01		The Voice						05:22
02		Talking Out Of Turn						07:19
03		Gemini Dream						04:10
04		In My World						07:22
05		Meanwhile						04:09
06		22,000 Days						05:26
07		Nervous						05:46
08		Painted Smile						03:19
09		Reflective Smile						00:36
10		Veteran Cosmic Rocker						03:21

Long Distance Voyager (West German Pressing)\n\nOriginally Released 1981\nCD Edition Released July 1987\n\nAMG EXPERT REVIEW: Progressive rock bands stumbled into the '80s, some with the crutch of commercial concessions under one arm, which makes the Moody Blues' elegant entrance via Long Distance Voyager all the more impressive. While they may steal a page or two from Electric Light Orchestra's recent playbook, the Moodies are careful to play their game: dreamy, intelligent songs at once sophisticated and simple. Many of these songs rank with the band's best: "The Voice" is a sweeping and majestic call to adventure, while the closing trio from Ray Thomas ("Painted Smile," "Reflective Smile," and "Veteran Cosmic Rocker") forms a skillfully wrought, if sometimes scathing, self-portrait. In between are winning numbers from John Lodge ("Talking out of Turn," the pink-hued "Nervous") and Graeme Edge ("22,000 Days"), in typical Moodies fashion providing different perspectives of the same shared lives and observations. "Gemini Dream," which was a big hit in the U.S., does sound dated in today's post-Xanadu landscape, but never does the band lose the courage of their convictions. Although the title and the cover art reference the then-recent Voyager space probe (forever burned in the minds of anyone who slogged through the first Star Trek movie, but then there's never a brain-burrowing grub around when you need one), only half of the songs have a "voyager" connection if you apply it to touring on the road; apologetic love songs consume the other half. Still, not everything has to be a concept album, especially when the songs go down this smooth. This album should make anybody's short list of Moodies goodies. And, yes, that's Patrick Moraz who makes his debut here in place of original member Mike Pinder. ~ Dave Connolly\n\nAmazon.com Editorial Review\nA regular fixture on the pop charts throughout the '70s, the Moody Blues roared into the '80s with this tremendously successful record. In fact, the album sounds only slightly different than its predecessors; the synthesizer textures are heavier (thanks to former Yes keyboardist Patrick Moraz), but the band's flair for catchy, melodic compositions is still very much in evidence. In retrospect, songs like "The Voice," "Talking Out of Turn" and "In My World," while solid, don't exactly measure up to such all-time Moodies classics like "Ride My See-Saw" or "Tuesday Afternoon." Still, this is probably the last truly consistent album the band ever made. --Dan Epstein \n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nA long distance voyage indeed, September 25, 2005\nReviewer: James Simon (New York, NY USA)\nLong Distance Voyager is an album has held up remarkably well over time. The Moody Blues update their classical and rock sound just slightly with synths and marvelous producing to create a whirl of orchestral sounds and pop. "Gemeni Dream" and "The Voice" are certainly staples of classic rock, but the reflective "Talking Out Of Turn" and the counterpart of "Nervous" shouldn't be over looked. "In My World" is a ballad with muscle that builds from from solo guitar to strings and that Moody chorale without ever getting wimpy. Highly entertaining album.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nThis is the pinnacle of their sound, May 28, 2005\nReviewer: Lee J. Davito\nFor those of you who are familiar with the Moodies first 7 albums...you'll remember that much of their material from the 60s was dated..and SEVENTH SOJOURN left us with a farewell. \n\nWhen they returned in 1978 with OCTAVE and a coinciding tour...Many of us were optomistic to a new era of Moodies music...The album had a very familiar feel....Mike Pinder did the album and in mid tour, decided he was ready to depart. Many of us thought this was the end of the Moodies...once and for all. \n\n1981 brought LDV and Patrick Moraz on keys...This album would probably be best described as the SEVENTH SOJOURN of the 80s...Every song a keeper....they successfully make the transition to the 80s and they do it with excellence....Patrick fits in well...his keyboard wizardry and vast arsenal of effects..enables the Moodies to push their message across effortlessly. A first listen to this album left no doubt as to the fact.....the Moodies were back and stronger than ever. \n\nUnfortunately, in the next 24 years; only SUR LA MER would come within a shouts distance of this album. Their experiments in techno-hijinx would have been better left on the drawing board. The superb musicianship took a back seat to computer generated disco sounds and dated the bands sound worse than any lyrical refernces could. \n\nIf you want the best representation of the Moodies in the 80s....this is it.\n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nThe best of the post classic seven albums, May 3, 2005\nReviewer: trainreader (Montclair, N.J.)\nAfter the Moody Blues released the disappointing "Octave" following their six year hiatus, fans had to wonder whether the band would ever approach its former glory. Perhaps it never did, but with the release of "Long Distance Voyager," they proved that they still had some good songs in them, albeit of a more pop-oriented flavor. Patrick Moraz, who replaced Michael Pinder, the mellotron maestro, was a good fit for the band's new sound, though his synthesizer could be over-bearing at times. \n\nThe first feature of the album that one notices is the superb cover art that seems to depict Victorian England. It's the kind of cover that makes you want to immediately buy the album, run home, and play it. (Of course, cover art lost pretty much all of its resonance with the advent of cds). The first song, Justin Hayward's "The Voice," clearly established that the band had rebounded. It may, in fact, be the best Moody Blues song from "Octave" on. "The Voice," in my opinion, sounds even better in concert, where the band tends to slow down the pacing of the song. \n\nNext, John Lodge's "Talking Out of Turn" is melodic, but I think too long, and over-orchestrated. When I first heard "Gemini Dream," my first reaction was, "What are they doing?" But, the song has grown on me, and it is infectious when they do it in concert. \n\nUnfortunately I don't really love the rest of the album, until Ray Thomas' "Veteran Cosmic Rocker" which is inexplicably omitted from the band's box set "Time Traveler" (once again, Ray getting the short end of the stick). I really like the circus atmosphere created by this song. "Meanwhile" has the usual nice Hayward hook, but that's pretty much it. I find Edge's "22,000 Days" plodding. I also question his math, in that this amount of days translates to slightly over 60 years, which is well below the life expectancy of a human. (Oh well, he's a drummer, not a mathematician)! \n\nIn any event, "The Voice," "Gemini Dream" and "Veteran Cosmic Rocker" make LDV into a decent album, although I still don't think it really is comparable to any of the classic seven. \n\nAMAZON.COM CUSTOMER REVIEW\nThe Re-Birth Of The Moody Blues, October 5, 2004\nReviewer: Alan Caylow (USA)\nWith the departure of their longtime keyboardist Mike Pinder in 1978, the Moody Blues saw one major chapter in their long musical career come to a close, and, with the dawn of the 80's, it was time for the Moodies' second chapter to begin. Obviously, the band's first hurdle to get over was to get themselves a brand-new keyboardist, but who could possibly step into Mike Pinder's giant shoes? Enter Patrick Moraz, the one-time keyboardist for Yes (he played on 1976's "Relayer"). Moraz's contribution to the Moodies was NOT to play mellotron as Pinder did, but to add a more synthesized, 80's-friendly keyboard sound to the band. Some fans pondered whether or not the Moody Blues could survive without Mike Pinder, but the finished album, 1981's "Long Distance Voyager," was a HUGE success, both creatively and commercially, hitting #1 on the U.S. album chart. Mike Pinder may be missed, but there's no denying the freshness that Patrick Moraz's keyboard touch brought to the Moody Blues, and, on top of that, the band rose to the challenge and came up with some truly fantastic songs. Not only does "Voyager" feature the Moodies staples "Gemini Dream" and "The Voice," but also such gems as John Lodge's lovely "Talking Out Of Turn," and Justin Hayward's gorgeous "In My World" (interestingly, both tracks clock in at exactly 7 minutes 17 seconds). Drummer Graeme Edge contributes the thunderous, steady rocker "22,000 Days," one of his very best songwriting contributions to the band, while flautist Ray Thomas wraps the album up in a playful, colorful bow with the circus-themed "Painted Smile," the poem "Reflective Smile," and the classic Moodies shuffler, "Veteran Cosmic Rocker." With "Long Distance Voyager," the Moody Blues re-invented themselves and entered the 80's with tremendous power. "Long Distance Voyager" is one of the Moodies' all-time greatest albums. \n\nhalf.com Details \nContributing artists: The New World Philharmonic \nProducer: Pip Williams \n\nAlbum Notes\nThe Moody Blues: Justin Hayward (vocals, guitar); Ray Thomas (vocals, flute, harmonica); John Lodge (bass, background vocals); Patrick Moraz (keyboards); Graeme Edge (drums).\n\nAdditional personnel: The New World Philharmonic.\n\nLONG DISTANCE VOYAGER signaled the revitalization of the Moodies. After a six-year layoff, they'd regrouped for 1978's OCTAVE, which met with mixed reviews. Three years later, the updated sound of VOYAGER brought them back to the top of the charts. Ex-Yes keyboardist Patrick Moraz's synthesizers replace Mike Pinder's Mellotron, and there's a distinct early-'80s sheen to the upbeat hits "Gemini Dream," which chronicles the band's comeback efforts quite literally, and "The Voice." "Talking out of Turn" sounds like nothing so much as a more sophisticated Little River Band, but one cannot deny its gentle, bouncy appeal.\nGentle, acoustic ballads like "In my World" and "Nervous," however, wouldn't sound out of place on ON THE THRESHOLD OF A DREAM. For the diehards, Ray Thomas (whose flute is conspicuously absent in much of this '80s-centric production) provides that essential element of quirky British theatricality with his closing, self-referential triptych of "Painted Smile," "Reflective Smile," and "Veteran Cosmic Rocker." The last of these offerings proves that the Moodies have more self-knowledge than their critics would like to believe.\n\nIndustry Reviews\nRanked #9 in CMJ's Top 20 Most-Played Albums of 1981\nCMJ (01/05/2004) YEAR: 1981