Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (album)

The album is largely a continuation in style from its predecessor, with no grand concept or theme. Bassist John Lodge explains, "Our new album would become a continuation of what we had done on A Question of Balance. We thought if you get things right you should continue on that road." Guitarist Justin Hayward further reflects on the album: "I think that Every Good Boy Deserves Favour is a kind of a searching, seeking record. It was made at a time of tremendous success for us, and that brought on all of the feelings of guilt, inadequacy and self-doubt that accompany that kind of success. It's a bittersweet record that pointed the direction of the next album which was the full stop." ==Writing==

The title is taken from the student mnemonic for the lines of the treble clef: E-G-B-D-F. These notes are heard on piano during "Procession" and the theme is carried out through the rest of the album. The opening track "Procession" is the group's only song to be written by all five members. It was intended to describe the history of music from the beginning of time until the album's recording. The only three words heard in this track—"desolation", "creation", and "communication"—are similarly used (along with many other "-ation" words) in "One More Time to Live". Drummer Graeme Edge remembers, "We had nerve in those days! We decided that we could create a piece that would show the history of musical evolution. We began by making grunting sounds and hitting hollow logs, this evolved into both Eastern music and eventually Western music." The lyrics were inspired by a relationship, but also the personal dynamics of the band. He explains, "It's always about a love affair, isn't it? I wish I could tell you more, but some of that is private. Despite its personal nature, "The Story in Your Eyes" is also kind of about the band. 'We're part of the fire that is burning, and from the ashes we can build another day.' There's a kind of confession in it, as we were soon about to go through a rather awkward phase." He remembers the session fondly: "The song was great fun to record. Particularly trying to get Justin to play a guitar solo using only one string, like the frog in the lyrics. He actually managed to get it down to two strings!" The contemplative "You Can Never Go Home" was inspired by grief. Hayward remembers in a later interview, "I remember what I was going through emotionally then – I was losing people and there was a lot of grief around my life. It was a difficult time for me, those early years of the Moodies. It's worth remembering to value what there is now." ==Recording==

Sessions ran from November 1970 to March 1971, with a break in December for an American tour where they played Carnegie Hall. The sessions were again overseen by producer Tony Clarke and engineer Derek Varnals. The bulk of the album was recorded at Wessex, London instead of their usual Decca studio in West Hampstead. Hayward explains the change in setting: "It was almost a kind of rebellion by us. It was really change for change's sake as we wondered if the grass would be greener recording elsewhere. We were also trying to come to terms with the fact that our music was no longer 'underground' but had taken on a life of its own and we were having to perform in large arenas in America. Our new material was almost apologetic in its approach at that time." For "Procession", Graeme Edge uses a recently invented electronic drum kit, which Edge developed with Brian Groves of Sussex University. Its use likely represents the first use of an electronic drum kit on record. Edge describes the technology: "I had a control panel in front of me. There were pieces of rubber with silver paper on the back, with a coil that moved up and down inside a magnet which produced a signal. When it worked it was superb, but it was very sensitive to any surge or change in electricity. When I tried to use it on stage the whole kit would go bananas as soon as anyone turned stage lighting on and off. It was okay for studio use as if it went haywire you could turn it off and start all over again!" He continues, "This was before silicon chips, you see, and I was using transistors. I had something like five thousand transistors in there and it used to set up some really weird fields. Just about anything would set it off. It used to work great at home. And it worked great in rehearsal, but the first time we tried to use it on stage - every time we tried to use the spotlights - they'd set it off, so I just retired it." He reflects on his motivations for trying the new technology: "I was always conscious of the drum's ring being out of tune. So I wanted a drumkit that you could tune to the key of a song. That's why people started to tape cigarette packets to drums and all that—to eliminate that ring so it wouldn't mess with the guitars. And that kit was a dismal failure—but a heroic failure." On "The Story in Your Eyes", Hayward plays acoustic guitar on the backing track, with electric guitar later overdubbed. He explains, "I first put the acoustic guitar down using the Martin D-28, with myself and Graeme Edge on drums, and then worked on it from there. I also double-tracked the acoustic. When it came time for the electric guitar part, I used a Cherry Red 1963 [Gibson] ES-335 that I've had since 1968. The electric guitar that opens the song — including feedback that's in tune to an A note — and goes all the way through the song is the ES-335 direct into the Normal channel of an AC30 Top Boost turned up full. In the solo and at the end, that's the ES-335 again through a Marshall Reverb-Fuzz Unit."" In recording Mike Pinder's "My Song", the artist desired that his vocals sound like he was outside the world, looking down on it, like an astronaut on a spacewalk. To achieve the effect engineers Derek Varnals and David Baker constructed him a large carton to wear over his head. Varnals remembers, "I then filtered the signal to make it sound like a transmission from space. We were trying to create something serious, but everyone was laughing hysterically—everyone except Mike, who was the only person who couldn’t see what we were seeing: a quite Monty Python–like image of someone standing perfectly still with a box covering his head. It eventually ended up sounding a bit like Darth Vader, but this was several years before Star Wars was made." ==Album cover==

The cover art created by artist Phil Travers was inspired by the work named Der Kristall (The Crystal) by German artist Sulamith Wülfing. It has been imitated by the leader of the dark progressive band Current 93, David Tibet, for Halo, a live album released in 2004. ==Release==

The album was mixed and released in both stereo and quadraphonic. In April 2007, the album was remastered into SACD format and repackaged with the two extra tracks. In 2008, a remaster for standard audio CD was issued with the same bonus tracks. ==Track listing==

The Moody Blues • Justin Hayward – vocals, guitars, sitar • John Lodge – vocals, bass, cello • Ray Thomas – vocals, flute, tambourine, oboe, woodwinds, harmonica • Graeme Edge – drums, percussion, electronic drums and vocals on "Procession" • Mike Pinder – vocals, Mellotron, harpsichord, Hammond organ, piano, celesta, Moog synthesizer, cello Production Source: • Tony Clarke – producer • Derek Varnals – recording engineer • David Baker – assistant engineer • Harry Fisher – cutting engineer • Phil Travers – sleeve artist • J. Randall Nelson – lyrics sheet photograph ==Charts==

Weekly charts Year-end charts ==Certifications==