The Mystic Moods & Gayle Caldwell

[LPJim]

Another sifting through the cutout CDs produced a pleasant surprise this week when I found THE BEST OF THE MYSTIC MOODS ORCHESTRA - VOLUME TWO for $2. Used copies of this go for $49+ at 'amazon.com'

Mystic Moods albums contain sound effects not present on other easy listening/instrumental works. Usually it's the sound of rain, ocean waves or thunder between tracks. The orchestra had a string of hit albums beginning with ONE STORMY NIGHT in 1966 (Phillips label).

It was a tune composed by A&M Artist Gayle Caldwell, "Love Token," that interested me in this CD compilation, which had been originally released as SUMMER MOODS in 1972. This is an instrumental for most of the track, until the last verse, on which the composer sings. That's a nice bonus.

"Love Token" was the title track of a 1969 Mystic Moods album which came out at about the same time as Caldwell's CELEBRATION OF LIFE (SP 4196) on A&M -- which doesn't contain this song.

Fans of easy listening or Ms. Caldwell would enjoy this set. Other tracks on VOL.2 include "Come Saturday Morning," "The Look of Love," "Days of Wine and Roses," and some originals which are obscure but melodic. This is great music to spin while reading.
JB

 

[Rudy]

Mystic Moods was also one of the first products released on the then-new Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs label. There's a good story about Brad Miller here:

http://www.aurealm.com/thunder.htm

Scroll down to read about the founding of Mystic Moods Orch.

 

[Mike Blakesley]

For a few years in the '70s, Mystic Moods attempted to morph into a progressive art-rock type ensemble, adding occasional vocals to the mix. They took a swing into quasi spiritual territory with the album AWAKENING, then extended that idea on the album CLEAR LIGHT, and then veered from the spiritual into the sexual/soulful with the album EROGENOUS. (They were like Prince without the funk on that album.) All are out of print now, of course.

The CLEAR LIGHT album contains one of my all time favorite instrumental tracks -- "Conference of the Birds" -- and a good gospel tune called "He Believes in Me." I've been looking for a real good clean copy of this record for quite a while -- if anyone ever finds one, I wannit! (It's got a picture of a prism on the cover.)

 

[Dave]

Mystic Moods albums contain sound effects not present on other easy listening/instrumental works. Usually it's the sound of rain, ocean waves or thunder between tracks. The orchestra had a string of hit albums beginning with ONE STORMY NIGHT in 1966 (Phillips label).

It was a tune composed by A&M Artist Gayle Caldwell, "Love Token," that interested me in this CD compilation, which had been originally released as SUMMER MOODS in 1972. This is an instrumental for most of the track, until the last verse, on which the composer sings. That's a nice bonus.

"Love Token" was the title track of a 1969 Mystic Moods album which came out at about the same time as Caldwell's CELEBRATION OF LIFE (SP 4196) on A&M -- which doesn't contain this song.

JB

I had that and a few other Mystic Moods Orchestra albums before. In fact I HAD that one "Love Token" is on at the time I knew about Gayle Caldwell. Maybe "Love Token" was just retitled by someone with The Mystic Moods. It had to of gone under another name on CELEBRATION OF LIFE. I'll have to listen to my Gayle Caldwell and see; I don't even have anything by The Mystic Moods anymore, so it will be hard to compare the two.

Some other female singer (forgot the name of her) covered Gayle's "Quiet Prince" and retitled it "Lucky Prince"(?) or "Lonely Prince"(?). The album also had a remake of another Gayle Caldwell song (or two), but I don't remember which one(s).

Of course, "Cycles" has been covered by Rod McKuen, A&M's Jimmie Rodgers (with some of the words changed), O.C. Smith, and even another female singer I don't remember the name of.

Frank Sinatra also covered "Cycles" and "Wandering" on the same album, which is also entitled CYCLES.

Dave

...keeping track of others who have covered Caldwell and where her compositions have gone...