THE MOVE

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In the cinematic classic "This is Spinal Tap" there's a segment during which the mock-documentary takes a look back at the group's simple beginnings by showing a clip of their appearance on a far-out, Shindig-like program, performing their first hit, "(Listen to the) Flower People." It's embarrassingly silly and horribly dated. In real life, however, that scenario hits uncomfortably close to home for The Move's debut LP. Somewhat like their U.S. counterparts, the nightclub act Paul Revere & the Raiders, the band was able to consistently scale the pop charts but no one took them very seriously. Roy, Carl, Trevor, Bev and "Ace" were just young, fledgling musicians playing in Birmingham dives when they got discovered by manager Tony Secunda. He goaded them to garner public visibility by pulling sensational stunts like smashing TV sets on stage with axes and slandering the prime minister with naughty photos. He also encouraged leader Roy Wood to write radio-friendly songs that sounded like what was "happening" on the Top 40. The problem with that tactic is that by the time you get the tune on the airwaves the trend you're aping is already on the way out so you end up following popular culture instead of leading it. Like bubblegum music, a catchy ditty would often get you into the higher echelons of the charts but few would remember the song a year later.

Recorded in late 1967 and released early the following year, this album has very little to do with anything vaguely related to progressive rock and is only listed on this site because of the band's later three studio projects. Its only usefulness is to demonstrate how far the group had to go to be able to make the excellent proto-prog music they ended up creating. So make no mistake, it's not very good and I wouldn't recommend that anyone except die-hard fans shell out their hard-earned moola for it. I bought it a long time ago, thinking their early stuff might be interesting. Wrong. "Then why review an album you don't like?" some may ask. My answer is that in the genre of progressive rock there are few recordings that don't have at least some redeeming qualities to elevate it above the mundane tastes of the rabble of society so most of my critiques tend to praise rather than bury. Therefore, when I get an opportunity to be sarcastic and poke good-natured fun at a band I truly adore I'm not about to let my chance go by. So consider yourself forewarned. This could get ugly.

"Yellow Rainbow," with its 60s apocalypse-loitering-right-around-the-corner message is trite and instantly forgettable. For some unknown reason they opted to start the album off with their bassist, Chris "Ace" Kefford, singing lead vocals (He would never be featured in that role again). I guess the fact that they had two capable lead singers in Carl Wayne and Roy Wood escaped them. One peculiar aspect of the tune is the fact that the background chorus sounds like it was recorded live in the plaza of Munchkin land using the native population. Either that or everyone at the mike was on amphetamines. "Kilroy Was Here" follows and it's a better song but we might as well be comparing dirt clods. Drummer Bev Bevan is firmly in his element on this tune because all he's asked to do is play bass drum and snare and avoid veering too far away from the tempo. "(Here We Go Round) The Lemon Tree" is next and it is bubblegum pop on a par with the artistic contributions of The Archies as far as profundity goes. The inclusion of a string quartet is its only saving grace but the classically- trained musicians involved must have left the studio wondering how their professional reputations had managed to sink to the deck of the Titanic.

In another democratic act of sharing the spotlight and handing the microphone around to every standing member, rhythm guitarist Trevor Burton gets to warble away on their cover of Eddie Cochran's "Weekend," a 50s rockabilly ditty that shows where Joan Jett got her melody ideas for "Bad Reputation." Yet given what we've slogged through so far, it's not half bad. And one should be thankful for that because "Walk Upon the Water" digresses back into Partridge Family territory with its nauseating campfire sing-along spirit and groovy lyrics. Ironically, the horribly off-key bugle blowing mindlessly at the end is the best part of the track. "Flowers in the Rain" was a #2 hit in England and it really makes one wonder what the Brits were stuffing in their pipes at that time because it is pitiful pop complete with cheesy storm sounds scattered throughout. This is the kind of empty fluff that caused punk rock to happen. Their surprisingly credible version of Moby Grape's "Hey Grandma" is an oasis in a desert of absurdity but the tune's less-than-tricky accents prove to be too much for the hit-drum-go- boom approach of Bev on his kit and his sloppy fills keep it from rising above passable. Bless his heart. Mickey Dolenz of the Monkees would've aced it.

The escalator only goes down from there to "Useless Information," a piss-poor social commentary song that makes me wonder if Roy had been listening to too many Donovan records in those days. Be afraid, be very afraid. Speaking of scary, the mike gets passed back to Mr. Bevan next for their nostalgic cover of The Coasters' "Zing! Went the Strings of my Heart" and, as undeveloped as his baritone voice is, it's still a step up from his percussion acumen. This doo-wop number would have been right at home on the great Frank Zappa's "Ruben & The Jets" song list but as such it would've been an obvious put-on. I get the feeling that these guys were serious. Strings as syrupy as the state of Vermont glut the corny "The Girl Outside," an undisguised rip off of Peter & Gordon schlock. Diabetics should avoid listening to it at all costs.

The alarming but fun "Fire Brigade" just may be the best tune on the album when taking its competition into consideration. It also reached #2 on the charts and is probably more deserving of that accomplishment than its predecessor. It at least has an interesting chord progression, a Duane Eddy twangy thang going on, a decent melody and possesses a scintilla of imagination. A harpsichord, the Titanic string quartet and the lack of anything drum-related make "Mist on a Monday Morning" a decent cut despite the quaint but overbearing English upper-class-chamber-in-the-days-of-yore atmosphere. Yet it's almost good and, at this juncture, I'll take it. The tiring journey ends with "Cherry Blossom Clinic" (not to be confused with the exciting extended version they recorded for the "Shazam" LP), an incredibly over-produced mess with a plethora of blaring, tinny brass guaranteed to induce multiple migraines. I'm sure they were trying to be hip and psychedelic in an "All You Need is Love" kinda way but they failed miserably.

Okay, so I might've been a little rough on my boys in my review. I meant no permanent harm and still hope we can have a beer together sometime. The Move is far from being the only band who released a debut album that requires one to suppress the gag reflex while listening to it but theirs is one for the ages. The good news is that they hung in there and got a lot better in a short amount of time. It's also true that several of the songs from their formative hit single days ("Night of Fear," "I Can Hear the Grass Grow" and their sole #1 "Blackberry Way" in particular) are keepers but didn't make it onto this LP. While I hope that many of you sample the later works of The Move and thereby reap the rewards that come with that adventure, my advice is that you start anywhere but here and explore this album only if you want to dig through this group's dirt. So why two stars? I only reserve the dreaded lone star designation for those bands/artists who should know better and should be ashamed of themselves for selling manure. These boys did the best they could with what they had. As JC said, "Forgive them, for they know not what they do."

Moving west

Formed in Birmingham UK in 1968, the Move brought in members from other local bands including Mike Sheridan's Night Riders and Carl Wayne and the Vikings. Although Wayne was the lead singer, it was the multi-talented Roy Wood who shone brightest in the band. Wood quickly become the principal songwriter, penning the band's succession of UK chart hits (success in the US completely eluded the Move). Initially, the focus was on recording singles and touring to promote them, with songs such as "Night of fear and "I can hear the grass grow" raising their profile rapidly. While the band's initial influences were primarily from Motown soul, they quickly moved towards the American West with their sound (and ultimately ended up firmly back in Britain with the latter day Beatles). One of the Move's biggest claims to fame from this period is that their third single "Flowers in the rain" was the first song to be played on Radio 1, the BBC's tardy answer to pirate radio.

It took until 1968 for this the Move's first album to be released, around the same time as their "Something else" EP. The album consists primarily of Roy Wood songs, along with three cover versions. Two of these tracks, "Flowers in the rain" and "Fire brigade" were issued as singles, with a third intend single "Cherry blossom clinic" being aborted due to the controversial lyrical content.

As a whole, this album is largely a summary of the band's journey up to this point. It contains little of the proto prog which would appear on later albums, with virtually all the songs here having singles potential. The vocal strengths of the band are highlighted on songs such as "Yellow rainbow" where Wayne sings lead on the verses and Wood on the choruses. The lyrics of songs such as "Here we go round the lemon tree" highlight Wood's wonderful appetite for humour in his writing.

For some reason, "Walk upon the water" has always been a personal favourite. This slice of psychedelic pop has a rather sinister undercurrent in the lyrics, quite at odds with the jaunty melody. "The girl outside" is something of an odd man out, being an orthodox 60's ballad sung by Wayne alone. On the other hand, the Roy Wood sung "Fire brigade" with its sound effects and amusing lyrics sounded quite different at the time of its release, and stormed up the singles chart.

Of the three cover versions, "Weekend" is a straightforward cover of the Eddie Cochran rock and roll number, complete with sha-la-las and hand claps. Wood would return to that period a number of times over his career. "Hey grandma" is a Moby Grape song, emphasising the Move's west coast influences. The song actually sounds more like Simon and Garfunkel's "Keep the customer satisfied" than anything else. The final cover sees Bev Bevan unwisely attempting to offer a new take on the Coaster "Zing went the strings of my heart".

Overall, this is an album which is totally pop focused, and indeed was the only Move album to enjoy chart success. The quality of the music is however superb, with Roy Wood's abundant talent for song writing being exploited in the fine arrangements and accomplished playing. The apparent simplicity of the product to some extent disguises an underlying depth of talent. Listen to some of 10CCs album for example and the similarities become apparent.

The reissues of the album on CD include a plethora of bonus tracks. These are mainly alternative versions and mixes of tracks on the album, however the appearance of "Vote for me", the "lost" B-side" of "Cherry blossom clinic" is worth looking out for.

The Move is the self-titled full-length studio album by UK rock act The Move. I have a 2007, 2 disc version where disc 1 contains the original album plus some single only songs and disc 2 contains a stereo version of the album. The Move features among others Roy Wood and Bev Bevan who would later be members of Electric Light Orchestra.

I was listening to the album yesterday and my parents came to visit so I asked my father if he knew The Move ( I had never heard about the band before finding them on PA) and he said sure. He was even able to hum a few of the songs from this album and I bet it´s about 35 - 40 years since he heard those songs the last time. That must be some indication that the music on the album has a lasting quality but actually that was not my first impression or my last to be honest ( sorry Dad). The music is not very original and considering that the album was recorded in 1967 and released in 1968 I expected much more. The music on this album sounds more like it was released in 1964 or maybe 1965. Mostly uptempo beat rooted in r´n´b, strict vers/ chorus formulaic structures and a strong emphasis on vocals. The instrumental side of the music plays second fiddle to the vocals. The many harmony vocals on the album are actually quite impressive but this was not an unusual feature in those days. The songs don´t stand out much from each other but the doo wop song Zing! Went the Strings of my Heart, which is kind of silly, and the slightly interesting Mist on a Monday Morning were songs that I noticed.

The production allright but nothing special.

The Move isn´t the most exciting album from 1968 and it sounds like The Move came a few years too late with this release. It´s not obnoxious or anything like that and a 2.5 - 3 star rating is not wrong IMO.