By 1972, The Move had morphed into Electric Light Orchestra. The final Move album, Message From the Country, was recorded at the same sessions as the first ELO album.
At the time, The Move was a trio. Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood shared frontman duties. Bev Bevan drummed.
They went out with a bang! The last Move release was this double A sided single - with a bonus track from the last album thrown in.
The Move - California Man/Do Ya/Ella James (Harvest 1972)
California Man - one of the best rock and roll songs by anyone. Rock and roll lyric cliches abound. Wood and Lynne trade off vocal - with Lynne throwing in an Elvis impersonation. The instrumental breaks are traded as well. Lynne does a Jerry Lee Lewis style piano solo. When it comes to Wood's turn, he plays the same solo on a baritone sax that turns the whole thing on it's ear. A lot happens in three minutes. Years later, Cheap Trick covered it and made it sound a little more normal.
The other side contains the first version of Do Ya. This was remade several years later under the ELO moniker to great success. This version is a little rawer. The remake doesn't have the ending 'Look out baby, there's a planet comin'' line.
After this release, The Move ceased to exist. Roy Wood soon left ELO and took his rock and roll sensibilities to his new endeavor, Wizzard. Jeff Lynne took ELO to great success eventually getting to work with Olivia Newton John on the classic Xanadu film.
No comments:
Post a Comment