John Lodge takes a short ride up the charts with this spirited opener from the Moodies’ third.
Kronomyth 3.2: I see, I saw, I conquered.
John Lodge wrote some of the Moodies’ heaviest rock tracks. There was the noisy “Peak Hour” from Days of Future Passed and, here, “Ride My See-Saw” from In Search of the Lost Chord. Hearing Graeme Edge’s “Departure” careen into “Ride My See-Saw” is one of those indelible moments in the Moodies’ history. The single version is edited and features (presumably) Graeme counting off the beat at the beginning. As John’s first big single for the band, “Ride My See-Saw” marks the official beginning of the Lodge/Hayward era of hitmaking.
In the US, Justin Hayward’s “Voices In The Sky” was released as the B side, a song that had actually been selected as the advance single in the UK. It’s a song so fragile that it threatens to blow away, yet stays with the listener long after. Very few singers could have pulled this off, and “Voices In The Sky” is a great example of what makes Hayward such a unique artist. In the UK, a nonalbum track from Mike Pinder, “A Simple Game,” was selected as the B side. Pinder’s track aligns with the psychedelic movement and has some wild guitar and mellotron parts in its arrangement. With Pinder, you never knew what to expect, but you could always count on it being exciting and different. Apparently, a version of this exists with Justin Hayward singing; both versions appear on the expanded remasters of In Search of the Lost Chord.
Original 7-inch single version (US)
A1. Ride My See-Saw (John Lodge) (3:37)
B1. Voices In The Sky (Justin Hayward) (3:32)
Original 7-inch single version (Europe)
A1. Ride My See Saw (John Lodge)
B1. A Simple Game (Michael Pinder)
Back-to-back hits 7-inch single reissue
A1. Question (Justin Hayward/John Lodge)
B1. Ride My See-Saw (John Lodge)
The Plastic
Released on 7-inch single on October 12, 1968 in the US (Deram, 45-85033) and Canada (Deram, DM.85033); reached #61 on the US charts (charted October 12, 1968 for 5 weeks). Released on 7-inch with different B side (“A Simple Game”) on October 25, 1968 in the UK (Deram, DM.213); reached #42 on the UK charts.
- Re-issued on 7-inch single in 1970 in Italy (Deram, DMB 1) with picture sleeve.
- Re-released with “Question” as back-to-back hits 7-inch single in November 1989 in the US (Threshold, 882 126).
- Re-issued with “Question” as back-to-back hits 7-inch single in 1992 in the US (Collectables, COL 4321).
