While most rock songs were still recorded in mono, Decca Records wanted the Moody Blues to record a rock version of Dvorak so it could demonstrate its stereo systems and prove that rock & roll could sound as good as classical music in stereo. This heavily orchestrated tune transformed the band from a decent R&B act to psychedelic prog rockers. "We'd recorded together before, and what came out was good but not magic," Moodies singer/flautist Ray Thomas told Rolling Stone, noting that they cried when they first heard it. "But this, we felt, was different."