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Post by rick on Apr 26, 2024 3:10:51 GMT -5
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Post by sliderocker on Apr 26, 2024 21:14:48 GMT -5
Sad to hear about Mike. He wrote great songs and was a great singer and just as with Ray Thomas, was an undervalued and underappreciated singer and songwriter in the Moody Blues. Mike was also a key player in the development of the mellotron, working with the company that came up with the keyboard. And virtually all keyboard players had purchased mellotrons to augment the sound of their bands. The instrument however was a beast as keyboard players reported problems such as the instrument causing power failures when on stage. The sound of the mellotron was produced by the keys creating the sounds through tape loops in the keyboard's console. And the tapes had a breakage problem.
Pinder and a few other musicians were loyal to the mellotron, but most keyboard players switched to various forms of synthesizers or chamberlains to mimic the sounds of the orchestra. Pinder's post-Moody Blues solo albums featured his favorite keyboard. I don't know if he was given a commission or royalty for his help in developing the mellotron, but he should've been. It was one of the most expensive instruments to acquire in the mid-70s. In 1974, buying a mellotron would set you back $4,000. You could buy a Gibson electric guitar then at a price that was much lower than that. You could even buy a new car. I wanted to buy a mellotron but the $4,000 price tag was off putting. The price was high enough Pinder could've been given a royalty and made more from the sales of the instrument than what he was made from his songs on the Moody Blues's albums.
He didn't have all that many songs on the Moody Blues albums after Justin and John joined. As with Ray, he usually had two songs per album in the 6os post Days of Future Passed and then one song, sometimes two songs on the Moody Blues's 70s albums. Their songs were usually the most interesting of album tracks by the band. Justin and John were the hitmakers but Ray and Mike were the soul of the band. Rest in peace, Mike.
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