Any Move fans here?

[arturs]

Any Move fans here? I've heard about them forever but never actually heard a song until a few days ago. Thanks to Beat Club.

So tight and great harmonies, but no hits in the USA??! These guys were badasses....

[Mister Triscuits]

I saw this photo posted on Facebook yesterday. Half the comments on it were "Who the fuck is Carl Wayne?"

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[jake]

Been a fan of the Move for nearly 50 years. They really had a split personality - releasing very poppy singles but much heavier, darker albums. The early years were dominated by Roy Wood’s writing but once Jeff Lynne joined they kinda split the songwriting and lead vocals between the two. They only released 4 albums - the Move - Shazam - Looking On and Message from the Country. A live album was released long after they broke up. Eventually they would evolve into the ELO with Roy Wood leaving after their 1st album to form the more poppy Wizzard. Wood also had a solo career specializing in albums where he would play all the instruments. I love it all.

[spellbound]

Great band. Love 'em. I remember having an 8-track tape of some of their best songs, that I never tired of hearing. When I eventually gave away my 8-tracks, I was never able to find that album again. But I probably have all those songs now.

[Lopez]

Been a fan of the Move for nearly 50 years. They really had a split personality - releasing very poppy singles but much heavier, darker albums. The early years were dominated by Roy Wood’s writing but once Jeff Lynne joined they kinda split the songwriting and lead vocals between the two. They only released 4 albums - the Move - Shazam - Looking On and Message from the Country. A live album was released long after they broke up. Eventually they would evolve into the ELO with Roy Wood leaving after their 1st album to form the more poppy Wizzard. Wood also had a solo career specializing in albums where he would play all the instruments. I love it all.

Same here; love every bit of the Move and all its predecessors and splinters. Don't forget the final, more-or-less late-period singles compilation album Split Ends and the live EP Something Else from the early-period Move.

[syncopatico]

The title track from The Move's 'Looking On' and 'Life Is Wonderful' from Roy Wood Super Wizzo Band [play this one at my funeral please ] are two of my all time favs! (Both are extended tracks, with some proggy-type passages showcasing Wood's instrumental prowess.)

[jake]

Yep Looking On is probably their least talked-about release and for me it has some real treasures. It featured some of the most proggy pieces - especially with abrupt tempo and mood changes within the same song - also had just about the rudest bass guitar sound ever recorded. One of my faves from that album is Open Up Said the World at The Door which had some great oboe playing by Roy -

[Piskie]

One of my first albums was the budget music for pleasure label Fire Brigade album - great stuff. Still got it here somewhere! And a bit more since!

[JJ88]

Definitely. They had a near-perfect run of singles. I think their albums were worthwhile- they weren't purely defined by their singles- but patchy. The blend of 'heavy' tracks and goofy parodies/interludes is somewhat uneasy, IMHO.

Famously their 'Flowers In The Rain' was the first record played on the BBC's 'pop' radio station Radio 1.

and the live EP Something Else from the early-period Move.

Something Else...- fairly late in the day for an EP- is an insight into their eclectic choice of cover versions in their stage act. Jerry Lee Lewis, Love, Spooky Tooth...

I know that subsequent releases have the full Marquee gig which includes a couple of their hits, but I've only heard the covers (the original EP and then others which were released in the 90s).

Interesting that they were also doing The Nazz's 'Open My Eyes' live, as The Move were themselves an influence on Rundgren (see his 'Do Ya' cover).

[arturs]

So far my Move listening has largely been limited to the Beat Club versions of the early, psych pop singles. They are uniformly great.

Esoteric has re-issued all their albums with a boatload of bonus tracks. The first album, which contains several of these singles, is available with 52 bonus tracks. Not kidding... Total overkill I know but it is under $25 so not much more than a full-price CD. Does the quality remain pretty high on the non-hit singles or is there a steep dropoff? If this gets a thumbs up from you all it will be my first purchase.

[Bake 2]

As a fairly isolated American grade schooler in the UK, seeing the Move on Top of The Pops and hearing them on the radio made 66 to 69 a lot cooler than it would have been otherwise. Later was blown away by how heavy and progressive they were w/ Looking On. Too bad it's such a muddy recording. Still like it a lot more than anything I've heard from ELO.

[JJ88]

Does the quality remain pretty high on the non-hit singles or is there a steep dropoff? If this gets a thumbs up from you all it will be my first purchase.

Yes, all the albums are worth having. On the debut there's a few stupid rock 'n' roll covers but also things like 'Yellow Rainbow', 'Useless Information', 'Kilroy Was Here', 'Here We Go Round The Lemon Tree' and 'Walk Upon The Water'. The latter two were also single B sides at the time.

I wouldn't say any one of the albums stands out above the others. They have downsides, but equally a lot to like that you wouldn't get on a standard 'best of'.

[Mister Triscuits]

On the debut there's a few stupid rock 'n' roll covers

"Weekend"? That's a great stupid rock 'n' roll cover.

[pb2015]

The debut has a cover of Moby Grape's "Hey Grandma" (that I recall as good, but basically just like the original) where the liner notes to the deluxe set mention that no one remembers why it made the album.

[JJ88]

"Weekend"? That's a great stupid rock 'n' roll cover.

Eh, I prefer the original. ISTR 'Zing Went...' was basically modelled after The Coasters' better version as well.

The debut has a cover of Moby Grape's "Hey Grandma" (that I recall as good, but basically just like the original) where the liner notes to the deluxe set mention that no one remembers why it made the album.

I like the live covers EP, but not the covers on the debut. Really it would have been better to have included the other singles instead of these. At least CD reissues include everything.

[pb2015]

I heard the full length version of the gig they used for that EP and it was fun. Although it was becoming uncool to do covers, they crushed 'em at that gig.

[Scrotum Scissor]

Yep.

The Best of The Move, their '74 A&M US compilation of singles/hits/b-sides, remains one of the great anthologies of the era - and Lord knows there were lots of those (another tremendous one I recently revisitet is The Best of Traffic). And Shazam contains some splendidly proto-progressive glimpses and playing plus stupendous production for the time, including the spectacle of "Fields of People" et al. I was probably less inclined to be convinced by their attemptive transition into a hard-rock/proto-glam band with Looking On, although it's certainly got a couple of fine tracks as well.

[loshammeros]

Cherry Blossom Clinic!!!