Biography of The Move

The Move took the mid-'60s school of Brit-pop to its ultimate extremes. How could Americans get past the foppish Carl Wayne's hopelessly proper vocals and Roy Wood's charming little tunes? Excepting a rabid cult following, the US pretty much ignored The Move, but back home, it was quite a different story.Racking up an amazing string of singles, culminating in the brilliant "Blackberry Way," and a wildly diverse debut album, The Move really turned up the heat on the follow-up album Shazam. Wood's sugary melodies were now chained to Godzilla-like basslines, and the drums thrown in the listener's face. As Wayne gave way to the arrival of Jeff Lynne, the group created two more albums and another great run of singles. Their final album under The Move banner, Message from the Country, even surpasses Shazam as the group's masterpiece. Ultimately losing Wood, The Move transformed into The Electric Light Orchestra, but that group could never eclipse the one that preceded it. ~ Steve Aldrich