings from 1967 to 1968. The band's performance was a popular and critical ...

'' album. Track 12, " Late Lament," which rounds out the album, is the

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 ...

poem that appears at the end of ''Days of Future Passed''. Though many of these tracks have also appeared on other releases, such as the ''Time Traveller'' box set and the 2006

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 ...

album remasters, ''Prelude'' is the only release that contains all eleven rarities.

Track listing

#"Fly Me High" (

) – 3:02 (lead singer: Justin Hayward) #"I Really Haven't Got the Time" (

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 ...

) – 3:12 (lead singer: Mike Pinder) #"Leave This Man Alone" (Hayward) – 3:01 (lead singer: Justin Hayward) #"Love and Beauty" (Pinder) – 2:28 (lead singer: Mike Pinder) #"Cities" (Hayward) – 2:27 as b-side to "

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 ...

" (lead singer: Justin Hayward) #"

" (Pinder) – 3:47 as b-side to "

Ride My See-Saw __NOTOC__ "Ride My See-Saw" is a 1968 single by the English progressive rock band the Moody Blues. It was written by the band's bassist John Lodge, and was first released on the Moody Blues' 1968 album '' In Search of the Lost Chord''. It was the ...

" (lead singer: Mike Pinder) #"Gimme a Little Somethin'" ( John Lodge) – 3:18 (lead singers: Justin Hayward, John Lodge) #"Please Think About It" (Pinder) – 3:45 (lead singer: Mike Pinder) #"Long Summer Days" (Hayward) – 3:18 (lead singer: Justin Hayward) #"King and Queen" (Hayward) – 3:57 (lead singer: Justin Hayward) #"What Am I Doing Here?" (Hayward) – 3:40 (lead singer: Justin Hayward) #" Late Lament" (

, Peter Knight) – 1:36 (narrator: Mike Pinder) *Tracks 1–5, 8, and 9 were later released as bonus tracks on the 2006 SACD Deluxe edition of ''

'' *Tracks 6 and 11 were later released as bonus tracks on the 2006 SACD Deluxe edition of ''

In Search of the Lost Chord ''In Search of the Lost Chord'' is the third album by The Moody Blues, released in July 1968 on the Deram label. Content ''In Search of the Lost Chord'' is a concept album around a broad theme of quest and discovery, including world explorati ...

'' * Tracks 6, 7, 10, 11 were released as part of the 2018 5-disc Deluxe Box Set of ''

'' * Tracks 7–11 first released on ''

'' (1977)

References

The Moody Blues compilation albums 1987 compilation albums Polydor Records compilation albums Albums produced by Tony Clarke (producer) {{Progressive-rock-album-stub