Catching the exuberant and fragrant new mood of the times - the 1967 Summer of Love saw the release of the landmark albums Sgt Pepper and Pet Sounds - they abandoned the Mark 1 Moodies' signature sound of R'n'B with harmony vocals in favour of a more experimental and extravagant style.

It was just what pop fans, tired of identical 'beat combos' in suits and ties, were craving. The Moodies (with a little help from psychedelic substances) transformed their sound to incorporate the trippy, psychedelic influences around them, with Thomas switching from harmonica to flute and all five band members contributing vocals, albeit with Hayward's to the fore.

They were presented with a unique opportunity when their label, Decca, persuaded them to promote a new stereo system. The idea was that the Moody Blues would showcase 'Deramic Stereo' by recording a pop/rock version of Dvorák 's New World Symphony.

Once in the studio, however, they abandoned the symphony but stuck to the idea of using 'classical' orchestrations alongside a cycle of self-penned songs that they first planned as a planned stage show about the past, present and future of their lives.

The result was 'Days Of Future Passed' - a landmark fusion of rock and classical music, arguably the first concept album, and one of the foundation stones of what would become 'progressive rock'.

Those lush orchestrations were the hallmark of the still-spine-tingling seven-minute single 'Nights In White Satin', featuring the emotive vocals of new arrival Justin Hayward over swelling strings and celestial choirs, helping it go on to become one of the best-loved and biggest-selling songs of all time.

The public, on both sides of the Atlantic (the eight-minute 'Tuesday Afternoon' was the hit single in the US), could not get enough of its blend of bombast, psychedelia, whimsy and poetic interludes (written by Edge and read by Pinder), and The Moody Blues were reborn.

This comprehensive 17-disc boxed set, 'TIMELESS FLIGHT', charts the rise from the ashes of The Moody Blues Mk.2, a resurrection that saw them become one of the most inventive, influential and popular bands of the late 1960s and way beyond, surviving successive musical revolutions - punk, disco, grunge, metal, dance, hip-hop, electro - into the present day.

But let's take a step back to the Swinging Sixties. Barely six months after the release of 'Days Of Future Passed' (1967), they were back in the studio recording 'In Search Of The Lost Chord' (1968). This time, to save costs, the expensive orchestra was replaced with Pinder's pioneering use of the Mellotron - a synthesiser-like keyboard instrument that replicated orchestral sounds.

Like the Moodies themselves, the instrument was developed in Birmingham. Pinder, who had worked in the Mellotron factory and introduced it to The Beatles, was adept at modifying and customising them to create the kaleidoscope of sound that characterised the album, especially its psychedelic centrepiece 'Legend Of A Mind' - Thomas's tribute to LSD guru Timothy Leary.

The instrument was also the hallmark of the album's successors, 'On The Threshold Of A Dream' (1969) and 'To Our Children's Children's Children' (1969), another concept album, this time inspired by the moon landing. That same year, in a rare false step, the band turned down an invitation to play at a dairy farm in upstate New York in favour of a gig in Paris. The New York gig would become better known as Woodstock.

As they entered the 1970s on a high (literally and metaphorically), the Moodies' range and influence expanded further, aided by a show-stopping performance at the 1970 Isle of Wight Festival alongside Hendrix, The Who and The Doors.

Uniquely for a rock band, all five Moodies wrote and sang the songs, giving them a range that other bands were unable to match. The albums continued to come thick and fast. 'A Question Of Balance' (1970), which spawned their biggest hit single since 'Go Now' in 'Question', and 'Every Good Boy Deserves Favour' (1971). Both albums topped the UK charts.

Following the release of 'Seventh Sojourn' (1972) which produced another hit, the haunting 'Isn't Life Strange', the band took a five-year hiatus, during which all five members released solo albums - each represented here - and Justin Hayward & John Lodge reached No.4 with their duo album 'Blue Jays' (1975) and No.8 with the single, 'Blue Guitar', recorded with 10cc.

The group reconvened for 'Octave' (1978), the last to feature Pinder, who had moved to California (where it was recorded) and had a young family there. Hayward enjoyed another Top Ten single in the same year with 'Forever Autumn', from Jeff Wayne's 'War Of The Worlds'.

The next album 'Long Distance Voyager' (1981) introduced former Yes keyboard player Patrick Moraz to the line-up and was recorded at the custom-designed Threshold Studio given to them by Decca boss Sir Edward Lewis a decade earlier.

Moraz stayed with the band for three more albums - >'The Present' (1983), 'The Other Side Of Life' (1986) and 'Sur La Mer' (1988) - that found the Moodies responding to the decade's emerging electronic sounds without losing their signature sound.

Following the departure of Moraz, the Nineties were a fallow decade for the Moodies, who released just two albums, 'Keys Of The Kingdom' (1991) and 'Strange Times' (1999), separated by an eight-year gap, a live album with a symphony orchestra - 'A Night At Red Rocks' (1993) - and, bizarrely, a song for the World Cup USA '94, 'This Is The Moment'.

In 1999 they also received the ultimate cultural accolade of appearing in an episode of The Simpsons. In 2002 Ray Thomas retired from the band, who went on to make one more album, 'December' (2003) as a trio of Justin Hayward, John Lodge and Graeme Edge.

The Moody Blues continue to tour to this day, delighting fans young and old with some of the most inspiring and influential, if not always critically recognised, music of the rock'n'roll era - and, astonishingly, continuing to sell up to half a million albums from their back catalogue every year.

Asked for the secret to that success, Justin Hayward says: "I suppose it's our songs, and the way we interpret them, that has seen us travel so far. It means so much to us that some of our recordings have really meant something to some people."

And, as a footnote, they can make the rare, if not unique, claim of having gone almost 40 years without releasing a cover since 'Go Now' way back in 1964.

The Moody Blues will release a definitive career-spanning box set entitled Timeless Flight on June 3rd 2013. Housed in a beautifully designed, heavy duty LP-sized slipcase it contains 17 discs, including 11 audio discs of career highlights, rarities and live recordings including the previously unreleased live concert from Olympia, Paris in 1970.

Plus 3 DVDs of promo and TV appearances, and 3 now-deleted Surround Sound audio DVDs. Also packed full of collectibles and memorabilia including full colour tour poster, discography, a Timeless Flight fabric patch, 120-page hardback books, a press patch and more.

Click here to order a special edition version from The Boxset Store which comes with a reproduction of the C120 cassette the band were presented with by Commander Robert "Hoot" Gibson, which he had carried with him four of his space shuttle missions. But hurry, the special version ofTimeless Flight is limited to 300 copies only.

Wed 05 Jun 2013 @ New Theatre, Oxford Tickets Fri 07 Jun 2013 @ Cardiff St. David's Hall, Cardiff Tickets Sat 08 Jun 2013 @ LG Arena, Birmingham Tickets Sun 09 Jun 2013 @ Liverpool Philharmonic Hall, Liverpool Tickets Tue 11 Jun 2013 @ Newcastle City Hall, Newcastle Tickets Wed 12 Jun 2013 @ O2 Apollo, Manchester Tickets Fri 14 Jun 2013 @ Sheffield City Hall, Sheffield Tickets Sat 15 Jun 2013 @ Nottingham Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham Tickets Mon 17 Jun 2013 @ Ipswich Regent Theatre, Ipswich Tickets Tue 18 Jun 2013 @ Plymouth Pavilions, Plymouth Tickets Wed 19 Jun 2013 @ Bournemouth International Centre, Bournemouth Tickets Fri 21 Jun 2013 @ Brighton Centre, Brighton Tickets Sat 22 Jun 2013 @ The O2, London Tickets Sun 23 Jun 2013 @ Bristol Hippodrome, Bristol Tickets Tue 25 Jun 2013 @ Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam, Netherlands Tickets Wed 26 Jun 2013 @ Heineken Music Hall, Amsterdam, Netherlands Tickets