I am sadly resigned to the fact that the closest I will ever get to seeing the Move was seeing the first Electric Light Orchestra tour.
Happy to say, as with all of the other Move reissues on Esoteric, this is newly remastered from the original tapes - and it sounds absolutely astounding. The detail is insane, without taking away the thumping grandiosity of the Spector-like production values. I have the German CD on Jet Records from the 80s, which actually sounds really nice but this new Esoteric one blows any other previous version I've heard out of the water. It's just wonderfully dynamic...! The reproduction of the artwork on the front and back cover is also top notch and with these rare singles included, it's a must-have and the definitive version of the album as far as I'm concerned. It is a little confusing that they opted to use the exact same bonus tracks, and in the same order, as the 2006 on Edsel but this is definitely a new remaster and I can't recommend purchasing it highly enough...!
Found a budget cassette on Pickwick in about 1984. Had heard of them for yrs but had never heard their music. About 10 seconds in I could tell...this is REALLY good...loved it. Still do! All that great music I had missed out on over the yrs.
The Move are often overlooked though. When I was in my mid to late teens in the early 90s I was starting to get very into 60s music. I found out about things through books and music magazines but never read about The Move anywhere. It was years before I heard anything besides Flowers In The Rain and Blackberry Way. Compared to how long I've liked the other successful British bands of that era, The Move are a relatively recent discovery for me. I finally got into them through finding a horribly scratched and worn but listenable copy of their debut LP cheap. I loved it so much I paid much more to upgrade it. The recent Esoteric remasters are sublime. I just wish Message From The Country would get a similar reissue. I do have the LP.
Just getting into these guys and loving it so far. Started with the Best Of since it contained their first album, moving onto Shazam!
Why was "Flowers In The Rain" chosen to be the first record played on BBC Radio 1? You'd think that honor should have gone to The Beatles.
Anybody know why much of The Move material isn't available on streaming sites anymore? There are a couple of interesting 50th anniversary singles though but no original mixes.
I don't remember the *exact* specifics of it, but somehow the rights to their music on digital isn't equivalent to the rights for their music on physical platforms, so while the main catalogue (excluding most, or all, of the Harvest material) has been issued on multiple labels on CD/vinyl in the last decade or so, the digital/streaming rights remain with Fly Records who apparently only has real access to Shazam and Looking On - so both of those albums in their 2008 Salvo remasters are still on streaming services, as well as the Live At The Marquee album (also the 2008 remaster from the 'Anthology' box) and some of the stuff from the first album. They did more recently upload the 'Blackberry Way' with Roy's 2011 overdubs (I don't know how they got it, but they did apparently...!) and also a '50th anniversary' version of Flowers In The Rain (which is just the 2007 stereo mix from the 40th anniversary release...) It's a shame these licensing things can't be worked out completely, as the Esoteric remasters (and hugely expanded tracks) are wonderful and sound great - and equally, get the licensing to Message From The Country with the other three albums so they could all be in the same series and purchased together. Esoteric got the rights to all of the non-album single material on Harvest (plus 'Ella James' to boot!) but not the whole album. A real shame, but I'll live in hope Esoteric gets 'Message' and all of their editions make it to digital one day... Until then, you can buy the 2005 expanded 'Message' on iTunes and Amazon Music, but is currently removed on Spotify.
A good few years ago I bought a Harvest CD compilation, which mentioned in the sleeve notes that they had found the original multitracks to 'California Man' after the release had been compiled and pressed, and that extracts from the sessions would make it on to a subsequent release. Does anyone know if this was released?
I think The Move failed because they were basically a supergroup, not tight enough together. Way too much time between the S/T and Shazam. No one other than Wood wrote, or was allowed to write, and he wasn't prolific enough. Replacing Wayne with Lynne improved the songwriting output but hurt the live act. Wood and Lynne were never destined to coexist in a band anyway.
The Move were a great singles group for a few years, but really should have achieved more, given the talent available. As pop albums were becoming more popular after Sgt Pepper and buying habits were changing, the Move got left behind and stuck with singles. Until relatively recently it was difficult to find any Move CDs at all, but they deserved better, as they made great music.
Sometime in the early 1980s at a market I picked up a 7-inch acetate of Fire Brigade. Real cheap. Something like 30p. Played it once. Then I sold it elsewhere for a lot more. The stall owner didn't know what they had. They had all sorts. Some clothes, some bric-a-brac and a box of vinyl, where I found the acetate. Mark E. Smith liked The Move a lot.
The Move is now supposed to be a chapter of ELO history. But it's a very good group. I also love the Idle Race's Birthday album.
I like The Move. Got a few different playlists I’ve created for my daughter who is 2. One of the playlists contains Wave The Flag & Stop The Train & Fire Brigade. She likes both songs, which I’m delighted about. Her musical education is well under way
I listen to the Move et al. just about every day. When Lynne got on board, the collaboration between him and Wood and their results/work is one of the most inspiring things I can think of. imo Lynne's output in 70-71 is the creative highlight of his long career, truly 'picking up where I Am The Walrus left off'. Also, that live version of "Fire Brigade" from the Marquee release 'took me by surprise'. I cannot believe how great they sound as a unit, especially Bevan.
I'm just happy to report that since I first posted in this thread a year or so ago, I have now acquired versions of the 4 studio albums, Magnetic Waves, and Something Else. Personally, I like the last 3 albums more than the earlier singles era, but it's all worthwhile IME. Sadly, it looks like the recent Fillmore CD is pretty hard to find now (at any sort of decent price). I should have bought it 2 years ago...(like some many other limited CDs)
Yes it is the recent Esoteric release has the original EP and the mixed from master tapes extras. Probably as Good as it gets for a reasonable price
There are two live Move CDs - Something Else, recorded at the Marquee (originally a 5-song EP, expanded to album length) ...and Live at the Fillmore 1969. The two albums are very different, but both recommended if you are a fan of the group.
Its a shame that there is not more live Move because what we have they sound like one hell of a live band. There are also some live in the studio takes on the DVD from the Magnetic Sounds compilation
