(Review from progarchives.com)

This 1983 offering has many of the qualities and hallmarks we have come to expect from the band over the years.

“Blue world” is a typical Moody Blues opener, with a strong rhythm and a catchy melody. It is slightly slower and softer than tracks such as “I know you’re out there somewhere” and “The voice” but very much in that mould. Unusually, we actually have three successive tracks of this type to start the album, “Meet me half way” and “Sitting at the wheel” being a simple case of more of the same. John Lodge sings lead vocal on the latter, which is even more upbeat.

It is only when we get to Graham Edge’s “Going nowhere” that things relax slightly. The criminally underused Ray Thomas provides lead vocal on the verses here, his strong quivering voice setting the song apart. There is no question that Justin Hayward is a superb singer, but it would have been wonderful to hear Thomas singing on the band’s albums a lot more than he was allowed to.

The second side of the album opens with a brief instrumental “Hole in the world” which builds through a marching drum beat, spacey guitar and synth sounds to provide an extended introduction to “Under my feet”, another rather prosaic John Lodge led song. Justin Hayward returns to centre stage for a brace of his typical romantic ballads, “It’s cold outside of your heart” and “Running water”. The latter is a particularly melodic song which is pretty much a solo rendition.

In another unusual twist, the album closes with a couple of Ray Thomas songs. The brief “I am” harks back to the band’s earliest days, while “Sorry” would have fitted in well on either of Thomas’s excellent solo albums. The track builds from a gentle start to an upbeat rock song, Moraz keyboards and Thomas’s flute adding fine colours to the song. Throughout the album, Patrick Moraz contributions are very much designed to create a big overall sound, any solos being simplistic and brief. The production is clean and uncluttered.

The ordering of the tracks on the album is rather odd, with songs of a similar type being put sequentially together. With the song writers by and large retaining full control of their own songs this tends to give the album a rather piecemeal flavour.

Line-up:
- Justin Hayward / guitars, vocals
- John Lodge / bass, vocals
- Ray Thomas / flutes, harmonicas, vocals
- Graeme Edge / drums
- Patrick Moraz / keyboards

Track List:
01. Blue World – 5:20
02. Meet Me Halfway – 4:08
03. Sitting At The Wheel – 5:40
04. Going Nowhere – 5:33
05. Hole In The World – 1:54
06. Under My Feet – 4:51
07. It’s Cold Outside Of Your Heart – 4:27
08. Running Water – 3:23
09. I Am – 1:40
10. Sorry – 5:02

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