Introspection in retrospection
A moment of introspection, please. This evening, I finally sat down and watched the documentary released back at the start of the summer, with those old musical friends, the Moody Blues. For an hour, I sat in among six hundred thousand others and listened to a concert that almost was lost to history. The Isle Of Wight, in August 1970, wasn’t even on my personal radar.
I couldn’t have found the site on a globe, but then again, I couldn’t have found Bethel, NY either. The Moodies; I discovered them a couple of years later, when I arrived at UPEI. No matter; this concert has been waiting for me. Proof that good music ages well.
What sets this documentary apart from the usual concerts is the interview with group members completed some 38 years later. Too many musicians, particularly rock musicians, don’t get to keep on performing through from youth to maturity. The Moodies just continue. I take pleasure from the thought that “getting older” doesn’t subtract from artistic ability. Didn’t someone say that “you’re never too old to rock and roll”?
Actually, I had to pause the concert in a moment of family solidarity, as we tuned in Tout Le Monde En Parle for the visit of Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley (KISS). In stark contrast, this group has never stopped selling their product which has nothing to do with music and everything to do with merchandising. Imagine, your very own KISS Casket (not to be reused, under license). They were on stage in Montreal this evening. The Moodies just completed a summer tour, early last month. No doubt in my mind over which show I’d prefer to see.
