Octave
Studio album by
The Moody Blues
Released9 June 1978
RecordedOctober 1977 – April 1978 at The Record Plant, Los Angeles, Indigo Ranch Recording Studios, Malibu
GenreRock, pop, progressive rock
Length46:08
LabelDecca (UK)
London (US)
ProducerTony Clarke
The Moody Blues chronology
Caught Live + 5
(1977)		 Octave
(1978)		 Long Distance Voyager
(1981)
Singles from Octave
  1. "Steppin' in a Slide Zone"
    Released: May 1978
  2. "Driftwood"
    Released: October 1978
Colored vinyl issue
Limited release edition
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Rolling Stone(unfavorable)[2]

Octave is the ninth album by The Moody Blues (the eighth by this particular line-up), released in 1978, and their first release after a substantial hiatus following the success of the best-selling Seventh Sojourn in 1972. The album proved to be the last for the group with keyboardist Mike Pinder, who left during the album's sessions and declined an offer to tour with the group.[3][4] He had just started a new family in California, and found that he was not getting along with his bandmates as he previously had. Pinder would be replaced by former Yes keyboardist Patrick Moraz in time for their 1978-1979 tour,[5] beginning a new era in the band's history. Octave would also be the final studio album from the band produced by Tony Clarke.[6][7]

The album's title is a musical pun: it references both the notion of an octave; and as a word derived from the Latin octavus it refers to this being the eighth album by this line-up of the Moody Blues (following on from the previous album title Seventh Sojourn). The cover art was designed by artist John Kosh, famous for his work with The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who, among others.

Octave was considered a departure from previous Moody Blues albums, mainly because of the group's use of lounge-style organs and synthesizers in place of a Mellotron or Chamberlin (Pinder's song "One Step Into the Light" references the Mellotron). Real strings were used on three songs: "Under Moonshine" and "I'm Your Man" (both written by Ray Thomas), as well as "Survival" (written by John Lodge).

Released after a considerable break, which saw The Moody Blues returning in an era of punk music and disco, Octave produced a reduced commercial outcome for the band, but reached No. 6 in the United Kingdom and went platinum in the United States,[8] where the album reached No. 13. The album produced the hit single "Steppin' in a Slide Zone", which hit No. 39 in the US, in addition to "Driftwood".

In November 2008, the album was remastered and released on CD, with five previously unreleased, live, bonus tracks.

Original track listing

Side One

  1. "Steppin' in a Slide Zone" (John Lodge) – 5:29 (lead singer: John Lodge)
  2. "Under Moonshine" (Ray Thomas) – 5:00 (lead singer: Ray Thomas)
  3. "Had to Fall in Love" (Justin Hayward) – 3:42 (lead singer: Justin Hayward)
  4. "I'll Be Level with You" (Graeme Edge) – 3:48 (lead singers: Justin Hayward, Mike Pinder, Ray Thomas, John Lodge)
  5. "Driftwood" (Hayward) – 5:03 (lead singer: Justin Hayward)

Side Two

  1. "Top Rank Suite" (Hayward) – 3:42 (lead singer: Justin Hayward)
  2. "I'm Your Man" (Thomas) – 4:21 (lead singer: Ray Thomas)
  3. "Survival" (Lodge) – 4:09 (lead singer: John Lodge)
  4. "One Step into the Light" (Mike Pinder) – 4:29 (lead singer: Mike Pinder)
  5. "The Day We Meet Again" (Hayward) – 6:19 (lead singer: Justin Hayward)

The 8-track tape version of this album has the distinction of being one of the few 8-tracks that is arranged exactly like the album, with no song breaks. The original album was released on clear blue vinyl.[9]

2008 CD Expanded Edition tracks (UK)

  1. "Steppin' in a Slide Zone (Live in Seattle 25 May 1979)" (Lodge) - 4:57
  2. "I'm Your Man (Live in Seattle 25 May 1979)" (Thomas) - 4:51
  3. "Top Rank Suite (Live in Seattle 25 May 1979)" (Hayward) - 4:28
  4. "Driftwood (Live in Seattle 25 May 1979)" (Hayward) - 5:02
  5. "The Day We Meet Again (Live in Houston 7 December 1978)" (Hayward) - 7:16

Personnel

  • Justin Hayward – vocals, guitars, keyboards
  • John Lodge – vocals, bass, keyboards
  • Mike Pinder – vocals, organ, synthesizer, Mellotron, piano, electric piano, acoustic guitar
  • Ray Thomas – vocals, flute, harmonica, tambourine
  • Graeme Edge – vocals, drums, percussion
  • Ted Jensen – mastering

Additional personnel

  • R. A. Martin - horns, saxophones
  • Patrick Moraz - keyboards on live bonus tracks[10]

Charts

Chart (1978) Peak
position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[11] 25
Canada Top Albums/CDs (RPM)[12] 9
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[13] 7
Finnish Albums (The Official Finnish Charts)[14] 13
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[15] 15
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[16] 14
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[17] 9
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[18] 12
UK Albums (OCC)[19] 6
US Billboard 200[20] 13

Certifications

Region CertificationCertified units/sales
Canada (Music Canada)[21] Platinum 100,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[22] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[23] Platinum 1,000,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ↑ Eder, Bruce. "Octave - The Moody Blues | AllMusic". AllMusic. Retrieved 19 November 2011.
  2. ↑ Holden, Stephen (7 September 1978). "The Moody Blues: Octave : Music Reviews". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 6 June 2008. Retrieved 4 September 2012.
  3. ↑ Dowloaded: A Lifetime of Collecting Music. Marvin Miller. pp. 165–. GGKEY:7GQT7H1SXW9.
  4. ↑ Marti Smiley Childs; Jeff March (24 October 2011). Echoes of the Sixties. EditPros LLC. pp. 217–. ISBN 978-1-937317-02-7.
  5. ↑ Tim Morse (15 July 1998). Classic Rock Stories: The Stories Behind the Greatest Songs of All Time. St. Martin's Press. pp. 215–. ISBN 978-1-4299-3750-4.
  6. ↑ Classic Artists, Image Entertainment, 2007.
  7. ↑ Octave remaster liner notes, Universal Music, 2008.
  8. ↑ Brock Helander (1982). The Rock Who's Who: A Biographical Dictionary and Critical Discography Including Rhythm-And-Blues, Soul, Rockabilly, Folk, Country, Easy Listening, Punk, and New Wave. Schirmer/Mosel Verlag GmbH. pp. 397–398. ISBN 978-0-02-871250-5.
  9. ↑ "Moody's 'Octave' given big push". Billboard. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. 1 July 1978. pp. 96–. ISSN 0006-2510.
  10. ↑ Morse, Tim (15 July 1998). Classic Rock Stories: The Stories Behind the Greatest Songs of All Time. St. Martin's Publishing. ISBN 9781429937504.
  11. ↑ "Austriancharts.at – The Moody Blues – Octave" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  12. ↑ "Top RPM Albums: Issue 4627a". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  13. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – The Moody Blues – Octave" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  14. ↑ Pennanen, Timo (2006). Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972 (in Finnish) (1st ed.). Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava. ISBN 978-951-1-21053-5.
  15. ↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – The Moody Blues – Octave" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  16. ↑ "Charts.nz – The Moody Blues – Octave". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  17. ↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – The Moody Blues – Octave". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  18. ↑ "Swedishcharts.com – The Moody Blues – Octave". Hung Medien. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  19. ↑ "The Moody Blues | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
  20. ↑ "The Moody Blues Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  21. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – The Moody Blues – Octave". Music Canada.
  22. ↑ "British album certifications – The Moody Blues – Octave". British Phonographic Industry.
  23. ↑ "American album certifications – The Moody Blues – Octave". Recording Industry Association of America.
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