I would say that, without stretching the point too much, had the Moody Blues not stumbled across an obscure sound effects gadget used by the BBC for their radio shows and realized it had tons of musical possibilities, the world may never had the opportunity to hear a Mellotron to the extent the Moody Blues used it.

Initially part of the British Invasion of the early 60's, the Moodies (as they were known, for short) slowly morphed out of the Beat Group niche and into a cross between Art-Rock and Symphonic-Rock. Their biggest album, and one that just about every one "of a certain age" knows the words to from start to finish, was Days Of Future Past, released in 1967. It touted the first-ever collaboration between Symphony Orchestra and Rock Band, with the extra added bonus of The Mellotron, for good, ethereal measure.

Tonight's tracks come by way of two BBC Sessions - the first from early 1967 (just before Days was released) and the other from November of 1967, (after Days was released).

Here's the rundown:

BBC Early 1967
1.Leave The Man Alone

BBC "Top Gear" November 13, 1967
2. Peak Hour
3. Nights In White Satin

Now you get to hear why every band on the planet had to have a Mellotron, or at least record with one.

And some still do.

It occurred to me that Van Morrison has been at it a very long time - well over 40 years to be exact. Unlike many artists who haven't weathered the flights of fancy of the audience and music buying public, Morrison has maintained a freshness and a growing legion of fans that fairly defies an age category, and certainly no pigeonhole. The key to the success is, in all probabilities, very simple - good songs, well executed with an unmistakable and clear point of view and that translates into timeless. Apropos and vital in 1967 - apropos and vital in 2011. Can't ask for more. He's just good at what he does.

So tonight, as the result of running across a group of sessions Van Morrison did at The BBC for (I believe) the Top Gear Program (no relation to the Car Show of the same name) in the early 1970's, I thought I would put up three of his most memorable tracks, all recorded by the BBC.

The tracks are:

1. Moondance
2. Wild Night
3. St. Dominic's Preview

Unfortunately, I'm missing the exact session dates, but I suspect they will show up at some point and I will drop them in when I find them.

But in the meantime, get ready for Hump Day and relax. Van's got it under control.