In Search of the Lost Chord is the album on which the Moody Blues discovered drugs and mysticism as a basis for songwriting and came up with a compelling psychedelic creation, filled with songs about Timothy Leary and the astral plane and other psychedelic-era concerns. They dumped the orchestra this time out in favor of Mike Pinder's Mellotron, which was a more than adequate substitute, and the rest of the band joined in with flutes, sitar, tablas, and cellos, the playing of which was mostly learned on the spot. The whole album was one big experiment to see how far the group could go with any instruments they could find, thus making this album a rather close cousin to the Beatles' records of the same era. It is all beautiful and elegant, and 'Legend of a Mind''s chorus about 'Timothy Leary's dead/Oh, no — he's outside, looking in' ended up anticipating reality; upon his death in 1996, Leary was cremated and launched into space on a privately owned satellite, with the remains of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry (another '60s pop culture icon) and other well-heeled clients.

Disc One
The Original Album Remastered from the Original Master Tapes
 
01: Departure (0.45)
02: Ride My See Saw (3.39)
03: Dr. Livingstone, I Presume (2.58)
04: House of Four Doors - Part One (4.13)
05: Legend Of A Mind (6.36)
06: House of Four Doors - Part Two (1.47)
07: Voices In The Sky (3.28)
08: The Best Way To Travel (3.14)
09: Visions of Paradise (4.15)
10: The Actor (4.39)
11: The Word (0.48)
12: Om (5.50)
 
Disc Two
Previously Unreleased Demos and BBC Radio 1 Sessions

01: Departure - Alternate Mix (0.55)*
02: The Best Way To Travel - Additional Vocal Mix (4.03)*
03: Legend Of A Mind - Alternate Mix (6.43) *
04: Visions Of Paradise - Sitar Mix (4.30) *
05: What Am I Doing Here? - Alternate Mix (3.53) *
06: The Word - Mellotron Mix (1.01)*
07: Om - Full Version (6.07) *
08: Simple Game - Justin Hayward Vocal Mix (3.26) *
09: King and Queen (3.53)
10: Dr Livingstone, I Presume - BBC Top Gear Session 16/7/68 (2.57) *
11: Voices In The Sky - BBC Top Gear Session 16/7/68 (3.52) *
12: Thinking Is The Best Way - BBC Top Gear Session 16/7/68 (3.38) *
13: Ride My See Saw - BBC Top Gear Session 16/7/68 (3.49) *
14: Tuesday Afternoon - BBC Afternoon Pop Show 7/10/68 (3.23) *
15: Simple Game - Single Version (3.44)

* PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED