Midnight Movies
Well, isn’t that special! It takes confidence, and talent, to try a cover of one of rock’s legendary, high-quality rock bands – The Moody Blues.
Midnight Movies takes a stab at "Nights In White Satin" (Nights EP 2008 New Line Records). The chorus vocals are fine, the flute is just about as good as the original. Ray Thomas is hard to beat though, considering he played this flute solo decades ago. This is definitely psychedelic revisited. With that said, there seems to be some work left to be done on this cover tune. But thanks for giving it a try, Midnight Movies.
Some will enjoy the beginning of, and the energy of, "Should Have Known" from the same collection. Do we hear some of the Grace Slick style in this tune? The former Jefferson Airplane singer would be happy to hear someone giving it a try again. One thing for sure: Midnight Movies has separated itself from the majority of other 21st century indie groups with this sound
"Souvenirs" (Lion the Girl 2007 New Line Records) is much more "pop" than some of the group’s other tunes. But it still fits, with its combination of dreamy keyboard sounds and crisp rhythm. "Twenty Four Hour Dream" from 2007 might draw another segment of the population.
The band is: Gena Olivier – vocals, organ, drums; Larry Schemel – guitar; Sandra Vu – drums, flute, vocals, keyboard; Ryan Wood – bass, keyboards, guitar. Personal note - I disagree with a couple of reviewers though. This ain’t punk. Nor is it decidedly new.
Tags: independent music, indie music, Midnight Movies, music, indie
April 30th, 2008 at 12:47 pm
Being a big Moody Blues fan, I would have to say that the rendition of ” Nights in White Satin” was far below what one would want from a remake. I do not think that anyone would be able to really cover this song. But they did not do a terrible job, just did not like it at all. Some of the other music on their myspace page was decent though. I will have to give them credit for that.
May 1st, 2008 at 11:36 am
One of the good things about not being a Moody Blues fan is that I don’t have any preconceived notions of what “Nights in White Satin” should sound like. Perhaps this cover might not be as good as the original…few covers usually are, but I sort of liked it, particularly the backbeat and the vocals.
I’m sure that the original version is way better than the cover and I’m not in a position to claim otherwise, but I definitely was entranced by this group’s singing style.
May 4th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
This is the exact reason I am against the majority of cover bands. Out of all the cover bands out there, only about 10% get it right, and in some cases a bit better than the original. “Midnight Movies” however, falls in that other 90%. I was never a huge Moody Blues fan, but the one song I really like by them have been butchered by this band into pieces. Other than that, these guys are decent enough, but I think they should probably stick to their own music and stop tearing up a classic.
June 13th, 2008 at 11:12 am
Often when a new band covers a song, and then the person who never heard the original hears the that original they are thinking why did the (original) band ruin the song. People do not pay much attention to when a song came out. When a band needs to cover a song, especially on an album, that tells me a lot about a band. I can understand having fun and playing a song if the fans want you too. But not everyone can sing every song.
The original of this song was released in 1967. That should tell you something. If you ever listen to the original keep that in mind and you will know that for that time span it is an amazing song.
June 14th, 2008 at 8:31 am
I listened to this song, and tried to keep all preconceived notions out of my head when I did so. I tried to forget that it was a cover, and listened to it for what it is, music.
If you take away the fact that it’s a cover, and take the Moody Blues connection away it’s a fairly good song. But when you remember that it is a cover, the word butcher comes to mind.