Keys of the Kingdom

Keys of the Kingdom is the fourteenth album by the rock band The Moody Blues, released in 1991. Although some of the tracks recall the songwriting on Sur la Mer, the failure of Keys of the Kingdom to produce any major hit singles would mark the beginning of the Moodies' decline in popularity with mainstream audiences after their success in the MTV video generation. The album saw the band beginning to return to a more airy rock orientated sound (similar to The Present), rather than the previous two albums' forays into synthesiser pop. Flautist Ray Thomas plays more of a substantial role on this record, with his first ambient flute piece in eight years. The album was recorded and mixed at four London studios: Olympic Studios, RG Jones Studios, Mayfair Studios and The Hit Factory (not to be confused with the NYC-based studio of the same name). Drum machines are still used heavily; Graeme Edge only performs on three songs, with session drummer Andy Duncan providing live drums on two more, and the rest being programmed. Keyboardist Patrick Moraz was fired from the band after completing only a few tracks for this album, and he is listed as an 'additional' keyboard player. As this was the second time the band and their keyboardist would part ways, their future album and re-release booklets would distance themselves from Moraz and any future keyboardists they hired from being members of the band.