The Move

Discussion in 'Music Corner' started by TJ Smith, Oct 31, 2013.

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  1. R. Totale

    R. Totale The Voice of Reason

    For what it's worth, I've always heard

    as "I promise that it's light you go on seeing" but that's just me.
     
  2. nikh33

    nikh33 Senior Member

    Location:
    Liverpool, England
    Flowers in the Rain does earn considerable royalties, but not for Roy Wood, he gets nothing.
     
  3. Siegmund

    Siegmund Vinyl Sceptic

    Location:
    Britain, Europe
    Yes, forgot about that - Harold Wilson's favourite charities are still doing well out of Roy's youthful efforts.

    The others will make life comfortable, though - when you think that Peter Sarstedt had a money worries-free life on the basis of one hit song, what's your life like when you've had several hit songs?
     
  4. hayden10538

    hayden10538 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Essex, England
    As you can see by my avatar, I'm a Jeff Lynne fan, but, I much prefer pre-Jeff Move!

    The songs on the first album are much more focused, and I much prefer Carl Wayne's singing than Roy's rather nasally whine. Bev's drumming is also a highlight on songs such as I Can Hear The Grass Grow, Move, Yellow Rainbow, Disturbance and Vote For Me.

    I love Walk Upon The Water and The Girl Outside, although I do prefer the Alternative version of the latter found on the remasters as this was the first version I actually heard.

    Of the singles released, I love Fire Brigade and I Can Hear The Grass Grow.
     
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  5. Here's a new documentary series on the music of Birmingham that started just last week, co-hosted by none other than Bev Bevan of The Move and ELO! In the first episode alone, he shares a few recollections of the early "Brum Beat" scene, including some truly amazing stories about the less glamorous side of this amazing breeding ground for a diverse range of artists in the '60s:

    Catch Up | Made In Birmingham
     
  6. sixelsix

    sixelsix Forum Resident

    Location:
    memphis, tn, usa
    There was a particularly good cover story in Shindig in about 2000, with lots of commentary from Carl Wayne. I'll have to see if I can dig up my copy. I do remember a fair amount of it, though.
     
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  7. Billo

    Billo Forum Resident

    Location:
    Southern England
    In some ways The Move are almost like a British version of The Byrds (a couple of whose songs they covered) and there are some parallels in each band's careers

    both start out as a five piece, then become a quartet, have a number of personnel changes that alter their sound, they alter their musical style notably (Country Rock / Heavier Rock etc) and both have a key 'mainman' figure present throughout ...both groups even do one album as a trio !

    and both bands have a noted figure join them later (Gram Parsons / Jeff Lynne)

    each made classic hits and both bands in some ways failed to reach their true potential as they each were capable of even more as at their best both groups were really innovative

    Roy Wood was a strong composer but not as prolific as say Ray Davies, Pete Townshend etc...hence the later albums had longer extended tracks but at his best Roy wrote some really memorable classic mid to late sixties / early seventies Move hits (and Amen Corner had a big UK hit with a cover of his 'Hello Suzie' too)


    Born from an amalgamation of key figures from several noted groups in their home city of Birmingham (the UK Midlands city) or 'Brum' as known here "moving" down to swinging sixties London - hence the group name - they were initially managed by the controversial Tony Secunda, whose ideas for gimmicks quickly got them noticed for things such as signing contracts written out on the bodies of pretty scantily clad female models, dressing the band up as American gangsters, then as hippies....and a notorious publicity stunt to plug 'Flowers in The Rain' that mis-fired badly....as we all know


    'Night of Fear' and 'I Can Hear The Grass Grow' with drug overtones saw them blast their way onto the UK pop scene...and 'Flowers in The Rain' opened BBC's Radio One station in 1967

    'Fire Brigade' with it's Eddie Cochran / Duane Eddy feel and then riskay lyrics was a big UK hit 'But 'Wild Tiger Woman' - urged by bassist Trevor Burton - flopped in 1968 and tho' a more pop flavoured 'Blackberry Way' then topped the UK chart...followed by the poppier 'Curly' in 1969

    just like The Byrds egos and bitter personality clashes plus arguments re their musical direction as they veered uneasily from underground music to pop hits and back plus from a heavier sound to a symphonic one (anticipating ELO with 'Blackberry Way') eventually tore the original band apart - bassist Trevor Burton even walked offstage during 'Blackberry Way' he loathed it so much...

    lead singer Carl Wayne drifted away to cabaret following the band's disasterous brief venture into that idiom too...

    Roy and drummer Bev Bevan re-built the band with bassist/singer Rick Price and ex-Idle Race guitarist/singer Jeff Lynne and had a belated period of success, and achieved some American notice at last too ("Do Ya' sung by Jeff) ...but by then ELO loomed large for Jeff and initially Roy too

    Chris 'Ace' Kefford sang 'Yellow Rainbow' and the vocal tag lines; 'just about to flip your mind' on 'Night of Fear' while Trevor Burton sang 'Weekend' and 'The Girl Outside'

    Roy sang 'Fire Brigade' (Carl on the bridge section) and 'Blackberry' Way'

    Carl sang 'Night of Fear', 'Grass Grow', 'Flowers in The Rain' and 'Curly'(with Roy on bridge vocal in the latter two)

    I love their 'Byrds-ish' jangly guitar version of 'The Last Thing on My Mind' sung by Carl and Roy (whose voices could blend superbly into one vocal sound)

    Bev Bevan had wanted Roy's song 'Omnibus' to be the 1968 single instead of 'Wild Tiger Woman' - I agree with Bev !

    after later UK hits 'Brontosaurus', 'Tonight', 'China Town' for a brief period ELO and The Move co-existed with a USA parody rocker 'California Man' featuring saxes (anticipating Roy's Wizzard sound) being The Move's swansong

    then it was ELO, Wizzard, plus Roy having a noted solo career in the UK for a few more years thereafter

    Carl Wayne later succeeded Allan Clarke fronting The Hollies - where he sang 'Grass Grow', 'Flowers' and 'Blackberry Way' in concerts in tribute to The Move until his sad shock death from throat cancer in mid 2004

    A decent 'Move Live at The Fillmore' CD was later salvaged as Carl had thankfully kept the tapes for decades...and was dedicated to Carl, Roy, Bev, and Rick
     
    Last edited: Mar 29, 2017
  8. marmil

    marmil It's such a long story...

    What bothers me is that one of the Harvest singles (Down On The Bay) seems to be the only Move track that hasn't been recently reissued. Just doesn't make sense...Also, I've always thought the 2nd verse of MFTC was "Got news from your mother" but of course I could be wrong. The new MOV 180g version of Shazam is quite good. Can't say for sure that it's from absolute 1st gen masters but it doesn't sound digitally (to me). Anyone else heard it?
     
    Last edited: Mar 29, 2017
  9. hayden10538

    hayden10538 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Essex, England
    You're not wrong, here's the (virtually) correct lyrics:

    Lyrics: Message From The Country

    Clear the road i'm coming
    Clear the road i'm coming
    Clear the road i'm coming along

    Got news from your mother
    Got news from your mother
    Got news from your mother tonight

    Sister, I have touched the evergreen
    And I promise that it's life should go unseen
    Bow its ? and burns upon the fire
    And the message from the country rises higher

    Hear the bird's a-calling
    Hear the bird's a-calling
    Hear the bird's a-calling for life

    Message from the country
    Message from the country
    Message from the country rises higher
     
  10. tages

    tages Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    A million thanks for posting this interview. I've just heard part one and it's fascinating (heartbreaking too). Such a shame that mental illness was so misunderstood back then. With the right support and medication he would've been fine. Instead he got pop stardom, jealousy, and LSD.

    The original Move were just phenomenal.
     
  11. Roy had plenty of unreleased material during The Move's later years, but he was stockpiling much of this for what became his first solo album, Boulders, and ELO's debut, both projects that were already in the making, not to mention he started planning to launch Wizzard around the same period as well. Shazam was nearly issued as a double LP set, or at least that was until the group lost confidence in their original concept, leaving off recent singles and outtakes from the Something Else live EP, along with several tracks written by Dave Morgan (who also penned Something, the b-side to Blackberry Way). Although it's often considered their best effort, just think of how much greater this one title alone could have been...
     
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  12. beccabear67

    beccabear67 Musical omnivore.

    Location:
    Victoria, Canada
    Didn't know about that Roy Wood book either, can say I have found one, they seem to be easily found.

    I'm kind of not liking Carl Wayne (r.i.p.) based on interviews in old Rave and Beat Instrumental magazines. It seemed like he (or the Tony Secunda pushing him trying to be another Andrew Oldham) was saying things that were abrasive and contrary just to get attention, dissing other artists too, and he came off as a jerk frankly. In later interviews he isn't like that though. That one stunt where they were supposed to take a fake atomic bomb to downtown and get the attention of the local constabulary was another manager instigated publicity stunt, but at least that one was funny. They smashed up cars and tv sets and things on stage. I read something about them burning Harold Wilson in effigy one place but can't confirm, but there was that very rude postcard they ended up paying dearly for.
     
    Last edited: Mar 29, 2017
  13. tages

    tages Senior Member

    Location:
    Seattle
    I sure would love to know what that original track line up for SHAZAM would've been (if it got that far).
     
  14. Siegmund

    Siegmund Vinyl Sceptic

    Location:
    Britain, Europe
    Bevan was their secret weapon. He was a rock drummer in a pop group. The aggression he put into the Move rhythm section made those records sound edgier - the fills in I Can Hear The Grass Grow, the snare work in Blackberry Way. Theoretically, these were great pop songs that only needed adequate backing but Bevan, in particular, gave something extra.
     
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  15. Siegmund

    Siegmund Vinyl Sceptic

    Location:
    Britain, Europe
    Carl Wayne became a born-again Christian in later life.

    Although he was the frontman, he was the least important member of the band and his cabaret instincts put him in conflict with Wood and the others.
     
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  16. beccabear67

    beccabear67 Musical omnivore.

    Location:
    Victoria, Canada
    I like Bevan best because he often was smiling in the early photos even though Secunda had told them all never to smile. Guess he was just a happy guy! :cool:
     
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  17. npgchris

    npgchris Forum Resident

    Excellent observations!

    If I ever start my "Bev Bevan Appreciation Thread" here, I'll recruit you to get us off to a good start! :righton:
     
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  18. hayden10538

    hayden10538 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Essex, England
    Just been playing Shazam, the 2007 remaster.

    I've got to say I really enjoyed this album. Although some of the songs are twice (and in some cases thrice) the length of those on their eponymous debut, they don't outstay their welcome. My favourite Move song of all is their cover of Ars Nova's 'Fields Of People'. I just love the song, even Carl's vocal interjections don't mar my love for this song. When I transferred this to my hard drive I did edit the raga ending off and made this a separate standalone tune.

    The reworked Cherry Blossom Clinic Revisited is IMO much better than the first album version. The extended length allows the song to breathe, and adding quotes from Bach's Ode To Joy brings a new dimension to the tune.

    The psychedelic backward guitar section in the Tom Paxton cover 'The Last Thing On My Mind' is another highlight, and the cover itself is fantastic.

    Dave Morgan's B-side ballad 'This Time Tomorrow' is beautiful and, IMO, should've been the A-side. It's miles better than 'Curly'.

    The same goes for 'Omnibus'! why this was stuck on the B-side, when it's far superior to 'Wild Tiger Woman' is one of life's mysteries! :shrug:
     
  19. SonicBob

    SonicBob Forum Resident

    Location:
    West Virginia
    I've been listening to the Move's debut album(mono master on CD with 5 bonus tracks) since last week peripherally, and I've really been digging it more with each rotation as this is my introduction to them. I've known of them for years, and I've been meaning to check out some of Roy Wood's post-Move efforts like Wizzard; I've never even listened to the debut ELO album either. So, I saw this thread was active and figured I'd give my two cents worth. I was going to pick Shazam first, but debut albums sometimes can decide whether or not the band is worth pursuing further in the catalog.

    I really like the debut and from some of the opinions in this thread, it looks like most of their output is worth checking out completely. As it was a few years ago with The Pretty Things and the Pink Fairies, so it is with Roy Wood and The Move!
     
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  20. beccabear67

    beccabear67 Musical omnivore.

    Location:
    Victoria, Canada
    I think my favorite song of theirs (this moment) is Killroy Was Here!
     
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  21. SonicBob

    SonicBob Forum Resident

    Location:
    West Virginia
    I really dig "Weekend" through to "Hey Grandma" in the tracklist. The only song I dislike is "Zing Went the Strings...."; the band really had something special going on with the first album. I'm actually listening to "Message from the Country" via youtube right now. I've jumped a bit forward here, but I wanted to compare and contrast the band's rapidly changing evolution; earlier I checked out ELO's debut as well, but I'll have to give it another listen, parts of it grabbed me, other parts didn't.
     
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  22. R. Totale

    R. Totale The Voice of Reason

    It's not a popular opinion, but I love all of Bev's vocal features, the Duke of April's lettuce, and "My Marge". A lot of bands take themselves a bit too seriously.
     
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  23. hayden10538

    hayden10538 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Essex, England
    I think you mean The Duke Of Edinburgh's Lettuce, the hidden track at the end of the Looking On album!

    Mind you, the Duke Of April does sound better!

    :righton:
     
  24. R. Totale

    R. Totale The Voice of Reason

    I've always heard "April" but decoding Move lyrics as, as we've seen, a mug's game.

    PS, it wasn't a "hidden track" on the LP, it's just...there.
     
  25. hayden10538

    hayden10538 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Essex, England
    It's classed as a hidden track as it's not listed as a song in its own right on the back cover or on the label!

    :D
     
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