MOVE

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 intended 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.

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