The Moody Blues : A Question of Balance (2008 Remastered Edition)

WHY DO YOU NEVER

GET AN ANSWER WHEN

WERE KNOCKING AT THE DOOR ?

A Question of Balance

 is the sixth album by

 The Moody Blues

 released in 1970.

 The album reached No. 1 

in the 

United Kingdom

 and No. 3

 in

 the United States.

Background

The album was an attempt 

by the group to strip down

 their previously lush,

 psychedelic sound 

in order to be better able 

to perform the songs

 in concert. 

Guitarist

 Justin Hayward

 remembers,

 "From the beginning of our 

recording sessions

 we were all convinced that 

we had to record an album

 of songs that could 

easily translate into effective 

live performances.

 In a way, 

we almost reverted to

 performing live

 in the studio, 

without venturing

 too much into

 the world of overdubs." 

He continues, 

"It was quite refreshing, 

actually,

 doing the

 A Question of Balance album...

getting back to that place

 where we could just 

get a bunch of 

songs together 

with a bit less 

instrumentation 

going on, 

that we could just

 sit around in 

a room and play."

Still,

 the album does

 convey a theme of 

asking questions 

and finding meaning

 in the world. 

Explains Hayward, 

"On the first side, 

we were asking ourselves 

the question,

 and on the second side,

 we are starting to answer it. 

Looking for the answers

 will keep us going 

for a long time.

" The album title takes

 its name from

 the first and last tracks 

on the album,

 "Question" 

and

 "Balance".

 According to drummer 

Graeme Edge, 

"We very much wanted to

 reflect what the title says: 

that maintaining yourself 

is a question of balance.

 That was the start 

of where we were

 almost treated as

 semi-deities.

 It's very hard to maintain

 your equilibrium 

under those pressures." 

Mike Pinder adds,

 "All in all, 

it was one of the 

peaking albums for me. 

I listen to it now, 

and I can see why people 

are still discovering it. 

We never wanted to

 be a

 sock-it-to-me band. 

We all wanted to just 

express ourselves. 

The whole idea of 

individual growth 

and being able to

 transfer that

 into our music.

 Much of

 A Question of Balance 

did exactly that.

Album Cover

The album cover

 is a vertical

 gate-fold created 

by Phil Travers.

 The bottom of the image 

features a beach scene 

with beach-goers 

enjoying the sun 

while a menacing

 storm cloud approaches. 

Travers explains the meaning 

of the imagery:

 "The people on the sleeve

 are actually just sitting there, 

on holiday, 

basking in the sunshine 

with presumably not

 a care in the world.

 They just don't notice

 what's coming up

 at them and probably 

won't until it's too late. 

It's just a symbolic way

 of putting over what 

most of us do

 we bury our heads 

until it's too late."

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