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danasgoodstuff

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I like 'em enough that I own two discs: The Very Best of the Move (Metro), covering the early stuff, and Message From the Country (Capitol/EMI) which includes the title album and a selection of singles and unreleased tracks from the same era.

I definitely like the early, psychedelic stuff better, as I am not a big fan of the heavier '70s rock sound in general. But the later Move did heavy very well, with a welcome sense of humor.

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Don't know The Move that well, ut those early 70s Roy Wood albums have long been favorites of mine, especially Presenting Eddie The Falcons.

I never can tell if Wood was being extrememly droll or if he really was that daft and thought he was being normal and/or serious, but the end result is the same either way. The shit makes me grin inside.

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About 1973, when I was getting heavy into pop music, one of the radio stations here in KC distributed free copies every month of Phonograph Record Magazine. (Lester Bangs was among the writers.) The magazine was BIG on The Move. But of course, you couldn't hear their music on the radio here.

Luckily I found a promo single of "Tonight" in a charity sale before too long. Loved it to death.

It was followed by a thrift-shop single of "Fire Brigade." And the "Message from the Country" LP.

I remain a fan.

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i was a big fan of the move in the leat 60s/early 70s, and i own their four original lps: The Move, Shazam, Looking On, and Message From The Country. according to this website, salvo records in association with fly records was scheduled to release THE MOVE 40TH ANNIVERSARY SERIES on August 20th: the move online to answer your original questions, i like message the best. as far as songs go, It Wasn't My Idea To Dance, Do Ya, Brontosaurus, and Chinatown still do it for me.

Edited by jazzshrink
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The 40th Ann editions don't look to add that much to the 30th Ann stuff I have, so I guess I'll pass. Shazam is my fav, but it's the only one I owned back in the day. On the strange coincidence side, they covered both Love and the Moby Grape (and Jackie Wilson and Bach). If someone turns up tapes of their early mod motown covers band incarnation, I might buy that. Til then there's always the early Who and Small Faces (what other good examples of that mod sound are there?) And yes, I do think Wood really was that daft, in a good way...

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Well...this is well into speculative territory so all the usual caveats apply in full, but I think Wood was one of those inately musical people for whom the usual standards don't really apply and he was so far into his own little space that he didn't know/care how the lyrics would seem to others, notwithstanding that he may have been trying to some degree to be trippy, more Brian Wilson than Syd Barret - off, but functional, but definately off. Not surprising that he had a fascination with mental health issue - "Cherry Blossom Clinic Revisited", etc. The rest of band seem to be in a very different place, so down to earth that most of Wood's shit is just flying over their heads. And the Move's bouncing from one style to another has a definate Spinal Tap edge to it...in other words, the less tongue in cheek, the more strange...not that I have a romantic (in the kiterary sense) fascination with strange, but if the shoe fits...

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It was followed by a thrift-shop single of "Fire Brigade."

This reminds me that Paul Stanley said on the commentary track for the KISS: Kissology: Vol. 2: 1978-1991 DVD set that they made a cover of"Fire Brigade" into "Fire House." He has stated many times on the commentary tracks that Kiss were huge fans of The Move.

Maybe it is just me but it kind of surprised me.

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In the day, I had an English two-fer of The Move and Shazam. Loved Shazam. Cherry Blossom Clinic...yeah! What a great, thick sound they had. Great cover, too.

Always wanted to own Looking On and Message From The Country (didn't they duplicate some tracks?), but Capitol's distribution was spotty in those days, and I never managed to acquire them. I do think Roy Wood is a true talent, tho I don't quite understand why a true talent doesn't work regularly. The "reclusive genius" thing kinda creeps me out.

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Well...this is well into speculative territory so all the usual caveats apply in full, but I think Wood was one of those inately musical people for whom the usual standards don't really apply and he was so far into his own little space that he didn't know/care how the lyrics would seem to others, notwithstanding that he may have been trying to some degree to be trippy, more Brian Wilson than Syd Barret - off, but functional, but definately off. Not surprising that he had a fascination with mental health issue - "Cherry Blossom Clinic Revisited", etc. The rest of band seem to be in a very different place, so down to earth that most of Wood's shit is just flying over their heads. And the Move's bouncing from one style to another has a definate Spinal Tap edge to it...in other words, the less tongue in cheek, the more strange...not that I have a romantic (in the kiterary sense) fascination with strange, but if the shoe fits...

Yeah, ok, I can see that.

It's just that that stuff comes across as so droll, so sterotypically "dry" in a British kind of way that I myself have a hard time imagining it as being wholly serious, especially in light of the whole Wizzard thing. And I've commented before that I hear a lot of Lynne's ELO work as having the same dry drollness, that it's all a big. very subtle "serious joke".

But this might be a case of my limitations not letting me see the reality. Could be.

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