Sur La Mer (1988)

WARNING!!

These reviews are given in the spirit of a personal editorial and of personal opinion. If you would find yourself offended by these views and criticisms within the body of these reviews, please do not read further. It is not our intention to offend or injure someone's views on their favourite band. We wrote these as one-time fans who now, after many years, revisited these albums and wanted to write fair and unbiased reviews of The Moody Blues' material. If indeed, a member of The Moody Blues does happen to read these reviews, please take into consideration that these are simply opinions. These reviews present an alternate perspective.
Thank You,
Shawn and Andrew Dow,
March, 2007

Album Review by Andrew Dow

Album Review by Shawn Dow

Album Review by Andrew Dow

The impact of "The Other Side of Life" was huge. The band had a number 2 hit with "Your Wildest Dreams" and toured extensively to promote it. They had airplay and video play with "Your Wildest Dreams" and "The Other Side of Life", both having videos to support them. Eventually, the Moodies regrouped again with Tony Visconti in tow to record another album.

The sessions for "Sur La Mer" did not go without incident, mainly that Ray Thomas was never asked to the studio to record or write any material at all for this album. Some sources say the trouble started with "The Other Side of Life" and were exasperated by "Sur La Mer", other sources say it began with "Sur La Mer". Whichever the case may be, this album is really just "Blue Jays" with Graeme Edge and Patrick Moraz in tow. The powers that be from Polydor stating that they should work on the two most known faces of the band and exploit that aspect, rather than the band as a whole. Apparently Justin Hayward and John Lodge had no problems with that, since they recorded material for this album. Edge and Moraz didn't say anything about it really, and Thomas had no voice at all in the band, although he is credited as a member. What a contradiction.

This era is not a pleasant one for a Moody Blues fan or the casual listener. The band was obviously being pulled in contrary directions and being split apart by the label. The Moody Blues had a hit with "Your Wildest Dreams" and the label was out to exploit that and cash in as much as they could. This album is production gone amok with sap and excess the order of the day. So, here we go with the "Octave" of the 80's!

I Know You're Out There Somewhere: An electronic keyboard opening much like "Your Wildest Dreams" starts off Hayward's optimistic pop tune about finding that lost love. Hayward's wispy, falsetto opening is really odd for him as a singer. The song then goes into its pattern with the keyboard doing a rising, then falling keyboard melody in the backdrop. Then the crashing chorus with multiple voices in the background. Then the cool middle section, with its fat, synthetic snare drum pulse and oh, so hard drum fills. Then all that cosmic padding of nonsensical bull to fill in a 6 and a half-minute tune. Filler in the most melodramatic sense. Then the big build, all to go back to the main song. The song seems to go on and on about nothing. The song doesn't really rock out, just waxing on about "love eternal" and all that poppycock. Some say this song is a sequel to "Your Wildest Dreams", but it is not. The only link is the one the record company made with the videos. This song has no relation to "Your Wildest Dreams". Dull and sappy in the most commercial sense.

Want To Be With You: Hayward and Lodge try to play a love song with tons of electronic gimmickry in the background, like an ascending and descending harp and hollow percussion. The song itself isn't that bad, but comes off as wimpy and silly. I can just picture these two guys looking into each other's eyes and crying. Then the anti-climactic middle section with awful sounding keyboards and percussion. An electronic tambourine to remind us of Thomas. The song then reiterates itself and goes through it all over again, with little toots on the keyboard. A general lack of substance to maintain any interest at all. A slow dance, artificially plastic sounding love song. The guitar solo at the end and the pitched "ahs" are dreadful. Even the solo stretching over the vocals starts to wreak. Then the electronic drums! Gaakk! Ponderously slow and repetitive.

River of Endless Love: Another Hayward/Lodge tune, this time a song that is so odd sounding I can't explain it. The opening is electronics gone astray and the constant 16 beat played by the keyboards is like Chinese water torture. Lodge leads this song obviously, but the duo do sing together at times. Lodge leads the chorus and keeps ascending the line he sings, till it comes back to the beginning again. There's this constant hiss coming from the programming of the drum machines that is really annoying. More ponderous excess, complete with Lodge falsetto and sloppy drum programming, and then, just like on "Octave", A SAX SOLO! Good, Lord!

No More Lies: Hayward's straight ahead love song with his guitar running a constant line through it. The song is passable if not for its gross lyrics. "And if you think that it's alright, lets make a deal and work it out." Oh, come on Justin, give us a break. This is a chick song if I ever heard one. The rhyming in some places is so sickeningly sweet I need a bucket! It has all the trappings of a hit single. There is also that annoying hiss again, present through the entire song. The slow down and revamp with a horrible drum fill is terrible. Then there are more drum fills! Yikes! Then mandolins! Good Gravy! Power ballad material gone haywire.

Here Comes The Weekend: I'm really getting tired of smashing these guys, but this song takes the cake so far. A full-blown John Lodge revisit to "I'm Just Singer In A Rock N'Roll Band", complete with horns and saxes. This band just can't seem to pull off a dance tune, with those "it's a Friday night, it's all right, it's all right" lyrics. Trying to be badass rock and roll. Of note, Mel Collins, that great sax player from King Crimson's "Red" and unfortunately Lodge's "Natural Avenue" is the sax player. In fact, this song is a perfect Lodge solo song that could've fit on "Natural Avenue". An attempt at a party tune I guess, but it comes off as loud and annoying. The massive keyboard sound in the background almost buries the sax. Get me Tylenol!

Vintage Wine: Hayward's little ditty about the "things we believed in then" and the freedom of the sixties. More chick tunes, tailor made for those who believed in flower power. The song is really a campfire song, then there are the "ooh's". The middle section is totally out of place and just doesn't work in the song. Don't worry, that tin whistle is obviously Moraz on keyboards. The string of repeats at the end make me want that bucket again!

Breaking Point: I guess the Moody Blues were asked to write a song for a thriller movie and wrote this tune. Then when they saw the film they backed out of the deal. The Moodies go darker in this tune by Hayward and Lodge, which is really about paranoia. Lodge's opening vocal and the hammy keyboards ruin the dramatic effect. Then, Lodge's vocals through a processor, in falsetto. More electronic drums and string effects for good measure. The verses are sung by Hayward and come off better than the other stuff on the album, but are still too weak, heavy with production. The tone of the tune stays the same so long, the only life in it is all that fake drumming. The song just goes on and on and becomes redundant quick. Gimmicky and effect laden, like that terrible crash of lightning at the end.

Miracle: Hayward's guitar, sampled and processed, not to mention that its repeated over and over for the intro into this almost jazzercise song. Trying to sound cool and sophisticated in their new persona as a really bad Hall & Oates copy band. So many effects and gimmicks mar the song, like those fake horns. The song is dull and dry, lacking any real spark. The middle 8 is lazily sung and just not worthy of note. The guitar solo is so pushed back in the mix and double tracked, I just don't like it. Hall And Oates these guys are not. Long winded and boring. An attempt at a single that didn't happen.

Love Is On The Run: Lodge decides to croon on about lost love again. Of trivial note, you know the song is played by a keyboard when the beat and the timer on your CD player are synchronized. That's how synthetic this album is. The song sounds like it was programmed into a keyboard and it just ran through its program. More pain and anguish from Lodge on this tune, I guess he doesn't have anything else to talk about anymore. The song is so boring and repetitive, and I know I've said that for the millionth time now, even Hayward quoting the vocal line in his now patented style for a solo can't pull this thing out of the dung heap, and I've wretched into that bucket for the untold time. No spark of life at all. These boys are tired and should be put out to pasture by now. Just when you think the song is over, it revamps itself and comes back like a bad case of herpes! Now that's too much.

Deep: Hayward tries to get down and dirty with his moaning and sighing voices, and my oh my, Justin's a bad boy, he's making allusions to sex! Naughty, naughty! The song sounds just as synthetic as the rest of the album, it must be robots having sex and not people. At times, Hayward injects some life into the song with some guitar lines, but there are moments of unintentional hilarity that you have to hear it to believe me. Then the song tries to get intense with Hayward yelling on about running to his lady friend, but then it just repeats itself, again. Then we move into a wild little middle section that has a keyboard as orchestra section trying to get dark, and some more artificial drums, and Lodge's bass slapping (at least I think it's him). That annoying hiss is there in the mix again, obviously from the drum machines fake hi-hat. The final guitar solo is probably the best playing on the whole album, just like on "It May Be A Fire". Almost like Hayward realizes the songs really a stinker so he'll do a solo to save it. After the solo, Moraz does a little bit on the keyboard, but its just the vocal line. More playing it safe. Hayward responds with more guitar, but it's pushed back in the mix and lost amid the fade out and keyboard noise. All I can say is... wow.

Summary

I've heard that some people regard this as the worst album of the 80's with its massive weight of production and keyboards and a general lack of good material. The Moodies really showed us how bad an album they could make. I mean, really, this one takes the cake, even over "Octave". At least "Octave" produced "Driftwood". All this album had was "I Know You're Out Their Somewhere", a tedious exercise to say the least.

The combination of Hayward and Lodge on this album just made up for the lack of Thomas and Edge material and doesn't work to make the band better. In fact, all we get is junk. Lots of it. Aside from some little melodies on "I Know You're Out There Somewhere" and the guitar playing on "Deep", the album is a total junker. Drowning in keyboards and lacking any real direction, relying on sappy love songs, all geared to the ladies, right down to its overly sentimental inner sleeve with photos of the band members as kids! Are these guys getting sappy or what? No more rock and roll for them, it's straight to pop/bubble gum. I chewed this album up and spat it out. The biggest black mark on the band since "Octave". Maybe even more so.

I really hated to review this album. I knew it was bad before I started and I dreaded reviewing it, even more than "Octave" or "The Other Side of Life". I've grown tired of dashing their albums so much so that I don't think I can go on to the others. The fact that a band could change itself so much, and into THIS! What was this thing they became? They totally blew off all they were before and pressed on in a vain attempt to cash in on past fame and hope to get new fans with this collection of pallid mash, ready for mass consumption. But even I couldn't stomach it. Love songs for robots.

Star Rating (out of 5)

0 out of *****

Album Review by Shawn Dow

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