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To Our Children's Children's Children
Studio album by the Moody Blues
Released	21 November 1969
Recorded	May–September 1969
Studio	Decca, London
Genre	Progressive rock
Length	40:15
Label	Threshold
Producer	Tony Clarke
The Moody Blues chronology
On the Threshold of a Dream (1969) To Our Children's Children's Children (1969) A Question of Balance (1970)
Singles from To Our Children's Children's Children
"Watching and Waiting" Released: 31 October 1969

Professional ratings

Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic

To Our Children's Children's Children is the fifth album by the Moody Blues, released in November 1969.

Background

The album was the first released on the group's newly formed Threshold record label, which was named after the band's previous album from the same year, On the Threshold of a Dream. It was inspired by the 1969 Moon landing. Drummer Graeme Edge remembered, "It was a very exciting time. Man had just gone to the moon and we thought of the album as a sort of time capsule - all our thoughts and feelings about living in such an epoch-making era."

Writing

Like the group's three previous albums, To Our Children's Children's Children is a concept album with a common theme that ties the songs together. For Children, the band was inspired by the space race, and the July 1969 Apollo 11 moon landing, which occurred during the album's sessions. Keyboardist Mike Pinder remembers, "We were watching man going to the moon. In the studio, we were watching it. I remember Neil Armstrong setting down. We weren't in the studio that night but I remember it was like 4 A.M. in the morning and I was in my apartment in London. I remember that part of it. But the album was all around the moon mission and man's venturing into space. This was the beginning of maybe discovering man's true legacy." Bassist John Lodge remembers asking "What would it be like if we were the people on the rocket ship going out into space...going to the moon, going to Mars. What would we think? What would be our thoughts? And that was what the album was about." The album has the additional theme of the passage of time. Drummer Graeme Edge explains, "We were all very ... into the space race. Tony wanted to do what it felt like. To Our Children's Children was kind of buried under stone to be dug up in 200 years with a time capsule kind of feeling." He continues, "The idea behind the album was to imagine that the record had been placed under a foundation stone and wouldn't be removed for a couple of hundred years."

The album, like its predecessors, begins with a Graeme Edge poem "Higher and Higher", recited by Mike Pinder. The spoken word introduction is set to a musical simulation of the sound of the Saturn V rocket blasting off. The band had intended to begin the album with the actual recorded sound of the moon mission rocket launching, and contacted NASA who provided the group with tapes. The sound proved unsatisfactory, inspiring the group to record their own interpretation on Mellotron and rock instruments. Lodge remembers, ""We actually got NASA to send over a recording of real rocket taking off, but when we listened to the tape it sounded like a damp squib! We had to set about creating our own rocket sound which ended up sounding more authentic!" Pinder varies the pitch of his vocal delivery on the track, with his voice becoming clearer and louder as the song progresses. He help achieve this, he holds his nose and then releases while delivering the lines of the poem. He remembers, "I was holding my nose until that one moment, and then when 'butterfly sneezes', that's when I opened up."

Lodge's "Eyes of a Child" considers the wonderment that space travel provides, and what the experience of seeing planets and Earth from a new perspective would be like. He explains, "I really thought if you were out there what would you expect, what would you see if you were on the spaceship going out. And I suddenly realized if you went up there with all preconceived ideas and preprogrammed ideas in your mind you'd probably miss everything. And I realized then, that's how a child works." He continues, "When you look at life through the eyes of a child there is a wonderment, isn't it? Children see the world differently. There are wonders every day: When you see a butterfly flying or when you see a bird flying or when you see anything, it's just a wonderful world for children to see. I thought, as we become older, we become prejudiced and if you can rid of whatever your prejudice is, you just see the world in naivety, without any restriction. It's wonderful for everyone to be able to see everything in life without any prejudice.'

"Eyes of a Child" was recorded as a single piece, with acoustic and electric sections. The two parts are separated on the record by Flautist Ray Thomas' whimsical "Floating". The album side's songs consider the passage of time and the experiences and emotions of a long space journey, including Hayward's brief acoustic "I Never Thought I'd Live to Be a Hundred". Edge's "Beyond" consists of alternating instrumental sections performed by Pinder on Mellotron. The album side concludes with the keyboardist's "Out and In".

The songs on side two explore the emotion of space travel, and coming to terms with the isolation and loss of personal connection that a long voyage alone would present. It opens with the rocker "Gypsy (Of a Strange and Distant Time)", which would become the group's show opener in 1969 and 1970.

Ray Thomas' "Eternity Road" opens with the word "Hark, listen, here he comes." In an interview, he explains that the phrases were inspired by his early child experiences in an air raid shelter during World War II: "I was born in 1941 and during the war I was taken down the air raid shelter. There was our family and two other families who were our neighbours. Sometimes the Luftwaffe were all over us before even the sirens came off. Every night my grandmother would go 'Hark' and her friend Mrs. Ackland, next-door, would go 'Listen'. Mrs James lived on the other side would then go 'Here he comes'. So they became known as 'Hark', 'Listen' and 'Here he comes'. So that stuck in my head so that's how I started "Eternity Road."

Lodge's emotional "Candle of Life" considers lonliness while urging compassion, while Pinder considers his place in the universe in "Sun Is Still Shining".

The album closed with its only single, "Watching and Waiting", sung by Hayward and composed by him and Thomas. The group had high hopes for the song's success. Hayward remembers, "People were always telling me that I needed to write another song to equal "Nights in White Satin". When I came up with "Watching and Waiting" I thought it was one of my best songs at the time, and we all felt sure that it would be a certain hit. When the single failed to sell we were all mystified, although with the benefit of hindsight I do see why it didn't capture the public's imagination in the way "Nights in White Satin" did."

Recording

The album was recorded at Decca Studio One in West Hampstead in May and June through September 1969. Tony Clarke once again served as producer with engineer Derek Varnals.

The careful production and lush instrumentation made the album difficult to reproduce live in concert. The Moody Blues were able to perform only "Gypsy" live at the time of its release, leading to a creative decision to strip back the production of their next album, A Question of Balance. Hayward reflects on the situation and remembers the production as "completely obscure and self-absorbed...where we couldn't play the songs on stage – the overdubbing was so impossible, so much, and overlaid." He continues, "I think To Our Children's Children's Children is the one Moodies album that didn't come across on the radio. It didn't jump; it was soft, it was quiet. Everybody was so delicate with it and handling it with kid gloves. The way it was mastered was quiet, and the way it was transferred to disc was delicate. In the end, it ended up getting a little lost. "Watching and Waiting" — when we heard that song in its studio beauty, we thought, 'This is it! All of those people who had been saying to us for the past 3 or 4 years, 'You'll probably just do another "Nights in White Satin" with it' — no! We had shivers up the spine, and that kind of stuff. But when it came out and you heard it on the radio, you kept saying, 'Turn it up! Turn it up!! Oh no, it's not going to make it.' So it didn't happen."

Album cover

The album cover, a gate-fold, features artwork by Phil Travers, who created the group's previous two covers. The album cover reflects the album's theme as a lasting record to be discovered centuries later as an artifact. It depicts a cave painting, but with anachronistic elements including an airplane and rifle. The inner sleeve features a picture of the band around a campfire on a distant planet. Hayward explains, "It was the inside of the sleeve that really said something. We were depicted gathered around a fire in a cave with just musical instruments and a tape machine and outside there was nothing. I don't know where we were, but we were trying to project the thought that we were on a planet that wasn't earth, somewhere that was Utopia for us."

Release

In 1969, the band established their own label Threshold Records under licence to Decca Records. To Our Children's Children's Children was the first of their albums to be released on their own label. Lodge remembers the group's motivation for having their own record company: "We wanted to have our own label, where we didn't have to argue about having gate-fold sleeves or inserts our albums. We saw both music and artwork as a complete package and felt that the advertising and promotion should also become part of this package" He continues, "Total artistic control. It set a precedent for exactly what we wanted to do with our music. Everything had to be right. And not just the music, we didn't want anything to look like it was a sham or a hype." Lodge remembers, "It got to the point where we were doing more and more of the things ourselves. Like we began working up our own designs for the packages. And it got more and more us, so we finally went to them and said, 'How about giving us the complete bill, and you just distribute?' and they said yes! We didn't actually fit into any of the labels. The group and Sir Edward collectively thought of having our own label within Decca. In actual fact, Graeme Edge and I had a meeting with Mick Jagger to see if we could start a label together." The Rolling Stones and the Moody Blues both ended up with their own labels within Decca. Hayward remembers that "the precedent was Apple, The Beatles were the leaders and everybody tended to do what they did. Our idea was an artists' workshop because Decca were prepared to give us studio time and in the end they actually gave us a studio. It did give us control over our own masters and sleeves which was what we really wanted."

Promotion

The group promoted the album through a series of tours of North America and the United Kingdom. One highlight of the band's "Threshold Roadshow" tour of the UK was a performance on 12 December 1969 at the Royal Albert Hall, which was professionally recorded. The concert was released in 1977 on Caught Live + 5 and again as a stand-alone release in 2023.

Reception

To Our Children's Children's Children was critically well-received and sold well, reaching number 2 in the UK Albums Chart and number 14 in the US, their best showing to that date in that country. While the single released from it, "Watching and Waiting", did not do well, "Gypsy (Of a Strange and Distant Time)" became a fan and album oriented rock radio favourite, despite never being released as a single, and remained in the band's concert setlist through the 1970s. The album was mixed and released in both stereo and quadraphonic.

The album was one of those listened to, on cassette tape, by the crew of Apollo 15 in 1971.

Track listing

Personnel

• Justin Hayward – vocals, guitars, sitar
• John Lodge – vocals, bass guitar, harp, acoustic guitar
• Ray Thomas – vocals, flute, tambourine, bass flute, oboe
• Graeme Edge – drums, percussion
• Mike Pinder – vocals, Mellotron, piano, EMS VCS 3, Hammond organ, acoustic guitar, celesta, double bass

• Producer - Tony Clarke
• Engineers - Derek Varnals / Adrian Martins / Robin Thompson
• Art - Phil Travers
• Photography - David Wedgbury

Charts

Certifications

References

1. To Our Children's Children's Children at AllMusic
2. "Watch To Our Children's Children's Children - BFI Player". BFI Player. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
3. 028: The Moody Blues - to Our Children’s Children’s Children (1969). Discord & Rhyme: An Album Podcast. Accessed February 3, 2024. https://discordpod.com/listen/028-the-moody-blues-to-our-childrens-childrens-children-1969.
4. ^ Silverstein, Robert. Thinking Is (Still) the Best Way to Travel. 2000. MWE3 Features.
5. ^ Silverstein, Robert. MWE3 Features the Moody Blues. Accessed February 3, 2024. https://www.mwe3.com/archive/pastfeature/mblues/moodyblues00b.htm.
6. DeRiso, Nick. The Moody Blues Broke through with ‘on the Threshold of a Dream.’ Ultimate Classic Rock. April 25, 2015. https://ultimateclassicrock.com/moody-blues-on-the-threshold-of-a-dream/.
7. ^ Powell, Mark. Liner notes essay, 2006 To Our Children's Children's Children SACD Deluxe Edition.
8. Interview: John Lodge (Solo, the Moody Blues) - Hit Channel. November 6, 2020. https://hit-channel.com/interview-john-lodge-solo-the-moody-blues-190584/.
9. Barnard, Jason. Ray Thomas - the Moody Blues. 2014. The Strange Brew. Accessed January 31, 2024. https://thestrangebrew.co.uk/interviews/ray-thomas-the-moody-blues/.
10. Writewyattuk. A Question of Life Balance – the Justin Hayward Interview. Writewyattuk. April 27, 2018. https://writewyattuk.com/2018/04/27/a-question-of-life-balance-the-justin-hayward-interview/.
11. Mettler, Mike. Moody Blues Frontman Justin Hayward on HD Audio, Solo Recording. Digital Trends. August 19, 2014. https://www.digitaltrends.com/music/moody-blues-frontman-justin-hayward-on-hd-audio-solo-recording/#ixzz3B2q4OYNl.
12. Nathanson, Zachary. The Moody Blues - to Our Children’s Children’s Children: 50th Anniversary Edition. Echoes and Dust. July 9, 2023. https://echoesanddust.com/2023/07/the-moody-blues-to-our-childrens-childrens-children-50th-anniversary-edition/.
13. Redbeard. Moody Blues- in Search of the Lost Chord- Justin Hayward, John Lodge, the Late Graeme Edge. In the Studio with Redbeard. July 23, 2023. https://www.inthestudio.net/online-only-interviews/moody-blues-search-lost-chord/.
14. Easlea, Daryl. The Labels That Built Prog: Threshold Records. Louder. January 27, 2016. https://www.loudersound.com/features/the-labels-that-built-prog-threshold-records.
15. Du Noyer, Paul (April 2006). "Moody Blues Interview". The Word. Retrieved 30 January 2024.
16. The Moody Blues - the Royal Albert Hall Concert December 1969: Vinyl LP + 12".” n.d. Sound of Vinyl. Accessed February 3, 2024. https://thesoundofvinyl.com/products/the-royal-albert-hall-concert-december-1969-vinyl-lp-12.
17. "Moody Blues | Full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company". Official Charts. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
18. "The Moody Blues – Chart History | Billboard". Billboard. Retrieved 12 June 2016.
19. HSA Space Exploration and Aviation Auction Catalog #6000. Heritage Capital Corporation. 1 February 2008. ISBN 9781599672274.
20. "Top RPM Albums: Issue 3764". RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
21. "Le Détail des Albums de chaque Artiste – M". Infodisc.fr (in French). Archived from the original on 22 October 2014. Retrieved 9 June 2012. Select Moody Blues from the menu, then press OK.
22. "Classifiche". Musica e Dischi (in Italian). Retrieved 27 May 2022. Set "Tipo" on "Album". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Moody Blues".
23. "The Moody Blues | Artist | Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 6 February 2022.
24. "The Moody Blues Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
25. "Canadian album certifications – The Moody Blues – To Our Children's Children's Children". Music Canada.
26. "American album certifications – The Moody Blues – To Our Children's Children's Children". Recording Industry Association of America.

Notes

1. CD versions of the album credit Pinder only.

External links

• To Our Children's Children's Children at Discogs (list of releases)

• The Moody Blues albums
• 1969 albums
• Albums produced by Tony Clarke (record producer)
• Threshold Records albums
• Science fiction concept albums