Ray Thomas and The Other Side Of Life

e'd rather be somewhere else. It's interesting to note that he looks
away from the camera while everyone else is preening and looking
involved for the photo shoot. Like they say, a picture can say a
thousand words. Also, if you look at the photo of Ray at the end of
the CD booklet, he has a scowl on his face.

It is my understanding that Ray wanted to participate on this album,
but that the other band members simply weren't interested in helping
him out with his songs. Part of the reason is that Ray heavily relied
on the others to help him finish his songs, and they didn't want to
help unless if he cut them in on the songwriting credit. So when Ray
showed up to the studio the other guys just ignored him. This is what
I was told by a good source who was there, watching all of this going
on.

I can only wonder what kind of interesting ideas and songs Ray could've
contributed to Other Side and Sur La Mer. While Justin & John wrote
the big "hits", Ray often came up with the lighter, more whimsical
moments. He came up with a lot of interesting, off the wall stuff
that was usually pretty cool at times. It would've provided a perfect
counterbalance to some of the more heavy songs the J's were putting on
those albums. In every way, Ray's songs often ended up being a
collaborative group effort, with all the guys throwing in musical ideas
to accompany Ray's lyrics, flute, and singing.

I'm sure that this must've been a hit to Ray's sense of self worth and
self esteem when his own band members, in the band he helped co-found,
just didn't feel that they should support him and his songs. In other
words, Ray was being told that he wasn't good enough to be featured.
Afterall he had done for them, he helped them over the years as a team
player,on their songs with his flute, harmonica, and wind instrument
arrangements (would NIWS been the same without the flute solo?), as
well as lending his voice to the harmonies of their songs, this was how
he was repaid- with disrespect.

It's interesting to note that when Ray finally did return with a song
on KOTK, it seemed that the wind had been taken out of his sails. His
self esteem had been stepped on and deflated.
I'm sure the fact that the other guys didn't support him took away a
lot of his confidence. Ray seemed to lose his sparkle. It wasn't the
same fun loving Ray who did "dr. livingstone, I presume", "legend of a
mind", or "veteran cosmic rocker".

No, the Ray Thomas who appeared on KOTK and Strange Times was a much
different man than what he had been in happier times with the band.
Here was a guy who had his sense of pride and self worth crushed by his
fellow band members - crushed under the weight of Justin & John's ego.


He had been stepped on, basically told "you're not worth anything...go
back to your whiskey bottle, you drunk,we can take care of it without
you. You don't matter!"

Sadly, all he had come up with, or was allowed, was a minute and half
song on Strange Times - apparently the band's final studio album. How
sad. It's too bad Ray wasn't allowed more to say.your theory re: Ray is one viewpoint....how 'bout another?

That Ray was coasting in his career at this point and wasn't really
interesting in contributing anything other than performing...I've read
interviews of both Justin & Tony Visconti who both said they were imploring
Ray to be more active during this time period but that he simply wasn't
interested (as far as songwriting goes).

Re: Ray Thomas and The Other Side Of Life

/>

<> wrote in message
news:
> Hi guys,
>
> Yesterday, I was listening to the Other Side Of Life CD. I was
> checking out the band photo on the back of the CD case , as well as the
> photo at the end of the booklet, and I thought Ray's facial expressions
> were very telling.
>
> If you look at the band photo on the back of the CD case, Ray looks
> sour and even a little upset. He just doesn't look happy, it's like
> he'd rather be somewhere else. It's interesting to note that he looks
> away from the camera while everyone else is preening and looking
> involved for the photo shoot. Like they say, a picture can say a
> thousand words. Also, if you look at the photo of Ray at the end of
> the CD booklet, he has a scowl on his face.
>
> It is my understanding that Ray wanted to participate on this album,
> but that the other band members simply weren't interested in helping
> him out with his songs. Part of the reason is that Ray heavily relied
> on the others to help him finish his songs, and they didn't want to
> help unless if he cut them in on the songwriting credit. So when Ray
> showed up to the studio the other guys just ignored him. This is what
> I was told by a good source who was there, watching all of this going
> on.
>
> I can only wonder what kind of interesting ideas and songs Ray could've
> contributed to Other Side and Sur La Mer. While Justin & John wrote
> the big "hits", Ray often came up with the lighter, more whimsical
> moments. He came up with a lot of interesting, off the wall stuff
> that was usually pretty cool at times. It would've provided a perfect
> counterbalance to some of the more heavy songs the J's were putting on
> those albums. In every way, Ray's songs often ended up being a
> collaborative group effort, with all the guys throwing in musical ideas
> to accompany Ray's lyrics, flute, and singing.
>
> I'm sure that this must've been a hit to Ray's sense of self worth and
> self esteem when his own band members, in the band he helped co-found,
> just didn't feel that they should support him and his songs. In other
> words, Ray was being told that he wasn't good enough to be featured.
> Afterall he had done for them, he helped them over the years as a team
> player,on their songs with his flute, harmonica, and wind instrument
> arrangements (would NIWS been the same without the flute solo?), as
> well as lending his voice to the harmonies of their songs, this was how
> he was repaid- with disrespect.
>
> It's interesting to note that when Ray finally did return with a song
> on KOTK, it seemed that the wind had been taken out of his sails. His
> self esteem had been stepped on and deflated.
> I'm sure the fact that the other guys didn't support him took away a
> lot of his confidence. Ray seemed to lose his sparkle. It wasn't the
> same fun loving Ray who did "dr. livingstone, I presume", "legend of a
> mind", or "veteran cosmic rocker".
>
> No, the Ray Thomas who appeared on KOTK and Strange Times was a much
> different man than what he had been in happier times with the band.
> Here was a guy who had his sense of pride and self worth crushed by his
> fellow band members - crushed under the weight of Justin & John's ego.
>
>
> He had been stepped on, basically told "you're not worth anything...go
> back to your whiskey bottle, you drunk,we can take care of it without
> you. You don't matter!"
>
> Sadly, all he had come up with, or was allowed, was a minute and half
> song on Strange Times - apparently the band's final studio album. How
> sad. It's too bad Ray wasn't allowed more to say.
>Funny, I thought people who put their nose in other people's business, force
their beliefs on others, and make blanket statements about morality without
understanding that morality is not innate but instead an artificial
construct of a society or subset of society were the first sign of a
civilization slipping into moral decay. But that's just my opinion...
<1153012011.647054.267850@75g2000cwc.googlegroups.com...
>
> Rick Massey wrote:
>>
>> Ray was one of the original members of the Milton Brewery Regulars, which
>> evolved into the Moody Blues. (I think I got that original name right .
>> If I
>> didn't, I know someone will take great glee in correcting my error) He
>> set
>> part of the tone of the band and how it composed. When he got back with
>> the
>> band, there was a lot of havoc. Mike Pinder pretty much lost it, Tony
>> Clarke
>> had to be talked down off a cliff because he was going to jump, and the
>> first album, Octave, was somewhat erratic.
>
>
> Huh?
><> wrote in message
news:
>
>
> On 15-Jul-2006, "Nicole Massey" <> wrote:
>

Re: Ray Thomas and The Other Side Of Life

e news:
> >
> > Rick Massey wrote:
> >>
> >> Ray was one of the original members of the Milton Brewery Regulars, which
> >> evolved into the Moody Blues. (I think I got that original name right .
> >> If I
> >> didn't, I know someone will take great glee in correcting my error) He
> >> set
> >> part of the tone of the band and how it composed. When he got back with
> >> the
> >> band, there was a lot of havoc. Mike Pinder pretty much lost it, Tony
> >> Clarke
> >> had to be talked down off a cliff because he was going to jump, and the
> >> first album, Octave, was somewhat erratic.
> >
> >
> > Huh?
> >boog wrote:
> WTF IS THIS ALL ABOUT i google justin and get this???
> WTF...............back to windsurf.rec
> by the way , justin ever been to rutland ??

It's at the top of the google search results because it's so popular!!
I don't think if Justin's ever been to Rutland, but in case if the
incomes taxes are low there, Justin could consider it a possible site
of reloc