1965 The Moody Blues: Go Now

Another cover version, this time of a song written by Larry Banks for his former wife Bessie to sing; 'Go Now' plays as a sawn off re-write of Bacharach and David's 'Make It Easy On Yourself' - it's the spurned lover trying to salvage some dignity by trying to put a relationship gone wrong to sleep on their own terms. The former is a majestic piece of songwriting to be sure, but the problem with 'Go Now' is that apart from the recurring "If you gotta go" build up lead to the release of the title/chorus, there isn't a lot else going on to hold it together.

To spin this straw into gold requires filling a lot of empty space and Banks did it with a soulful vocal and respectful arrangement that relied more on mood and gravitas than what was coming out of her mouth. In comparison, The Moody Blues put all their eggs into that chorus basket to try let a pop sensibility carry the weight. Does it work? Only partly I'm afraid - Denny Laine plays a strong hand on lead vocal, but whenever he's not climbing that staircase to the chorus (which is often), then the song shuffles around like a bad actor forgetting his lines, waiting for a prompt from the wings as a barrelhouse piano hammers out a far too busy backing melody to hide his blushes.

Perhaps I'm being a little harsh here, but in truth 'Go Now' isn't a song I much care for regardless of who's singing. It's a one trick pony that relies on an awful lot of goodwill from the listener to make it work and frankly, it's a level of involvement I'm not prepared to give it. The Moody Blues try to redress this by emphasising it at it's catchiest, but in so doing it only serves to further lay bare the wasteland that surrounds. I'll pass thanks.