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\"A&M isn't helping to promote this any with their ad showing a couple of brontosauri fucking. If you got off on Shazam, you'll love this song, heavy as its namesake, describing a dance ('She could really do the Brontosaurus') that must be fun to do. Much too long for AM radio, this oughta be one of those 'underground hits' you hear so much about.\"
Ed Ward (1971 Rolling Stone - The Rolling Stone Record Review (issue number unknown))
\"There are the odd electric wah-wahs [on The Move's Tonight], but this is altogether more appealing than the horrible Brontosaurus.\"
Unknown (1971 - Source Unknown, Tonight single review in the liner notes for the Message From The Country remaster CD)
\"Brontosaurus definitely takes everything to extremes, and is an appropriate finale. The prominent bass, always a Move trademark, is overwhelming, along with Roy's slide guitar. This was JL's first session with us to the best of my memory... and it was very representative of our live sound with Roy and Jeff on guitars.\"
Bev Bevan (1974 liner notes for The Best Of The Move)
\"The departure of singer Carl Wayne, to whom the M.O.R. leanings were attributable, enabled Roy to reroute the band via the heavy metal dance record Brontosaurus but insufficiently so to satisfy his desires for artistic fulfillment.\"
Paul Cox (1986 - liner notes for First Movement)
\"In 1970, the Move's chronic personnel instability-- specifically Carl Wayne's departure-- gave Lynne a second opportunity to join. This time he said yes, making his first Move contribution to the earthshaking Brontosaurus single.\"
Ira Robbins (1990 liner notes for Afterglow)
\"Yeah, definitely [Brontosaurus was more in the direction that I wanted the band to follow]. I can't remember much about the actual recording session except it was the first song JL played on with us. I remember that.\"
Roy Wood (September 30, 1994 - Roy Wood: The Wizzard of Rock article in Goldmine)
\"Jeff plays guitar on the [Brontosaurus] session with Roy.\"
Rob Caiger (September 25, 2003 - Useless Information mailing list)
\"The Move embraced the era's hard rock and progressive inclinations and delivered the most overlooked album of their career. That was Looking On, flagged up by two hard-rocking 45s, Brontosaurus and When Alice Comes Back To The Farm.\"
Mark Paytress (2008 - Looking On remaster liner notes)
\"Brontosaurus, driven by a granite version of The Beatles' Lady Madonna riff, slow-burned its way up the chart, eventually resting at Number 7 in April 1970. The single paved the way for a minor chart invasion of hard rock singles that year-- Jimi Hendrix's Voodoo Chile, Black Sabbath's Paranoid, [and] Deep Purple's Black Night. [...] Brontosaurus loudly proclaimed the arrival of what might be called the 'New Move.' [...] On Looking On, though, the two singles [Brontosaurus and When Alice Comes Back To The Farm]-- both woefully underrated-- sounded mildly out of place.\"
Mark Paytress (January 2008 - Looking On remaster liner notes)
\"In March 1970, The Move's first single of the new decade [Brontosaurus] introduced the heavy sound of the pop market in head-turning, genre-inventing style.\"
Mark Paytress (October 2008 - Anthology 1966 - 1972 liner notes)
" xBrontosaurus_popupstats = "
The difference between this version and the original single version is that it simply fades shortly following the final chorus. This version is known only on the mono side of the USA pressed A&M promotional single with stock number 1197. The stereo side contains the standard stereo version with no edits.
\"The original promotional 7-inch single labeled the edit in stereo and mono on the respective sides. However, the disc was mispressed with the edit only on the mono side while the flip contained the full-length album version in stereo. Jeff Lynne's first recording with The Move, at Advision Studios during February 1970\"
Author Unknown (October 2008 - Anthology 1966 - 1972 liner notes)
" xBrontosaurusEditedUSAMonoSingleVersion_popupstats = "
The difference between this version and the original single version is that it simply fades shortly following the final chorus.
\"The Move's final single for EMI's Regal Zonophone label in the UK appears here as a previously unreleased stereo edit, prepared for the American radio. The original promotional 7-inch single labeled the edit in stereo and mono on the respective sides. However, the disc was mispressed with the edit only on the mono side while the flip contained the full-length album version in stereo. Jeff Lynne's first recording with The Move, at Advision Studios during February 1970\"
Author Unknown (October 2008 - Anthology 1966 - 1972 liner notes)
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\"Just as Roy Wood had determined that Shazam begin with a tough song and vocal that belied the band's pop reputation, he repeated the ruse [on the Looking On album], one the near-eight-minute title track, delivered with an Ozzy Osbourne-style rasp. Like much of the material on the record, Looking On stitched together various styles-- a fact confirmed by paperwork, which states that the track was recorded in two parts in May 1970. After a Cream-inspired power trio break, at five minutes, the song meanders away from hard rock into less familiar territory, where electric sitar notes float randomly over a Take 5-style jazz rhythm. Some reverse-tape guitar joins the sonic collage, eventually giving way to some wah-wah stylings while the backing fluctuates between classical and jazz sensibilities. The very mixed-up, muddled-up, shock-up world of The Move was finally being reflected in the band's music.\"
Mark Paytress (January 2008 - Looking On remaster liner notes)
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\"How else to explain the honking sax solo that trespasses all over Turkish Tram Conductor Blues? [...] Turkish Tram Conductor Blues, recorded during August and packing in much despite clocking in at just under five minutes, was wilder still. Quintessential heavy Move rockaboogie, with a huge proto-glam sound complete with saxes, the piece unravels as a vehicle for Wood's anything goes approach-- crumhorms, extended sax solos, unthinkably odd acoustic guitar breaks.\"
Mark Paytress (January 2008 - Looking On remaster liner notes)
\"Turkish Tram Conductor Blues was a great song-- except for the bloody great long sax solo!\"
Bev Bevan (October 2008 - Anthology 1966 - 1972 liner notes)
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\"The similarly lengthy What?, which closed side one of the original [Looking On] album, was what made all Jeff Lynne's hanging around worthwhile. Another epic, this time awash with Lynne's finely tuned sense of melodic, melodramatic grandeur, the piece confirmed that Roy Wood now had the musical foil he'd long waited for.\"
Mark Paytress (January 2008 - Looking On remaster liner notes)
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\"When Alice Comes Back To The Farm was the final release under The Move's old contract. Ignored by Fly Records, the single unsurprisingly failed to make the charts.\"
Rob Caiger (2005 - 1971: The Original Message article on themoveonline.com)
\"The Move embraced the era's hard rock and progressive inclinations and delivered the most overlooked album of their career. That was Looking On, flagged up by two hard-rocking 45s, Brontosaurus and When Alice Comes Back To The Farm.\"
Mark Paytress (2008 - Looking On remaster liner notes)
\"The [Looking On] album's second side opened with When Alice Comes Back To The Farm, a ballsy burst of primitive rock 'n' roll, complete with searing slide guitar, dramatic snatches of cello, a honking sax and boogie-woogie piano. 'That one's a bit different,' said Wood back in 1970, 'because Jeff playes guitars and electric piano, and I play slide guitar, cellos and saxes.' It all sounded a lot of fun, but when it was released on 45 by the newly formed Fly Records label that October, the single mysteriously stalled. Unlike Brontosaurus, which after a slow start did pick up airplay on Radio 1, Alice... [sic] suffered from a lack of promotion and was probably just too manic for daytime listeners. On Looking On, though, the two singles-- both woefully underrated-- sounded mildly out of place.\"
Mark Paytress (January 2008 - Looking On remaster liner notes)
\"A single, a fabulous slice of proto-glam rockaboogie titled When Alice Comes Back To The Farm, oddly failed to repeat the success of Brontosaurus. It didn't exactly set the world alight, Roy Wood told Mike Davies.\"
Mark Paytress (October 2008 - Anthology 1966 - 1972 liner notes)
\"Compared to Fly Records' meteoric launch with T Rex's Ride A White Swan and despite sharing ads with T Rex and the New Musical Express proclaiming the [When Alice Comes Back To the Farm] single '...extremely commercial...' the reaction to The Move's debut release on the label seemed to prove Newton's third law of gravity, as Roy Wood explained: 'It didn't do a thing. I don't know if it was our fault or any fault of the promotion by the record company. We only had one TV show with it. It's difficult to get a hit record with only on TV unless you're getting lots of radio plays.' Fly Records had been set up by David Platz, who had enticed EMI label manager Malcolm Jones to jump ship. Malcolm had established EMI's progressive Harvest label but by the time of the single's release in October 1970, The Move had actually signed to Harvest. In reality, it meant neither Fly Records nor The Move promoted When Alice Comes Back To the Farm or the subsequent Looking On album also released on Fly. The Take 7 master recorded in May and used for the single, features a Roy Wood cello break played on the same instrument used on ELO's 10538 Overture, recorded just two months later.\"
Author Unknown (October 2008 - Anthology 1966 - 1972 liner notes)
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\"The next song [on the Looking On album], Open Up Said the World at the Door with 'Saxophone-and-sitar-against-piano-and-GTR'-duels, was Lynne's predecessor to his 'Jeff's Boogies' which he later used in E.L.O.\"
UNEX
\"And we haven't even got to Jeff Lynne's magnificent opus, Open Up Said The World At The Door, which virtually out-Wooded Roy at his own game. [...] But after Wood's gruffly sung rock 'n' roll turn [on the Looking On album], the layers of mock-operatic voices and open-door musical policy of the next track, Open Up Said The World At The Door, found The Move at their most progressive. The second Jeff Lynne original on the record, Open Up... [sic] foreshadowed ELO (and falsetto fiends Queen for that matter) with its smooth, soaraway vocal harmonies. Instrumentally, it veered off in all directions-- from fiddly electric sitar runs and blasts of what sounds like a Middle Eastern version of a crumhorn, to a drum solo, and a wonderfully self-important extended climax, all 'sturm and drang' over a 'Bolero' beat.\"
Mark Paytress (January 2008 - Looking On remaster liner notes)
\"Even Bev was encouraged to loosen up, as his drum solo on Open Up Said The World At The Door confirms.\"
Mark Paytress (October 2008 - Anthology 1966 - 1972 liner notes)
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\"Oh, yeah, that was Doris Troy and P.P. Arnold [doing backing vocals on Feel Too Good]. That was another instance where the other guy had gone home. In fact, myself and Jeff started that track off. We were just messing around 'cause all the gear was still set up and Jeff played drums on that and I played bass. We put the drums and bass on that first and just added things as we went along and it worked really well. It's a different way of working.\"
Roy Wood (September 30, 1994 - Roy Wood: The Wizzard of Rock article in Goldmine)
\"...the [Looking On] album closes with the 9:33 minuter Feel Too Good done by Jeff, Roy, and two female singers, Doris Troy and P.P. Arnold.\"
UNEX
Editor's Note: The above time of 9:33 includes the bonus song The Duke Of Edinburgh's Lettuce.
\"Jeff played all the drum parts on Feel Too Good.\"
Bev Bevan (April 29, 2003 - Useless Information mailing list)
\"Feel Too Good was a personal request of Paul Thomas Anderson's [for the soundtrack to the Boogie Nights film]. He made it via The Move website. We didn't have a clue who he was at the time and just had a basic outline about the film being a documentary based around a famous 'underground star'... Roy didn't seem too interested in PT's request - he was getting the [Big] Band together at the time for a tour after having his previous concerts in the UK cancelled on him due to poor promotion and ticket sales. I remember taking a chance and forwarding the request onto Bucks Music, The Move and Roy's publishers, telling them to go ahead and give permission. We forgot about it until all the publicity surrounding the controversy hit and I'm thinking - 'oh no, what have I agreed to!' The next thing I know is the film is out and Roy is raving about how great it is that Feel Too Good is in there and what a surprise! He'd totally forgotten about the original request and was [genuinely] amazed about how his song got to be in a Hollywood blockbuster. You can see how and why Roy misses the boat on many things surrounding his music... He was just as pleased Jeff had Livin' Thing in the film as well - and very pleased a year later (film soundtracks take forever to account) when the royalty statements came through! Feel Too Good also featured recently in a UK documentary on David Beckham.\"
Rob Caiger (December 18, 2003 - Useless Information mailing list)
\"How else to explain... the cranky crumhorn that bleats exotically on Feel Too Good, before eventually belting up in favour of a doo-wop pastiche and a mock-operatic finale. [...] After Brontosaurus massaged back memories of The Move as a classy pop band, Looking On bowed out with another epic, at just over nine and a half minutes, the longest track on a set already rich in extended pieces. Although a strong, Ringo Starr-like backbeat-- at an I Am The Walrus canter-- keeps Feel Too Good from straying too far, the piece again flies off midway through. Jeff Lynne plays drums whilst Wood picks up his Eastern wind instrument to good, herd-of-charging-elephants effect, turns in some fine slide guitar lines, then spars with sound stars Doris Troy and P.P. Arnold at the mic before both he and Lynne embark on the originally uncredited Duke Of Edinburgh's Lettuce with voices that veer from daft to Doo-Wop to opera.\"
Mark Paytress (January 2008 - Looking On remaster liner notes)
\"Film director P.T. Anderson sought out [Feel Too Good] in 1996 for inclusion in the hit film Boogie Nights after hearing this version on a compilation album, edited to exclude the uncredited The Duke Of Edinburgh's Lettuce segment. Doris Troy and P.P. Arnold join Roy Wood on vocals while Jeff Lynne lays down a solid, hypnotic drum beat.\"
Author Unknown (October 2008 - Anthology 1966 - 1972 liner notes)
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This song is an uncredited bit tacked on at the very end of the song Feel Too Good on the Looking On album. It starts with a \"bah, bah, bah\" vocal bit, then a big crescendo of acapella voices singing \"The Duke of Edinburgh's lettuce!\", followed by a man (thought to be Roy Wood) saying \"Come on now, show us your lettuce! Let's git it out! Oh, it's big, eh? Like a big, green squash!\" Finally, if fades on the man repeatedly asking to see the lettuce and calling it a big, green squash. It should also be noted that whether he says \"squash\" or something else is a bit uncertain. Roy wasn't known for articulating very well in those days, leaving many fans scratching their heads trying to make out his lyrics.
\"At the end of [Feel Too Good] Roy, Bev and Jeff are doing an acapella session, which ended with the song line 'The Duke of Edinburgh's lettuce' and wasn't credited on the album as extra title.\"
UNEX
\"[Feel Too Good ends when] both [Wood] and Lynne embark on the originally uncredited Duke Of Edinburgh's Lettuce with voices that veer from daft to Doo-Wop to opera.\"
Mark Paytress (January 2008 - Looking On remaster liner notes)
\"Languishing in the shadow of the version of Feel Too Good to be found on Looking On, this previously uncredited Doo-Wop pastiche is the perfect way to say 'goodnight...'\"
Author Unknown (October 2008 - Anthology 1966 - 1972 liner notes)
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This is the same basic take of the first part of Looking On with subtle mix differences and beginning and ending with studio chatter (featuring Roy Wood announcing \"one more-- take 3\" at the beginning).
\"The third piece of music put to tape in the immediate post-Shazam days, this opening half part of the [Looking On] set's epic title track finds The Move exploring further the hard, more angular rock riffery that characterised parts of the previous album. Recorded in May 1970, this rough mix of the third take has subtle differences to the finished version, and is topped and tailed with studio chatter.\"
Mark Paytress (January 2008 - Looking On remaster liner notes)
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This is the same basic take of the last half of Looking On with subtle mix differences and beginning with studio chatter, including Roy's announcing the song a \"take 12\". The ending does not fade and is instead extended by about 1:10 that ends with a ragtime type piano jam.
\"This delicious, instrumental half of the [Looking On] title track throws in electric sitar, horns and some of Roy Wood's most exquisite lead lines over a jazz rhythm. This is a rough mix of take 12 from May, which was eventually completed in a second session in September 1970.\"
Mark Paytress (January 2008 - Looking On remaster liner notes)
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This version uses the same basic take as the album version, but the mix is slightly different. Also, there is some studio chatter before the song starts and there is lots of talk back and forth between Jeff and Roy after the \"good shit, man\" part starting at about [3:30].
\"An unashamed slice of revivalism, albeit performed through a more fashionable hard rock prism, the version [of Turkish Tram Conductor Blues] here-- the fifth take mixed from the original session multitrack tape-- captures perfectly the track's joyous abandon and reveals some humorous studio talkback between Lynne and Wood.\"
Mark Paytress (January 2008 - Looking On remaster liner notes)
\"Eavesdropping on Philips Studios in Marble Arch, London during a summer 1970 session to record five songs for Looking On. [sic] The fifth take [of Turkish Tram Conductor Blues] capture's the song's joyous rock 'n' roll revivalism while also revealing studio talkback between Jeff and Roy.\"
Author Unknown (October 2008 - Anthology 1966 - 1972 liner notes)
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This is the first 1:20 of Open Up Said The World At The Door, with piano and harmonized vocals only and some previously hidden tapping along to the beat by the band.
\"A vocal harmony plus piano demo of the first two Jeff Lynne contributions to the album, this take 4 version of the [Open Up Said The World At The Door] intro clearly points the way forward to ELO and the sound of the smoother, more vocally sophisticated '70s.\"
Mark Paytress (January 2008 - Looking On remaster liner notes)
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This version, apparently prepared for radio but not used, cuts half of the drum intro, a large portion of the piano and bass section following the second chorus, and fades early thus cutting about the last three and a half minutes of the song.
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Although this is the same basic take as the Looking On album version, it is a different mix of an extract. It fades in at the approximate three minute mark of the album version and plays until approximate the four minute mark. It then seamlessly jumps to the seven minute mark (cutting the guitar jam) and plays through to the end, but this is unique in that about 30 seconds into it, the instrumentation is faded so that only the backing vocal singing by Doris Troy and P.P. Arnold are heard (but for one brief drum part near the very end). This allows the vocals to be very clearly heard as well as the rest of the band in the background joining in and encouraging the female singers.
\"Markedly different vocals make this [Feel Too Good] extract worth a blast. Anyone who doubted P.P. Arnold and Doris Troy's presence on the track will be left in no doubt by the end of this.\"
Mark Paytress (January 2008 - Looking On remaster liner notes)
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Although this is the same basic take as the released Looking On album version, it is quite different in the mix and edit. First on the intro, it includes the \"take 2\" announcement, the song count-in, and added piano to start off the song. The vocals at the song's end are not distorted, but clear (although it's still impossible to hear what Roy is saying about the \"big green [something]\"). And the repeated vocal line at the song's end is cut with no fade-out and a piano part to end the song instead.
\"More vocal high-jinx round the piano here [on The Duke Of Edinburgh's Lettuce], thanks to take 2 of the [Looking On] album's uncredited Roy Wood/Jeff Lynne Doo-Wop pastiche.\"
Mark Paytress (January 2008 - Looking On remaster liner notes)
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This song is known only to have been played live. No known studio recording exists. This is a cover of the Beatles song.
" xShesAWoman1970Tour_popupstats = "
\"Rick [Price] on this: 'Our stage song Looking On came out so well, there's a chance it could end up as a 12 1/2 minute single.\"
UNEX
" xLookingOn1970Tour_popupstats = "
\"The Move cling on to life like... (well, you think of the appropriate simile). For months now they've been heralding the arrival of the Electric Light Orchestra and all things wonderful, and every Move single has been 'positively the last.' But Roy Wood keeps on writing, and here are the compelling high-pitched cords [sic] again, this time really stopping you in your tracks they sound so strange. He's taken to using demi-semi tones or something, so you think he's out of tune, whereas it's all deliberate. The appeal in this mainly acoustic number lies in the interesting chord sequences-- shades of Don Partridge on a good day. There are the odd electric wah-wahs, but this is altogether more appealing than the horrible Brontosaurus. Who knows, if it's a hit, there might even be another 'positively final' single from the Move.\"
Unknown (1971 - Source Unknown, Tonight single review in the liner notes for the Message From The Country remaster CD)
\"[1971's] related work of Roy was Tonight which he wrote for The New Seekers. A very commercial easy tune quite right for The New Seekers...\"
UNEX
\"The first single from the [Message From The Country] album was intended to be the Roy Wood rocker Ella James. Copies were pressed and distributed but a brand new Wood song, Tonight, recorded on 7 April 1971, excited everyone who heard it and it soon replaced the speedily withdrawn album track on 21 May. The change paid off and the single reached no.11. Also recorded at the same session was a new JL track entitled Down On The Bay. Both songs were mixed on 28 April and the day after, Wood, Lynne and Bevan continued sessions for ELO with the recording of Manhattan Concerto (later retitled Manhattan Rumble) and Whisper In The Night.\"
Rob Caiger (2005 - 1971: The Original Message article on themoveonline.com)
\"Released on 7 May 1971, [the Ella James single] was withdrawn within days due to Harvest having a very late change of mind and favouring a new non-album track called Tonight as the more commercial. Rush-released two weeks after Ella James premature appearance, it reached No. 11 during July 1971. [...] As Roy readily admitted when talking about Tonight, their drummer could be a powerful catalyst. 'I need someone like Bev in the group to give me a good kicking to make me do anything at all.'\"
John Van der Kiste (September 5, 2005 - Message From The Country Remaster)
\"A glut of bonus tracks [on the Message From The Country remaster] includes the symphonic skiffle of Tonight which wasn't on the original album but proved to be a no.11 hit in the UK.\"
Geoff Barton (October 2005 - Classic Rock Magazine issue 85)
\"...A new Move single, the driving boogie-rocker Ella James, was issued in May [1970], only for it to be immediately withdrawn and replaced with Wood's lighter, falsetto-enhanced and somewhat Kinks-ish Tonight. [...] Tonight took the Move to within one run of the Top 10, and confirmed that Roy Wood had lost none of his pop chops. Oddly, neither that nor the slightly less successful follow-up, Chinatown, were included on The Move's fourth and final album, Message From The Country, issued in June 1971.\"
Mark Paytress (October 2008 - Anthology 1966 - 1972 liner notes)
\"[Ella James was] the band's first single on Harvest-- almost! Released and immediately withdrawn in favour of the more commercial Tonight (both written by Roy and recorded at Philips Studios)... In the UK, Tonight was rush released at the expense of Ella James and narrowly missed reaching the Top 10. Both the single and this rare American edit were prepared from the Take 5 master, which took a week to record at the same session with Jeff Lynne's Down On The Bay.\"
Author Unknown (October 2008 - Anthology 1966 - 1972 liner notes)
" xTonight_popupstats = "
Available only on the USA issued 7\" promo single (United Artists UA-XW202-W), this is the same edit as the stereo version, but it's mixed down to mono.
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It is thought that this edit may have been released prior to the Harvest Showdown album on the USA issued commercial or promo single, but that remains unconfirmed. This version differs from the single version in that out of the last four choruses of the song, it cuts the first and third of them.
\"There's a single edit or promo version of Tonight that will be [the Harvest Heritage collection], not on the Message From The Country remaster.\"
Rob Caiger (February 7, 2005 - Showdown mailing list)
Editor's note: By The time of release, the Harvest Heritage collection was retitled Harvest Showdown.
\"While Harvest Showdown is an excellent compilation of hits, rarities and alternate takes, we deliberately included rare, different versions of Do Ya (7\" single version) and Tonight (US edited single) to those that appear on the Message [sic] remaster.\"
Rob Caiger (2005 - 1999-2005: Making Of A Remaster article on themoveonline.com)
\"Two other tracks from The Move are included [on the Harvest Showdown collection], the US single edit of Tonight (the group's first Harvest hit single in the UK, reaching no. 12) and, from Message From The Country, Until Your Momma's Gone [sic], which with its frenzied lead guitar, saxes and manic piano clearly pointed the route ahead to Wizzard.\"
John Van der Kiste (September 5, 2005 - Harvest Showdown review on ftmusic.com)
\"Both the [original Tonight] single and this rare American edit were prepared from the Take 5 master, which took a week to record at the same session with Jeff Lynne's Down On The Bay.\"
Author Unknown (October 2008 - Anthology 1966 - 1972 liner notes)
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\"[Message From The Country] (...Lynne's only composition on the [Message From The Country] album) [is] classic Move-- mostly densely heavy but sometimes delicate backing, ingeniously and intricately assembled, with breathtaking vocal harmonies over strange and intriguing lyrics carried by beautiful tunes. Are those Ring-modulated trumpets or Roy Wood singing in his Ring-modulated trumpets voice?, you'll want to know halfway through Message [sic]. And no one could blame you.\"
John Mendelsohn (October 14, 1971 - Rolling Stone #93)
Editor's Note: The song Message From The Country was not Lynne's only composition on the album. Not sure where this theory came from.
\"The title track [to the Message From The Country album] was a Lynne song and 'It's quite choral and unobstructive and the melody line belies the fable that The Move can only play basic rock riffs.' (Richard Green)\"
UNEX
\"...I don't know whether I actually played on [the Message From The Country album] or just went in and made animal noises - there's a track, I think it was Message From the Country where there's all these animal noises and we were making cows and pigs, I think I was one of those.\"
Bill Hunt (December 1999 - Interview by Martin Kinch on Stoke Mandeville Hospital Radio)
\"Written by Jeff Lynne, this hymn to the pastoral life is very similar in mood and sound to the very first (and much imitated) ELO single, '10538 Overture' - hardly surprising as they were made by the same group. The title track to the last (1971) Move album, 'Message From The Country' showcases two masters of the harmonic art - Lynne and Roy Wood - raising up their voices to the sky in one of the very last authentic slices of English psychedelia, featuring stereo pans galore, an irresistable riff, and an extended fade that reverberates into the ether.\"
Jon Savage (February 14, 2005 - liner notes for Meridian 1970: Compiled by Jon Savage)
\"Moving to Philips Studios in London's Marble Arch, sessions recommenced on 30 November [1970] and the band worked solidly through the month, recording The Minister, Ella James, It Wasn't My Idea To Dance, Untitled Two (Message From The Country), My Marge, No Time and Until Your Momma's Gone. Message From The Country as a forgotten classic. This fact has most recently been championed by respected journalist Jon Savage in his Meridan 1970 compilation, where in praising the album, he states the title track is: '...one of the very last authentic slices of English psychedelia, featuring stereo pans galore, an irresistible riff, and an extended fade that reverberates into the ether.'\"
Rob Caiger (2005 - 1971: The Original Message article on themoveonline.com)
\"[Message From The Country], written by Jeff, was a song with a lyrical message. While The Move never saw themselves as a crusading band, this number, supplemented by a rich burst of vocal harmonies and George Harrison-inspired guitar, has an environmental theme not a million miles from Joni Mitchell's eco-hit of the previous year, Big Yellow Taxi, a theme echoed, albeit tongue-in-cheek, by the original [album] cover artwork. 'I painted the sleeve for that album which was inspired by one of Jeff's songs called Message From The Country which was all about trees dying and all that crap-- all living things dying!' said Roy. 'It shows a huge bird flying out of the sun with bomb doors where its stomach should be about to deposit a load on the country.'\"
John Van der Kiste (September 5, 2005 - Message From The Country Remaster)
\"[The Message From The Country album] bristles with intent from the black psychedelia of the title track to the Pepper-y My Marge.\"
Max Bell (October 2005 - Uncut issue 101)
\"[Message From The Country] with its booming bass and harmonies is a natural predecessor to ELO's brilliant 10538 Overture, which was released later in '71.\"
Todd Whitesel (October 2005 - Discoveries Stuff I Like review)
\"Both [the 2005 Message From The Country remaster and the 1994 Great Move! The Best Of The Move] include the whomping Message to the Country...\"
Robert Christgau (April 10, 2006 - Village Voice)
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\"A superb rocker [is] the bruising Ella James, which slightly reminds of McCartney's Ooh You.\"
John Mendelsohn (October 14, 1971 Rolling Stone #93)
\"Ella James was one of mine that we worked on together.\"
Roy Wood (September 30, 1994 - Roy Wood: The Wizzard of Rock article in Goldmine)
\"Roy and Jeff worked closely together and supplemented each other with tiny pieces of tunes for each of their compositions. Roy: 'We collaborated on quite a few things but because of our publishing situation it usually went down on the sleeve as a Roy Wood or JL song. [...] Ella James was one of mine that we worked on together.' [...] Ella James should have been the single, but when the group released Tonight, the copies of Ella James were quickly withdrawn, so only a few survived and reached the shops.\"
UNEX
\"Moving to Philips Studios in London's Marble Arch, sessions recommenced on 30 November [1970] and the band worked solidly through the month, recording The Minister, Ella James, It Wasn't My Idea To Dance, Untitled Two (Message From The Country), My Marge, No Time and Until Your Momma's Gone. The first single from the album was intended to be the Roy Wood rocker Ella James. Copies were pressed and distributed but a brand new Wood song, Tonight, recorded on 7 April 1971, excited everyone who heard it and it soon replaced the speedily withdrawn album track on 21 May. \"
Rob Caiger (2005 - 1971: The Original Message article on themoveonline.com)
\"Track two [from Message From The Country], Ella James, was the band's first Harvest single-- well, almost. Released on 7 May 1971, it was withdrawn within days due to Harvest having a very late change of mind and favouring a new non-album track called Tonight as the more commercial. Rush-released two weeks after Ella James premature appearance, it reached No. 11 during July 1971. Ella James, a no-nonsense rocker in the tradition of Get Back and Brown Sugar, did however appear twice on a single within a few months-- a cover version by the Nashville Teens (Parlophone R5925), and the original as part of The Move's swan song(s) on 45. [...] Six months [after the release of Chinatown] the band were on their way to No. 7 with their latest single. A three-track maxi, the B-side featured Ella James and Do Ya...\"
John Van der Kiste (September 5, 2005 - Message From The Country Remaster)
\"...A new Move single, the driving boogie-rocker Ella James, was issued in May [1970], only for it to be immediately withdrawn and replaced with Wood's lighter, falsetto-enhanced and somewhat Kinks-ish Tonight.\"
Mark Paytress (October 2008 - Anthology 1966 - 1972 liner notes)
\"[Ella James was] the band's first single on Harvest-- almost! Released and immediately withdrawn in favour of the more commercial Tonight (both written by Roy and recorded at Philips Studios) the song later appeared on The Move's final album Message From The Country released in June 1971. [...] In the UK, Tonight was rush released at the expense of Ella James and narrowly missed reaching the Top 10.\"
Author Unknown (October 2008 - Anthology 1966 - 1972 liner notes)
" xEllaJames_popupstats = "
\"No Time, a pretty acoustic number, features Wood blowing a recorder right off the hill the fool sits on and singing in a Bee Gee-tinged tenor with his chum JL. You'll be surprised to note that the [Phil] Copestake to whom composition of this delicate flower is attributed was credited with 'refreshments' on Looking On, the Move album released last December in England but sat on until just very recently by American Capitol.\"
John Mendelsohn (October 14, 1971 Rolling Stone #93)
Editor's Note: Phil Copestake did not compose this song. JL composed it. The author got this wrong because many of the writer credits on the original US issue of Message From The Country album on Capitol Records were wrong, attributing the writer to Phil Copestake.
\"...a lovely tune that functioned simultaneously as a dry Bee Gees send-up.\"
James Isaacs (September 27, 1973 Rolling Stone #144)
\"No Time by Jeff was the B-side of Ella James. Bev: 'Roy and Jeff did the four part harmonies between them.'\"
UNEX
\"Moving to Philips Studios in London's Marble Arch, sessions recommenced on 30 November [1970] and the band worked solidly through the month, recording The Minister, Ella James, It Wasn't My Idea To Dance, Untitled Two (Message From The Country), My Marge, No Time and Until Your Momma's Gone. \"
Rob Caiger (2005 - 1971: The Original Message article on themoveonline.com)
\"The mainly acoustic No Time, one of Jeff's prettiest songs, was a nod to the whimsical style of his more ethereal work with the Idle Race, as well as evoking shades of Paul McCartney at his most poignant, the perfect vehicle for Roy's multi-tracked recorders and Bev's echoing drums. There could hardly be a greater contrast between this and the two next tracks [on the Message From The Country album].\"
John Van der Kiste (September 5, 2005 - Message From The Country Remaster)
\"[On Message From The Country album] there's... the druggy acoustic reverie of No Time.\"
Max Bell (October 2005 - Uncut issue 101)
\"Lynne joined [The Move] in 1970, bringing his own Beatlesque gifts. His songs No Time and The Words of Aaron are heaving anguish, coated in silver sheets of vocal harmony and Wood's eccentric wall-of-reeds...\"
David Fricke (December 1, 2005 - Rolling Stone Issue 988)
" xNoTime_popupstats = "
\"Don't Mess Me Up would be virtually indistinguishable from a real Sun-period Elvis recording were it not for the characteristic exceptional clarity of the production and Bev's slightly too playful lead vocal. Everything else is just perfect, not the least of which is the GTR solo, which sounds as Scotty Moorish as any GTR solo has ever sounded. Why, they even put aside the ominously cantankerous monstro fuzz-bass that's come to be their most easily identifiable instrumental element and recorded the ride cymbal, which Wood likes not to record.\"
John Mendelsohn (October 14, 1971 Rolling Stone #93)
\"Bev's own composition Don't Mess Me Up is an out-and-out send of mid fifties rock'n'roll. Roy actually did a great job with his Elvis impersonation on this!\"
UNEX
\"Two months [after the release of the When Alice Comes Back To The Farm single], the group were in Olympic Studios to start sessions for their new album. The first song to take shape was Don't Mess Me Up, begun on 17 November 1970 and followed the next day by Ben Crawley Steel Company, which took three takes to complete.\"
Rob Caiger (2005 - 1971: The Original Message article on themoveonline.com)
\"There could hardly be a greater contrast between [No Time] and the two next tracks [on the Message From The Country album]. If The Move had begun their career playing classic 50s rock'n'roll standards like Weekend and Something Else, it didn't take long for them to start writing their own in the style themselves. Though Roy's pastiches of the golden era did not find full rein for another three years, with Wizzard's Introducing Eddy And The Falcons, a taste of things was to come with the track which first appeared on the B-side of Tonight, and the only song on the album credited to Bev as composer, Don't Mess Me Up, a glorious tribute to Elvis and the Jordanaires, complete with deliberate lo-fi sound and scratchy guitar adding the final touch of homage to the old Sun studios era.\"
John Van der Kiste (September 5, 2005 - Message From The Country Remaster)
\"[Message From The Country includes] the old-time rock 'n roll of Don't Mess Me Up...\"
Titus Jennings (November 2005 - Record Collector issue 316)
\"Both [the 2005 Message From The Country remaster and the 1994 Great Move! The Best Of The Move] include... the all shook up Don't Mess Me Up...\"
Robert Christgau (April 10, 2006 - Village Voice)
" xDontMessMeUp_popupstats = "
\"A superb rocker [is] the Eddie Cochranish Until Your Mama's Gone [sic], with its bone-crushing bass-line, white-hot fuzz-GTRs, and ruff-tuff vocal by Roy.\"
John Mendelsohn (October 14, 1971 Rolling Stone #93)
\"Green: Until Your Moma's Gone is an up-tempo blues undoubtedly The Move though. Roy plays sax on it.'\"
UNEX
\"Moving to Philips Studios in London's Marble Arch, sessions recommenced on 30 November [1970] and the band worked solidly through the month, recording The Minister, Ella James, It Wasn't My Idea To Dance, Untitled Two (Message From The Country), My Marge, No Time and Until Your Momma's Gone. \"
Rob Caiger (2005 - 1971: The Original Message article on themoveonline.com)
\"There could hardly be a greater contrast between [No Time] and the two next tracks [on the Message From The Country album]. ...The 50s meet the 70s with Until Your Mama's Gone [sic],a full-tilt bluesy rock'n'roller with an extra twist of saxes and piano, and a blueprint for the style which Roy was making very much his own and would explore more fully a year later on Wizzard's debut single Ball Park Incident.\"
John Van der Kiste (September 5, 2005 - Message From The Country Remaster)
\"[Message From The Country is] bold (Until Your Moma's Gone), at [times] bizarre (Ben Crawley Steel Company) and very British (My Marge). \"
Todd Whitesel (October 2005 - Discoveries Stuff I Like review)
\"[Message From The Country includes] heavy rock represented by Until Your Mama's Gone [sic]...\"
Titus Jennings (November 2005 - Record Collector issue 316)
\"Wood's Until Your Moma's Gone is enriched greaser fun, his runting saxes pushing hard alongside the gorilla-heartbeat bass and drums.\"
David Fricke (December 1, 2005 - Rolling Stone Issue 988)
" xUntilYourMomasGone_popupstats = "
\"My own personal favorite is the [Message From The Country] album's opener, It Wasn't My Idea [sic], which finds Wood singing such perfectly cerebrum-sizzling lines as, 'Now it's too late to want your freedom/It wasn't my idea to dance,' with an hilariously straight musical comedy delivery (much like the one he employed on the bridge of 1967's Flowers In The Rain) in front of the most sinister imaginable bass and imprudently dissonant Near Eastern woodwind choruses. How perfectly astonishing, you'll exclaim.\"
John Mendelsohn (October 14, 1971 Rolling Stone #93)
\"Yeah, I think I played oboe on that one, if I remember correctly.\"
Roy Wood (September 30, 1994 - Roy Wood: The Wizzard of Rock article in Goldmine)
\"Definitive title: It Wasn't My Idea To Dance.\"
Robert Christgau (1995 - Details magazine)
\"It Wasn't My Idea To Dance also by Roy. 'Zappa-ish' (Bev)\"
UNEX
\"Moving to Philips Studios in London's Marble Arch, sessions recommenced on 30 November [1970] and the band worked solidly through the month, recording The Minister, Ella James, It Wasn't My Idea To Dance, Untitled Two (Message From The Country), My Marge, No Time and Until Your Momma's Gone. \"
Rob Caiger (2005 - 1971: The Original Message article on themoveonline.com)
\"It was to be another four years or so before Roy managed to fulfil [sic] his ambition of exploring jazz-rock more fully with Wizzard in their final stages and the shortlived Wizzo Band, but such beginnings can be traced on the track which opened side two [of the Message From The Country album], It Wasn't My Idea To Dance. Cue Roy's clarinet, oboe and bassoon as well as sax and cello for a song which at the time drew approving nods from those who detected a touch of Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention.\"
John Van der Kiste (September 5, 2005 - Message From The Country Remaster)
" xItWasntMyIdeaToDance_popupstats = "
\"Bev's The Minister resembles The Beatles in general vocally, Paperback Writer in particular melodically, and Redbone vaguely in its riffy arrangement and use of Leslie-amplified GTR. A superb rocker, this one...\"
John Mendelsohn (October 14, 1971 Rolling Stone #93)
\"...a neat \"Paperback Writer\" takeoff...\"
James Isaacs (September 27, 1973 Rolling Stone #144)
\"There was one of Jeff's called The Minister that I liked a lot, which we worked on together.\"
Roy Wood (September 30, 1994 - Roy Wood: The Wizzard of Rock article in Goldmine)
\"Roy and Jeff worked closely together and supplemented each other with tiny pieces of tunes for each of their compositions. Roy: 'We collaborated on quite a few things but because of our publishing situation it usually went down on the sleeve as a Roy Wood or JL song. There was one of Jeff's called The Minister that I liked a lot, which we worked on together.' [...] The Minister was a Jeff song. Bev: 'A rock'n'roll song. Oboes by Roy and a moog which we played around with. There are all sort of electric things on it.' It also was a comment on the Wilson-affair.\"
UNEX
\"Moving to Philips Studios in London's Marble Arch, sessions recommenced on 30 November [1970] and the band worked solidly through the month, recording The Minister, Ella James, It Wasn't My Idea To Dance, Untitled Two (Message From The Country), My Marge, No Time and Until Your Momma's Gone. \"
Rob Caiger (2005 - 1971: The Original Message article on themoveonline.com)
\"[It Wasn't My Idea To Dance] was followed [on the Message From The Country album] by The Minister, Jeff's song and lead vocal but obviously very much a joint effort between himself and Roy in the arrangement of jangling lead guitar and nothing spared on the horn section.\"
John Van der Kiste (September 5, 2005 - Message From The Country Remaster)
" xMinisterThe_popupstats = "
\"Ben Crawley Steel Co., which concerns the evolution of a simple steel-drivin' man into a bomb-brandishing revolutionary, is a brilliant send-up of your actual truckdriver's country music, featuring an unspeakably charming and incontestably virile lead vocal in a register you probably had forgotten exists by super-stud BBV, who, just incidentally, is also one of the best rock and roll drummers in history. Relish the weirdly-phased falsetto backgrounds.\"
John Mendelsohn (October 14, 1971 Rolling Stone #93)
\"Great stroke: Ben Crawley Steel Company, in which Johnny Cash dynamites the capitalist who's tupping his little woman. \"
Robert Christgau (1995 - Details magazine)
\"Roy's 'Ben Crawley Steel Company featured Bev on lead VCL, or as Bev calls it 'grunting on it'.\"
UNEX
\"Two months [after the release of the When Alice Comes Back To The Farm single], the group were in Olympic Studios to start sessions for their new album. The first song to take shape was Don't Mess Me Up, begun on 17 November 1970 and followed the next day by Ben Crawley Steel Company, which took three takes to complete. Further sessions begun on 31 December 1970 and included The Words Of Aaron, another take of Ben Crawley Steel Company and also recordings for the Electric Light Orchestra: Queen Of The Hours; Mr. Radio; First Movement and Look At Me Now.\"
Rob Caiger (2005 - 1971: The Original Message article on themoveonline.com)
\"Ben Crawley Steel Company gave me my second and last stab at lead vocals since Zing Went The Strings Of My Heart from The Move's debut album.\"
Bev Bevan (September 5, 2005 - Message From The Country Remaster)
\"Next [on the Message From The Country album] came a cut which may have had more serious rock critics shaking their heads and hastily moving the pickup arm on a couple of inches, but the ersatz country guitar and Bev's attempt at a Johnny Cash vocal on Ben Crawley Steel Company still brings a smile to the face of the less serious listener. Country gave way to psychadelic on Words Of Aaron [sic]...\"
John Van der Kiste (September 5, 2005 - Message From The Country Remaster)
\"[On Message From The Country album] there's warped trucking nightmare Ben Crawley Steel Co. [sic].\"
Max Bell (October 2005 - Uncut issue 101)
\"[Message From The Country is] bold (Until Your Moma's Gone), at [times] bizarre (Ben Crawley Steel Company) and very British (My Marge). \"
Todd Whitesel (October 2005 - Discoveries Stuff I Like review)
\"[Message From The Country includes] the Johnny Cash-esque country in Ben Crawley Steel Company...\"
Titus Jennings (November 2005 - Record Collector issue 316)
\"Both [the 2005 Message From The Country remaster and the 1994 Great Move! The Best Of The Move] include... the Man-in-Black-on-ludes Ben Crawley Steel Company...\"
Robert Christgau (April 10, 2006 - Village Voice)
" xBenCrawleySteelCompany_popupstats = "
\"The Words of Aaron [is] classic Move-- mostly densely heavy but sometimes delicate backing, ingeniously and intricately assembled, with breathtaking vocal harmonies over strange and intriguing lyrics carried by beautiful tunes.\"
John Mendelsohn (October 14, 1971 Rolling Stone #93)
\"Jeff's The Words of Aaron is a percussive track. Bev: 'It's got drums and every other percussion instrument we could lay our hands on!'\"
UNEX
\"Further sessions begun on 31 December 1970 and included The Words Of Aaron, another take of Ben Crawley Steel Company and also recordings for the Electric Light Orchestra: Queen Of The Hours; Mr. Radio; First Movement and Look At Me Now.\"
Rob Caiger (2005 - 1971: The Original Message article on themoveonline.com)
\"[Ben Crawley Steel Company] gave way to psychadelic on Words Of Aaron [sic] [on the Message From The Country album], without a doubt one of Jeff's best examples of homage to John Lennon. With its abstract feel and lack of conventional song structure-- it sounds more like two different songs welded together-- as well as variations in tempo, and most telling of all the false ending, it reveals a debt to Strawberry Fields Forever and I Am The Walrus without sounding too much like either.\"
John Van der Kiste (September 5, 2005 - Message From The Country Remaster)
\"[Message From The Country includes] the prog-styled The Words Of Aaron...\"
Titus Jennings (November 2005 - Record Collector issue 316)
\"Lynne joined [The Move] in 1970, bringing his own Beatlesque gifts. His songs No Time and The Words of Aaron are heaving anguish, coated in silver sheets of vocal harmony and Wood's eccentric wall-of-reeds...\"
David Fricke (December 1, 2005 - Rolling Stone Issue 988)
" xWordsOfAaronThe_popupstats = "
\"My Marge mixes [The Beatles'] When I'm 64 instrumentation with a New Vaudeville Band vocal and a Between the Buttons conception of turn-of-the-century music. It's delightfully out-of-focus around the corners, with the bass voice and the tenor stepping all overf one another's toes. A throwaway, but armfuls of wholesome fun for the entire family.\"
John Mendelsohn (October 14, 1971 Rolling Stone #93)
\"The [Message From The Country] album closes with My Marge, the first and ever track Roy and Jeff composed together. Only Roy and Jeff played here. Jeff took over Bev's drums and threw in a few wry comments.\"
UNEX
\"Moving to Philips Studios in London's Marble Arch, sessions recommenced on 30 November [1970] and the band worked solidly through the month, recording The Minister, Ella James, It Wasn't My Idea To Dance, Untitled Two (Message From The Country), My Marge, No Time and Until Your Momma's Gone. \"
Rob Caiger (2005 - 1971: The Original Message article on themoveonline.com)
\"Finally, the [Message From the Country] album's shortest track, a jokey mock-music hall ditty My Marge, comparable to When I'm 64, leaves you with a grin on your face.\"
John Van der Kiste (September 5, 2005 - Message From The Country Remaster)
\"[The Message From The Country album] bristles with intent from the black psychedelia of the title track to the Pepper-y My Marge.\"
Max Bell (October 2005 - Uncut issue 101)
\"[Message From The Country is] bold (Until Your Moma's Gone), at [times] bizarre (Ben Crawley Steel Company) and very British (My Marge). \"
Todd Whitesel (October 2005 - Discoveries Stuff I Like review)
" xMyMarge_popupstats = "
This version of Don't Mess Me Up has no non-vocal instrument accompaniment, but is just Roy's lead vocals and handclaps both channels, Jeff and Roy's multitracked harmony backing vocals on the right channel, Bev's bass backing vocals on the left channel. It also includes the studio banter before and after the song, including, after the song, Roy telling someone \"That was just about passable, that one, I think.\"
\"Though the recording sessions for Message From The Country captured on tape were fascinating (and deserve a future remixed release) there were no unreleased songs, only early session versions of Don't Mess Me Up and Words Of Aaron [sic] which have been included on the remastered edition.\"
Rob Caiger (2005 - 1999-2005: Making Of A Remaster article on themoveonline.com)
" xDontMessMeUpACappellaVersion_popupstats = "
This version of Until Your Moma's Gone, found on the 2005 issued Harvest Showdown album includes a bit of Roy's talking and the count-in at the song's beginning and a small bit of talking in the studio after the song's end. Otherwise it is the same as the standard Message From The Country album version. Curiously, the Harvest Showdown album spells \"Moma\" as \"Momma\". This is probably another case where either spelling is correct, although this is the only known use of this alternate spelling.
\"Until Your Momma's Gone [sic] is the same as the album version but contains snatches of studio chat from the original recording session, so hopefully Move fans will see Harvest Showdown as a good-value complimentary album.\"
Rob Caiger (2005 - 1999-2005: Making Of A Remaster article on themoveonline.com)
\"Two other tracks from The Move are included [on the Harvest Showdown collection], the US single edit of Tonight (the group's first Harvest hit single in the UK, reaching no. 12) and, from Message From The Country, Until Your Momma's Gone [sic], which with its frenzied lead guitar, saxes and manic piano clearly pointed the route ahead to Wizzard.\"
John Van der Kiste (September 5, 2005 - Harvest Showdown review on ftmusic.com)
Editor's Note: This version is not that which appeared on the Message From The Country album, but is a rare extended version.
\"Count-ins and talkback are lifted from the session multitracks for that particular song. So for Until Your Momma's Gone the count-in and talk-back at the end were taken from that session multitrack reel, mixed and then dropped in either side of the original stereo master in the relevant places.\"
Rob Caiger (October 3, 2005 - Useless Information mailing list)
" xUntilYourMomasGoneHarvestShowdownVersion_popupstats = "
This version is an early mix of The Words Of Aaron, missing the heavy bass guitar and synthesizer throughout the song. The drums are pushed far down into the mix so that the piano and vocals are prominently heard and more woodwind is added at the song's end. Also, the song does not fade out (and in and out again) as on the standard album version, but continues throughout the entire take with no fade out at all, rather a comical piano, drum and woodwind ending. There is also a very small bit of studio banter that can be heard at the song's beginning and end.
\"Though the recording sessions for Message From The Country captured on tape were fascinating (and deserve a future remixed release) there were no unreleased songs, only early session versions of Don't Mess Me Up and Words Of Aaron [sic] which have been included on the remastered edition.\"
Rob Caiger (2005 - 1999-2005: Making Of A Remaster article on themoveonline.com)
" xWordsOfAaronTheAlternateVersion_popupstats = "
This is a hidden track on the 2005 Message From The Country remaster album, attached to the alternate version of Do Ya at the end of the album. This version varies from the standard Message From The Country album version in that it includes a bit of studio banter and a wee bit of oboe tuning before and after the song. Also, the vocals are mixed more prominently, allowing them to be much more clearly heard.
\"My Marge (session version) was a hidden track. It still is on the CD, but EMI Sales gave the game away when providing details to Amazon and other retailers.\"
Rob Caiger (August 8, 2005 - Showdown mailing list)
" xMyMargeAlternateVersion_popupstats = "
There was a press release for a new Big Al Johnson album at the time that stated it was produced by JL and Roy Wood. The recording of this album is said to have been done at the same time as the Move's Message From The Country and ELO's Electric Light Orchestra albums were being recorded. However, the Big Al Johnson album was never released for reasons still unknown.
\"Meanwhile Jeff produced the album of his first hero, the former Mike Sheridan and the Nighters lead GTRist, Big Al Johnson, which wasn't released as far as we know.\"
UNEX
" xJohnsonBigAlUnknownTitles_popupstats = "
\"The Move continue to issue great pop singles, long after the announcement that they were to dissolve into the Electric Light Orchestra. Another Roy Wood song with all the clever twists and turns we have come to expect from a man now regarded as a legendary figure on the British music scene. Atmospheric and catchy, this track lays oriental slide guitar against Beatle-esque harmonies and will no doubt be yet another hit for The Move.\"
Unknown (1971 - Source Unknown, Chinatown single review in the liner notes for the Message From The Country remaster CD)
\"In the United States the [Chinatown] single was released on MGM records at first instead of United artists. United Artists' creative sounds director Marty Cerf about the question why: 'Yes, The Move are on United Artists... so are E.L.O. as well as Roy Wood as a solo artist. Chinatown was on MGM illegally and is coming out next week on United Artists, where it belonged all along.'\"
UNEX
\"In the singles charts though, The Move could do no wrong. Sessions for a new single started on 1 September 1971 and one month later, 'Chinatown was released, reaching no. 23.\"
Rob Caiger (2005 - 1971: The Original Message article on themoveonline.com)
\"Chinatown, their second single of the year, was released on 1 October and peaked at No. 23 one month later. Once named by their former vocalist Carl Wayne as his favourite Move single, it was backed with JL's Down On The Bay.\"
John Van der Kiste (September 5, 2005 - Message From The Country Remaster)
\"Oddly, neither [Tonight] nor the slightly less successful follow-up, Chinatown, were included on The Move's fourth and final album, Message From The Country, issued in June 1971.\"
Mark Paytress (October 2008 - Anthology 1966 - 1972 liner notes)
\"A whole session was spent recording the gong and drum intro [for Chinatown] until it was just right-- and then it was edited from the US single release. This is the full-length UK single A-side, prepared from the Take 10 master recording begun at Philips Studios on 1 September 1971 and released to Top 30 success a month later.\"
Author Unknown (October 2008 - Anthology 1966 - 1972 liner notes)
" xChinatown_popupstats = "
\"Tonight, [was] recorded on 7 April 1971... Also recorded at the same session was a new JL track entitled Down On The Bay'. Both songs were mixed on 28 April and the day after, Wood, Lynne and Bevan continued sessions for ELO with the recording of Manhattan Concerto (later retitled Manhattan Rumble) and Whisper In The Night.\"
Rob Caiger (2005 - 1971: The Original Message article on themoveonline.com)
\"[The Chinatown single] was backed with JL's Down On The Bay. A deceptively simple-sounding rocker in which a Chuck Berry-type intro leads into the kind of style which Status Quo were shortly to make their own, as with so many Move numbers there's more than meets the eye; listen out for those nifty changes in rhythm.\"
John Van der Kiste (September 5, 2005 - Message From The Country Remaster)
\"This reissue [of Message From The Country] also features the Move's last pre-ELO singles, including California Man and Down on the Bay, both later covered, to the letter, by ardent U.S. fans Cheap Trick.\"
David Fricke (December 1, 2005 - Rolling Stone Issue 988)
" xDownOnTheBay_popupstats = "
The difference between this version and the original single version is that it is missing the gong at the beginning and the middle instrumental bridge has been cut. This version is known only on the USA pressed United Artists single with stock number 50876.
\"The rumour that the MGM single [issued in the US] featured an 'extended version' of Chinatown lived on for as much as twenty years. So it's time to tell the truth. MGM put the same version as the European Harvest release on the record. The United Artists version is shorter, the gong beginning is left out as well as the bridge section. In fact only an 'edited version' of United Artists is available, because the longer MGM version was the same as the original version.\"
UNEX
\"A whole session was spent recording the gong and drum intro [for Chinatown] until it was just right-- and then it was edited from the US single release.\"
Author Unknown (October 2008 - Anthology 1966 - 1972 liner notes)
" xChinatownEditedUSASingleVersion_popupstats = "
\"This is the track that started it all off, when ELO's first album was released in early '72. The group consisted of the original 'Move' members JL, Roy Wood, Bev Bevan.\"
Author Unknown (June 1976 - liner notes for Olι ELO album)
\"The first ELO track that we ever recorded originally was gonna be a Move track, which was 10538 Overture. We did the backing track to that and me and Jeff were sort of stuck in the studio. We'd had a few beers and that. And I'd just bought this cello which I'd been scraping around on and Jeff said, 'Oh, go on. Go and have a little go on it.' And I ended up... I put all the... I played all the cellos on the song. As a cellist I was probably a good gardener. [Laughs] We ended up recording about ten or twelve of them. It sounded all right, y'know. We... me and Jeff started to get a buzz for it and, uh, we thought, well this is what we're gonna base it on. That will be the first ELO track. We won't use it for the Move. We were mixing the song about a couple weeks later-- in fact, there wasn't a title for it then. And, uh, we knew it was about an escaped prisoner. It was written by Jeff. And there was a number on the mixing desk, '10538', it was in Phonogram studios. And we... 'Oh, that would do!' We used the number off the desk. \"
Roy Wood (circa 1980s - interview for BBC World Service)
Editor's Note: Actually, the number was '1053' and Roy suggested putting the '8' on the end to make the song sound right. Also, the song was recorded at Philips Studios, not Phonogram Studios.
\"Jeff's occasionally uncomfortable marriage of styles proved substantially more accessible than Wood's compositions, so it was no surprise in retrospect that one of Lynne's tracks was chosen for the single. 10538 Overture, released in June 1972, became a Top Ten hit (hot on the heels of California Man, the final single by the Move)...\"
Paul Cox (1986 - liner notes for First Movement)
\"...the number that actually blazed the ELO trail was just that: a Move song at heart. '10538 Overture was the birth of ELO,' says Wood. 'It was going to be a Move number; Rick Price even played [bass] on it. I'd been scraping around on a cello in the hotel room and Rick and Bev had been complaining about the racket. When they'd gone home, Jeff listened to the track and I ended up putting on about ten cello tracks.'\"
Ira Robbins (1990 liner notes for Afterglow)
\"Jeff came along with a skeleton idea for a song which we intended to use for a B side on one of these tracks (California Man, Tonight or Chinatown). There were a few bits missing that Jeff and myself worked on, while the other lads took a break. We eventually recorded the backing track that afternoon. Bev and Rick were due to travel back to Birmingham on the train, so me and Jeff stayed and overdubbed the electric guitar riffs. Around this time, I had started to collect musical instruments. Because of the impending idea for the orchestra, I had decided to buy a cello a couple of weeks earlier. It was a cheap Chinese job, and I hadn't got much of a clue, apart from knowing how to tune it, hold the bow correctly, and play Jimi Hendrix riffs on it! I took it into the control room while we were listening to the playback of the track, and joined in for a laugh, scraping away in I Am The Walrus type fashion. Jeff said that sounds great and we should put it on the track. We ended up overdubbing loads of them, which eventually sounded like some colossal heavy metal cello band. As the instrumentation built up, we could feel that this was probably turning into the modern rock orchestra sound that we wanted to achieve... In fact, it sounded BLOODY MARVELOUS... We were ecstatic! When we eventually came to record the vocals, Jeff was looking for a title to portray a man with a number instead of a name. After staring into the space for a while, we noticed the serial number on the modules of the recording console, 1053. With a bit of juggling, it ended up as 10538... and as its the first song with our new idea... 10538 Overture... YES!\"
Roy Wood (circa 1990s - Face The Music fanzine #25)
\"At first, Roy learned the cello. He learned how to do these big whoops and scrapes, y'know, 'WHOMP! WHOMP!' And, uh, that was great 'cause I wrote this song called 10538 Overture, which was the first one we ever recorded. We're going 'round, like thrilled to bits in this daze, going 'Oh, it's the best thing ever written.' And we listen to it now, it's really sort of wacky, but good.\"
JL (June 23, 1990 - Timothy White's Rock Stars: JL's Musical Chairs)
\"In fact, 10538 Overture was originally slated to be recorded by The Move, but was later resuscitated by ELO and stands as a highlight from the group's debut 1971 record, No Answer.\"
Ken Sharp (September 30, 1994 - Roy Wood: The Wizzard of Rock article in Goldmine)
\"How ELO got started was myself and Jeff had been talking about ELO for a long time before that and we were recording the album Message From The Country and Jeff had come up with a skeleton idea for 10538 (Overture) [sic]. He'd just got the beginning to it. We got to grips with that. We actually put a backing track down to that. It was me, Jeff, Bev Bevan and Rick Price. We put it down as a Move backing track but then Rick and Bev went home and Jeff and myself were in the studio working out ideas. I'd been to a music shop about a week before and bought a cello. That was when I started collecting instruments. It was like a Chinese copy of a cello (laughs). It was sort of yellowy in color but it sounded really good. It didn't sound like a sweet, mellow cello, especially the way I was playing it. I was doing all these Jimi Hendrix riffs on it. It sounded really quite wild. I was just sort of messing about as they were playing the tape back in the control room. Jeff said, 'Oh, yeah, put some of those on.' So I ended up putting loads of them on and it sounded like an orchestra. That's how the whole thing started.\"
Roy Wood (September 30, 1994 - Roy Wood: The Wizzard of Rock article in Goldmine)
\"ELO finally saw a patch of blue in July [1972], when 10538 Overture was released as a single and began heading up the British charts. The group appeared on Top Of The Pops, casually disguising Wilf Gibson and a roadie in pig masks to pass as cellists.\"
Ira Robbins (1995 liner notes for Strange Magic: The Best Of Electric Light Orchestra)
\"10538 Overture was announced as The Move's followup single to When Alice Comes Back To The Farm, but then Jeff and Roy decided to make it into an E.L.O. song. Jeff wrote the complete song with story and lyrics around a cello riff, Roy played again and again. Roy did a lot of the arrangements to it, like the more difficult GTR chords, and he arranged all the classical instruments he could play. So in the end, Roy had put a lot of his ideas into it and it was his brainchild too, so this is why Roy sang the fourth and eighth line on it. On a very early recording session of 10538 Overture Rick Price played bass GTR. Roy: '(It) was going to be a Move number, Rick Price played on that. We finished it when Bev and Rick had gone home. I'd been scraping around on cello in a hotel room and they'd been complaining about the racket. When they'd gone, I went to the control room with the cello and Jeff listened back to the track. I ended up putting on about ten cello parts. That song was the birth of E.L.O.' When the song was finally finished however, neither Jeff, Rick nor Roy were able to tell whether Rick's bass part could be heard on the final mix or not. Jeff and Roy had changed parts over and over again. By overdubbing again and again they could no longer hear the basic lines anymore, so they had to do some parts twice because the earlier part had been erased away. So Jeff had to do the bass part again by himself and finally new ones were mixed with old ones. As nobody was able to tell Rick played on it and because he wasn't featured in the E.L.O., he simply wasn't credited on the final released version, although he may have been playing on it. [...] ...[Rick Price] also did work with The Electric Light Orchestra but not as a member. He was more of a guest, playing the bass line of the earliest recording of 10538 Overture back in October 1970. Rick couldn't be heard in the final mix-down so Jeff had to do the bass line once more.\"
UNEX
\"...The first time I went down to London with them was to the Phonogram studio near Marble Arch, which I think Paul Weller bought and might still own and it was to add some horn, French horn, and also I think Roy had got a small brass trumpet so on the introduction to 10538 Overture I added the horn part and added some trumpet parts which I think they speeded the track up to make it sound higher at the end of that track. [...] Paul Weller had a single out [in 1995 called The Changing Man], I think it was his Wild Wood album and it was one of my nephews came up and said have you heard this Paul Weller track, it just sounds like 10538 Overture and I listened to it and I couldn't believe it, I think it was in the same key as well. But it was interesting, that connection, that the 10538 [sic] was recorded in the studio that he later bought.\"
Bill Hunt (December 1999 - Interview by Martin Kinch on Stoke Mandeville Hospital Radio)
\"One day [Roy Wood and JL were] in the studio working on what was to be a new Move track. 'I thought it had something special to it,' Lynne remembers of the song that became 10538 Overture. As Lynne recalls, 'It was just me and Roy. I played the big GTR riffs, then Roy got out his brand new Chinese cello he bought for like 30 quid. He was really good on it. We started overdubbing that onto this track we'd just done, and it started sounding like this orchestra we'd had in mind for all these months. We said, Wow, this is it-- this is Electric Light Orchestra. We'd actually done it. We put on the drums afterward, but that was the very birth of the realization of the sound.'\"
David Wild (2000 liner notes for Flashback)
\"The first ever ELO song.\"
JL (2000 - Flashback)
\"We were working on a track, eh, which was myself, uh, Jeff, Bev Bevan and Rick Price. I used to collect instruments at that time and I bought this cheap Chinese cello. Y'know, it's like... the wood was like a, it's like an old wardrobe. It was like a yellowy, old... looked like part of a toilet system or something. I was just scraping away on this cello, doing Jimi Hendrix riffs, y'know. [Imitates riff from Kiss The Sky.] Y'know, banging it out. It sounded, like, pretty rough and ready. And then Jeff says, 'Oh, that sounds all right, that. Why don't we try putting it on the track.' So, we put about fifteen or sixteen of 'em on. And it ended up like some sort of heavy metal mad orchestra thing. And we thought, this could be the start of the, y'know, the ELO sort of sound. Jeff was wanting to call it someone that had got a number, not a name. We were sitting there trying to think of stuff, sitting there at the mixing console. And the actual number on the mixing desk, the serial number, was '1053.' And, uh, we just muckin' it up, put the eight on the end and there you go, 10538 Overture.\"
Roy Wood (June 2 & 9, 2001 - Mr. Blue Sky: The JL Story 2001 BBC 2 Radio show)
\"There can't have been many front rooms on Birmingham's council estates that have given pride of place to a Mellotron. But if Mrs. Next Door ever wondered where that cranky music-of-the-spheres was coming from, chances are it was Phil and Nancy Lynne's boy working out a new song in the surprisingly well-stocked studio he'd assembled in the lounge. He'd demoed the Move's Number 1 single, Blackberry Way there in 1968 - Roy singing with his head wrapped in cushions to avoid disturbing Jeff's sleeping parents - and it was here, using the piano stool as a snare drum, that Jeff worked out the outline for 10538 [sic]. Pleased with the result, the band repaired to Philips' studio in Marble Arch. 'I'd bought this cheap Chinese cello,' recalls Roy. 'It was a yellowy colour, looked like an old wardrobe. Rick and Bev had gone home and I was mucking about, playing Hendrix riffs. It sounded great, like a real heavy metal orchestra. Jeff wanted the lyrics to be about a man with a number instead of a name, and the serial number of the desk there was 1053 so we added 8 and called it Overture 'cos it was the orchestra's first song.' 'I remember being in a car going to a Move gig in Cornwall,' says Jeff. 'Roy and I played a tape of it all the way down. We were going wild. We had it on like a thousand times, and [Bev and Rick] up front were going, Not that thing again! Shut up!' 10538 Overture was an instant hit, but the album was less well received...\"
Jim Irvin (August, 2001 - The Bullring Variations article in Mojo)
\"It was Lynne who composed 10538 Overture, the first ELO song and according to Lynne 'the very birth of the realisation of the sound.' As a single from ELO's critically acclaimed eponymous EMI debut album, it reach no.9 in the UK during August 1972, but within a week of its release and after a difficult and frustrating UK and Italian tour, Wood dramatically left the group to form Wizzard.\"
Rob Caiger (March 2004 - liner notes for Early Years album)
\"I've just given Positiva my suggestions for further ELO songs to be considered for the remix treatment. Interestingly, 10538 Overture is on the shelf as a very interesting remix by an important and ground-breaking (fairly) new band. Whether it'll ever come out, remains to be seen.\"
Rob Caiger (February 5, 2005 - Showdown mailing list)
\"Richard doesn't play bass on 10538 [sic], Roy Wood does, though Rick played on the original track before it was reworked.\"
Rob Caiger (April 9, 2005 - Showdown mailing list)
\"I had this guitar track, like a real big riff on the guitar. And, uh, I'd laid it down in the studio and Roy had got his cello, his Chinese cello, and he overdubbed like about, I don't know, fifteen of 'em, cello riffs. Y'know, just double tracking all the time and chords in places. And it sounded fantastic we thought. Y'know, it's like 'Wow!' We just sat 'round playing it for days. When we went on a gig, we was still playing as The Move right then. We'd just have it on in the car all the time and drive everybody mad. And that was it, 10538 Overture. And that's how that came about. It was just from an experiment and just keep wanging [sic] stuff on it until it sounds like an orchestra.\"
JL (July 5, 2005 - Face The Music: The Story of the Electric Light Orchestra BBC 2 Radio show)
\"This collection doesn't include Can't Get It Out Of My Head or Roll Over Beethoven or 10538 Overture, which might make some question why it's called The Very Best of ELO.\"
Angela Pancella (July 2005 - Playback St. Louis review of All Over the World: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra)
\"In fact, a JL composition begun as a Move b-side on 12 July 1970 had now become an ELO song titled 10538 Overture...\"
Rob Caiger (2005 - 1971: The Original Message article on themoveonline.com)
\"The long and glorious history of ELO had its roots in 10538 Overture, which had initially been intended as a Move B-side, but instead became track 1 side 1 on the first ELO album in 1971 and their first UK Top 10 single (no. 9) almost a year later. The US mono radio mix [is] on this [Harvest Showdown] collection.\"
John Van der Kiste (September 5, 2005 - Harvest Showdown review on ftmusic.com)
\"[Message From The Country] with its booming bass and harmonies is a natural predecessor to ELO's brilliant 10538 Overture, which was released later in '71.\"
Todd Whitesel (October 2005 - Discoveries Stuff I Like review)
\"Roy Wood, Jeff Lynne and Bev Bevan were members of the Move, the Brummie band that illuminated the 1960s pop scene with their colourful stage shows and psychedelically inclined pop tunes. Together, they formed a side-project, the Electric Light Orchestra, aiming to incorporate classical instrumentation into pop music. This, their first ever recording, fitted the bill, boasting a cracking riff (later purloined by Paul Weller for his song Changing Man), French horns and thrumming cellos. The title is said to have come from the serial number of a desk that Lynne was working on at the time.\"
David Cheal (December 8, 2005 - The Daily Telegraph)
\"As The Move quietly (!) retired with the single California Man, ELO celebrated their first UK hit single with the JL composition, 10538 Overture, a track recorded two years earlier. As the single raced to no.9 slot and the debut album entered the Top 30 album chart, Roy Wood decided to leave the group and form Wizzard.\"
Rob Caiger (March 13, 2006 - liner notes for The Collection)
\"No Answer, released in 1972, jumps out with an unmistakeable Magic Mystery Tour nod. Right from the first song, perhaps the album's best track, is 10538 Overture, which fuses guitars and bass with orchestral like arrangements, creating a big sound that served them well over the years. With violins and horns, ELO was in a unique groove. 10538 Overture became a likely hit in England although ELO couldn't duplicate that result on US shores until their second album...\"
Matt Rowe (March 22, 2006 - MusicTAP No Answer and ELO II review)
\"10538 Overture was an idea that Jeff brought along to the studio which was originally to be a Move track. After recording the basic backing track, the other guys went home, leaving Jeff and myself to run riot with the overdubs. At the time, I was very keen on collecting instruments, and had just acquired a cheap Chinese cello. After we had finished overdubbing the guitars, I sat in the control room trying out this cello and sort of messing around with Jimi Hendrix type riffs. Jeff said, 'That sounds great, why don't we throw it on the track.' I ended up recording around fifteen of these, and as the instrumentation built up, it was beginning to sound like some monster heavy metal orchestra. In fact, it sounded just Bloody Marvellous.\"
Roy Wood (March 28, 2006 - No Answer Remaster)
\"I think it was during the Message sessions [sic] that I came up with 10538 Overture and Roy became brilliant on the cello. That magic combination was all we could have wished for and we loved it and played it back eight thousand times. It became the first ever ELO song.\"
JL (March 28, 2006 - No Answer Remaster)
\"10538 Overture was the first Electric Light Orchestra song. Recorded July 1970, originally as a Move b-side, it was the very birth of the ELO sound.\"
Rob Caiger (March 28, 2006 - No Answer Remaster)
\"Written and sung by Lynne, 10538 Overture is the opener and the best song on the [No Answer]album.\"Bruce Eder (March 28, 2006 - All Music Guide No Answer Remaster review)
\"[Roy Wood] is the one who made Lynne's Overture [sic] an overture, recording 15 tracks of cello.\"
Ed Masley (March 30, 2006 - No Answer review in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazzette)
\"The [No Answer] album took its grandiose schemes seriously... to the decidedly Beatle-esque sway of 10538 Overture.\"
Author Unknown (April 14, 2006 - No Answer and ELO II review in the Lexington Herald-Reader)
\"This was Jeff Lynne's move away from the Move-style pop he had successfully forged with Roy Wood. I loved the opening guitar riff. Being starved of guitars, on U.K. radio at the time, this was a welcome epic, hit home even further by the immense strings and drums. \"
Phil Collen (May 2006 - Yeah! liner notes)
\"We had, HAD to pay tribute to Roy Wood somehow - so, how??? A lot of Roy's songs were a bit too 'oompah' for us to perform, or just too damn 'out there'!!! Blackberry Way, for example, is one of the best songs of its time, as are Tonight, Brontosaurus and California Man, the latter two covered by Cheap Trick, so they were out!!! We'd always dug the Beatle-ness of 10538, so as it was the Roy Wood-era ELO, we thought 'why not?'... We also had a lot of fun with the Stepaside Symphonia on this one... funny folk, these classical types. I must ask Jeff Lynne what this lyric is all about... I suspect a prison break with the number being the prisoner's identity... or not... and while I'm at it, 'here's one Paul Weller stole from ELO' (You get my drift.)\"
Joe Elliott (May 2006 - Yeah! liner notes)
\"I had this guitar track, like a real big riff on a guitar. I laid it down in the studio and Roy Wood got his cello, his Chinese cello, and he overdubbed about fifteen cello riffs, just double tracking all the time-- and it sounded fantastic. We thought, it was like 'Wow!' and we just sat round playing it for days.\"
JL (July 31 2006 - The Harvest Years 1970-1973 liner notes)
\"I used to collect instruments all the time and I'd bought this cheap Chinese cello-- the wood looked like an old wardrobe, it was like yellowy, horrible, looked like and old toilet system or something! I was just scraping away on this cello, doing Jimi Hendrix riffs, and it sounded pretty rough 'n' ready. Then Jeff says, 'it sounds alright, that, why don't we try putting it on the track?' So, I put about fifteen of 'em on and it ended up like some sort of heavy metal, mad orchestra thing. And we thought, this could be the start of the ELO sound.\"
Roy Wood (July 31 2006 - The Harvest Years 1970-1973 liner notes)
\"Wood reckoned that the key moment [for the creation of the Electric Light Orchestra] came in July 1970 when he found himself overdubbing a recently purchased Chinese cello sixteen times on Lynne's embryonic 10538 Overture, then proposed as a Move b-side. 'That was the start of the ELO sound,' he later insisted.\"
Mark Paytress (January 2008 - Looking On remaster liner notes)
\"Lynne's 10538 Overture was being talked of as a possible single as early as Autumn 1970. [...] By the time Wood was honking his big horn on Top Of The Pops, head to toe in Teddy Boy garb, the Electric Light Orchestra's debut single, 10538 Overture, was being readied for release. ...With 10538 Overture receiving both critical acclaim and commercial success, Roy Wood got up and walked away from ELO.\"
Mark Paytress (October 2008 - Anthology 1966 - 1972 liner notes)
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\"Look At Me Now, Whisper In The Night, and parts of the old-fashioned Mr. Radio essentially sound like Move songs under layers of added instruments...\"
Ira Robbins (1990 liner notes for Afterglow)
\"Roy Wood's Look At Me Now is a brooding tale of murder and ghostly spirits.\"
Rob Caiger (March 2004 - liner notes for Early Years album)
\"Co dictator and 'sixth-Beatle' JL's Mr. Radio delivers dreamy Lennonesque nostalgia, bolstered by the same vaulting orchestral muscle that deliciously hams up the melancholy of Wood's Look At Me Now.\"
Stevie Chick (March 2004 - MOJO, issue no. 124)
\"Further sessions begun on 31 December 1970 and included The Words Of Aaron, another take of Ben Crawley Steel Company and also recordings for the Electric Light Orchestra: Queen Of The Hours; Mr. Radio; First Movement and Look At Me Now.\"
Rob Caiger (2005 - 1971: The Original Message article on themoveonline.com)
\"The [No Answer] album alternated between less intricate songs and the big productions while leaving a thread of familiarity to weave in and out of simpler songs like First Movement, Look At Me Now, Queen of the Hour [sic] (strikingly similar to I Am The Walrus in many ways), and Nellie Take Her Bow.\"
Matt Rowe (March 22, 2006 - MusicTAP No Answer and ELO II review)
\"Two of Wood's songs were beautiful, fragile numbers; the first, Look At Me Now, a brooding tale of murder and ghostly spirits...\"
Rob Caiger (March 28, 2006 - No Answer Remaster)
\"Wood's Look at Me Now, by comparison, plays like a sweet, melodic follow-up to Beautiful Daughter from the Move's Shazam album, with some digressions on the oboe and a cello and violin subbing for the guitars.\"Bruce Eder (March 28, 2006 - All Music Guide No Answer Remaster review)
\"[Roy Wood's] whimsical Look at Me Now recalls the psychedelic charms of prime Syd Barrett.\"
Ed Masley (March 30, 2006 - No Answer review in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazzette)
" xLookAtMeNow_popupstats = "
There's a couple of little known backwards bits on this song. On the 16 second intro, the cello is backwards, although it's a bit hard to tell with the naked ear. More easily heard is a 4 second backwards piano riff behind Jeff's singing of \"play on\" at [1:04] to [1:08].
\"The [No Answer] album alternated between less intricate songs and the big productions while leaving a thread of familiarity to weave in and out of simpler songs like First Movement, Look At Me Now, Queen of the Hour [sic] (strikingly similar to I Am The Walrus in many ways), and Nellie Take Her Bow.\"
Matt Rowe (March 22, 2006 - MusicTAP No Answer and ELO II review)
\"Nellie Takes Her Bow is a kind of mini-opera with strange interludes.\"
JL (March 28, 2006 - No Answer Remaster)
\"Nellie Takes Her Bow and Mr. Radio were wistful Lynne-songs about unhappy characters, not a million miles away from some of his Whimsical Idle Race songs, but with more ambitious, semi-classical arrangements.\"
Rob Caiger (March 28, 2006 - No Answer Remaster)
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\"One track, called The Battle of Marston Moor, was so appalling I refused to play on it. Roy [Wood] played the drums on that.\"
BBV (1980 - The Electric Light Orchestra Story)
\"Roy had largely eschewed and y commerciality in favour of a purity which produced the rather high-brow Battle Of Marston Moor.\"
Paul Cox (1986 - liner notes for First Movement)
\"On one song called The Battle Of Marston Moor (July 2nd 1644) Bev refused to play the drums. He believe the song was so bad that he didn't want to be connected with it. So Roy had to hit the bass drum and snare drum himself on his civil war epos, at which Roy as Oliver Cromwell (Roy 'Oliver' Wood!!!) scraped an army of civilians together.\"
UNEX
\"The [No Answer] album is progressively bogged down by the bombastic The Battle of Marston Moor (July 2nd 1664) and although it showcased the immense talent of the band, it did little to interest otherwise.\"
Matt Rowe (March 22, 2006 - MusicTAP No Answer and ELO II review)
\"Battle Of Marston Moor sees Roy wrestling bassoons, cellos, oboes and recorders down to the ground. And some great tunes -- well done mate.\"
JL (March 28, 2006 - No Answer Remaster)
\"Battle Of Marston Moor (July 2nd 1644) [sic] was [and still is] a Hendrix-inspired cello and hunting horn extravaganza, prefaced with an introductory speech by the songwriter masquerading as Oliver Cromwell.\"
Rob Caiger (March 28, 2006 - No Answer Remaster)
" xBattleOfMarstonMoorTheJuly2nd1644_popupstats = "
\"Demanding and experimental though the music was, it was also very enjoyable, and Wood and Lynne came up with a couple of excellent songs, notably Lynne's 10538 Overture and Wood's valiant attempt at spoofing Mason Williams' Classical Gas on First Movement.\"
Harry Doherty (April 2, 1977 - Melody Maker)
\"...[Rob] Caiger describes 1st Movement [sic] as 'a classic illustration of how Roy & Jeff constructed the songs on the first album by using multiple overdubs on the strings to boost the sound'.\"
John Tobler (1991 liner notes for Early ELO (1971-1973))
\"Further sessions begun on 31 December 1970 and included The Words Of Aaron, another take of Ben Crawley Steel Company and also recordings for the Electric Light Orchestra: Queen Of The Hours; Mr. Radio; First Movement and Look At Me Now.\"
Rob Caiger (2005 - 1971: The Original Message article on themoveonline.com)
\"The [No Answer] album alternated between less intricate songs and the big productions while leaving a thread of familiarity to weave in and out of simpler songs like First Movement, Look At Me Now, Queen of the Hour [sic] (strikingly similar to I Am The Walrus in many ways), and Nellie Take Her Bow.\"
Matt Rowe (March 22, 2006 - MusicTAP No Answer and ELO II review)
\"By [Roy Wood's] own admission First Movement (Jumping Biz) owed a debt to Mason Williams' transatlantic 1968 hit Classical Gas...\"
Rob Caiger (March 28, 2006 - No Answer Remaster)
\"A beautiful acoustic guitar workout by Wood, 1st Movement [sic] also features the song's composer on the oboe\"Bruce Eder (March 28, 2006 - All Music Guide No Answer Remaster review)
\"The [No Answer] album took its grandiose schemes seriously, from the Mason Williams-obsessed First Movement (Jumping Biz)...\"
Author Unknown (April 14, 2006 - No Answer and ELO II review in the Lexington Herald-Reader)
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This song contains E.L.O.'s first ever attempt at backwards messages! The classical piece at the beginning of the song is a full orchestra, but the recording is backwards. Also, the vocals on the bridge says \"Hello Mr. Radio\" backwards and echo on the backwards \"hello\".
\"Look At Me Now, Whisper In The Night, and parts of the old-fashioned Mr. Radio essentially sound like Move songs under layers of added instruments...\"
Ira Robbins (1990 liner notes for Afterglow)
\"A quirky one made to sound like a 1920's recording, deliberately having no bass part.\"
Jeff Lynne (2000 - Flashback)
\"Co dictator and 'sixth-Beatle' JL's Mr. Radio delivers dreamy Lennonesque nostalgia, bolstered by the same vaulting orchestral muscle that deliciously hams up the melancholy of Wood's Look At Me Now.\"
Stevie Chick (March 2004 - MOJO, issue no. 124)
\"Further sessions begun on 31 December 1970 and included The Words Of Aaron, another take of Ben Crawley Steel Company and also recordings for the Electric Light Orchestra: Queen Of The Hours; Mr. Radio; First Movement and Look At Me Now.\"
Rob Caiger (2005 - 1971: The Original Message article on themoveonline.com)
\"Mr. Radio would've been great if only I'd spend a bit more time on it.\"
JL (March 28, 2006 - No Answer Remaster)
\"Nellie Takes Her Bow and Mr. Radio were wistful Lynne-songs about unhappy characters, not a million miles away from some of his Whimsical Idle Race songs, but with more ambitious, semi-classical arrangements.\"
Rob Caiger (March 28, 2006 - No Answer Remaster)
\"Mr. Radio, an exercise in 1920s nostalgia written and sung by Lynne, digresses for a moment into 1940s-style classical piano pyrotechnics.\"Bruce Eder (March 28, 2006 - All Music Guide No Answer Remaster review)
\"Mr. Radio [is] a melancholy tale of loneliness and heartache punctuated by the gently weeping strings of the 'live rock orchestra' envisioned by two veterans of The Move, Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne.\"
Ed Masley (March 30, 2006 - No Answer review in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazzette)
" xMrRadio_popupstats = "
\"[When the Electric Light Orchestra album was released] the working title of songs like Manhattan Concerto [...] changed into Manhattan Rumble (49th Street Massacre) [...]\"
UNEX
\"[The Move's Tonight and Down On The Bay] were mixed on 28 April [1971] and the day after, Wood, Lynne and Bevan continued sessions for ELO with the recording of Manhattan Concerto (later retitled Manhattan Rumble) and Whisper In The Night.\"
Rob Caiger (2005 - 1971: The Original Message article on themoveonline.com)
\"Manhattan Rumble (49th Street Massacre) was [and still is] a pounding instrumental which fused classics with Elmer Bernstein-Aaron Copland style jazz overtones.\"
Rob Caiger (March 28, 2006 - No Answer Remaster)
" xManhattanRumble49thStreetMassacre_popupstats = "
\"The Electric Light Orchestra's first recording had been released in October 1971 in the form of an Italian sampler-flexi-disc, which promoted Harvest artists. E.L.O. were featured with Queen Of The Hours, as well as The Move with It Wasn't My Idea To Dance. November 1971 saw the release of another compilation album called The Harvest Bag with E.L.O.'s Queen Of The Hours too, and The Move's Ella James among other Harvest artists.\"
UNEX
\"Further sessions begun on 31 December 1970 and included The Words Of Aaron, another take of Ben Crawley Steel Company and also recordings for the Electric Light Orchestra: Queen Of The Hours; Mr. Radio; First Movement and Look At Me Now.\"
Rob Caiger (2005 - 1971: The Original Message article on themoveonline.com)
\"The [No Answer] album alternated between less intricate songs and the big productions while leaving a thread of familiarity to weave in and out of simpler songs like First Movement, Look At Me Now, Queen of the Hour [sic] (strikingly similar to I Am The Walrus in many ways), and Nellie Take Her Bow.\"
Matt Rowe (March 22, 2006 - MusicTAP No Answer and ELO II review)
\"Queen Of The Hours once again has some remarkable cello from Roy.\"
JL (March 28, 2006 - No Answer Remaster)
" xQueenOfTheHours_popupstats = "
\"Look At Me Now, Whisper In The Night, and parts of the old-fashioned Mr. Radio essentially sound like Move songs under layers of added instruments...\"
Ira Robbins (1990 liner notes for Afterglow)
\"[When the Electric Light Orchestra album was released] the working title of songs like [...] Vision In The Night changed into [...] Whisper In The Night\"
UNEX
\"Co dictator and 'sixth-Beatle' JL's Mr. Radio delivers dreamy Lennonesque nostalgia, bolstered by the same vaulting orchestral muscle that deliciously hams up the melancholy of Wood's Look At Me Now.\"
Stevie Chick (March 2004 - MOJO, issue no. 124)
\"[The Move's Tonight and Down On The Bay] were mixed on 28 April [1971] and the day after, Wood, Lynne and Bevan continued sessions for ELO with the recording of Manhattan Concerto (later retitled Manhattan Rumble) and Whisper In The Night.\"
Rob Caiger (2005 - 1971: The Original Message article on themoveonline.com)
\"Two of Wood's songs were beautiful, fragile numbers; [Look At Me Now and] the second, Whisper In The Night, a sweeter ballad featuring choral backing.\"
Rob Caiger (March 28, 2006 - No Answer Remaster)
\"Wood's Whisper in the Night ends the [No Answer] album with a lean and textured acoustic sound that, ironically, disappeared from ELO's repertory when he exited the lineup following these sessions.\"Bruce Eder (March 28, 2006 - All Music Guide No Answer Remaster review)
" xWhisperInTheNight_popupstats = "
This version is the original, undubbed version that is missing the vocals, horns and strings. There is some doubt as to whether the bootlegged version floating around is an actual version or one that was mixed down from the master tapes.
" x10538OvertureUndubbedTake1_popupstats = "
\"Mastered from the original 1 inch multitrack tape reel (8-track master). Originally intended as a Move B-side until Roy Wood added 10 cello overdubs to JL's guitar part. On 12 July 1970 at Phillips Studios in London, a new band was born!\"
Rob Caiger (2001 Electric Light Orchestra - Electric Light Orchestra Remaster)
\"For this Legacy edition [of No Answer], the set is beefed up with 4 sessions tracks that include... 2 alternate mixes of 10538 Overture. The first bonus version of 10538 Overture is less a production version than what we're used to, more a stripped version while the second alternate follows the familiar guitar-heavy, and classical version that we know.\"
Matt Rowe (March 22, 2006 - MusicTAP No Answer and ELO II review)
Editor's Note: This comment is in error as the No Answer remaster contains only one alternate mix of 10538 Overture.
" x10538OvertureTake1_popupstats = "
\"Cut directly from the multitrack tape and prior to overdubbing. Cleaned and restored at Abbey Road Studios from the original 8 inch disc. [...] Referred to in interviews as the version that Roy and Jeff enthusiastically played to anybody that was interested in their newly discovered sound, this track is prior to final overdubs, the horns being noticeably absent. Traced to a private ELO collector from Germany (who purchased it in London, a mile from where Philips Studios used to be!) the badly scratched 8 inch acetate was digitally transferred, cleaned and restored.\"
Rob Caiger (2001 Electric Light Orchestra)
" x10538OvertureAcetateVersion_popupstats = "
\"Their first chart success, 10538 Overture, is an under-rated track, although you could never tell that this is the Quad SQ Mix and not the version that reached the top 10 in 1971.\"
Richard Warburton (February 21, 2004 - Birmingham Post)
\"The Early Years is a fine additional collection to the already well-received reissues of both ELO and ELO II, and includes a wealth of previously unreleased material. [Including] the quadraphonic mix of 10538 Overture that opened their very first album, it's a treasure trove for fans.\"
Jerry Ewing (March 2004 - Classic Rock magazine)
" x10538OvertureStereoMixdownofQuadraphonicMix_popupstats = "
The difference between this version and the Electric Light Orchestra album version is that it simply fades about ten seconds following the final chorus.
\"by June [1972], the ELO album had been out for several months worldwide, when a four-minute edit of 10538 Overture was released as a single, reaching no.9 in the UK charts. Within a week of its release and following a difficult and frustrating UK and Italian tour, Wood left the group...\"
Rob Caiger (March 28, 2006 - No Answer Remaster)
" x10538OvertureEditedUKSingleVersion_popupstats = "
The difference between this version and the Electric Light Orchestra album version is that it simply fades immediately after the final vocal line of \"was it 10538, ah\".
" x10538OvertureEditedUSASingleVersion_popupstats = "
This is a mono version of the USA single version of 10538 Overture.
" x10538OvertureEditedUSAMonoSingleVersion_popupstats = "
This version, which appeared on the Silver Spotlight Ma-Ma-Ma Belle/10538 Overture single (United Artists US X 1180-Y), is the same as the standard album version, but it fades about 15 seconds earlier.
" x10538OvertureEditedSilverSpotlightSingleVersion_popupstats = "
This song is a mono version of the standard album version. The liner notes for Harvest Showdown claims it is the US mono radio mix, but that is not correct for the US mono mix fades early and the version on the Harvest Showdown collection is the full album version instead.
\"[Harvest Showdown includes] ELO's 10538 Overture in its US radio mix version...\"
Titus Jennings (November 2005 - Record Collector issue 316)
Editor's Note: This statement is incorrect.
" x10538OvertureMonoHarvestShowdownVersion_popupstats = "
The quadrophonic version of Nellie Takes Her Bow is nearly the same as the standard stereo version, but, of course, the audio mix is slightly different with the most audible variation being that the backing vocals can be very clearly heard on the quadraphonic mix.
\"Both [quadraphonic mixes of] Mr. Radio and Nellie include parts which are inaudible in stereo...\"
John Tobler (1991 liner notes for Early ELO (1971-1973))
" xNellieTakesHerBowQuadraphonicMix_popupstats = "
The quadrophonic version of Nellie Takes Her Bow is nearly the same as the standard stereo version, but, of course, the audio mix is slightly different with the most audible variation being that the backing vocals can be very clearly heard on the quadraphonic mix.
\"Both [quadraphonic mixes of] Mr. Radio and Nellie include parts which are inaudible in stereo...\"
John Tobler (1991 liner notes for Early ELO (1971-1973))
" xNellieTakesHerBowStereoMixdownofQuadraphonicMix_popupstats = "
\"Mastered from the original 1 inch multitrack tape reel (8-track master) begun on 18 Nov 1970 at Phillips Studios. Missing Roy Wood's 'Oliver Cromwell' speech and many of the string and horn overdubs, a fine tune is revealed.\"
Rob Caiger(2001 Electric Light Orchestra - Electric Light Orchestra Remaster)
\"For this Legacy edition [of No Answer], the set is beefed up with 4 sessions tracks that include a brief alternate take of the intro to The Battle of Marston Moor.\"
Matt Rowe (March 22, 2006 - MusicTAP No Answer and ELO II review)
\"The [No Answer] reissue features... a one-minute snippet of Wood's far more classical-leaning The Battle of Marston Moor (July 2nd 1644).\"
Ed Masley (March 30, 2006 - No Answer review in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazzette)
" xBattleOfMarstonMoorTheTake1_popupstats = "
Despite the rather obvious different sound quality due to the different mixing of the song, there are a couple of other stand out bits that make this version unique. First on the stereo version, after Roy's speech, there are two consecutive shouts of \"Aye!\" from a crowd. On the quadraphonic mix, there are four shouts of \"Aye!\" with the first obscured by more of the orchestra playing and a drum roll. Second, the sustained cello note that is played at the song's end is completely cut from the quadraphonic mix.
" xBattleOfMarstonMoorTheJuly2nd1644QuadraphonicMix_popupstats = "
Despite the rather obvious different sound quality due to the different mixing of the song, there are a couple of other stand out bits that make this version unique. First on the stereo version, after Roy's speech, there are two consecutive shouts of \"Aye!\" from a crowd. On the quadraphonic mix, there are four shouts of \"Aye!\" with the first obscured by more of the orchestra playing and a drum roll. Second, the sustained cello note that is played at the song's end is completely cut from the quadraphonic mix.
" xBattleOfMarstonMoorTheJuly2nd1644StereoMixdownofQuadraphonicMix_popupstats = "
This is an early experimental version. Instead of the backwards classical pieces, the violin solo is live, recorded in the studio.
\"...mastered from the original 1 inch multitrack tape reel (8-track master) from a session begun on 18 November 1970 at Philips Studios, Marble Arch. Found on a combined Move & ELO tape reel, this version is introduced by a haunting violin solo, not included on the released version. Lynne's beautiful, almost ethereal VCL are further highlighted, evoking memories of The Beatles.\"
Rob Caiger (2001 - liner notes for The Electric Light Orchestra remaster CD)
\"For this Legacy edition [of No Answer], the set is beefed up with 4 sessions tracks that include... a violin-drenched take 9 of Mr. Radio, sans the dial tuning special effect and vocal treatment (not bad but it's best they chose the version they did).\"
Matt Rowe (March 22, 2006 - MusicTAP No Answer and ELO II review)
" xMrRadioTake9_popupstats = "
Of all the quadraphonic mixes from the Electric Light Orchestra album, probably the most interesting is Mr. Radio, which does have bits and pieces of the music that are mixed louder or quieter. The backwards \"Hello Mr. Radio\" bridge is more audible. The part near the end of the song (at about the [4:21] mark) where, on the stereo mix, the music abruptly stops and a soft piano and violin part is played is slightly extended; on the quadraphonic mix, rather than end abruptly, there is an extra note and cymbal crash that's heard. And finally, the classical music that's played at the song's end is a different song altogether!
\"Both [quadraphonic mixes of] Mr. Radio and Nellie include parts which are inaudible in stereo...\"
John Tobler (1991 liner notes for Early ELO (1971-1973))
\"When re-creating the two stereo channel sound onto four quadra channels, the quadraphonic album resulted in a partial re-mix, and so you could really hear different things to the usual stereo version. The reverse ending of Mr. Radio for instance sounds totally different, and also Jeff's reverse 'hello mr. radio, oidar rm elloh' could be clearly heard in the song's bridge!\"
UNEX
" xMrRadioQuadraphonicMix_popupstats = "
Of all the quadraphonic mixes from the Electric Light Orchestra album, probably the most interesting is Mr. Radio, which does have bits and pieces of the music that are mixed louder or quieter. The backwards \"Hello Mr. Radio\" bridge is more audible. The part near the end of the song (at about the [4:21] mark) where, on the stereo mix, the music abruptly stops and a soft piano and violin part is played is slightly extended; on the quadraphonic mix, rather than end abruptly, there is an extra note and cymbal crash that's heard. And finally, the classical music that's played at the song's end is a different song altogether!
\"Both [quadraphonic mixes of] Mr. Radio and Nellie include parts which are inaudible in stereo...\"
John Tobler (1991 liner notes for Early ELO (1971-1973))
\"When re-creating the two stereo channel sound onto four quadra channels, the quadraphonic album resulted in a partial re-mix, and so you could really hear different things to the usual stereo version. The reverse ending of Mr. Radio for instance sounds totally different, and also Jeff's reverse 'hello mr. radio, oidar rm elloh' could be clearly heard in the song's bridge!\"
UNEX
" xMrRadioStereoMixdownofQuadraphonicMix_popupstats = "
There was no release of Mr. Radio as a single, but it was mixed for single release. This mix is the same as the original Electric Light Orchestra album version except that it cuts the radio tuning and orchestral intro, starting directly with the piano and it also fades out during the orchestral piano portion about 22 seconds following the final vocal line of \"I'm on my own.\"
\"The US mono radio mix [of ELO's 10538 Overture] on this [Harvest Showdown] collection is joined by a withdrawn 7\" single edit of Mr. Radio, the full-length version of which can be found on their debut album.\"
John Van der Kiste (September 5, 2005 - Harvest Showdown review on ftmusic.com)
\"Harvest Showdown mixes together Move, Wizzard, ELO and Roy Wood solo offerings. With ELO's hyper-glossy Mr. Radio contrasting with Wizzard's blustering Ball Park Incident, the bearded Brummie eccentricities linger on.\"
Geoff Barton (October 2005 - Classic Rock Magazine issue 85)
" xMrRadioEditedSingleMixVersion_popupstats = "
This version is not much different, other than sound mix, from the stereo version. However, oddly enough, the very first piano note of the song was cut from the quadraphonic mix." xManhattanRumble49thStreetMassacreQuadraphonicMix_popupstats = "
This version is not much different, other than sound mix, from the stereo version. However, oddly enough, the very first piano note of the song was cut from the quadraphonic mix." xManhattanRumble49thStreetMassacreStereoMixdownofQuadraphonicMix_popupstats = "
This is an early experimental version without the normal violins and cellos. It's simply Roy Wood singing along to an acoustic GTR, but with choir background VCL and electric GTR on the bridge. It's a hidden bonus track on the The Electric Light Orchestra remaster CD, being tacked on at the 5:39 mark of the song, 10538 Overture (BBC 1971).
\"The [unreleased] session track [of Whisper In The Night] was at one point in competition with the live track as to what would be included [on the The Electric Light Orchestra remaster CD set]. I felt both were valid and so different that the solution was to have one a hidden track. The session version is take one with the overdubbed choir vocals coming from take 2.\"
Rob Caiger (July 27, 2002 - Showdown mailing list)
" xWhisperInTheNightTake1_popupstats = "
\"Wood's emotional rendition of Whisper In The Night (Discrete Quad Mixdown) is timeless.\"
Richard Warburton (February 21, 2004 - Birmingham Post)
" xWhisperInTheNightStereoMixdownofQuadraphonicMix_popupstats = "
There is something very peculiar about the quadraphonic mix of Whisper In The Night that is on the Early ELO (1971-1973) CD. Rob Caiger has described it as not the quad mix, but the \"guide vocal\" although it's unclear what that really means. As the liner notes describe, the vocals are only in one channel. However, comparing the two, they do seem different, other than the vocals on just one channel. It is thought that this \"guide vocal\" version was derived from the quadraphonic mix and that's why it is labeled as such on the Early ELO (1971-1973) collection. However a mistake was made somewhere along the way and this mislabeled guide vocal version ended up on the album rather than the actual quadraphonic mix.
\"...and as a small bonus, included on the first CD of [Early ELO (1971-1973)] is an incomplete version of Whisper In The Night, perhaps featuring a guide vocal since Wood's voice is only on one channel rather than in full stereo.\"
John Tobler (1991 liner notes for Early ELO (1971-1973))
\"...the finished CD credits it as Whispers [sic], and states it is a quad version. I'm not sure, it sounds different to my quad album. Roy's voice can be heard in one channel only - maybe he used it as a guide vocal for the finished product?\"
Rob Caiger (circa 1990s - Face The Music fanzine #10)
" xWhisperInTheNightGuideVocalVersion_popupstats = "
This version is the same version as the standard Electric Light Orchestra album version, except that it includes studio banter and song count-in at the beginning of the song, as well as a loud bell sound at the song's end.
" xWhisperInTheNightAlternateVersion_popupstats = "
Although this is an older Move song, JL played this song live on tour with the Move in 1971. No known studio recording with JL involvement exists.
\"The Move meanwhile played their first live-gig for more than a year on October, 13th 1971 outside of TV studio in a vast pub, called 'The Swan'... The group played at that time: I Can Hear The Grass Grow, Down On The Bay, Tonight, She Came In Through The Bathroom Window, Fire Brigade, Great Balls Of Fire. Jeff played bass, Roy lead guitar, Richard Tandy second lead guitar and Bev on drums.\"
UNEX
\"Ten days earlier, The Move played their final concert, their first gig in over a year, and a testimonial for long-serving Birmingham City footballer Ray Martin. The gig took place in the Swan Lake suite of the city's enormous Swan pub, and found the band headlining over The Idle Race and Raymond Froggatt. But the performance was greeted with a chorus of boos, a response to their delayed arrival on stage. Jeff Lynne got stuck into the bubbling bassline on I Can Hear The Grass Grow and revived a rock 'n' roll favourite, Great Balls Of Fire. And the band-- Roy, Jeff, Bev and Richard Tandy on rhythm guitar-- still found themselves unable to shake off the 'human jukebox' aspect of their work, throwing a cover of The Beatles' She Came In Through The Bathroom Window in amongst a small handful of Move songs that included Fire Brigade, Down On The Bay and Tonight.\"
Mark Paytress (October 2008 - Anthology 1966 - 1972 liner notes)
" xICanHearTheGrassGrow1971LiveShow_popupstats = "
\"The Move meanwhile played their first live-gig for more than a year on October, 13th 1971 outside of TV studio in a vast pub, called 'The Swan'... The group played at that time: I Can Hear The Grass Grow, Down On The Bay, Tonight, She Came In Through The Bathroom Window, Fire Brigade, Great Balls Of Fire. Jeff played bass, Roy lead guitar, Richard Tandy second lead guitar and Bev on drums. For Down On The Bay Jeff and Roy exchanged their instruments.\"
UNEX
\"Ten days earlier, The Move played their final concert, their first gig in over a year, and a testimonial for long-serving Birmingham City footballer Ray Martin. The gig took place in the Swan Lake suite of the city's enormous Swan pub, and found the band headlining over The Idle Race and Raymond Froggatt. But the performance was greeted with a chorus of boos, a response to their delayed arrival on stage. Jeff Lynne got stuck into the bubbling bassline on I Can Hear The Grass Grow and revived a rock 'n' roll favourite, Great Balls Of Fire. And the band-- Roy, Jeff, Bev and Richard Tandy on rhythm guitar-- still found themselves unable to shake off the 'human jukebox' aspect of their work, throwing a cover of The Beatles' She Came In Through The Bathroom Window in amongst a small handful of Move songs that included Fire Brigade, Down On The Bay and Tonight.\"
Mark Paytress (October 2008 - Anthology 1966 - 1972 liner notes)
" xDownOnTheBay1971LiveShow_popupstats = "
\"The Move meanwhile played their first live-gig for more than a year on October, 13th 1971 outside of TV studio in a vast pub, called 'The Swan'... The group played at that time: I Can Hear The Grass Grow, Down On The Bay, Tonight, She Came In Through The Bathroom Window, Fire Brigade, Great Balls Of Fire. Jeff played bass, Roy lead guitar, Richard Tandy second lead guitar and Bev on drums.\"
UNEX
\"Ten days earlier, The Move played their final concert, their first gig in over a year, and a testimonial for long-serving Birmingham City footballer Ray Martin. The gig took place in the Swan Lake suite of the city's enormous Swan pub, and found the band headlining over The Idle Race and Raymond Froggatt. But the performance was greeted with a chorus of boos, a response to their delayed arrival on stage. Jeff Lynne got stuck into the bubbling bassline on I Can Hear The Grass Grow and revived a rock 'n' roll favourite, Great Balls Of Fire. And the band-- Roy, Jeff, Bev and Richard Tandy on rhythm guitar-- still found themselves unable to shake off the 'human jukebox' aspect of their work, throwing a cover of The Beatles' She Came In Through The Bathroom Window in amongst a small handful of Move songs that included Fire Brigade, Down On The Bay and Tonight.\"
Mark Paytress (October 2008 - Anthology 1966 - 1972 liner notes)
" xTonight1971LiveShow_popupstats = "
This song is known only to have been played live. No known studio recording exists. This is a cover of the Beatles song.Although this is an older Move song, JL played this song live in a performance with the Move in 1971. No known studio recording with JL involvement exists.
\"The Move meanwhile played their first live-gig for more than a year on October, 13th 1971 outside of TV studio in a vast pub, called 'The Swan'... The group played at that time: I Can Hear The Grass Grow, Down On The Bay, Tonight, She Came In Through The Bathroom Window, Fire Brigade, Great Balls Of Fire. Jeff played bass, Roy lead guitar, Richard Tandy second lead guitar and Bev on drums. Roy sung lead vocals on Bathroom Window...\"
UNEX
\"Ten days earlier, The Move played their final concert, their first gig in over a year, and a testimonial for long-serving Birmingham City footballer Ray Martin. The gig took place in the Swan Lake suite of the city's enormous Swan pub, and found the band headlining over The Idle Race and Raymond Froggatt. But the performance was greeted with a chorus of boos, a response to their delayed arrival on stage. Jeff Lynne got stuck into the bubbling bassline on I Can Hear The Grass Grow and revived a rock 'n' roll favourite, Great Balls Of Fire. And the band-- Roy, Jeff, Bev and Richard Tandy on rhythm guitar-- still found themselves unable to shake off the 'human jukebox' aspect of their work, throwing a cover of The Beatles' She Came In Through The Bathroom Window in amongst a small handful of Move songs that included Fire Brigade, Down On The Bay and Tonight.\"
Mark Paytress (October 2008 - Anthology 1966 - 1972 liner notes)
" xSheCameInThroughTheBathroomWindow1971LiveShow_popupstats = "
Although this is an older Move song, JL played this song live on tour with the Move in 1971. No known studio recording with JL involvement exists.
\"The Move meanwhile played their first live-gig for more than a year on October, 13th 1971 outside of TV studio in a vast pub, called 'The Swan'... The group played at that time: I Can Hear The Grass Grow, Down On The Bay, Tonight, She Came In Through The Bathroom Window, Fire Brigade, Great Balls Of Fire. Jeff played bass, Roy lead guitar, Richard Tandy second lead guitar and Bev on drums.\"
UNEX
" xFireBrigade1971LiveShow_popupstats = "
\"The Move meanwhile played their first live-gig for more than a year on October, 13th 1971 outside of TV studio in a vast pub, called 'The Swan'... The group played at that time: I Can Hear The Grass Grow, Down On The Bay, Tonight, She Came In Through The Bathroom Window, Fire Brigade, Great Balls Of Fire. Jeff played bass, Roy lead guitar, Richard Tandy second lead guitar and Bev on drums. ...Jeff [sang lead vocals] on Great Balls Of Fire.\"
UNEX
\"Ten days earlier, The Move played their final concert, their first gig in over a year, and a testimonial for long-serving Birmingham City footballer Ray Martin. The gig took place in the Swan Lake suite of the city's enormous Swan pub, and found the band headlining over The Idle Race and Raymond Froggatt. But the performance was greeted with a chorus of boos, a response to their delayed arrival on stage. Jeff Lynne got stuck into the bubbling bassline on I Can Hear The Grass Grow and revived a rock 'n' roll favourite, Great Balls Of Fire. And the band-- Roy, Jeff, Bev and Richard Tandy on rhythm guitar-- still found themselves unable to shake off the 'human jukebox' aspect of their work, throwing a cover of The Beatles' She Came In Through The Bathroom Window in amongst a small handful of Move songs that included Fire Brigade, Down On The Bay and Tonight.\"
Mark Paytress (October 2008 - Anthology 1966 - 1972 liner notes)
" xGreatBallsOfFire1971LiveShow_popupstats = "
\"[On the] Top Gear radio show on December 23rd, ...[The Move gave a live performance of] Message From The Country, The Words Of Aaron, Ben Crawley Steel Co. [sic] and Ella James.\"
UNEX
" xMessageFromTheCountry1971LiveShow_popupstats = "
\"[The Move's] next TV appearance was on November, 20th 1971 with their great track The Words Of Aaron at the Old Grey Whistle Test TV Show. To the line-up of Roy (bass), Bev (drums) and Jeff (piano), Bill Hunt was added on basson and recorders. [On the] Top Gear radio show on December 23rd, ...[The Move gave a live performance of] Message From The Country, The Words Of Aaron, Ben Crawley Steel Co. [sic] and Ella James.\"
UNEX
" xWordsOfAaronThe1971LiveShow_popupstats = "
\"[On the] Top Gear radio show on December 23rd, ...[The Move gave a live performance of] Message From The Country, The Words Of Aaron, Ben Crawley Steel Co. [sic] and Ella James.\"
UNEX
" xBenCrawleySteelCompany1971LiveShow_popupstats = "
\"[On the] Top Gear radio show on December 23rd, ...[The Move gave a live performance of] Message From The Country, The Words Of Aaron, Ben Crawley Steel Co. [sic] and Ella James.\"
UNEX
" xEllaJames1971LiveShow_popupstats = "
This song is known only to have been played live. No known studio recording exists. This is an original JL composition.
\"In one of [The Move's] other BBC shows they played the still officially unreleased JL composition Falling Forever live.\"
UNEX
" xFallingForever1971LiveShow_popupstats = "
\"This is the most amazing single I've heard in ages. Roy Wood used all the necessary words and phrases as well as the essentional basic sound required for capturing that real rock 'n' roll feeling. And JL does a fantastic parody of Jerry Lee Lewis' sensational vocal and piano styles. Bev Bevan keeps the beat simple but adds some nifty fills. Positively: single of the week.\"
Unknown (1972 - Source Unknown, California Man single review in the liner notes for the Message From The Country remaster CD)
\"Lordy, Lord-- more rock-n-roll. Everyone seems to be doing it. This is a Roy Wood composition and, although it doesn't perforce have the tunefulness of some of his work, it has some good lyrics in the teenie/high-school hop mode. 'If the band stops playing, there's a juke-box in the hall'-- that sort of thing. Good. If it's Roy singing the verses, he does an incredibly accurate imitation of Jerry Lee Lewis and there's even a taste of the Killer's 'Pumping Piano,' as it was sometimes archly described on the early Sun records. The choruses are more Move like and there is some member of the saxophone family honking away through most of the record-- how's that for vagueness? There's a tasty piano break too and the whole thing is worthy of your attention. I don't think it'll be a hit though. Too hard for most of the radio programmes that sell records.\"
John Peel (April 22, 1972 - Disc)
Editor's Note: It was JL doing the Jerry Lee Lewis imitation, not Roy Wood.
\"Before calling it quits, the Move released their last single, California Man, in June, 1972; it was later recorded by Cheap Trick on their 1979 Heaven Tonight album and continues to be a mainstay in that band's live shows today.\"
Ken Sharp (September 30, 1994 - Roy Wood: The Wizzard of Rock article in Goldmine)
\"[Regarding California Man,] I just felt it was time for Jeff and myself to rock 'n' roll. His favorite artist at that time was Jerry Lee Lewis and mine was Little Richard, so I thought, I'm gonna write a rock 'n' roll song, which is what I did, and we treated it that way. It was like one singer meets another singer and it worked out all right.\"
Roy Wood (September 30, 1994 - Roy Wood: The Wizzard of Rock article in Goldmine)
\"California Man//Do Ya/Ella James went up to No. 9 in the U.K. In the United States the single was released with only California Man and Do Ya on it.\"
UNEX
\"One multitrack tape exists from the first ELO 2 recording session at Philips Studios in May 1972, containing From The Sun To The World and In Old England Town. Extra tape spliced on after these tracks had missing sessions for two of The Move's most famous EMI songs, California Man and Do Ya.\"
Rob Caiger (2002 - liner notes for ELO 2 remaster CD)
\"Even though Lynne, Bevan and Wood were busy promoting ELO's debut which had just been released in the UK on 3 December 1971, they went back into the studio as The Move on 19 December to record what would ultimately be the group's swansong. California Man was another new Roy Wood song and was recorded in seven takes, together with JL's Look Out Baby, There's A Plane Coming, later retitled Do Ya. Both were important songs for The Move, with California Man their last UK hit single at no. 7.\"
Rob Caiger (2005 - 1971: The Original Message article on themoveonline.com)
\"Six months [after the release of Chinatown] the band were on their way to No. 7 with their latest single. A three-track maxi, the B-side featured Ella James and Do Ya... Yet good as both tracks were, they were undoubtedly eclipsed by what was indisputably one of the UK's ultimate rock'n'roll 45s of all time, the peerless Jerry Lee Lewis pastiche California Man. Roy and Jeff shared lead vocals, packed a punch with some tremendous multi-tracked saxes and boogie piano, and delivered what they did not realise at the time was their last recorded work-- a fitting note on which to bow out.\"
John Van der Kiste (September 5, 2005 - Message From The Country Remaster)
\"If you wanna hear where Cheap Trick latched onto California Man, buy [the Message From The Country remaster].\"
Bun E. Carlos (October 2005 - Creem online Message From The Country remaster review)
\"This reissue [of Message From The Country] also features the Move's last pre-ELO singles, including California Man and Down on the Bay, both later covered, to the letter, by ardent U.S. fans Cheap Trick.\"
David Fricke (December 1, 2005 - Rolling Stone Issue 988)
\"The [Message From The Country] reissue bolsters 10 original tracks with nine additional ones, including the raucous California Man...\"
Erik Himmelsbach (December 2005 - Blender Magazine)
\"The final Move recording sessions took place from 7 and 19 December 1971-- less than two months after Wood, Bevan and Lynne, as the Electric Light Orchestra, completed the final mix of their experimental debut album (released on 3 December). They recorded two songs, both subsequently released as singles, in different territories, both pointing in wildly differing directions. Do Ya, sung by Jeff Lynne, anticipated the sharp and polishes AOR strut that by the mid-'70s had come to dominate the rock mainstream. The other, California Man, was an irresistably greasy slice of rock 'n' roll revivalism that enabled The Move to go out in style-- with a Top Ten hit.\"
Mark Paytress (October 2008 - Anthology 1966 - 1972 liner notes)
\"One of the greatest UK Rock 'n' Roll singles of all time, Roy Wood's peerless Jerry Lee Lewis homage was the band's final Top 10 hit in June 1972 and the perfect way for The Move to bow out as ELO's 10538 Overture was released. From the Take 7 master recording begun on 7 December 1971, which included an extra 'take it Roy' verse that remains locked away in the EMI vaults. The session masters were missing for almost 30 years before being found with Do Ya, spliced onto an ELO tape reel.\"
Author Unknown (October 2008 - Anthology 1966 - 1972 liner notes)
" xCaliforniaMan_popupstats = "
Near the end of the song, Roy Wood shouts out the line \"Look out baby there's a plane a comin'.\" There has been some doubt among fans over the years if that's what Roy was actually shouting, but it has been verified by Rob Caiger.
\"Do Ya--rated single of the year in the rock press, apparently the only place it was distributed--signals a phase in the Move's career that comprises four songs, three uncharacteristically rock-and-rolly and all prime.\"
Robert Christgau (circa 1973 - Split Ends review on www.robertchristgau.com)
\"The Move was still very much Wood's band, although Lynne did contribute to the writing - his most notable compositions being Do Ya, (re-recorded by ELO on A New World Record), which was the flip side of the Move's later singles, California Man. In the States, though, Do Ya was nominated as the A side and climbed to around number 70 in the American charts, the highest the band ever achieved in the States. \"
Harry Doherty (April 2, 1977 - Melody Maker)
Editor's Note: The claim of Do Ya making #70 on the US charts may be using a chart other than Billboard as according to Billboard, the song only reached #93.
\"... [JL] reckons the Move original is better [than the later re-recording by the Electric Light Orchestra.] 'It's got a certain charm, however rough it might be.'\"
Ira Robbins (1990 liner notes for Afterglow)
\"Do Ya, was every critic's pick to click in 1972 but didn't impact commercially until it was smoothed over for ELO by author Lynne, whose input is essential [on the Great Move!: The Best of the Move album].\"
Robert Christgau (1995 - Details magazine)
\"California Man//Do Ya/Ella James went up to No. 9 in the U.K. In the United States the single was released with only California Man and Do Ya on it. By [1972] singles in the United States had no A-side and B-side marks on the label, so it didn't matter that Roy's California Man got low airplay. The US DJ's made Jeff's Do Ya the 'A-side' and it gained the Move their only chart success peaking at No. 88 in November 1972. [...] ...and Roy was singing main-lead VCL on Do Ya, which originally Jeff wrote and kept in mind for an E.L.O. track. This record was the final new product by The Move, although the group didn't disband officially until now. The contractual obligations of The Move were taken over by The Electric Light Orchestra.\"
UNEX
\"One multitrack tape exists from the first ELO 2 recording session at Philips Studios in May 1972, containing From The Sun To The World and In Old England Town. Extra tape spliced on after these tracks had missing sessions for two of The Move's most famous EMI songs, California Man and Do Ya.\"
Rob Caiger (2002 - liner notes for ELO 2 remaster CD)
\"Even though Lynne, Bevan and Wood were busy promoting ELO's debut which had just been released in the UK on 3 December 1971, they went back into the studio as The Move on 19 December to record what would ultimately be the group's swansong. California Man was another new Roy Wood song and was recorded in seven takes, together with JL's Look Out Baby, There's A Plane Coming, later retitled Do Ya. Both were important songs for The Move, with California Man their last UK hit single at no. 7, while b-side Do Ya was promoted to the a-side in the States and became The Move's sole US hit.\"
Rob Caiger (2005 - 1971: The Original Message article on themoveonline.com)
\"Six months [after the release of Chinatown] the band were on their way to No. 7 with their latest single. A three-track maxi, the B-side featured Ella James and Do Ya, one of Jeff's most arresting rockers which would go on to give The Move their only US Top 100 hit later that year, albeit peaking at a modest No. 93. Two years on, Do Ya was released as a UK Harvest single in its own right. A revamped version appeared on ELO's sixth album A New World Record in 1976 and remained a permanent and popular fixture in their live set.\"
John Van der Kiste (September 5, 2005 - Message From The Country Remaster)
\"Leading the pack [on the Harvest Showdown collection] is the 7\" edit of a cut that first appeared on the B-side of a three-track UK single, yet ironically went on to become the group's only stateside hit, albeit with a peak position of no. 93. Do Ya, written by JL, became one of the group's most-lauded items, with a subsequent life of its own. It was later covered by Todd Rundgren and ex-Kiss guitarist Ace Frehley, and became a regular part of ELO's set on stage in the mid-70s, with the result that they re-recorded it on A New World Record in 1976 and issued it as a single in the US in 1977, when it peaked at no. 24. Its original working title, taken from a vocal line during the song fadeout, was Look Out Baby, There's A Plane Comin'.\"
John Van der Kiste (September 5, 2005 - Harvest Showdown review on ftmusic.com)
\"If you wanna hear Do Ya done proper, buy [the Message From The Country remaster].\"
Bun E. Carlos (October 2005 - Creem online Message From The Country remaster review)
\"The [Message From The Country] reissue bolsters 10 original tracks with nine additional ones, including... the raw, original version of Do Ya, finally a U.S. hit five years later when Lynne emerged as a radiowave mastermind.\"
Erik Himmelsbach (December 2005 - Blender Magazine)
\"Wood, Lynne and drummer Bev Bevan were already working on ELO material when they recorded the Move's swan song, but the real bridge between the two bands never made it onto Message From The Country: ELO hit Do Ya. The bombastic ELO version is well-known, but here in its nascent b-side form, it's a blissed-out pop tune with pleading, desperate lyrics. \"
J. Gabriel Boylan (January 2006 - MAGNET Magazine issue #70)
\"Both [the 2005 Message From The Country remaster and the 1994 Great Move! The Best Of The Move] include... that ultimate bonus cut, the radio-unready greatest-single-of-all-time nominee Do Ya.\"
Robert Christgau (April 10, 2006 - Village Voice)
\"The final Move recording sessions took place from 7 and 19 December 1971-- less than two months after Wood, Bevan and Lynne, as the Electric Light + Orchestra, completed the final mix of their experimental debut album (released on 3 December). They recorded two songs, both subsequently released as singles, in different territories, both pointing in wildly differing directions. Do Ya, sung by Jeff Lynne, anticipated the sharp and polishes AOR strut that by the mid-'70s had come to dominate the rock mainstream. The other, California Man, was an irresistably greasy slice of rock 'n' roll revivalism that enabled The Move to go out in style-- with a Top Ten hit.\"
Mark Paytress (October 2008 - Anthology 1966 - 1972 liner notes)
\"The final Move song recorded at Philips Studios on 19 December 1971, had a working title of Look Out Baby There's A Plane A' Coming. Originally a UK B-side to California Man, in America, the single was flipped and became the group's sole hit there during October 1972. [...] The session masters were missing for almost 30 years before being found with Do Ya, spliced onto an ELO tape reel.\"
Author Unknown (October 2008 - Anthology 1966 - 1972 liner notes)
" xDoYa_popupstats = "
Available only on the USA issued 7\" promo single (United Artists 50928), this is the same edit as the stereo version, but it's mixed down to mono.
" xCaliforniaManUSAMonoSingleVersion_popupstats = "
\"Getting access to tapes from Don Arden's personal Jet Records archive had taken over 10 years but one multitrack tape in particular appeared to justify the long wait. This was a session master for ELO 2, which on closer inspection, revealed further tape spliced on at the end containing sessions for California Man (the full-length version complete with extra verse)... For those of you wondering about California Man - we ran out of time [to put it on the Message From The Country], but it will appear elsewhere...\"
Rob Caiger (2005 - 1999-2005: Making Of A Remaster article on themoveonline.com)
\"We did indeed find the multitrack session for California Man, the complete version with an additional verse sung by Jeff. It was a consideration for inclusion [on the Message From The Country remaster] had Roy been able to remix it - I wasn't keen on doing it when the artist and songwriter is available and should be up for doing his song. It's an important track, being The Move's final single and one that Roy still performs today from this era, but without his participation in remixing it, the complete California Man will remain unreleased. ...It is tentatively scheduled for The Move 4-CD box set, maybe mixed by Bev. That should stir Roy...\"
Rob Caiger (August 27, 2005 - Unexpected Messages mailing list)
\"From the Take 7 master recording [for California Man] begun on 7 December 1971, which included an extra 'take it Roy' verse that remains locked away in the EMI vaults. The session masters were missing for almost 30 years before being found with Do Ya, spliced onto an ELO tape reel.\"
Author Unknown (October 2008 - Anthology 1966 - 1972 liner notes)
" xCaliforniaManAlternateVersion_popupstats = "
This edit version of Do Ya, originally available only on the UK Harvest re-issue single (HAR 5086), simply cuts the song's bridge (\"In the country where the sky touches down...\").
\"While Harvest Showdown is an excellent compilation of hits, rarities and alternate takes, we deliberately included rare, different versions of Do Ya (7\" single version) and Tonight (US edited single) to those that appear on the Message [sic] remaster.\"
Rob Caiger (2005 - 1999-2005: Making Of A Remaster article on themoveonline.com)
\"Two years [after it's release on the B-side of California Man], Do Ya was released as a UK Harvest single in its own right. \"
John Van der Kiste (September 5, 2005 - Message From The Country Remaster)
\"Leading the pack [on the Harvest Showdown collection] is the 7-inch edit of a cut that first appeared on the B-side of a three-track UK single...\"
John Van der Kiste (September 5, 2005 - Harvest Showdown review on ftmusic.com)
Editor's Note: This makes it sound as if the edit version first appeared on the 3-track California Man single, which is not the case. That single had the full version of the song.
\"This rare edited version was for a UK single A-side released in September 1974 to cash in on ELO, Roy Wood and Wizzard's chart success.\"
Author Unknown (October 2008 - Anthology 1966 - 1972 liner notes)
" xDoYa7SingleEditVersion_popupstats = "
This version of Do Ya differs from the standard single version in that it is a different mix, with slightly more prominent guitar throughout the song, especially the choruses. It has an extra guitar riff added to the beginning of the fourth and final chorus. And the \"Look out baby there's a plane a'comin'\" is pushed down into the mix and some goon show style addlibbing is mixed in over the song's ending. The song does not fade, but instead continues to the end of the take, which includes a bit of studio banter after the band finishs playing. There is a bit of studio banter and guitar at the song's beginning.
\"[The alternate version of Do Ya is] No hidden track [on the Message From The Country remaster], but it is included in far, far superior form.\"
Rob Caiger (August 8, 2005 - Unexpected Messages mailing list)
\"Though The Move recorded many sessions for the BBC, their tape archive was notoriously bare when it came to the Wood-Lynne-Bevan line-up. Surprisingly, a mono version of Do Ya, recorded for BBC Radio 1's Dave Lee Travis Show, was found to have survived on a vinyl BBC transcription disc in rather poor condition and quality. The truth, though, began to reveal itself much later when a tape of the original recording session for Do Ya was recovered. Getting access to tapes from Don Arden's personal Jet Records archive had taken over 10 years but one multitrack tape in particular appeared to justify the long wait. This was a session master for ELO 2, which on closer inspection, revealed further tape spliced on at the end containing sessions for California Man (the full-length version complete with extra verse) and a track entitled Look Out Baby, There's A Plane Coming. This was obviously Do Ya but on playback, it also sounded similar to the BBC version. It transpired the band were far too busy recording to attend the BBC Studios, so instead of losing vital radio promotion, they did what other bands at the time did and prepared a 'remix' from their own session tape - and sent it to the BBC. Using the 'BBC' version as a guide but now with Abbey Road's studio wizardry, a new more explosive mix utilising the full-length recording of Do Ya was completed - and it sounds incredible (and in stereo too!).\"
Rob Caiger (2005 - 1999-2005: Making Of A Remaster article on themoveonline.com)
" xDoYaAlternateVersion_popupstats = "
The difference between this version and the original single version is there is more GTR throughout the song, especially the chorus. There is also an altogether different (non-fading) ending. It's the same as the alternate version heard on the 2005 Message From The Country remaster, but without the studio banter at the song's beginning and end with the end fading just as the take ends. The most significant difference from the alternate take on the remaster is that it is missing the added guitar just before the fourth and final chorus, cutting straight to the vocals the same as the standard single version. According to comments from Rob Caiger on the Face The Music fanclub website, he mentions about the full-length version that it was edited for BBC in 1972 and they have released the full-length version on the Message From The Country remaster. This version is assumed to be the edit actually sent to the BBC. It was known to have been bootlegged in the past after it was played on the BBC in the 1970s.
" xDoYaEditedAlternateVersion_popupstats = "
JL is known to have done some uncredited guitar work on T. Rex's early 1970s recordings, although which titles remains unknown except for Solid Gold Easy Action.
" xTRexUnknownTitles_popupstats = "
Known only to have been played live. This is an early version of From The Sun To The World (Boogie #1) with different lyrics than that which later showed up on the Electric Light Orchestra II album.
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Known only to have been played live. A studio version of this song was later released on Roy Wood's Boulders album, minus JL's involvement.
\"The live set contained: ...Elaine. Elaine later became Dear Elaine by Roy Wood as his second solo single. E.L.O. performed it only in concerts when not playing Whisper In The Night...\"
UNEX
" xDearElaine1972ElectricLightOrchestraTour_popupstats = "
This song is known only to have been played live. No known studio recording exists. It's a cover of the Jerry Lee Lewis song. The normal GTR parts are played with violins and cellos! This recording is from the May 9, 1972 recording for the Granada TV's Set Of 6 program.
" xGreatBallsOfFire1972ElectricLightOrchestraTour_popupstats = "
No statistics available for this song.
" xJeffsBoogie21972ElectricLightOrchestraTour_popup = "
Known only to have been played live. This is an early version of In Old England Town (Boogie #2) with different lyrics than that which later showed up on the Electric Light Orchestra II album.
" xJeffsBoogie21972ElectricLightOrchestraTour_popupstats = "
It is thought that there are more songs performed on ELO's first tour than are currently known. Additional songs may include Whisper In The Night which was also performed on the Set Of 6 TV program.
" xUnknownTitlesElectricLightOrchestraTour_popupstats = "
\"Brian Matthew introduced Electric Light Orchestra (4 Feb. 1972) - the famous voice of BBC Radio 1 introduces 'a new sound, a new concept', reading from the original EMI Harvest press release. Brian then played the (non-live) album version of 10538 Overture but we follow his words with something previously unheard... [the acetate version of 10538 Overture].\"
Rob Caiger (2001 - liner notes for The Electric Light Orchestra remaster CD)
" xBrianMatthewIntroduces10538Overture_popupstats = "
\"The live set contained: ...Great Balls Of Fire which had classical extracts of 6 to 10 bars after each rock 'n' roll line, thus the song could be streched [sic] a lot. At the end of it they already switched into the beginning theme of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, played in rock style.\"
UNEX
" x10538OvertureSetOf6May91972_popupstats = "
\"It was me that helped tracked down the missing California Man footage - yet it was too expensive to license [for release on The Move remasters]!\"
Rob Caiger (August 26, 2005 - Showdown mailing list)
" xCaliforniaManTopOfThePopsJune221972_popupstats = "
This live version was recorded shortly after Roy Wood left the band.
\"...introduced by Brian Matthew, this unique version features a remix of the original backing track, a new violin part and Roy Wood's VCL replaced by JL's (Wood having just left the group). Traced to a BBC library copy of a vinyl transcription disc, originally prepared for European radio during July 1972). [...] The BBC version of 10538 Overture is taken from a session for Top Of The Pops, but without Roy Wood and the three band members that had recently left with him. 10538 Overture had become a hit, so with Bill Hunt back on temporary loan from Roy's new band, the JL-led ELO made a triumphant debut appearance on the UK's premier music programme. At other times, the band had to press-gang sound engineer Jake Commander and their roadies to mime cellos-- hidden behind animal masks! This version is unique: violinist Wilf Gibson (miming cello on TV) recorded a new violin part for the backing track, new JL VCL replaced Roy Wood's verses and his backing VCL were pushed down in the mix. The rest of the track was as the released single. The recording was traced to a BBC library copy of a vinyl transcription disc, prepared for export to the European radio market.\"
Rob Caiger (2001 - liner notes for The Electric Light Orchestra remaster CD)
" x10538OvertureBBCJuly1972_popupstats = "
\"In Old England Town is thunder and violence - as is this whole thing. That's coupled with tender lilts and tilts, and wilts with neo-classical dreams, nightmares, confusion and above all - music.\"
Roy Hollingworth (January, 1973 - Melody Maker)
\"Hear the strings on In Old England Town (Boogie No. 2) sawing away lugubriously, like an aggregation of amateurs (who happen to be narcoleptics) whiling away a Sunday afternoon, as Jeff's distorted vocal over a plodding melody line skewers heavy music for all time. Perhaps his target is the Move's own delightfully torpid Brontosaurus?\"
James Isaacs (September 27, 1973 Rolling Stone #144)
\"This was the first number we recorded with the group as it stands at the moment. Basically, it's an anti-pollution song. Heavy cello riffs are a feature but we've recently decided to drop this from our stage act.\"
Bev Bevan (1973 - Birmingham Post & Mail article entitled: Chart Boost Coming For Brum And E.L.O.)
\"In Old England Town is musically the nearest thing to the old ELO, but with a wry lyric. \"
Author unknown (1973 - Sounds article entitled: Flow With ELO)
\"The opening track [on ELO 2] is In Old England Town. It's Lynne's social comment song: 'It's like taking another look at something. Looking at the army in a different light, looking at pollution in a different way. Each verse says different things about what people talk about every day. I suppose it's just a comment on what's happening from my distorted point of view.' It has a heavy, ominous cello riff going through it, and some lovely piano work from Richard Tandy. And listen to the way Bevan's drumming blends with the cello lines.\"
Mick Drennan (1973 - Source Unknown, article entitled A Spaceship Shaped Like A Lightbulb found in website only expanded liner notes for ELO 2 remaster CD)
\"Two new JL compositions, first played during ELO's debut UK tour, were given working titles of No. 1 and No. 2 (From The Sun To The World and In Old England Town respectively) and taped at Philips Studios in Marble Arch, London. Roy Wood played bass guitar and cello on both tracks. [...] One multitrack tape exists from the first ELO 2 recording session at Philips Studios in May 1972, containing From The Sun To The World and In Old England Town. Extra tape spliced on after these tracks had missing sessions for two of The Move's most famous EMI songs, California Man and Do Ya.\"
Rob Caiger (2002 - liner notes for ELO 2 remaster CD)
\"Sessions for ELO 2 had begun at Philips Studios in London during May 1972. The band had barely completed 'the Boogies' when Roy Wood left to form Wizzard.\"
Author Unknown (March 2003 - Face The Music (fanclub) News Bulletin)
Editor's Note: I take it from this statement that From The Sun To The World (Boogie No. 1) and In Old England Town (Boogie No. 2) were completed in May, 1972-- a fact that has yet to get a real solid answer.
\"Revealed for the very first time after 30 years of rumour, Roy Wood does perform on ELO 2. He appears on two tracks from the very first ELO 2 recording session at Philips Studios in May 1972. Wood plays cello and bass guitar on From The Sun To The World and In Old England Town.\"
Author Unknown (March 31, 2003 - website only expanded liner notes for ELO 2 remaster CD)
\"I think Bill [Hunt] is in there [on the ELO 2 Boogies] somewhere on piano and there's certainly more French horn played on the session, but not included on the final mix. ...The bass parts are all Roy. Colin [Walker] is on the Boogies...\"
Rob Caiger (April 3, 2003 - Showdown mailing list)
\"During lengthy tracks like From The Sun To The World (Boogie No.1) and In Old England Town (Boogie No.2) Lynne got to try out many of the musical motifs that would later become his band's trademark. Sometimes the blend worked, sometimes it didn't.\"
Paul Cole (April 13, 2003 - Sunday Mercury)
\"The first track I played on at a session was Boogie 2 [sic] recorded at a studio just off Marble Arch.\"
Wilf Gibson (October 2003 - Martin Kinch's Cherry Blossom Clinic website)
\"They begin the album with In Old England Town [sic].\"
Matt Rowe (March 22, 2006 - MusicTAP No Answer and ELO II review)
\"A planned concept album entitled The Lost Planet was quietly abandoned and sessions for the second LP proper began May 1972. Two new JL songs, From The Sun To The World and In Old England Town were the first to be recorded and included Roy Wood on bass guitar and cello, but in little more than a month, the co-founder of the ELO concept left the group.\"
Rob Caiger (March 28, 2006 - ELO II Remaster)
\"But the Beatles remain ELO's prime pop template, from the dark guitar lyricism of In Old England Town...\"
Author Unknown (April 14, 2006 - No Answer and ELO II review in the Lexington Herald-Reader)
" xInOldEnglandTownBoogie2_popupstats = "
It's interesting to note that there is a considerable amount of confusion over the exact spelling of this song. Is it Momma, Mama or Mama...? On the UK album release, it's spelled Momma; on the US album release, it's Mama; and on the US remaster from 2006, it's Mama.... (Adding even more confusion, the UK album's title is ELO 2 while the US album's title is Electric Light Orchestra II and theUS remaster title is ELO II). Various sources conflict, but it seems that multiple spellings were used to mark the tape boxes and various documents during the production of the song, so technically, various titles are correct. On some releases, it's even spelled using an ellipses as Momma...! The Early ELO (1971-1973) CD incorrectly puts the mellotron intro to Roll Over Beethoven, the next song on the CD, onto the end of Momma
The strings from the beginning of this song were sampled on a Spanish song entitled Rio Babel by Gustavo Cerati on his 1999 Bocanada album.
\"Slowest, quietest and most melodic track on the [ELO 2] album with superb poetic lyrics. This is one of several songs by Jeff that Carl Wayne is considering for his next single - and Richard Harris is also showing interest in this one too.\"
Bev Bevan (1973 - Birmingham Post & Mail article entitled: Chart Boost Coming For Brum And E.L.O.)
\"Momma has a stronger melody and more imaginative production and use of instruments - gentle, rather sad, and with more happening within it in a subtler way. \"
Author unknown (1973 - Sounds article entitled: Flow With ELO)
\"The next track is called Momma. It's the slowest, most melodic number on the album. It has a melancholy flavour with the strings showing how well they lend themselves to creating and sustaining a mood.\"
Mick Drennan (1973 - Source Unknown, article entitled A Spaceship Shaed Like A Lightbulb found in website only expanded liner notes for ELO 2 remaster CD)
\"The first session at AIR Studios began on 8 September 1972 with Kuiama (take 1), Number Four (Momma take 2) and Roll Over Beethoven (take 1).\"
Rob Caiger (2002 - liner notes for ELO 2 remaster CD)
\"Mama is a beautiful song and deserves more recognition. It's a shame that Carl Wayne's excellent rendition of it wasn't released, because it could have been a big hit.\"
Bev Bevan (2002 - liner notes for The Lost Planet)
\"...less ambitious [than other tracks on ELO 2] Momma remains one of the best songs Lynne ever wrote...\"
Paul Cole (April 13, 2003 - Sunday Mercury)
\"...soft, classically influenced ballad, Momma\"
Matt Rowe (March 22, 2006 - MusicTAP No Answer and ELO II review)
" xMama_popupstats = "
\"Beethoven wouldn't just roll in his grave, he'd get up and play with it!\"
Roy Hollingworth (January, 1973 - Melody Maker)
As John Peel said on the wireless only the other day, [Roll Over Beethoven] has been done a million times. But the ELO give it probably the best new treatment since The Beatles. It opens with the dots from 'Fifth Symphony', a groovy chart the Old Master scored a while back. Then JL and & Co. take off with some energetic boogie. A great production, and the strings are suitably outrageous as they de-tune in such a fashion as would send Stradivarius mental. Probably No.1 - and for three weeks at least.\"
Chris Welch (13 January 1973 - Melody Maker)
\"Ah, a 1984 version of Chuck Berry's frantic classic. Unlike Berry, ELO pay a tribute to Ludwig Van as they scout beyond the sonic zone. Now Roy Wood has dropped out, JL is left to pursue his music fantasies as he mixes his Jerry Lee-like delivery (a la California Man) with short classical interludes, some of which turn me on while others tend to detract from the continuity. One good thing about it, the mean rhythm section doesn't quit.\"
Danny Holloway (13 January 1973 - NME)
\"As one might expect not just the normal vamped up rocker. JL and Roy Wood's musical minds always seem to have run so closely together, it was hard to work out who had the most influence over the arrangements of this band. Certainly now they're in Lynne's hands alone, the result reeks of ELO's past efforts. Starts with Beethoven's Firth [sic] then breaks into a gotcha by golly wow and midway has a strangely workable combination of straight violins going semi-classical over a dark rock bass and drum. They seem to be so attuned to commerciality I can't see how this can fail.\"
Penny Valentine (13 January 1973 - Sounds)
\"Roll over, Beethoven - The Electric Light Orchestra have put you on the pop scene again. The weird and wonderful half-classical-half-pop group have turned Chuck Berry's song into a top ten smash hit in Britain. Roll Over Beethoven originally sold a million for the big daddy of rock seventeen years ago. Then The Beatles recorded it on their hit album, With The Beatles, in 1963. Now Beethoven has rolled up again. The boys - whose stuff is mostly heavy - played Roll Over Beethoven as a bit of light relief on their recent tour of colleges and halls and found it 'got 'em all at it' as founder member Jeff Lynne puts it. So they decided to release the number as a pop single. \"
Deborah Thomas (13 March 1973 - Daily Mirror)
\"An absolutely amazing grafting of Beethoven licks onto Chuck Berry's Roll Over Beethoven-- they come across as a demented wedding of Charles Ives and the Three Stooges.\"
Author Unknown (April, 1973 - Rolling Stone)
\"My initial reaction when seeing this lying about was 'Jesus, not another Chuck Berry song.' The Faces apart, has anyone done anything new with a Berry song in the past five years? Lonnie Mack did, but that was aeons ago. However, I shouldn't have doubted Jeff Lynne's ability to come up with something remarkable. This is, in the best pop traditions, a beautiful absurdity. Corny, jokey and quite magnificent. For a start yer [sic] cellos an' that do a pretty straight bit of real Beethovening at the opening and close and Jeff plays a beautiful charging guitar that is every bit the equal of George Harrison's version and even of the original itself. There's a lot of echo on the guitar and the piano sounds as though a madman was operating it in an adjoining room. There's a faintly Jerry Lee Lewisish quality to the vocals. The strings, rocking like bitches, play sort of a ghost-train evil. It's absurd, much larger than life, genuinely witty and vastly entertaining. The ELO never lose site, in all the Grand Guignol, that 'Beethoven' is first and foremost a rocker and this thunders along magnificently. If it's not a number one I shall come along you with a whip.\"
John Peel (1973 - Source Unknown (excerpt extracted from photocopied article found in the liner notes for The Lost Planet))
\"And lest we forget, there is the rocking big hit revival of Roll Over Beethoven, with its labored use of the famed four-note opening motive from [Beethoven's] Symphony No. 5, which certainly must have been a concerted effort to poke fun at Ludwig Van, chuckle at Berry and otherwise hoot at the entire hackneyed and pompous notion of 'returning to one's roots.' Yuk, yuk.\"
James Isaacs (September 27, 1973 Rolling Stone #144)
\"The full nine-minute version of our recent single hit. When you listen to this one you will appreciate what a good job JL did with the editing.\"
Bev Bevan (1973 - Birmingham Post & Mail article entitled: Chart Boost Coming For Brum And E.L.O.)
\"The reason we released Roll Over Beethoven as a single was that we hadn't a single since last June. And we thought maybe they were forgetting about us, which they were, and we needed some publicity like that to plug the album a bit. The new album's coming out this month (March). And it was so popular on stage that we thought it was the best number to release off the album, because we hadn't anything specifically recorded for a single. I think it works well. We have an original sound. Its hard to tell really how well it works, because we're only learning ourselves.\"
JL (1973 - Source Unknown, article entitled A Spaceship Shaped Like A Lightbulb found in website only expanded liner notes for ELO 2 remaster CD)
\"Next is Roll Over Beethoven. This is the version that the band play on stage, about eight minutes long, three of which were edited into the single. You know it of course: interlacing Beethoven's fifth riff (try saying that fast) with Chuck's classic. It's an outrageous arrangement, really, but on this longer version, the strings get a chance to get into some truly inspired rocking with Tandy throwing out the occasional frenetic burst of boogie piano.\"
Mick Drennan (1973 - Source Unknown, article entitled A Spaceship Shaped Like A Lightbulb found in website only expanded liner notes for ELO 2 remaster CD)
\"Classical or not, ELO got a lot of help from good old Ludwig one time when he sat in Chuck Berry. [Roll Over Beethoven] was a startling mixture that brought ELO to the attention of American radio listeners in 1973.\"
Robert W. Morgan (late 1976 - The Robert W. Morgan Special of the Week radio show)
\"Best known from the second Electric Light Orchestra LP is Chuck Berry's Roll Over Beethoven. 'It was the most obvious idea in the world,' recalls Bev, 'to start with a portion of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony and sequeway into Roll Over Beethoven. But no one had ever done it before and it became our first hit.'\"
Chuck Marshall (1976 - Rock Around The World radio show)
\"[Roll Over Beethoven] was a good thing for us, even though I dislike the record as well. Yeah, I find it painful to listen to. Yeah, mainly because of the vocals... I sing it... The vocal are horrible. But, you learn by mistakes. Y'know, I hear that now and I go, 'Ooh, who's that? It's me.'\"
JL (1976 - Innerview with Jim Ladd)
\"The symphonic \"Roll Over Beethoven\" has been out there waiting for a long time. \"
Robert Christgau (circa 1973 - Electric Light Orchestra II review on www.robertchristgau.com)
\"What can you say? The perfect marriage of rock & classical (a great track for Beethoven birthday celebrations by the way).\"
Author Unknown (June 1976 - liner notes for Olι ELO album)
\"Two tracks immediately spring to mind that verify the classical-rock tag. Roll Over Beethoven, the neo-classical treatment of the rock classic that did more than anything else to present ELO and their ideals to the mass public, and Rockaria!, the new British single, are undeniably influenced by a desire to instil some degree of operatic feel into the music. On the other hand however, it is argued that they parody the classical tag as much as they project it. 'I suppose both are send-ups of the classical-rock tags,' Lynne said. The second album ELO 2, was a meek attempt at sustaining that dominance, but Lynne soon discovered he could not exercise the same power over their experimental adaptation of strings as Wood, and the only thing that held that album above water was the excellent rousing version of Roll Over Beethoven.\"
Harry Doherty (April 2, 1977 - Melody Maker)
\"When we very first started and we were doing all our own material, we wanted to do a song that the crowd was familiar with. And we thought a Chuck Berry song was as good as any. And I really can't remember who came up with the idea of... Oh, it's like it's so obvious. It's a bit corny but let's put Beethoven's Fifth, y'know, with Roll Over Beethoven. And it's, what, y'know, it's... The simplest ideas are always the best.\"
Bev Bevan (August 8, 1980 - The ELO Story radio show)
\"...we recorded Roll Over Beethoven. It started because we were so short of material, we never had anything for an encore, so someone suggested we do the inevitable Chuck Berry number. What was it to be? We decided on Roll Over Beethoven with some genuine strings on at the start. At first we tried Beethoven's Ninth, but finally settled on Beethoven's Fifth. To our string section-- all classically trained musicians-- it was nothing. 'Sure,' they said. 'Beethoven, Mozart, Bach-- it's all the same to us.' But the moment an audience heard it for the first time, with those stirring strings sweeping into rock 'n' roll, they went wild. And when we finally released it as a single (January 1973) it made the top five in Britain and gave us a minor hit in America. It was perhaps the most important single we ever made.\"
BBV (1980 - The Electric Light Orchestra Story)
\"Even more blatant was the track which had been edited down to become the band's second Top Ten single two months earlier [than the release of ELO 2]. Roll Over Beethoven combined the famous phrase from old Ludwig's Fifth Symphony with the Chuck Berry classic, harkening back to The Move's Night Of Fear which had 'borrowed' its riff from Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture.\"
Paul Cox (1986 - liner notes for First Movement)
\"...the track that turned an exotic musical experiment into a hugely powerful rock band was Roll Over Beethoven. The group had learned the song as an encore, making Chuck Berry's clever lyrical metaphor audibly literal with the opening notes of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony (and, for a while on stage, his Ninth as well). However vague the original concept for ELO, this number singlehandedly made abundantly clear how rock 'n' roll with a string section should sound. In Britain, where it was released as a single in January 1973, Roll Over Beethoven immediately became a Top 10 hit; it reached #42 in the United States. But it had a major impact on FM radio, where it was embraced by young people as an irreverent salvo in the generation battle against stuffy adult authority. From his Wizzard-ly vantage point, Roy Wood promptly made sport of his former cohorts, naming a jazzy B-side Bend Over Beethoven.\"
Ira Robbins (1990 liner notes for Afterglow)
\"The track that turned an exotic musical experiment into a hugely popular rock band was Roll Over Beethoven. The group had learned the song as an encore, making Chuck Berry's clever lyrical metaphor audibly literal with the opening notes of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony (and, for a while on stage, his Ninth as well). However vague the original concept for ELO, this number single-handedly made abundantly clear how rock 'n' roll with a string section should sound. In Britain, where it was released as a single in January 1973, Roll Over Beethoven immediately became a Top 10 hit; it reached #42 in the United States. But it had a major impact on FM radio, where it was embraced by young people as an irreverent salvo in the generational battle against stuffy adult authority. From his Wizzard-ly vantage point, Roy Wood promptly made sport of his former cohorts, naming a jazzy B-side Bend Over Beethoven.\"
Ira Robbins (1995 liner notes for Strange Magic: The Best Of Electric Light Orchestra)
\"[Hugh McDowell] decided to rejoin E.L.O. at the end of 1973, after their UK release of On The Third Day. However, it caused some trouble, because he had written a song called Bend Over Beethoven [as a member of Roy Wood's Wizzard that was released] just three months after E.L.O.'s Roll Over Beethoven release. The song had been making fun on E.L.O.'s single, so they weren't that pleased about him wanting to return, but they also urgently needed a cello player.\"
UNEX
\"As for 1973's ELO II, Lynne says, 'Roll Over Beethoven was on there, and that was unbeatable as a live number. You can't help but tap your foot to it.' Lynne never heard from the song's writer, Chuck Berry, about ELO's classically tinged yet rocking version that became an FM favorite. 'No, I saw Chuck once in a coffee shop,' Lynne remembers, 'but I didn't fancy going up to him in case he said, You messed up my song.'\"
David Wild (2000 liner notes for Flashback)
\"In the studio next door, Paul McCartney was recording Live And Let Die, and producer George Martin popped into our studio to have a listen to our slightly different version of the classic he had recorded about ten years earlier. He gave a nod of approval.\"
JL (2000 - Flashback)
\"In a corny way, Roll Over Beethoven was what we were trying to do, so I decided to use the Fifth Symphony. It turned out to be a good combination. I sing all the wrong lyrics but there's a story behind that. We were in the studio, and we had just finished the backing track, we had all played and it had sounded good and we were ready to put vocals on it. At that point, I realised that I didn't know what the words were, so we called up Bev's record shop (Heavyhead Records in Birmingham) and his assistant was there, and he read me the words over the phone. He was getting it off the record, playing a bit at a time and telling them to me. It took about an hour to get the words-- and they were wrong anyway!\"
JL (circa 2000) - liner notes for The Lost Planet)
\"It had always been in me mind that we should one day think about doing Roll Over Beethoven 'cause... mainly just for the name Beethoven obviously. We had these fantastic t-shirts made of... a picture of Beethoven with his fingers stuck in his ears with this incredibly horrified expression. That's, you know, 'roll over beethoven.' I mean, that was the fun thing to do. It's a bit long, it went on about eight or nine minutes. In those days you were sort of expected to have big long winding thing going on, for hours and hours, droning on and on... \"
JL (June 2 & 9, 2001 - Mr. Blue Sky: The JL Story 2001 BBC 2 Radio show)
\"As soon as you strike up with [Roll Over Beethoven in concert]... It's a pleasure to play it anyway, because it's so frantic, y'know, and you got a million guitar solos and it's a lot of fun.\"
JL (June 12, 2001 - interview with DJs Mark & Brian on 95.5 KLOS)
\"Next door across the hallway in, um, AIR Studios in London [Paul McCartney was recording while I was recording Roll Over Beethoven] and Paul was in doing Live And Let Die with this big thousand piece orchestra. And, uh, I was doing Roll Over Beethoven in this other room across the way and George came in, George Martin. Had a listen to it and he was smiling; he was smiling and he liked it.\"
JL (June 24, 2001 - Off The Record interview with Joe Benson)
\"A live favourite in the Sixties and Seventies with everyone from the Beatles to Uriah Heep, it's the Electric Light Orchestra cover most people know. With blistering guitar, deft string arrangements and tongue-in-cheek quotes from Beethoven's Fifth, it perfectly fitted ELO's prog-pop profile. 'We're not into experimental classical stuff, nothing discordant. I just love the melodies of the old composers,' reasoned JL. Already a popular encore number, it's the highlight on the band's second album, the overblown and otherwise tedious ELO II, and was earmarked for 45 release in 1973. More Moseley than Missouri, Roll Over Beethoven established the quirky Brummie band as a solid chart act. The drummer, BBV, called it 'perhaps the most important single we ever made.'\"
Robert Webb (January 18, 2002 The Independent - The Independent's Guide to Pop's Most Intriguing Cover Versions: Roll Over Beethoven - Chuck Berry / ELO)
\"ELO's live favourite Roll Over Beethoven, an inspired cover of Chuck Berry's classic combined with elements of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, was an obvious choice for a UK single and was released by Harvest in the UK on 12 January 1973. Fuelled by a high-octane Top Of The Pops TV performance, Roll Over Beethoven did even better than its predecessor [10538 Overture] and reached no. 6 [on the UK singles chart]. [...] Roll Over Beethoven exists in various edited formats. For most territories, ELO 2 included an 8:02 version but in the UK and Japan the song was edited to 6:56. [...] [In America, Roll Over Beethoven was] ELO's first USA hit at no.42. Though UA were pleased with the success, the single should have gone higher in the charts. Sadly, Billboard's new computer system for recording sales figures crashed the second week of Roll Over Beethoven's chart run and many sales were never recorded.\"
Rob Caiger (2002 - liner notes for ELO 2 remaster CD)
\"Personally, I really like the way I played on Roll Over Beethoven in particular.\"
Bev Bevan (2002 - liner notes for The Lost Planet)
\"ELO wasn't a dictatorship as some critics have described, it was great fun, especially for those that could contribute to the songs Jeff had written. If he felt it was a good idea, it could stay, though ELO was very strictly Jeff's concept. He knew what he wanted but didn't limit the expression of the players. We all contributed to our parts - it wasn't dictated to us note by note. I know Richard contributed a lot, I did, Wilf contributed some critical things. Jeff would have told us what sort of atmosphere he was trying to create and imagery. For example, Wilf [Gibson] made some very important contributions to Roll Over Beethoven and Showdown. [...] I thought it was a very clever idea of rock 'n' roll plus what ELO stood for - the integration of strings. Roll Over Beethoven, Chuck Berry, rock 'n' roll and all these classically trained musicians thrown in together with some nice classical arrangements. A classical version of the Blood, Sweat & Tears attempt at putting two forms of music together. It was a very conscious, clever, commercial move by Jeff to do this. Chuck Berry, The Beatles. it didn't matter, this was different again. And it worked. Rather than look for apiece of his own music, it was Jeff's decision to do Roll Over Beethoven. To this present day, that song stands as the building block for the whole ELO. However tiresome it got to play as an encore, you could never forget it was one of those ingredients that was magical, that the audience loved it and that we should be very grateful (laughs). I remember George Martin coming into the studio - and Jeff of course, idolised The Beatles. When his George-ship walked into our studio and accepted an invitation to listen to a version of something he cut a long time earlier, it was very exciting. He listened like a professor would, nodded appreciatively and said quietly 'I think you've got a hit there chaps.' Which was very exciting for everyone - and he was right! [...] When we got to the vocal for Roll Over Beethoven, of course nobody knew the words! Somebody had to send out to the music publishers, but the words weren't obtainable, so in the end it was phoned in from a friend via The Beatles record! Eventually these words were in, scribbled down on a piece of paper. The next problem was singing it. Now, in this wonderfully equipped studio, Jeff is presented with a variety of microphones, which, in today's money, might go in the region of £200 - £2,000 - maybe even more. So, there's a range of Rolls Royce microphones, all put in front of him. Jeff looked at them and being a man of few words, you could tell something was on his mind. I think he was disgusted that rock 'n' roll could be transmitted to the audience by one of these posh microphones! He made a request to the engineer for, I think, a mail-order microphone that Tandy's did, which probably cost 15 quid. They hadn't got it. So he made a request for something of similar grottyness - they hadn't got that either. Jeff was momentarily lost for words, then said, 'I know, lets use one of these and drop it on the floor!' Ladies and gentlemen, I don't know how we got the sound, but we did manage to sh*t it up somehow!\"
Michael De Albuquerque (2002 - website only expanded liner notes for ELO 2 remaster CD)
\"After we'd finished ELO 2, which was the first album I was on, I was sure it was going to be a massive hit, be no. 1 all over the world. I was quite disappointed when it wasn't but I remember being quite surprised to here that Beethoven [sic] was in the American charts and we were getting success. I was expecting things to be successful and they weren't and then out of the blue, the news comes in that we'd got a hit in America. I had no idea why it was picked up on as a single. It was an obvious one to do as a stage number for us, tongue in cheek I suppose. [...] I dunno [who ELO got such an incredible sound out of the studio and onto the record for Roll Over Beethoven]! It's just the way Jeff mics it, he just puts the mic in the right place. The piano was just an old upright. Paul McCartney was recording next door and George Martin looked in. That was a thrill-- it was all a thrilling.\"
Richard Tandy (March 2003 - Face The Music (fanclub) News Bulletin)
\"It was JL's inspired idea to cover Chuck Berry's classic Roll Over Beethoven and incorporate elements of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. With recording completed at AIR Studios in on energy-charged take during 1972, the song was soon a huge favourite amongst UK and European fans and critics alike when it was performed at ELO's early live shows. The only possible candidate as a single from the forthcoming ELO 2 album, Roll Over Beethoven was the group's second hit following release on 12 January 1973. Originally backed with Manhattan Rumble (49th Street Massacre) copies were quickly withdrawn and replaced with Queen Of The Hours, another JL composition from the first album. An even shorter single edit was released later that year in the USA (United Artists UA-XW 173-W) and became ELO's debut American hit, reaching no. 42. More importantly, constant radio airplay supporting ELO's exhaustive coast-to-coast tours and electrifying performances of the song on Dick Clark's American Bandstand and Midnight Special TV shows helped crack the lucrative American music market, Roll Over Beethoven is still ELO's preferred encore of choice...\"
Author Unknown (March 31, 2003 - liner notes for The Lost Planet)
\"Roll Over Beethoven was ELO's first hit in the USA and their performance of the song on the legendary Midnight Special TV series began the groups huge success in America during the 1970's. [...] Regrouping under Lynne's leadership [after Roy Wood's departure], the new ELO made a triumphant debut at the 1972 Reading Festival. This led to their inspired 5th Symphony-quoting cover of Roll Over Beethoven in January 1973, which fast became ELO's theme song and laid valuable groundwork in the USA, becoming an FM radio favourite. A barnstorming unedited version helped second album ELO 2 into the UK album charts \"
Author Unknown (March 31, 2003 - website only expanded liner notes for ELO 2 remaster CD)
\"The 8 minute version [of Roll Over Beethoven] is the mix for all territories except for UK and Japan.\"
Rob Caiger (April 1, 2003 - Showdown mailing list)
\"The [Electric Light Orchestra II] album only had five cuts on it, but their rather indulgent version of Chuck Berry's Roll Over Beethoven, that included a cello send-up of Beethoven's own infamous Fifth Symphony gave them their first US hit.\"
Jaan Uhelszki (April 1 2003 liner notes for The Essential Electric Light Orchestra)
\"Also [I like] Roll Over Beethoven because it was the track which first caught the publics imagination. In the case of Roll Over Beethoven in which everyone had a percentage of input, there is some of my own original composition as well as arrangement. One example is the instrumental break which leads into the violin solo.\"
Wilf Gibson (October 2003 - Martin Kinch's Cherry Blossom Clinic website)
\"The only guitar tracks I've got on Roll Over Beethoven are down as Jeff.\"
Rob Caiger (April 9, 2005 - Showdown mailing list)
\"I mean Roll Over Beethoven really was just a bit of fun to finish an album off, y'know, we just needed one more track. And was [a] real long one, y'know. That was the fashion in those days, like 'How long is it? Fifteen minutes? Ah, it must be brilliant.' I've since edited it down about twelve times and got it down to about half an hour. [Laughs.]\"
JL (July 5, 2005 - Face The Music: The Story of the Electric Light Orchestra BBC 2 Radio show)
\"This collection doesn't include Can't Get It Out Of My Head or Roll Over Beethoven or 10538 Overture, which might make some question why it's called The Very Best of ELO.\"
Angela Pancella (July 2005 - Playback St. Louis review of All Over the World: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra)
\"The original vision for the Electric Light Orchestra was rather coarsely telegraphed by their name: a merger of pop, rock, and classical music that yielded some pretty embarrassing early moments (including the Beethoven/Berry mash-up of Roll Over Beethoven, not included here) and some pretty great ones (rock + opera aria = Rockaria!, included).\"
Rob Mitchum (August 8, 2005 - Pitchfork Media All Over the World: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra review)
\"The earlier collection [The Essential Electric Light Orchestra] seemed perfectly sufficient for most ELO fans, going so far as to include the only non-Lynne penned song in ELO's repertoire, Check Berry's Roll Over Beethoven (the song that introduced ELO to the United States). Most shocking about All Over the World [sic] is that while the earlier collection had space to include not only Roll Over Beethoven but also included the catchy Do Ya, the newer collection includes neither. Owners of this collection will be kicking themselves and cursing the gods at this omission.\"
Raul Burriel (August 14, 2005 - The Trades All Over the World: The Very Best of Electric Light Orchestra review)
\"The US version of Roll Over Beethoven will not be used [on the USA's ELO II remaster CD] as per Jeff's instructions but I hope to make that available either as a download or as part of another project.\"
Rob Caiger (January 27, 2006 - Showdown mailing list)
\"[Regarding the longer version of Roll Over Beethoven that was used on the USA Electric Light Orchestra II LP,] though UA did a fantastic job at the time, a lot of what went out to promote the band around their debut US tour and Roll Over Beethoven was rushed (to meet deadlines) and some things were not agreed by Jeff. There simply wasn't time and [the wrong version of the song] is one of the things that slipped through. At last, now's a chance to put the right version on the CD! In Jeff's opinion - and his is the only one that matters after all - the wrong album cover and the wrong version of Roll Over Beethoven has been out there for over thirty years and now we can sort it out. At the time, there was so much going on, this was never corrected by the young band and just left.\"
Rob Caiger (February 2, 2006 - Showdown mailing list)
\"The original, full length version of Roll Over Beethoven is on [the ELO II CD as] the 'take 1' version which precedes the US one. And as I said, we'll make the [remaster of the 8:11] US version available at a later date.\"
Rob Caiger (February 4, 2006 - Showdown mailing list)
\"ELO regrouped under JL's leadership and by 1973, the band were back in the UK top 10 with a rousing Fifth Symphony-quoting version of Chuck Berry's classic Roll Over Beethoven. It was also their debut USA hit, gaining much-needed publicity and promotion for ELO's first American tour and second album ELO 2.\"
Rob Caiger (March 13, 2006 - liner notes for The Collection)
\"...they struck paydirt with their interpretation of Chuck Berry's Roll Over Beethoven, also once tackled by The Beatles. [...] ELO II provided only 5 tracks, but those tracks were timed over 6 minutes with the best-known song, Roll Over Beethoven clocking in at 7 minutes (but pared down to a radio-friendly edit for AM). ...lighting up the album with their brilliant Roll Over Beethoven, with its violin beginnings before popping into the rollicking piano/guitar Berry version. Even though radio couldn't handle the lengthy version presented on the album, it is classic (no pun intended) with its manic violin and rock hybrid. [...] And no matter how you read it OR hear it, ELO's interpretation of Roll Over Beethoven is still the king of all versions.\"
Matt Rowe (March 22, 2006 - MusicTAP No Answer and ELO II review)
\"We were doing Chuck Berry's Roll Over Beethoven on stage at this point so it was an obvious one to record. On stage I'd just make up some of the words because I'd never really learnt all of them. When it was time to do the vocals on the record I thought I'd better sing the real ones. From the studio we phoned someone with a record player who played Chuck's record down the phone over and over again and I wrote down what I though I heard. Oops, I got a few words wrong on my version and that's the way it stayed for the last thirty four years! We recorded Beethoven [sic] at Air Studios and in the next room was Paul McCartney recording Live And Let Die. George Martin, who owned the studios, was producing the Wings classic and came into our studio to have a listen to this strange version of Roll Over Beethoven, a song that he had recorded with the Beatles some years before. He smiled and nodded his head so I think he enjoyed it.\"
JL (March 28, 2006 - ELO II Remaster)
\"ELO's live favourite Roll Over Beethoven, an inspired cover of Chuck Berry's classic combined with elements of Beethoven's Fifth Symphony, was an obvious choice for a single and was released by the band's UK label to instant chart success. The new album followed the single into the charts, gaining enthusiastic and positive reviews. ELO II [sic] was also making waves across the Atlantic thanks to heavy FM radio interest in Roll Over Beethoven.\"
Rob Caiger (March 28, 2006 - ELO II Remaster)
\"With Lynne in charge for 1973's ELO II, the band plugged in, enlisted a string section and became a hit with a cover of Roll Over Beethoven that playfully quoted Beethoven's Fifth Symphony. [...] An intriguing bit of pop history is also revealed in Lynne's new liner notes. It seems famed Beatles producer/arranger George Martin was recording Live and Let Die with Paul McCartney in an adjoining studio while ELO was cutting Beethoven [sic], and he dropped by to offer Lynne encouragement.\"
Author Unknown (April 14, 2006 - No Answer and ELO II review in the Lexington Herald-Reader)
\"Roll Over Beethoven was Lynne's inspired Fifth Symphony-quoting cover of the Chuck Berry classic and an obvious single choice. Released in January 1973, it reached no.6 in the UK but importantly, was also ELO's debut hit in America and the start of the group's spectacular success in that country.\"
Rob Caiger (July 31 2006 - The Harvest Years 1970-1973 liner notes)
\"It'd always been in my mind that we should one day think about doing Roll Over Beethoven, mainly because of the name Beethoven obviously. They had these fantastic t-shirts made up, with a picture of Beethoven with his fingers stuck in his ears with an incredibly horrified expression-- let's roll over Beethoven!\"
JL (July 31 2006 - The Harvest Years 1970-1973 liner notes)
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\"From The Sun To The World and Kuiama are bloody great and as melodic as the sky. \"
Roy Hollingworth (January, 1973 - Melody Maker)
\"From the Sun to the World (Boogie No. 1) is a burlesque wrestling match between a Rossini overture and a contempo-boogie, with each contestant eye-gouging and knee-dropping each other.\"
James Isaacs (September 27, 1973 Rolling Stone #144)
\"The opening track on Side 2 [of ELO 2]. This was the suggested title for the album, but we thought it was too pretentious. If anything, it is the most heavily arranged and complicated track - and a number with which we always open our stage act.\"
Bev Bevan (1973 - Birmingham Post & Mail article entitled: Chart Boost Coming For Brum And E.L.O.)
\"I'm minded of various other albums in parts ...sometimes in the more dramatic sections of the way Principle Edwards Magic Theatre used to write, and in the piano work of Richard Tandy on From The Sun To The World particularly, I hear echoes of that exceptional first album by Renaissance when they had Keith Relf and John Hawken with them. I don't necessarily mean they've nicked the ideas, but they've arrived at the similar points from presumably similar roots. [...] Side two [of the ELO 2 album] starts with From The Sun To The World, which features some nice, classically influenced piano breaks and develops into a roaring boogie\"
Author unknown (1973 - Sounds article entitled: Flow With ELO)
\"Side Two [of ELO 2] opens with From The Sun To The World which begins and is laced with some curious, moody, piano work. The body of the song, though, rocks along at a fine pace, again with Richard Tandy excelling himself on piano. It gives the strings the chance to play, not merely as a backdrop but as lead instruments, playing nice little fills, with a fat, thudding bass hammering incessantly behind. I'm sorry about the categories, but at one stage the track sounds very 'classical' and then at the next the band takes off into some full-flight, riffy Rock 'n' Roll. There's so much going on, lots of changes in pace and mood, and yet it never seems cluttered or overworked.\"
Mick Drennan (1973 - Source Unknown, article entitled A Spaceship Shaped Like A Lightbulb found in website only expanded liner notes for First Light Series: ELO 2)
\"Lynne, having acquired full control of the E.L.O., set about introducing some levity to the proceedings, so that on ELO 2 , released in March 1973, From The Sun To The World veered somewhat close to B. Bumble& the Stingers than to Stravinsky.\"
Paul Cox (1986 - liner notes for First Movement)
\"...the jazzy swing and Rossini quotes of From The Sun To The World (Boogie #1)...\"
Ira Robbins (1990 liner notes for Afterglow)
\"Two new JL compositions, first played during ELO's debut UK tour, were given working titles of No. 1 and No. 2 (From The Sun To The World and In Old England Town respectively) and taped at Philips Studios in Marble Arch, London. Roy Wood played bass guitar and cello on both tracks. [...] One multitrack tape exists from the first ELO 2 recording session at Philips Studios in May 1972, containing From The Sun To The World and In Old England Town. Extra tape spliced on after these tracks had missing sessions for two of The Move's most famous EMI songs, California Man and Do Ya.\"
Rob Caiger (2002 - liner notes for ELO 2 remaster CD)
\"An extract from the remastered From The Sun To The World featuring Roy Wood on cello and bass guitar and obviously BBV on drums, will be previewed this month on The Move's official website at www.themoveonline.com.\"
Author Unknown (February 2003 - Face The Music (fanclub) News Bulletin)
\"Sessions for ELO 2 had begun at Philips Studios in London during May 1972. The band had barely completed 'the Boogies' when Roy Wood left to form Wizzard.\"
Author Unknown (March 2003 - Face The Music (fanclub) News Bulletin)
Editor's Note: I take it from this statement that From The Sun To The World (Boogie No. 1) and In Old England Town (Boogie No. 2) were completed in May, 1972-- a fact that has yet to get a real solid answer.
\"Revealed for the very first time after 30 years of rumour, Roy Wood does perform on ELO 2. He appears on two tracks from the very first ELO 2 recording session at Philips Studios in May 1972. Wood plays cello and bass guitar on From The Sun To The World and In Old England Town.\"
Author Unknown (March 31, 2003 - website only expanded liner notes for ELO 2 remaster CD)
\"I think Bill [Hunt] is in there [on the ELO 2 Boogies] somewhere on piano and there's certainly more French horn played on the session, but not included on the final mix. ...The bass parts are all Roy. Colin [Walker] is on the Boogies, From The Sun To The World especially, which has a beautiful orchestral intro featuring the string section and Roy on cello, which sadly wasn't included in the final mix.\"
Rob Caiger (April 3, 2003 - Showdown mailing list)
\"During lengthy tracks like From The Sun To The World (Boogie No.1) and In Old England Town (Boogie No.2) Lynne got to try out many of the musical motifs that would later become his band's trademark. Sometimes the blend worked, sometimes it didn't.\"
Paul Cole (April 13, 2003 - Sunday Mercury)
\"One example [of something suggested by the band members that JL didn't use] that I particularly thought sounded superb was an orchestral intro to From The Sun To The World'\ put together by the string players.\"
Rob Caiger (July 20, 2005 - Showdown mailing list)
\"The album ends with From the Sun To The World [sic], and the epic 11+ minutes of Kuliama [sic].\"
Matt Rowe (March 22, 2006 - MusicTAP No Answer and ELO II review)
\"A planned concept album entitled The Lost Planet was quietly abandoned and sessions for the second LP proper began May 1972. Two new JL songs, From The Sun To The World and In Old England Town were the first to be recorded and included Roy Wood on bass guitar and cello, but in little more than a month, the co-founder of the ELO concept left the group.\"
Rob Caiger (March 28, 2006 - ELO II Remaster)
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