It may seem strange to kick off 2025 properly with an album from 1971. But that album has been remastered from the original Harvest Tapes and extended on Cherry Red's Esoteric label for release at the end of the month and it is time for a reassessment of what for a long time was looked upon as the least favourable of The Move's four album career. There are those more occasional fans that think everything beyond the first album was strange. Why were such a fine singles band messing about with longer songs when they could create three minute joys. But that was The Move with every album offering something different.
More regular fans point to Shazam as their favourite. It is a fantastic album, but very cover heavy, although these covers translated into some extraordinarily great live performances. Looking On is my favourite, a magnificent mixture of Prog and Psych and of course Brontosaurus. My own dalliance with The Move began when I was armed with a £10 Record Token for my birthday and under my own steam chose the first albums under my own steam. I had £2 left and all I could afford was an MFP compilation and I went for The Move. That album opened up an incredible world, one that stays with me five decades on.
Compilation wise, nothing ever appeared from Message In The Country, due to it being on Harvest and so I had to dig out that album and it seemed very different. It was definitely a Lynne or Wood album, very experimental with Wood raiding the instrument cupboard. There was a lot going on in The Move camp. This album was being recorded at the same time as the first ELO album, the reason that Lynne had joined and Wood was also recording his solo album, Boulders. So material was switched around.
Roy Wood's slower material went on ELO 1 and Boulders, so here you are getting him in Rocker mode. Lynne was still very much in Idle Race land at times, his Psych Pop on this album is exceptional, indeed it does get overlooked that Lynne was a master of the genre. The Minister and the title track were as good as anything you heard from supposed superior artists. My Marge is pure Toytown. Words Of Aaron hints big time at what was to come in the early Lynne led ELO. Wood doesn't shrink from the challenge.
Ella James and Until Your Mama's Gone are stompers in the Brontosaurus manner. It Wasn't My Idea To Dance gets splendidly Proggy and revives that wonderful Feel Too Good vibe. Don't Mess Me Up gives indication of some of the stuff to come on Wizzard's Brew. Ben Crawley Steel Company is Bev Bevan being Johnny Cash and we can't forget No Time. Lynne at his most delicate with Wood adding instrumentation from everywhere, including flute. It would be enough if it ended there, but there was another side to the band, the singles.
The three singles were not on the album, but showed a very different Pop side. All three are here and as a series of singles, Tonight, Chinatown and California Man match any run you care to mention. The B Sides, Down On The Bay (another Move song covered by Cheap Trick) and the original version of Do Ya, made famous when orchestrated by ELO on A New World Record.There are also four alternate versions present here among the 19 tracks. Don't Mess Me Up is all vocal harmony without the instrumentation. Words Of Aaron and DO Ya sound like early versions with distinct differences. My Marge adds studio chatter at the end.
I have to admit that although having multiple versions of each album, I usually go back to my original Vinyl versions of the albums. There is something special in hearing the cracks and pops that take me back to the time that I bought them. For the embeds, I have gone to the 2005 Remaster, but the new 2025 version is far superior.
Message In The Country is released on 28 February. You can pre-order the album here.
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