E.L.O. / The Move etc.

4-23-09 Electric Light Orchestra, The Move etc.

I last wrote about E.L.O. in 2005. I recently got a 2CD “Best Of”, and decided to do it again, but to expand things a bit. I am not the biggest Move / E.L.O. / Wizzard fan. My favorite thing in the entire body of work is “Looking On” by The Move.

E.L.O.:

LP BALANCE OF POWER CBS ASSOC. FZ 40048
1986 10 TRKS
LP DISCOVERY CBS/JET UK JETLX 500
1979 9 TRKS insert
LP ELDORADO U.A. US US-LA-339G
1974 10 TRKS
LP ELO II EPIC/JET US PZ 35533
1973 5 TRKS re-issue, 2nd album
LP FACE THE MUSIC U.A. US US-LA-546G
1975 8 TRKS
7" I'M ALIVE / DRUM DREAMS MCA US MCA-41246
1980 2 TRKS with pic sleeve
LP NEW WORLD RECORD, A U.A. DE UAS 30017 XOT
1976 9 TRKS
LP NIGHT THE LIGHT WENT ON IN LONG BEACH WARNER DE WB 56058
1974 7 TRKS Live
CD NO ANSWER CBS/SONY JPN CSCS 6026
1971 9 TRKS
LP NO ANSWER U.A. US UAS 5573
1972 9 TRKS 1st album
LP OLE ELO U.A. US SP-123
1976 9 TRKS yellow vinyl promo
LP ON THE THIRD DAY U.A. US US-LA-188F
1973 9 TRKS 3rd album
LPx2 OUT OF THE BLUE U.A./JET US JT-LA-823-L2
1977 17 TRKS
LP SECRET MESSAGES EPIC/JET US QZ 38490
1983 10 TRKS
7" SHINE A LITTLE LOVE / JUNGLE JET US ZS8 5057
1979 2 TRKS with pic sleeve
CDx2 STRANGE MAGIC: BEST OF EPIC US Z2K 64157
1995 29 TRK Collection
7" SWEET TALKIN' WOMAN / FIRE ON HIGH U.A./JET US JT-XW-1145
1978 2 TRKS with pic sleeve, PURPLE VINYL
7" TELEPHONE LINE / POOR BOY (THE GREENWOOD) U.A. US UA-XW1000
1976 2 TRKS with pic sleeve, green vinyl
LP TIME EPIC/JET US FZ 37371
1981 13 TRKS
7" TURN TO STONE / MISTER KINGDOM U.A./JET UK UP 36313
1977 2 TRKS with pic sleeve

The Move:

7" FLOWERS IN THE RAIN A&M US AM-884
1968 2 TRKS no pic sleeve
LP FLYBACK (Collection) FLY UK TON 3
1970? 12 TRK Collection
CD LOOKING ON REPERTOIRE DE REP 4281-WY
1970 12 TRKS 5 x bonus tracks
LP LOOKING ON FLY UK FLY 1
1970 7 TRKS UK original issue
CD MESSAGE FROM THE COUNTRY re HARVEST US 30342.2
2005 18 TRKS ('05 issue) (8 x bonus tracks)
CD MOVE, THE CUBE EU CUCD 15TM
1968 13 TRKS
LP MOVE, THE REGAL ZO UK SLRZ 1002
1968 13 TRKS stereo
CD SHAZAM REPERTOIRE DE REP 4296-WY
1970 11 TRKS (5 x bonus tracks) ('93 issue)
LP SHAZAM A&M US SP-4259
1968? 6 TRKS stereo
LP SPLIT ENDS U.A. US UAS 5666
1972 12 TRK Collection

Roy Wood:

LPx2 ROY WOOD STORY, THE HARVEST UK SHDW 408 1976 25 TRK Collection; The Move, E.L.O., Wizzard etc. – basically suffices as my Roy Wood / Wizzard collection!
LP EDDY AND THE FALCONS WARNER UK K 56029 1974 9 TRKS poster

OK, for Roy Wood, I admit I just have whatever has crossed my path for a good price. I do not necessarily recognize Wizzard’s involvement with the British Glam Rock movement of the mid-70’s.

As a young man hanging out in record stores, people were always talking about The Move. There was a free music ‘magazine’ called “The Phonograph Record Magazine” – and they too were always touting The Move. So, I made it my youthful business to duly seek out and hear The Move. Good thing that the first record I found was the new “Looking On” LP on Fly Records! I could find their “Shazam” LP in the $1 bin, and I eventually drifted into a UK original of their debut LP, with it’s beautiful psychedelic cover.

I watched with baited breath as The Move trans-morphed into The Electric Light Orchestra. I lapped up their debut album, loving “10538 Overture” et al. But 1972 was a hell of a time in rock music – lots of cool stuff was available then, and very quickly, bands like Genesis and Gentle Giant were catching my attention; I never ‘made it’ to “E.L.O. II” – it seemed almost ‘mainstream’ by comparison. And let’s not forget my nascent interest in “Krautrock”!

So, in the mid-70’s, I wasn’t really building on my love of British psychedelic music – I was basking in the warmth of Family, John Entwistle, Traffic, Arthur Brown’s Kingdom Come – the music of the day.

When I got to my first hippie record store job in ’76, E.L.O. were going great guns. You couldn’t not hear them. I heard all the singles, and most of the LP’s at the time. I remember the in-store displays. And the silly TV commercials. Ah, it was just pop music. I wanted Italian horror film soundtracks!

2009 is here, and no 70’s UK pop compilation would be complete without at least one E.L.O. cut – hence my need for a 2CD “Best Of”. “Balance Of Power”, anyone?