House of Four Doors
| "House of Four Doors" | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Song by The Moody Blues from the album In Search of the Lost Chord | |||||||
| Released | June 28, 1968 | ||||||
| Recorded | January–June 1968 | ||||||
| Genre | Progressive rock, symphonic rock, psychedelic rock, experimental rock | ||||||
| Length |
4:13 (Part 1) 1:47 (Part 2) | ||||||
| Label | Deram Records | ||||||
| Writer(s) | John Lodge | ||||||
| Producer(s) | Tony Clarke | ||||||
| |||||||
"House of Four Doors" is a 1968 song by the British progressive rock band The Moody Blues. Written by the band's bassist John Lodge, it was first released on the Moody Blues 1968 album In Search of the Lost Chord. The song features John Lodge on lead vocals.
"House of Four Doors" is a two-part song that describes a group of people wandering through a forest, and finding "through the leaves" a lost path that leads to the House of Four Doors. The lyrics continue to describe the house and all its beauty. The first part of the song is track four on the album. The second part of the song, which is track six, describes the group leaving the House of Four Doors, and exclaim "You'll be lost now forever." The two parts of the song are separated by "Legend of a Mind" on the album.
"House of Four Doors" is one of the Moody Blues more complex recordings. The opening features each band member on their regular instruments, which includes Justin Hayward on acoustic guitar, John Lodge on bass guitar, Mike Pinder on the mellotron, Ray Thomas on flute, and Graeme Edge on drums. As the song progresses, more obscure instruments are used in addition to the regular instruments. The sections of the song are separated by the sound of a creaking door, which is provided by John Lodge on a cello. There is also a short harpsichord and cello duet towards the end of the song, which are played by Mike Pinder and John Lodge, respectively. The penultimate section of the song also features Mike Pinder on piano.
As the band has explained, each of the four doors that the group opens in the first part of the song reveals a different era of development in European music. The first, featuring a duet for acoustic guitar and flute, represents medieval minstrel music; the second, the harpsichord and cello duet, represents the Baroque style; the third, featuring mellotron and piano, represents classical music. The fourth door, which ends the track, is intended to represent modern rock music - which follows the opening of the door in the form of "Legend of a Mind."
"House of Four Doors" has been included on some of the Moody Blues compilation albums. When it is featured, both parts of the song are put together and included as one continuous track.
Personnel
- John Lodge: bass guitar, cello, lead vocals
- Mike Pinder: mellotron, harpsichord, piano, backing vocals
- Justin Hayward: 6 & 12-string acoustic guitars, electric guitar, backing vocals
- Ray Thomas: flute, backing vocals
- Graeme Edge: drums, timpani, tabla, tambourine, crash cymbals