The Moody Blues are the original prog rockers and so a Christmas album from them must be worth a listen. It is. With plenty of mellotron-like sounds and orchestras, the approach is a traditional but not very orthodox religious one (although When a child is born and What child is this?* towards the end are in that area as is their own version of Bach's Jesu Joy re-christened The quiet of Christmas morning). Half the tracks are originals penned by Hayward and Lodge (Don't need a reindeer is a stand out pop track and On this Christmas day a haunting pop ballad) with a judicious selection of covers - Happy Xmas (War Is Over), A Winter's Tale, When a Child is born, White Christmas. This is all very sincere and well done. Perhaps the track Yes, I believe which smuggles in a referene to "days of future passed" sums up the hopeful (but I would say naive or better misguided) attitude here. It begins
The spirit of Christmas is the spirit of love
Still there when the innocence has gone
But we have each other we laugh and we cry
The cares of the world still carry on
Yes I believe in a better world
And like the rest of us I pray
For peace on this earth and a better lifeWith every beautiful day.
*My edition has this Greensleeves song but others seem to have them doing In the bleak midwinter. This latter track is in fact from 1992 for charity and not from the December sessions.
