Old Music Tuesdays: The Move

by Bob Boilen

They were one of my favorite bands in the early '70s. They were big in England, but finding their music in the States wasn't easy. Fortunately, I was the import buyer at a record store back then.

The Move had that Beatles-y British pop sound I loved so much. I liked their music best when it got a lot heavier, however. That's about the time Jeff Lynne joined the band. You probably know/love/hate Jeff Lynne from ELO or the Traveling Wilburys. I knew his music from a group called the Idle Race, and like The Move, they were another Birmingham pop band with a love for The Beatles.

The song I'm playing here is from the final Move LP called Message from the Country. I've always thought of this song as a cry for help from Mother Nature, but I'm not sure.

It is steeped in the sounds of "Paperback Writer," and while I keep bringing up The Beatles here, the group was a bundle of original talent. The three core members went on to create Electric Light Orchestra, and their first record was brilliant. Roy Wood's next band Wizzard would turn out to also be a bit of genius and the most densely produced rock 'n' roll I can think of. I'll save that for another Old Music Tuesday.

Bob Boilen

11:34 AM ET | 12- 4-2007 | permalink

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