Message from the Country | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | June 1971 | |||
Recorded | June 1970 – May 1971 | |||
Studio | Olympic and Philips, London | |||
Genre | ||||
Length | 38:28 | |||
Label | Harvest (UK), Capitol (US) | |||
Producer | ||||
The Move chronology | ||||
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US album cover | ||||
Message from the Country is the fourth and final studio album by the Move, as well as the group's only album for EMI's Harvest label. It was recorded simultaneously with the first Electric Light Orchestra album, The Electric Light Orchestra (or No Answer as it was called in the United States).
A contractual obligation, it was to signal the end of The Move and allow them to continue as the Electric Light Orchestra.
By the time of Message from the Country, the band members had long since lost interest in the Move, and had already joined a newly formed band, Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). [4] Recorded in 1970–71 at the same time that the Move was also laying down tracks for the first Electric Light Orchestra album, The Electric Light Orchestra (even during some of the same sessions), it inevitably has some similarities in style to the new band's debut album, 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 saxophones to Message and the cellos to the ELO debut respectively).
During the sessions, the band recorded "10538 Overture," a Lynne composition that was originally intended to be a Move B-side. Wood overdubbed a cello riff over the basic track 15 times over, and he and Lynne decided the song was better suited to The Electric Light Orchestra. [4] The song "Do Ya," recorded in these sessions and released by The Move as the B-side to "California Man," also later became a hit single for ELO from their 1976 album A New World Record .
The lengthy sessions for this album mostly involved only Wood and Lynne, because of all the overdubbing. During these sessions, bassist Rick Price quit The Move after he realized he was no longer needed, reducing it to a trio.[ citation needed ] 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 parts, but exactly why Wood re-tracked Price's parts is unclear. (Wood has confirmed that Price also played on the original take of "10538 Overture". [4] ) Drummer Bev Bevan, in the liner notes for the 2005 reissue of Message from the Country, is quoted as saying that it is his least favorite Move album, while Wood has said "It was probably the best one we ever did." [4]
All previous Move singles had been solo Wood compositions, and recent singles had also featured Wood singing lead. For this album, Wood is credited to composing only four songs, with four songs from Lynne, one Lynne–Wood joint credit, and one Bevan song. Lead vocals on the album were ostensibly split between Wood and Lynne depending upon author, but according to Wood, many of The Move's songs were written collaboratively by him and Lynne and credited to only one of them for publishing reasons. [4]
Review scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [3] |
Billboard | (positive) [5] |
Christgau's Record Guide | A− [1] |
The initial 1971 album on the Harvest label in the UK and Capitol in the US contained the same 10 tracks, but in different playing order and with a different cover, as did a later reissue on CD on Beat Goes On Records in the UK and One Way in the US. The bonus tracks on the 2005 reissue are alternative takes and A-sides or B-sides of singles. The US rights to the songs were transferred to United Artists shortly after the release of Message from the Country, and various compilation albums and CDs containing some combination of the album songs and five single tracks were released in the US by United Artists for years prior to the comprehensive reissue. One such album is Split Ends (1972); another is the album Great Move: The Best of The Move, released in 1995, by which time Capitol/EMI owned the rights to United Artists material in the US. The latter album, released only on CD contained a US radio ad for "Split Ends" as an unlisted track.
Wood's "Ella James" was released as a single in 1971, but it was quickly withdrawn when Harvest 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 folding into ELO permanently. All three songs featured lead vocals from both Wood and Lynne. The cover painting was done by Wood, based on an idea by Lynne.
"Ella James" was later covered by The Nashville Teens. "No Time" was covered by Marshall Crenshaw in 2012.
In 2010, Rhapsody called it one of the best "longhaired" power pop albums of the 1970s. [2]
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
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1. | "Message from the Country" | Jeff Lynne | Jeff Lynne | 4:45 |
2. | "Ella James" | Roy Wood | Roy Wood | 3:11 |
3. | "No Time" | Lynne | Jeff Lynne | 3:38 |
4. | "Don't Mess Me Up" | Bev Bevan | Roy Wood | 3:07 |
5. | "Until Your Mama's Gone" | Wood | Roy Wood | 5:03 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
6. | "It Wasn't My Idea to Dance" | Wood | Roy Wood | 5:28 |
7. | "The Minister" | Lynne | Jeff Lynne | 4:27 |
8. | "Ben Crawley Steel Company" | Wood | Bev Bevan | 3:02 |
9. | "The Words of Aaron" | Lynne | Jeff Lynne | 5:25 |
10. | "My Marge" | Lynne, Wood | Jeff Lynne | 1:59 |
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Lead vocals | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
11. | "Tonight" | Wood | Roy Wood, Jeff Lynne | 3:15 |
12. | "Chinatown" | Wood | Roy Wood, Jeff Lynne | 3:06 |
13. | "Down on the Bay" | Lynne | Jeff Lynne | 4:14 |
14. | "Do Ya" | Lynne | Jeff Lynne, Roy Wood | 4:03 |
15. | "California Man" | Wood | Jeff Lynne, Roy Wood | 3:35 |
16. | "Don't Mess Me Up" (Alternate session version) | Bevan | Roy Wood | 3:18 |
17. | "The Words of Aaron" (Alternate session version) | Lynne | Jeff Lynne | 6:03 |
18. | "Do Ya" (Alternate session version) | Lynne | Jeff Lynne, Roy Wood | 4:42 |
19. | "My Marge" (Alternate session version; "hidden track") | Lynne, Wood | Jeff Lynne | 2:18 |
The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) are an English rock band formed in Birmingham in 1970 by songwriters and multi-instrumentalists Jeff Lynne and Roy Wood with drummer Bev Bevan. Their music is characterised by a fusion of pop and classical arrangements with futuristic iconography. After Wood's departure in 1972, Lynne became the band's sole leader, arranging and producing every album while writing nearly all of their original material. From this point until their first break-up in 1986, Lynne and Bevan were the group's only consistent members.
Jeffrey Lynne is an English musician, singer-songwriter and record producer. He is the co-founder and currently the sole member of the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), which was formed in 1970, and as a songwriter has written all of the band's music past 1972, including the hits "Evil Woman", "Livin' Thing", "Telephone Line", "Mr. Blue Sky", "Don't Bring Me Down", and "Hold On Tight".
The Move were a British rock band formed in Birmingham in 1965. They scored nine top 20 UK singles in five years, but were among the most popular British bands not to find any real success in the United States. For most of their career The Move were led by guitarist, singer and songwriter Roy Wood. He wrote all the group's UK singles and, from 1968, also sang lead vocals on many songs. Initially, the band had four main vocalists who divided the lead-vocal duties among themselves.
Roy Wood is an English musician, singer and songwriter. He was particularly successful in the 1960s and 1970s as member and co-founder of the Move, Electric Light Orchestra and Wizzard.
Face the Music is the fifth studio album by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was released in September 1975 by United Artists Records and on 14 November 1975 in the United Kingdom by Jet Records. The album moves away from the large-scale classical orchestrated sound of the previous album, Eldorado, in favour of more "radio-friendly" pop/rock songs, though the string sections are still very prominent. The new sound proved successful for the group, for Face the Music was the first ELO album to go platinum.
On the Third Day is the third studio album by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), and the first to be recorded without input from Roy Wood. It was released in the United States in November 1973 by United Artists Records, and in the United Kingdom on 14 December 1973 by Warner Bros. Records. From this album on, the word The was dropped from the band's name. The album was reissued on 12 September 2006.
ELO 2 is the second studio album by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), released in 1973. In the US, the album was released as Electric Light Orchestra II. It was the band's last album to be released by the Harvest label, the last on which the band used the definite article The in their name, and the one that introduced their abbreviated name 'ELO'.
Secret Messages is the tenth studio album by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), released in 1983 on Jet Records. It was the last ELO album with bass guitarist Kelly Groucutt, conductor Louis Clark and a full orchestra, and the last ELO album to be released on the Jet label. It was also the final ELO studio album to become a worldwide top 40 hit upon release.
Balance of Power is the eleventh studio album by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was released in 1986. It is the final album by the band to feature co-founder Bev Bevan on drums, as well as the last album to feature a significant contribution from keyboardist Richard Tandy.
Kelly Groucutt was an English musician, best known as the bassist and second vocalist for the rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) between 1974 and 1982.
Looking On is the third studio album by the English rock band the Move, released in the UK in December 1970. The album is their first to feature Jeff Lynne, their first containing entirely original compositions, and the first on the Fly label, its catalogue number being FLY 1. It includes both their 1970 singles, the Top 10 hit "Brontosaurus," released on Regal Zonophone in March, and the less successful "When Alice Comes Back To The Farm," released on Fly in October.
"10538 Overture" is the debut single by the English band the Electric Light Orchestra. It was released on 23 June 1972 as the lead single from their self-titled debut studio album (1971). It is a hard rock song influenced by psychedelic music, with cello instrumentation and lyrics about an escaped prisoner. Originally written by co-founder Jeff Lynne for him and Roy Wood's previous band, the Move, it became the first recording by the Electric Light Orchestra after Wood added orchestral instruments to the song.
"Do Ya" is a song written by Jeff Lynne, that was originally recorded by The Move, which became a hit for the Electric Light Orchestra in 1977.
"Showdown" is a 1973 song written by Jeff Lynne and recorded by the Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). It was the band's last contemporary recording to be released on the Harvest label. The song was released as a single and reached No 12 in the UK Singles Chart, in the week beginning 28 October, and No 9 on the Norwegian chart VG-lista.
The Light Shines On is a compilation album by Electric Light Orchestra (ELO). This is the second Harvest compilation of their early years with the label, followed in 1979 by volume 2. It features 5 tracks from ELO's debut album, 3 tracks from their second album and the non album single Showdown, although both 10538 Overture and Roll Over Beethoven are the single edits. The full length versions are featured on volume 2.
The Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) Part II was a British-American rock band formed by Electric Light Orchestra drummer and co-founder Bev Bevan. The band also included former ELO bassist and vocalist Kelly Groucutt, and violinist Mik Kaminski for most of its career, along with conductor Louis Clark, who toured as a guest with ELO in its later years; ELO cellist Hugh McDowell likewise briefly performed with the group in 1991. Alongside these ELO personnel, Part II rotated through several ELO-unaffiliated frontmen during its lifetime, with singer-songwriter and keyboardist Eric Troyer the only one to retain constant membership.
"California Man" is a song by British rock and roll band The Move. It was written by the band's guitarist/vocalist Roy Wood, who has said he wrote it as a pastiche of Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis.
The Electric Light Orchestra is the debut studio album by English rock band Electric Light Orchestra (ELO), released in December 1971 in the United Kingdom by Harvest Records. In the United States, the album was released in March 1972 as No Answer, after a misunderstood telephone message made by a United Artists Records executive asking about the album name; the caller, having failed to reach the ELO contact, wrote down "no answer" in his notes, and this was misconstrued to be the name of the album.
"When Alice Comes Back to the Farm" is a rock-blues song recorded by The Move and written and sung by Roy Wood. Musically, it is a hard rock song and features Wood playing slide guitar, cello and baritone saxophone, reinforcing Rick Price's bassline.