Customer Reviews

Movements

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The Move had a rather spotty career probably due to the fact that they never broke through in the least in the U.S. As a result, their material has been rather hard to find. That is why this release came as manna from heaven to one who feels that they created some of the greatest Pop/Rock gems of the 60's and 70's. To me, Roy Wood is simply the most underrated and overlooked musician/singer/songwriter of that era. This 3CD set attempts to rectify that by releasing almost everything The Move ever did: all the singles, the first album, "SHAZAM", "LOOKING ON", and "SOMETHING ELSE"...they're all here and they never sounded better. Check out "Cherry Blossom Clinic", "Yellow Rainbow", and "I Can Hear The Grass Grow" to hear some of the finest examples of psychedelic Brit-Pop. There's killer rockers like "Fire Brigade", "Hello Suzie", and "Omnibus" and delicate numbers like "Mist On a Monday Morning", "The Girl Outside", and "Beautiful Daughter". Songs like "Kilroy Was Here", "Useless Information", and "Curly" show a narrative gift worthy of Roy Wood's melodic invention. And of course there's "Blackberry Way" (a #1 hit in Britain). Their middle period stuff gets heavier, especially on "Brontosaurus" and "Feel Too Good" which find Jeff Lynne along for the ride. And the live "SOMETHING ELSE" tracks are a revelation, capturing the band in a hard rocking performance before a London Marquee Club audience. Throw in some rarities and B-sides and you have a great collection. While The Move as a musical unit were sometimes inconsistent, it is Roy Wood's craftsmanship which truly stands out and you will find no better examples of it than in this collection.

Though "Looking On" seemed then and now as a "contractual obligation fullfillment" album (they were changing labels in both the U.S. and Britian, I still think this collection shows just how great and influencial the Move were. It's got everything; all the singles, their first three albums (which includes the incredible "Shazam"), an expanded "Something Else", their raw but brilliant live at the Marquee EP.

The sound is inconsistant, sometimes not as good as other reissues, sometimes better. Regardless, just is a must for the Roy Wood fan, as it contains most of what made him a revered eccentric. The only time he matched his brilliance with the Move was when he made the "Boulders" album, a masterpiece.

For the Move completist, all you need is this collection and "Great Move", a collection which includes all late-period releases on United Artists.

Bev Bevan's matchless drumming, Roy's incredible songwriting and guitar playing. Truly, a great band.

my three favorite groups of the era are probably love, moby grape, and these guys. sad to say but most contemporary american rock fans havent heard of any of them. this collection contains the majority of the move's output, excepting the great message from the country album and 5 brilliant non lp tracks like tonight, do ya, and california man. nonetheless this is an amazing collection with some rarities like vote for me( a lost proposed b side for the withdrawn cherry blossom clinic single in 1967), some fine jackie wilson and denny laine covers( few groups of the time can compete with the excellence of the move when it comes tocover versions) and some alternate takes. all three move albums up to this point are included as well, the fine debut from 68, and 1970's superb shazam( which is disparaged for some reason in the liner notes) and underrated looking on lp, maybe their worst but still a hell of an album if you don't mind long songs. also the something else ep is here with a longer version of sunshine help me, the aforementioned covers, and a version of piece of my heart! the only thing wrong with this package is pedestrian liner notes . there simply isnt enough info on the band that their fans wouldn't know . otherwise, a fine job. hopefully more move material is out there waiting to be discovered, and by the way the 2 cd idle race compilation called back to the story should immediately be put back in print,( jeff lynne's amazing pre move aggregation), it is more than worth tracking down...

The Move is the ultimate cult band, and their work is hard to find. This is one of the most definitive collections if not the most. The problem is that Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne are both so eccentric, and their work spread across different record labels and legal disputes, that the one thing they need to do has not been done: put every bloody thing that was ever recorded by them before 1972 together in one set (Including the 'Holy Grail' of Move/ELO fans, the Idle Race albums. There is a great 2 CD set out there if you can find it, and it's brilliant.)

I've given this five stars mainly because it exists, and if you're a Move fan, you know well what I'm talking about. It's much better to get it all here than in bits and pieces, unless you're trying to collect the original albums as they were (you can do). Still I don't understand the absence of the Message From the Country album from this collection.

well, if you liked the late 60's music phenomenon you will definately like this album - its great! Roy Woods ability to pen some wonderful lyrics and put a nifty tune along to them is amazing. If that wasnt enough also present on many tracks is Jeff Lynne - another master producer of amazing material. So if you liked the flower power age, then this is for you, and if you liked it when the going got a little harder, and so did the music, you too will like this album.........cant you just hear that siren already wailing on Fire Brigade? Buy it!

The Move were sui generis-- nothing before or after remotely like them. Roy Wood, loony genius, wrote most of their stuff, and it's still fresh and fun 35 to 40 years later. Some below maintain that their "Looking On" album is somehow weak-- I couldn't disagree more. I'd call it a masterpiece. It's hard to find these days, but appears here in its entirety on CD 3-- I've listened to it hundred of times (just as I did when it first came out in 1970). Buy this set and then track down "Message From The Country" and you'll have pretty much all you need. Enjoy!

Crucially ignored in the US, loads of hits in Britain. Very excellent triple album (all the hits and more)

Members of this band are still working this material (notably the Roy Wood Big Band who also do new stuff).They get away with it because it's so good!

In Britain, the Move were leading 2nd. Division contenders (along with, say, the Small Faces and the Hollies) this album shows why.

As with all triple album retrospectives, there's also some dross (Bev Bevan singing "Zing Went the Strings of my heart", anyone?) but generally it works well as entertainment now, not just nostalgia......

Give it a listen if you can . If you've got 20+ bucks to spare, buy it .

"Movements" chronicles the Move's glory years with great affection -- the packaging, liner notes and presentation are solid, the newly-released material adds depth.

The running order is a little choppy, though, bouncing around from year to year. Something chronologically packaged would have been better in which to properly reflect on the tremendous creative twists -- pop, psychedelia, smarmy ballads, metal, soul, and, later, orchestral-based rock -- the band took in such a short period of time.

The first disc is pretty much all singles, the quirky hits in Britain (including a gem of a B-side in "Omnibus."); the second the fine proto-metal album "Shazam," more singles and outtakes from earlier years; the third, the album "Looking On (with Jeff Lynne now on board)" and maybe the best part of the whole collection -- an entire set from a 1968 live show at the Marquee that was featured in pieces on the EP "Something Else." It's all covers -- tunes from the Byrds and Love to Eddie Cochran -- but it flat-out rocks.Put the four discs together, though, and you've got all the Move (s).

This is a wonderful 3 CD set! I don't know why The Move got so overlooked in America. I mainly bought it for Hello Suzie but I just love every song. I wish it had been one CD longer to have included Message From the Country which is also very enjoyable. Also it has really great pictures of The Move on the liner notes. They were truly the BEST British band ever!

Back in the 60s things were simpler, and in the 70s it got harder and harder to find good rock and roll with all the Disco and Crap around. This band makes me think of a cosmic adventure
where the Kinks take an evening to jam with The Grateful Dead. The
bass line and lyics are purely of their time. Listening to
this music again feels like taking the old van full of a bunch of friends down to the concert and letting
the music flow all over you, then pick you up and carry you far far away.

Far Out.