The Moody Blues - Days of Future Passed (1967)

Despite being generally lumped in the prog-rock bag together with other groups from that era (Renaissance, Nice, even Deep Purple) which often used a full orchestra in their recordings, the Moody Blues always seemed pretty pop-centred and lightweight to me. That didn't mean I disliked the band. On the contrary, I loved their early works, especially this enduring symphonic-pop showcase which was conceptually way ahead of its time.

There may be a touch of pomposity about the proceedings, but it all seems of a piece with the spirit of the music, which is more about style than substance. In any case, 'Nights in White Satin' is still a magical song to me, even though it was somewhat inescapable on my favourite radio station, Radio RAAF Butterworth, during much of the '70s.