One of the reissues has an alternate mix, but that's also mono. I'm guessing that a lot of the multitracks from that era are gone or a stereo mix would have appeared by now (as was done with some other early Move tracks).
How can I support the artist if they don't release their music on CD? I don't own a turntable and if I did I would not pay 100 euros for a used LP, which would not be supporting the artist anyway. Do we know why it's never been on CD before? Same with the Mike Sheridan and the Nightriders recordings (I know there is a Rock In Beat CD with those recordings but I am not sure it is legit/legal?).
I don't believe any explanation has ever been given for why Mongrel's album has never seen a reissue, though I suspect it's the usual story of licensing issues, missing tapes or there not being the interest to justify releasing something that would have very little bonus content outside two single edits. As for Mike Sheridan's catalogue, that's in an equally messy state right now. Here's a 14-track compilation of his early work that was last released on CD in 2003, featuring additional liner notes from Roy Wood and Dave Pritchard: Mike Sheridan And The Nightriders / Mike Sheridan's Lot – Birmingham Beat (2003, CD) I've slowly been putting together a strictly unofficial collection of "Brum Beat" rarities, and I'm surprised no archival label has thought to do something quite similar. If you were to package such a set as being the roots of bands like The Moody Blues, The Move, Wizzard and ELO (to name some of the more well-known examples that have their origins in this scene), I can imagine it selling quite well. At a time where you need some gimmick or sheer scale to remain competitive, this would tick all the above boxes. Perhaps best of all, so much from that period has now fallen into the public domain, so it would only be a case of needing to bring in someone capable of locating the best sources, or even needledrops if absolutely necessary. This key piece of history is being allowed to become nothing more than precisely that, which is heartbreaking.
Hello Esoteric or President Records, if you are reading this, we want the Mongrel album on CD, from the original master tapes and with bonus tracks. Regarding Mike Sheridan, the rock in beat version also has 14 tracks, plus Price & Sheridan songs already on the "This is to certify" double CD. What about those 2 bonus tracks on the Idle Race double CD that when re released were removed? I don't think they are present in other CDs, right?
It's funny - most of The Move's stuff I don't care for at all, but Shazam is one of those magical records I never get tired of. It's been in my regular rotation for 50 years.
Those two tracks made up the last single released under the Nightriders name, though the line-up was closer to what became The Idle Race by that point. I'm not sure why they were removed from the reissue of that Back To The Story compilation, but I don't think they've resurfaced anywhere else. So many strange omissions, yet it's rare to get any solid explanation for why. (In that case, I think it was either a licensing matter or someone not wanting these on what is otherwise a strictly Idle Race set.)
Perhaps Jeff Lynne stopped them from being added? Weird with the countless 60s "Various artists" compilations on CD, these 2 tracks are nowhere else to be found so we have to seek out the old version of Back To The Story.
I saw them live numerous times locally before the 1st LP, and saw them again at a big local festival in the 1980s; I've HEARD their records from since then, just don't own them.
I've been on a big Roy Wood/Move kick lately. Wood was a one of a kind songwriting visionary with an extraordinary knack for melody. His best songs deliver a sense of joy and verve that never fails to put a smile on my face, though he throws some poignant melancholy and neurosis in the mix as well. I really need to round out my collection of his work, as I don't yet own Boulders. I was thinking of picking up that affordable 5 CD set that includes that along with Wizzard Brew and the first ELO album. Can anyone comment on the sound quality of this set?
Well, you don't need to physically own anything to hear them, at least. (All their modern-era records sound awful on CD anyway). But I think Rockford is genuninely their best record after the first four, and their newest one is quite good as well.
If Price could write, why didn't he write for The Move? It seems like Wood wasn't prolific enough to keep up, and no one else was writing. Once Lynne joined, they could keep up, but declined as a live outfit IMO. With Wayne they were cool live, with Lynne they were a lumbering mess.
As with other ELO-related sets of a similar nature, it takes the most recent remasters and puts these together for a decent price. Roy's material sounds fine, though the first ELO album suffers from some excessive noise removal and compression, but it's still a worthwhile investment overall. This seems to be something of a mystery. At one point, Shazam was going to be a double album with three very different approaches to songwriting. One side would be new tracks from Roy, the other was to consist of covers from the recent Move live repertoire, and a whole second disc would be dedicated to tracks penned by Dave Morgan and Richard Tandy. I'm not entirely sure what happened with that plan, yet a few of Dave's work has surfaced over the years, and it definitely shows promise. If anyone withdrew, it was Roy, who barely contributed anything to the resulting single LP, also beginning to start production of what became Boulders around the same time. Things picked up once Jeff entered the picture, which is likely because both were enthusiastic about pushing ahead with the ELO concept while also feeling the pressure was off as The Move. From that point, they were no longer concerned with touring or remaining commercial - we know The Move was something that remained in existence as a result of outstanding contractual obligations, so Jeff and Roy used this as an opportunity to experiment with any ideas that didn't fit either Boulders or ELO. Ironically, I've always thought that Looking On could have achieved Bev's dream of finally breaking into America if the group had bothered to invest the effort into promoting this album there, while Message From The Country ended up be the best thing they produced around that period (especially if you include those last few non-LP singles, as most reissues now do).
I just picked up Live at the Fillmore 1969 this week. I will probably post this in a guitar and bass forum as well, but can anyone describe the gear The Move used on the Live at the Fillmore 1969 recording? The liner notes describe them buying new gear when they arrived in NY. There's definitely some (Fender) 12 string, but not on every song, right? I hear a wah. The bass is frequently very distorted like the heavy sounds on the studio records. I'm guessing that if they bought new gear in the US then it would be Fender amps, but that's pure speculation on my part. What is the 6 string guitar? Is it tuned down? It frequently seems to have an almost baritone sound ("I Can Hear the Grass Grow"). Maybe the whole guitar is tuned down a step (not just drop-D)? As usual, they seem to have an extra layer of "heavy" in their sound that I love but can not duplicate.
The Move Complete Collection 1966-1970 [Limited Release] The Move CD Album This box set contains everything from the golden era (1966-1970) of The Move, the "godfathers of power pop" with Roy Wood, one of the UK's leading pop maestros. Contains 214 tracks (subject to change), includes every single AB-side/album track from 1966 to 1970 for Deram, Regal Zonophone, and Fly and more. 11 CDs. Remastered in 2022. Comes with lyrics and a description. Japanese original release.
IDK much about them other than they sort evolved into ELO and Roy Wood solo. But I can verify "Split Ends' is in my top 20 albums, and possibly top 10 to play loud, and "Message from the Country" is one of the greatest rock songs ever and probably inspires severe fright and envy in Pink Floyd for its incredible production Too bad about ELO's watered down version of 'Do Ya' . What was Jeff thinking?
From the track listing, it looks like everything has been previously released - but it's certainly the newest/best/most convenient way to grab a lot of the tracks exclusive to various out-of-print reissues across various labels - Repertoire, Salvo, etc; - such as the alternate mono mixes of 'Cherry Blossom Clinic' and 'Wild Tiger Woman', the Italian-language 'Something,' and the Carl Wayne vocal version of 'Fire Brigade' (all from Repertoire CDs), plus the instrumental 'Fire Brigade' and 2008 'Anthology'-exclusive tracks like 'Simple Simon' from the Salvo discs. The attention to detail in ensuring every single variation is here is surprising and phenomenal. The only thing missing would be some of the original 1968 stereo mixes for 'Move,' which have been mostly superseded and replaced by the 2008 stereo mixes (there's a couple where the Salvo, Esoteric and this set still use the original, such as 'Useless Information') - but that's definitely nitpicking when this is by far the most comprehensive and elaborately compiled set ever produced for this band! It's too bad that they couldn't get the EMI/Harvest material in such a release (but who ever thought that will happen?), but I look forward to this immensely and hope that the '2022 remasters' are good (or at least that the quality is relatively consistent throughout the set, considering it draws from a variety of sources!) The more details coming, the better - looking forward to this release just as much, if not maybe even more, considering the BBC material which we know exists but hasn't seen the (official) light of day yet, even after the extensive trawl that Esoteric came up with!
I like them. Their discography is quite solid considering they're more like a 3rd tier 60's rock band. The eccentric nature of their music makes each album unique. My only complaint is that their album covers suck. My favorite album of theirs is perhaps the debut followed by Shazam.
