Justin Hayward - Moving Mountains [1996 Reissue] (1985)

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Bruce Eder, All Music Guide wrote: A partial return to form for Hayward, with a lushly orchestrated sound that makes this record more representative of The Moody Blues than much of that band's actual output during the early '80s. Sort of Hayward's personal follow-up to Days of Future Passed, and nicely done but very dated for a '80s album.

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Justin Hayward wrote: Many of the tracks started life in my music room at home and were transferred later to the big studio multi-tracks. Some, like the Jeff Wayne co-write were recorded in the biggest, flashiest, most fashionable studios in London. I could truly do anything I wanted to on this L.P. and I'm afraid the listener has to indulge me as some things are not perfect but they are always with passion and love. "Moving Mountains" also includes the first song I recorded with Tony Wisconti and for me finding Tony was like discovering the Holy Grail. He understood what I was going for and made it happen like no one else could. My particular favorite though, is the song Moving Mountains with my friend Martin Wyatt and written on a cheap Casio Keyboard I found in a music shop in Cornwall. I get a bit emotional thinking about the love of the people who helped with these recordings and it was the last time I got to work with dear Peter Knight. It's my personal favorite.

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Liner Notes by Justin Hayward: This album started for me in 1980 with "Goodbye". The song that is, ehrn my friend Eric Stewart and I were sitting in his studio one night wondering what to do with some time after a session, so we recorded the basic track to "Goodbye". I finally finished the L.P. five years later with "Silverbird" and along the way worked with many friends and had lots of fun. I recorded each track whenever I felt I had a song that would contribute to the whole. Some, like the basic track of "Moving Mountains", my own personal favourite, we recorded at home, in my own time. Others like "Who Knows" and "The Best is Yet To Come" were made in one huge orchestral session in a couple of hours. Those two songs brought a reunion with my dear friend Peter Knight, the greatest British writer and arranger for strings I have ever heard. "One Again" with Tony Visconti was a wonderful learning process for me in the technology of recording, quite the opposite of "Is It Just A Game?" where we just set up in the studio and let it rip. Every once in a while you write a song that just falls into place and expresses perfectly what you wanted to say. "Lost And Found" was one of those songs for me, and every aspect of it, the writing, the recording, the mixing and mastering, were a pleasure, but then every song on this compact disc was a true labour of love. Through this album I became a keyboard player as well as a guitarist, a engineer as a recording artist, your part is easy. Just sit back and..... well..... happy listening.

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Tracklisting:
1. Take Your Chances (3:51)
2. Is It Just A Game (4:45)
3. One Again (4:44)
4. Moving Mountains (4:47)
5. Silverbird (7:40)
6. Lost And Found (4:19)
7. Goodbye (3:51)
8. Who Knows (3:43)
9. The Best Is Yet To Come (3:57)
10. The Lights Are Low (4:42)

Total Time: 46:19

Line-Up:
- Dave Mattacks, Charlie Morgan / Drums
- Jo Partridge / Rhythm Guitar
- Tony Visconti / Keyboards, Background Vocals
- Pete Wingfield, Eric Stewart, Colin Fretcher / Keyboards
- Chris White / Saxophone
- Henry Thomas / Bass
- Jeff Wayne / Arranger
- P.P. Arnold, Vicki Brown / Background Vocals
- Justin Hayward / Guitar, Keyboards, Vocals