The Moody Blues: Live at the Isle of Wight Festival 1970

The genesis of quintessentially English prog has been alternately attributed to a number of late ’60s Invasion groups restless in the wake of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Chronologically, though, it’s the Moody Blues’ late 1967 album Days of Future Passed that marks the start of prog’s first (and, for some, only) golden age. By the time they’d reached the Isle of Wight Festival in 1970, the Moodies had a slew of classic songs under their belts. From the puzzlingly prescient guitars of “Never Comes the Day” to the accomplished pomposity of “Nights in White Satin”, this live set exhibits a band at the apex of its artistic achievement.