The Move were one of the top live bands of the second half of the 1960s. Hailing from Birmingham they released a string of classic hit singles written by Roy Wood. They also included many cover versions in the live act and the live album was recorded to show how they out their own spin on covered tracks. The only two Move originals on this album are the two singles Flowers in the Rain and the "current" single Fire Brigade. Other tracks covered a wide range of artists from the Everly Brothers to Spooky Tooth.

The vocals from the February gig were re-recorded as the original quality of the recording was poor. Following this an EP, Something Else, was released in May 1968. A second concert at the Marquee took place in May 1968 to add more live recordings. During the period in-between, bass player Chris "Ace" Kefford left the group with Trevor Burton switching to bass. There do appear to be two guitars on the May tracks which suggests there may have been some later overdubbing.

The set kicks off with It'll Be Me. This may be well-known to UK listeners as a Cliff Richard track but that was in fact a cover of a Jerry Lee Lewis b-side. The "killer's" version graced the flipside of Whole Lotta Shakin' Goin' On. Too Much in Love was written by former Moody Blue Denny Laine and had been released by him as a solo single just a couple of weeks earlier. The Move certainly kept their cover versions up to date.

Roy Wood's songwriting is in the spotlight now as the band present two of their own hits. Flowers in the Rain has become infamous for two reason, notwithstanding the fact it is a great track. It is known for being the first record ever played on the BBC's Radio 1. Secondly, Wood and the band have never received any royalties from this massive-selling track. Manager Tony Secunda was fond of the publicity stunt and had a lot of postcards printed with a cartoon of a naked Prime Minister, Harold Wilson, and his secretary Marcia Williams. The Prime Minister sued and the High Court decided that all royalties from the track would go to charity. The band knew nothing about this stunt at the time. The court order remains in place with Wood and the band still receiving no royalties.

Fire Brigade had been released a few weeks earlier. This was the first track that featured Wood on lead vocals with vocalist Carl Wayne demoted to the occasional "ooh" and the middle eight. This episode may have contributed to Wayne looking to leave the band but he did this at a later date.

Now back to the cover versions. Stephanie Knows Who was written by Arthur Lee and recorded by Love on the 1966 LP De Capo. Roy Wood provides some amazing psychedelic guitar on this track while Bev Bevan beats the living daylights out of his drums. Somethin' Else is the Eddie Cochrane track and is sung by guitarist Trevor Burton.

The Move covered a couple of Byrds tracks. So You Want To Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star was the opening track on Younger Than Yesterday and had been part of the Byrds' set at the Monterey Festival in 1967. The song was written by Chris Hillman and Jim "Roger" McGuinn and takes a dig at manufactured pop such as the Monkees. More amazing guitar work from Wood here.

The Price of Love comes from the Everly Brothers with the Move's version providing a substantial psychedelic edge. The original version had been released as late as 1965. Piece of My Heart is an Erma Franklin track from 1967 that was famously covered by Big Brother & the Holding Company with Janis Joplin six months after the Move's version. This track really demonstrates just how good a lead vocalist Carl Wayne was.

Jackie Wilson is up next with Higher and Higher. What an amazing intro with the interplay between Kefford's bass and Bev Bevan's drums. Again this is a fairly recent song with the original released in 1967.

Sunshine Help Me is a cover of the Spooky Tooth track with by Gary Wright although the Spooky Tooth version was not released until July 1968. This is an amazing Move performance with some stunning guitar work from Roy Wood and Trevor Burton and bass by Chris "Ace" Kefford. The recent hit Strangers in the Night makes an appearance during the guitar solo (note Pete Shelley also dropped this in during the live performance of Buzzcocks' Nothing Left).

This 1968 live recording of the Move should be considered one of the greatest live albums. A mix of original hits and incredible cover versions showcase the band at their live peak. From Bev Bevan's explosive drum sound, great guitar and bass work to Carl Wayne's vocals sounding much better than they did in the studio, the albumis a series of delights.

Esoteric

Original release: 2016

Essential Tracks