I was reflecting on the Moodies vs the Pretenders...thought that though they're the same age, "Wildest Dreams" sounds seriously dated, but "Don't Get Me Wrong" could be released today. It's probably just that I know that the Moodies were on the way out, and Pretenders are still around today, but I'm sure you can dig it.
I thought the Moodies were on the way out in the early '70s -- 1972's
Seventh Sojurn was okay, but not quite up
to their previous work. Then there was a gap of several years until their next release. In any case, they are very much
of the sixties, and that decade's optimism and idealism shows in their music. Also, some people classify the Moody Blues
as early progressive rock, and they certainly fit that bill to the extent that they used classical instrumentation and toyed
with longer compositions.
In contrast, The Pretenders are firmly of the eighties, with its swirl of post-Watergate cynicism, post-"me decade"
hedonism, and post-punk nihilism. And no one could mistake them for a prog rock band.
Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar... however, if one band still sounds fresh while another is dated, perhaps it is a
reflection that both idealism and progressive rock never regained the popularity they enjoyed 40+ years ago.
