'Between the eyes and ears there lie, the sounds of colour, and the light of a sigh. With thoughts of within to exclude without the ghost of a chord will expel all doubt. And to name that chord is important to some, so they give it a word and the word is OM.' The 'art-rock' kings were: Justin Hayward, 12-string, acoustic, bass and electric guitar, sitar, tablas, piano, mellotron, harpsichord, percussion and vocals. Mike Pinder, mellotron, piano, harpsichord, cello, acoustic and bass guitar, auto-harp. John Lodge, acoustic and bass guitar, cello, tambourine and vocals. Ray Thomas, flutes, saxophones and vocals. And Graeme Edge, drums, timpani, tablas, tambourine and vocals. The album was produced by Tony Clarke and released on the Deram label in 1968.
This album tends to induce a trance-like dream of a surreal place. The group is particularly known for its symphony orchestra sound and it's dramatic poetry. This saga begins with Departure; to lie in a meadow and hear the grass sing and then moves into Ride My See-Saw, one we all know and love. Dr. Livingstone, I Presume and House of Four Doors then a remarkable tribute to Timothy Leary in Legend of a Mind; Timothy Leary's dead, no no-no-no he's outside looking in, he'll fly his astro-plane, takes you trips around the bay, brings you back the same day. Then the reprise of House of Four Doors and Voices in the Sky, then one of my personal favorites; The Best Way To Travel praising the intensity of the mind to wander and wonder 'Thinking' is the best way to travel; undoubtedly the album's peak performance. Visions of Paradise and The Actor (which is currently playing on this page) are drifting, almost bogging down melodies but provide cohesion to the entire album which concludes with beautiful poetry and sitar music in The Word and OM.
