"...Show Us Your Lettuce..."
As someone who's worked a
lifetime in record shops - I can count on one hand the number of times I've
actually seen a decent-condition Vinyl copy of The Move's third album
"Looking On" from either side of the pond. Its like Procol Harum's
"Home" (also from 1970) - sank without a trace on release despite its
Hard Rock credentials.
Released as the first LP on
Fly Records - famously the home of T. Rex, John Kongos and all those 'Twofer'
double-albums for Regal Zonophone artists like Procol Harum, Tyrannosaurus Rex
and even John Williams - "Looking On" disappeared after its December
1970 release date and has been all but lost to the mists of time ever since. It
was belatedly released on Capitol Records in the USA in the spring of 1971 but
did bugger all business their either.
Moving forward and away from
the "Blackberry Way" Pop-Rock of the April 1968 debut "The
Move" and more in keeping with the Rock progression of the "Shazam"
album in February of 1970 - the "Looking On" LP was grittier – a far
heavier affair - and essentially a new direction for the band. "Looking
On" was a deliberate musical-segue into Hard Rock with some Prog leanings
- and I'd argue the LP is a bit of a lost gem.
Which brings us to this
superb new reissue. Esoteric Recordings (part of Cherry Red of the UK) have
whomped MOVE fans with 2016 reissues of "The Move" and
"Shazam" in single and multiple-disc 'Deluxe Edition' issues (see
separate reviews and list below). Now we get their 3rd platter "Looking
On" in a superbly presented 2CD 'Deluxe Edition' boasting a cache of
Previously Unreleased BBC Sessions from the band line up that featured Roy
Wood, Jeff Lynne, Rick Price and Bev Bevan (later with ELO). Here are the
details...
UK released Friday, 27 May
2016 (3 June 2016 in the USA) - "Looking On" by THE MOVE on Esoteric
Recordings ECLEC 22547 (Barcode 5013929464742) is a 2CD 'Deluxe Edition' with a
2016 Remaster and plays outs as follows:
Disc 1 (47:48 minutes)
1. Looking on
2. Turkish Tram Conductor
Blues
3. What?
4. When Alice Came Back To
The Farm
5. Open Up Said The World At
The Door [Side 2]
6. Brontosaurus
7. Feel Too Good
Tracks 1 to 7 are their 3rd
studio album "Looking On" - released December 1970 in the UK on Fly
Records FLY 1 and April 1971 in the USA on Capitol Records ST 658. Produced by
ROY WOOD and JEFF LYNNE - it didn't chart in either country.
BONUS TRACK:
8. Lightnin' Never Strikes
Twice - non-album B-side of "Brontosaurus" released March 1970 in the
UK on Regal Zonophone RZ 3026 and in the USA on Deram 1197
Disc 2 (47:06 minutes):
"Looking On" -
Outtakes And Rarities
1. The Duke Of Ellington's
Lettuce
2. Looking on (Part One -
Take 3/Part 2 - Take 12)
3. Brontosaurus (Mono US
Radio Promo Edit -
4. Turkish Tram Conductor
Blues (Take 5 - Rough Mix)
BBC Sessions - March to July
1970 (All PREVIOUSLY UNRELEASED)
5. She's A Woman
6. Bev Bevan Interview
7. Brontosaurus
8. Falling Forever
9. Lightnin' Never Strikes
Twice (Tracks 5 to 9 recorded 23 March 1970)
10. Looking On
11. When Alice Comes Back To
The Farm
12. She's A Woman (Tracks 10
to 12 recorded 28 July 1970)
THE MOVE:
ROY WOOD - Oboe, Sitar,
Slide Guitar, Cello, Guitar, Bass and All Saxophones
JEFF LYNNE - Guitar, Piano,
Vocals Percussion and Drums on "Feel Too Good"
RICK PRICE - Bass
BEV BEVAN - Drums and
Percussion
Guests:
DORIS TROY and P.P. ARNOLD -
Backing Vocals on "Feel Too Good"
Each of Esoteric's reissues
has come in single disc issues (plain jewel case) or - this - card digipak
'Deluxe Editions'. Here you get a chunky four-flap gatefold card sleeve with a
20-page colour booklet in the right pouch with a foldout two-sided poster in
the left pouch and two picture CDs. The double-sided foldout POSTER is fab - a
collage of black-and-white press clippings on one side with a full-page colour
advert for the album on the opposite. Each flap has MOVE memorabilia (there's
even photos beneath the see-through CD trays) and the 20-page booklet has in-depth
liner notes from noted writer MARK PAYTRESS (author of many books from the
period) with thanks to ROB CAIGER. There are trade adverts, reviews of the
album and singles and photos of the hairy men themselves.
But the big news is a 2016
'24-Bit Digital Remaster' from original analogue tapes by the experienced Audio
Engineer BEN WISEMAN done at Broadlake Studios in Hertfordshire (Tape Transfers
done by ROB KEYLOCH at Church Walk Studios in London). The sound on here is
HUGE and not without being overly bombastic for the sake of it. I think the
word I'm looking for is 'muscle' - this CD sounds powerful - and as many tracks
like "Turkish Tram Conductor Blues" rock out - the benefit is very
much 'in your face' and for all the right reasons.
The album's hard-rocking
credentials are set in motion with Roy Wood's "Looking On" - a great
combo of Move-melody bolstered up some serious riffage - Wood's vocals teasing
along with the guitar. The audio on this sucker is huge and I'd say its
improved over my 2008 Salvo edition. One of my fave raves on the "Looking
On" album is the take-no-prisoners Hard Rock of "Turkish Tram
Conductor Blues". Written by Bev Bevan - it’s THE MOVE gone all
riffage-mad - the spirit of Leslie West's MOUNTAIN inhabiting both Roy Wood and
Jeff Lynne as they hammer down on those heavy guitars. But that's trumped. You
can literally feel The Electric Light Orchestra emerging from Jeff Lynne’s
"What?" track - gorgeous string arrangements and that strange ELO
melody thing that Lynne gets whenever he's at the helm of a song. I love
“What?” - both the vocals and guitars treated so that they warble slightly for
effect - it's brilliant stuff. Roy Wood ends Side 1 with the slide guitar and
ELO cello of a rocker - "When Alice Comes Back To The Farm" - his
playing on here is just brilliant and worthy of Juicy Lucy's Glenn
Ross-Campbell ("Who Do You Love?"). Fly Records UK tried a 45 in
September 1970 featuring Wood's "When Alice Comes Back To The Farm"
with Lynne's fab "What?" on the B-side (Fly Records BUG 2) - but no
one took interest in this superb double.
Side 2 begins with near
eight-minute opus that is Jeff Lynne's "Open Up Said The World At The
Door" - an inventive Prog Rock piece that sees Roy Wood use Sitar, Obie
and just about any other instrument lying around the studio. The vocal layers
are so forthcoming ELO and it even manages some impressive boogie-woogie piano
stretches throughout its ambitious duration. Regal Zonophone UK had tried Roy
Wood's heavy heavy "Brontosaurus" as a UK 45 as far back as March
1970 (Regal Zonophone RZ 3026) and despite its slightly odd nature was rewarded
with a No. 7 chart position. It's non-album B-side "Lightnin' Never
Strikes Twice" turns up as a Bonus Track on Disc 1 - and for me was always
better than the A-side (sounds awesome too). The album proper ends with Roy
Wood's "Feel Too Good" - almost ten minutes of THE MOVE getting
Funky-Piano-Rock with a bank of different guitars and the Remaster punching out
Rick Price's Bass lines and Bev Bevan's fantastic drumming. Both Apple's Doris
Troy and Immediate's P.P. Arnold are credited as providing girly backing vocals
but it's hard to hear them with all that's going on. In fact by the time it
gets to the "Feel Too Good" vocals and the silly 'show us your lettuce'
old geezer talk - the song has probably overstayed its welcome if I'm truthful
- but man does the Remaster make it 'rawk'...
For fans Disc 2 represents
something worth getting excited about - a bunch of Previously Unreleased BBC
Sessions sat alongside three of the rarities that turned up on the December
2008 ‘Salvo’ CD reissue of "Looking On". I just love the Beach Boys
Acapella Vocals of "The Duke Of Edinburgh's Lettuce" - the silly
Gardener portion of "Feel Too Good" - it only lasts for 1:29 minutes
complete with studio dialogue lead in but it's just such great fun. Takes 3 and
12 of "Looking On" were issued as two separate outtakes on the 2008
Salvo CD reissue - here they've been segued into one nine-minute plus version.
It sounds great too - much more guitar soloing while the piano tries to get a
look in. I've never seen the 'Mono US Radio Promo Edit' of
"Brontosaurus" on CD but it's worth having for collectors. Far better
is the hard-rocking "Turkish Tram Conductor Blues" - a very cool alternate.
"...Here on Top Of The Pops we move back onto the Progressive Rock bit
with THE MOVE..." the announcer gets very excited about the new addition
to band - ex Idle Race singer Jeff Lynne - as he lays into a great cover of The
Beatles "She's A Woman".
The audio is good rather
than being great it has to be said - but the power of the band is there for all
to hear. We get a short interview with Bev Bevan talking about Carl Wayne's
departure and Jeff Lynne's introduction and the new 'heavy' direction of the
band. "Falling Forever" comes off so well - very cool vocals and a
sort of Byrds feel to the melody. The March 1970 session ends with the B-side
"Lightnin' Never Strikes Twice" - a fantastically good re-working of
the song but unfortunately with that 'buried back in the mix' sound to the
whole recording. The July 1970 session has roughly the same sound and features
a three-minute cut of the 'heavy' "Looking On" while the slide of
"Alice" is great - Wood tearing it up and clearly listening to too
much Juicy Lucy. If anything the BBC stuff only goes to show what an exciting
proposition The Move was at that time - alive with new material and an exciting
new direction...(the second interview talks of ELO's genesis)...
THE MOVE would manage one
more album - 1971's excellent and witty "Message From The Country"
which EMI/Harvest Remastered into an Expanded Edition in 2005 (see separate
review). They would of course then morph into THE ELECTRIC LIGHT ORCHESTRA or
E.L.O. as they're now more commonly known and The Travelling Wilburys for Jeff
Lynne with some of his lifelong musical heroes.
But I'd urge you to go back
- way back - back to the days of "Brontosaurus" and his best buddy
"Turkish Tram Conductor Blues" - back to a time when 39 schillings
and eleven old pence could procure you this tasty platter. THE MOVE had a
B-side called "Lightnin' Never Strikes Twice". With this superb
reissue I think it has...
PS: UK released 29 April
2016 – THE MOVE CD Editions by Esoteric Recordings are:
1. The Move - 1CD 'Standard
Edition' on Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 2537 (Barcode 5013929463745)
The Move - 3CD 'Deluxe Edition' on Esoteric
Recordings ECLEC 32536 (Barcode 5013929463646)
2. Something Else From The
Move (June 1968 EP Expanded) - 1CD 'Standard Edition' on Esoteric Recordings
ECLEC 2546 (Barcode 5013929464643)
3. Shazam - 1CD 'Standard
Edition' on Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 2539 (Barcode 5013929463943)
Shazam - 3CD 'Deluxe Edition' on Esoteric
Recordings ECLEC 22538 (Barcode 5013929463844)
4. Looking in - 2CD 'Deluxe
Edition' on Esoteric Recordings ECLEC 22547 (Barcode 5013929464742)
