''The Present'' is the eleventh 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 1983. This was the group's last original studio album to be released on their custom label,

Threshold Records Threshold Records was a record label created by the rock music group the Moody Blues. The name of the label came from their 1969 album ''On the Threshold of a Dream''. The band formed this label to allow for artistically packaged gatefold covers ...

Overview

The album is the second of the

Patrick Moraz Patrick Philippe Moraz (born 24 June 1948) is a Swiss musician, film composer and songwriter, best known for his tenures as keyboardist in the rock bands Yes and The Moody Blues. Born into a musical family, Moraz learned music at a young age a ...

era. It provided three minor hit singles in the

U.S. The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

with " Blue World" (#62), " Sitting at the Wheel" (#27) and "Running Water". The album has a track sequence designed to capitalise on the legacy of the more successful ''

Long Distance Voyager ''Long Distance Voyager'' is the tenth album by the Moody Blues, first released in May 1981 on the group's Threshold record label. It was the group's first album featuring keyboardist Patrick Moraz (who previously had worked with bands such as ...

'', with Justin Hayward's songs at the beginning and Ray Thomas's at the end. In November 2008 the album was remastered and released on CD with two extra tracks. The cover is a pastiche of

Maxfield Parrish Maxfield Parrish (July 25, 1870 – March 30, 1966) was an American painter and illustration, illustrator active in the first half of the 20th century. He is known for his distinctive saturated hues and idealized neo-classical imagery. His ...

's painting '' Daybreak''.

Original track listing

Side One

# " Blue World" (

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 ...

) – 5:20 (lead singer: Justin Hayward) # "Meet Me Halfway" (Hayward, John Lodge) – 4:08 (lead singers: Justin Hayward, John Lodge) # " Sitting at the Wheel" (Lodge) – 5:40 (lead singer: John Lodge) # "Going Nowhere" (

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 ...

) – 5:33 (lead singer:

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 ...

)

Side Two

# "Hole in the World" (Lodge) – 1:54 (instrumental) # "Under My Feet" (Lodge) – 4:51 (lead singer: John Lodge) # "It's Cold Outside of Your Heart" (Hayward) – 4:27 (lead singer: Justin Hayward) # "Running Water" (Hayward) – 3:23 (lead singer: Justin Hayward) # "I Am" (Ray Thomas) – 1:40 (lead singer: Ray Thomas) # "Sorry" (Thomas) – 5:02 (lead singer: Ray Thomas)

2008 remastered CD expanded edition

The 2008 release contains two extra tracks: #

"Blue World" (Single Edit)" – 3:38

# "Sitting at the Wheel (Steve Greenberg Remix)" – 7:32

Personnel

The Moody Blues

– vocals, guitar * John Lodge – vocals, bass guitar *

– vocals, harmonica, flute *

– drums *

– keyboards, synthesizers

Additional personnel

Pip Williams Philip Malcolm "Pip" Williams (born 7 October 1947) is a record producer, arranger and guitarist, best known for producing albums for Status Quo and The Moody Blues and acting as well as supervising the orchestra parts and orchestra arrangem ...

– sequencing

Charts

Certifications

References

External links

"Blue World" Official Music Video (YouTube)

"Sitting at the Wheel" Official Music Video (YouTube)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Present, The The Moody Blues albums 1983 albums Threshold Records albums Albums recorded at Strawberry Studios