Message From the Country
Encyclopedia
Message from the Country is the fourth and last album by The Move
, as well as its only album for EMI's Harvest Records
. This album has long had the reputation as The Move's best album, although it was recorded while the band was transitioning itself into the Electric Light Orchestra
.
album (and even during some of the same sessions), there are inevitably some similarities in style between the two albums, especially the heavy use of "tracking up" (overdubbing) to capture all of the instruments being played by Roy Wood
and Jeff Lynne
. Nevertheless, Wood and Lynne were determined to maintain some differentiation between the sound of their two groups (for example, by confining Wood's saxes to Message and Wood's cellos to the ELO debut).
The Move was also responsible for the cover, as the painting was done by Roy Wood, based on an idea by Jeff Lynne.
The lengthy sessions for this album mostly just involved Wood and Lynne, because of all the tracking up being done. As a result, during these sessions, bassist Rick Price
quit The Move, reducing it to a trio. Instead of replacing him, Roy Wood added bass duties to his other roles, as well as erasing Price's tracks on the existing songs and then re-recording the bass lines. Although drummer Bev Bevan
did not quit, he states that this is his least-favorite Move album in the liner notes for the 2005 reissue.
However, US rock critic Robert Christgau
has called Message the Move's "only decent, only great album."
All previous Move singles had been solo Roy Wood compositions, and recent singles had also featured Wood singing lead, but this album presented a problem. Wood only composed four songs, with four songs from Lynne, one Lynne-Wood joint credit, and one Bevan song. Lead vocals on the album also were split between Wood and Lynne depending upon author, with Wood singing lead on Bevan's composition "Don't Mess Me Up", Bevan singing lead on Wood's "Ben Crawley Steel Company" and Lynne singing lead on the joint composition "My Marge". Thus, there were only three songs on the album written and sung by Wood.
Ultimately, Wood's "Ella James" was released as a single in 1971, but it was quickly withdrawn when Harvest Records and the group felt that Wood's "Tonight" (not originally on Message) would be a more commercial choice for The Move's first single on the Harvest label. No other song from the album was ever issued as a single, although The Move released two more hit singles ("Chinatown" and "California Man", both written by Wood) before becoming ELO permanently. All three songs featured lead vocals from both Wood and Lynne.
"Ella James" was later covered by The Nashville Teens
.
The initial 1971 album on the Harvest
label in the UK and Capitol Records
in the US contained tracks 1–10 below (with an alternate album cover – seen at right – on the US release, as well as the same songs in different playing order), as did a later reissue on CD on Beat Goes On Records in the UK and One Way Records in the US, both long since deleted. The bonus tracks on the current reissue are alternative takes and A-sides or B-sides of singles.
The US rights to the Message songs were transferred to United Artists Records
shortly after the release of Message, and various compilation albums and CDs containing some combination of the songs on Message and the five single tracks were released in the US by United Artists for years prior to this comprehensive reissue. One such album is the 1972 LP release Split Ends; another is the 1995 CD Great Move: The Best of The Move.
called it one of the best "longhaired" power-pop albums of the 1970s.
The Move
The Move, from Birmingham, England, were one of the leading British rock bands of the 1960s. They scored nine Top 20 UK singles in five years, but were among the most popular British bands not to find any success in the United States....
, as well as its only album for EMI's Harvest Records
Harvest Records
-References:* Harvest Records collectors guide ISBN 978-5-9622-0021-7...
. This album has long had the reputation as The Move's best album, although it was recorded while the band was transitioning itself into the Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra
Electric Light Orchestra were a British rock group from Birmingham who released eleven studio albums between 1971 and 1986 and another album in 2001. ELO were formed to accommodate Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne's desire to create modern rock and pop songs with classical overtones...
.
History
Recorded in 1970–71 at the same time that The Move was also laying down tracks for the first Electric Light OrchestraThe Electric Light Orchestra (album)
The Electric Light Orchestra is the debut studio album by English rock band Electric Light Orchestra, released in December 1971. In the US, the album was released in early 1972 as No Answer, after a misunderstood telephone message made by a United Artists Records executive asking about the album name...
album (and even during some of the same sessions), there are inevitably some similarities in style between the two albums, especially the heavy use of "tracking up" (overdubbing) to capture all of the instruments being played by Roy Wood
Roy Wood
Roy Adrian Wood is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He was particularly successful in the 1960s and 1970s as member and co-founder of the bands The Move, Electric Light Orchestra, and Wizzard. As a songwriter, he contributed a number of hits to the repertoire of these bands.-Career:Wood...
and Jeff Lynne
Jeff Lynne
Jeffrey "Jeff" Lynne is an English songwriter, composer, arranger, singer, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer who gained fame as the leader and sole constant member of Electric Light Orchestra and was a co-founder and member of The Traveling Wilburys together with George Harrison, Bob...
. Nevertheless, Wood and Lynne were determined to maintain some differentiation between the sound of their two groups (for example, by confining Wood's saxes to Message and Wood's cellos to the ELO debut).
The Move was also responsible for the cover, as the painting was done by Roy Wood, based on an idea by Jeff Lynne.
The lengthy sessions for this album mostly just involved Wood and Lynne, because of all the tracking up being done. As a result, during these sessions, bassist Rick Price
Rick Price (bassist)
Rick Price is an English bassist, who has played with various Birmingham based rock bands, most notably Sight and Sound, The Move , Electric Light Orchestra and Wizzard...
quit The Move, reducing it to a trio. Instead of replacing him, Roy Wood added bass duties to his other roles, as well as erasing Price's tracks on the existing songs and then re-recording the bass lines. Although drummer Bev Bevan
Bev Bevan
Bev Bevan is an English rock musician, who was the drummer and one of the original members of The Move and Electric Light Orchestra...
did not quit, he states that this is his least-favorite Move album in the liner notes for the 2005 reissue.
However, US rock critic Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau is an American essayist, music journalist, and self-proclaimed "Dean of American Rock Critics".One of the earliest professional rock critics, Christgau is known for his terse capsule reviews, published since 1969 in his Consumer Guide columns...
has called Message the Move's "only decent, only great album."
All previous Move singles had been solo Roy Wood compositions, and recent singles had also featured Wood singing lead, but this album presented a problem. Wood only composed four songs, with four songs from Lynne, one Lynne-Wood joint credit, and one Bevan song. Lead vocals on the album also were split between Wood and Lynne depending upon author, with Wood singing lead on Bevan's composition "Don't Mess Me Up", Bevan singing lead on Wood's "Ben Crawley Steel Company" and Lynne singing lead on the joint composition "My Marge". Thus, there were only three songs on the album written and sung by Wood.
Ultimately, Wood's "Ella James" was released as a single in 1971, but it was quickly withdrawn when Harvest Records and the group felt that Wood's "Tonight" (not originally on Message) would be a more commercial choice for The Move's first single on the Harvest label. No other song from the album was ever issued as a single, although The Move released two more hit singles ("Chinatown" and "California Man", both written by Wood) before becoming ELO permanently. All three songs featured lead vocals from both Wood and Lynne.
"Ella James" was later covered by The Nashville Teens
The Nashville Teens
The Nashville Teens are a British pop band formed in Weybridge, Surrey in Summer 1962.-History:Arthur Sharp began his career in music as the manager of Aerco Records in Woking, Surrey...
.
The initial 1971 album on the Harvest
Harvest Records
-References:* Harvest Records collectors guide ISBN 978-5-9622-0021-7...
label in the UK and Capitol Records
Capitol Records
Capitol Records is a major United States based record label, formerly located in Los Angeles, but operating in New York City as part of Capitol Music Group. Its former headquarters building, the Capitol Tower, is a major landmark near the corner of Hollywood and Vine...
in the US contained tracks 1–10 below (with an alternate album cover – seen at right – on the US release, as well as the same songs in different playing order), as did a later reissue on CD on Beat Goes On Records in the UK and One Way Records in the US, both long since deleted. The bonus tracks on the current reissue are alternative takes and A-sides or B-sides of singles.
The US rights to the Message songs were transferred to United Artists Records
United Artists Records
United Artists Records was a record label founded by Max E. Youngstein of United Artists in 1957 initially to distribute records of its movie soundtracks, though it soon branched out into recording music of a number of different genres.-History:...
shortly after the release of Message, and various compilation albums and CDs containing some combination of the songs on Message and the five single tracks were released in the US by United Artists for years prior to this comprehensive reissue. One such album is the 1972 LP release Split Ends; another is the 1995 CD Great Move: The Best of The Move.
Track listing
- "Message from the Country" (Jeff LynneJeff LynneJeffrey "Jeff" Lynne is an English songwriter, composer, arranger, singer, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer who gained fame as the leader and sole constant member of Electric Light Orchestra and was a co-founder and member of The Traveling Wilburys together with George Harrison, Bob...
) – 4:45 - "Ella James" (Roy WoodRoy WoodRoy Adrian Wood is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He was particularly successful in the 1960s and 1970s as member and co-founder of the bands The Move, Electric Light Orchestra, and Wizzard. As a songwriter, he contributed a number of hits to the repertoire of these bands.-Career:Wood...
) – 3:11 - "No Time" (Lynne) – 3:38
- "Don't Mess Me Up" (Bev BevanBev BevanBev Bevan is an English rock musician, who was the drummer and one of the original members of The Move and Electric Light Orchestra...
) – 3:07 - "Until Your Mama's Gone" (Wood) – 5:03
- "It Wasn't My Idea to Dance" (Wood) – 5:28
- "The Minister" (Lynne) – 4:27
- "Ben Crawley Steel Company" (Wood) – 3:02
- "The Words of Aaron" (Lynne) – 5:25
- "My Marge" (Lynne-Wood) – 1:59
Bonus Tracks (2005 reissue)
- 11. "Tonight" (Wood) – 3:15
- 12. "ChinatownChinatown (song)Chinatown is a song performed by The Move. Released in 1971, this was The Move's penultimate release reaching number 23 on the UK singles chart. Recorded at the same time as the band's alter-ego Electric Light Orchestra were laying down tracks for their first album...
" (Wood) – 3:06 - 13. "Down on the Bay" (Lynne) – 4:14
- 14. "Do Ya" (Lynne) – 4:03
- 15. "California ManCalifornia Man (song)California Man is a song by The Move.Released in 1972 as a maxi single with "Do Ya" and "Ella James" as a double B-side, this was The Move's last official single release. The Electric Light Orchestra, originally conceived as a side-project to The Move, issued its first single,10538 Overture, a...
" (Wood) – 3:35 - 16. "Don't Mess Me Up" (Alternate session version) (Bevan) – 3:18
- 17. "The Words of Aaron" (Alternate session version) (Lynne) – 6:03
- 18. "Do Ya" (Alternate session version) (Lynne) – 7:00 (includes "hidden track" of "My Marge" (Alternate session version) (Lynne-Wood))
Personnel
- Roy WoodRoy WoodRoy Adrian Wood is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He was particularly successful in the 1960s and 1970s as member and co-founder of the bands The Move, Electric Light Orchestra, and Wizzard. As a songwriter, he contributed a number of hits to the repertoire of these bands.-Career:Wood...
– lead and backing vocals, guitars, steel guitar, recorders, bass, clarinet, bassoon, tenor and baritone saxes. - Jeff LynneJeff LynneJeffrey "Jeff" Lynne is an English songwriter, composer, arranger, singer, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer who gained fame as the leader and sole constant member of Electric Light Orchestra and was a co-founder and member of The Traveling Wilburys together with George Harrison, Bob...
– lead and backing vocals, guitars, piano, percussion. - Bev BevanBev BevanBev Bevan is an English rock musician, who was the drummer and one of the original members of The Move and Electric Light Orchestra...
– drums, backing vocals, lead vocal on 'Ben Crawley Steel Company'. - Rick PriceRick Price (bassist)Rick Price is an English bassist, who has played with various Birmingham based rock bands, most notably Sight and Sound, The Move , Electric Light Orchestra and Wizzard...
– bass on some original tracks (erased and redubbed by Wood)
Critical reception
In 2010, Rhapsody (online music service)Rhapsody (online music service)
Rhapsody is an online music store subscription service, launched in December 2001, and available in the United States only. On April 6, 2010, Rhapsody officially declared its independence from RealNetworks. Downloaded files come with restrictions on their use, enforced by Helix, Rhapsody's version...
called it one of the best "longhaired" power-pop albums of the 1970s.