The Move - California Man (1974) LP

Founded in Birmingham, UK in 1965 - Disbanded in 1972 - Reformed between 2004-2014

Cut from the same cloth as an array of other bands that blossomed from the fertile English musical soil in the mid-to-late 60s, THE MOVE conquered the British airwaves with a score of top ten singles, one after another. Their trendy psychedelic pop approach allowed them to maintain a high level of success in their own country for almost half a decade. However, unlike groups such as The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, The Who and The Kinks they were still relatively unknown to foreign audiences. It wasn't until their arresting and decidedly un-commercial LP entitled "Shazam!" (released in early 1970) that overseas reviewers took notice and enthusiastically raved about their eclectic, devil-may-care approach to making records. Multi-instrumentalist/vocalist Roy Wood had been the principal songwriter and sole creative genius behind the band from the beginning but when lead singer Carl Wayne quit soon after that album hit the racks the equally talented Jeff Lynne was brought into the fold, bringing not only an ideological upgrade but a new, progressive dimension to their sound.

While never overlooking the importance of strong melodies, they shunned accepted arrangement formulas and developed a unique style all their own that defies easy labeling to this day. In the process of building a solid, driving hard rock ambience featuring up-front, layered guitars they were also liable to throw in anything they could lay their hands on whether it was an oboe, a sitar or some strange hybrid instrument they invented themselves. There's a rare aura of unbridled, "anything goes" enthusiasm surrounding the studio efforts of the Wood/Lynne era in particular that challenged the status quo while surprising and delighting their fans worldwide. Perhaps that capricious attitude stems from THE MOVE having become a financial means-to-an-end as Roy and Jeff were in the process of developing their "serious" project, The Electric Light Orchestra. When that new endeavor was launched at the end of 1971 THE MOVE came to a quiet, unceremonious end but their incredibly quirky and always unpredictable mix of rock, jazz, pop, folk and classical influences will live on in prog history.