Moody Blues "Isn't Life Strange"

"Isn't Life Strange" is a 1972 single by the English rock band The Moody Blues. Written by bassist John Lodge, it was the first of two singles released from their 1972 album Seventh Sojourn, with the other being "I'm Just a Singer (In a Rock and Roll Band)" (also written by Lodge). "Isn't Life Strange" is one of the Moody Blues longer songs, lasting for over six minutes.

"Isn't Life Strange" opens with a slow duet of the flute (played by Ray Thomas) and the Chamberlin (played by Mike Pinder), with John Lodge and Justin Hayward providing vocals. The song's chorus features the band's traditional line-up, and vocals provided by Hayward, Lodge, Pinder, and Thomas.

When the Moody Blues perform "Isn't Life Strange" live, John Lodge uses a double neck guitar with a standard 6-string on one neck, and a 4-string bass on the other. He uses this since he generally plays the 6-string guitar during the verses, and the bass during the chorus since Justin Hayward takes over electric guitar during the chorus. Also, whenever the Moody Blues perform live backed by a full orchestra, the orchestra's brass section performs a solo of the chorus twice throughout the song, once in the middle, and once at the end.

The original version of "Isn't Life Strange" is extended by two minutes and includes a slow instrumental duet of Ray Thomas' flute and Mike Pinder's Chamberlin which was deleted, possibly due to time restraints. For the re-issue of "Seventh Sojourn" this version has been restored and added as a bonus track. Its multi-part structure and the obvious classical influences make the piece sound similar to progressive rock, a genre which was popular in the early 1970s.

THE SONG:

Rating: It's a 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 --and ps: this is what Uman sings like when he sings along with songs when the mics are off. :)