Reviews for the new remastered edition plus a selection of rare press for the original LP and singles from The Move archive…

Q Magazine, 2008

Deluxe expansion of Brum superband's third

In 1970, former psych-pop act The Move were led by Roy Wood, later of Wizzard, and Jeff Lynne, soon-to-be of the Electric Light Orchestra. Looking On, though, is free of both Wizzard's rock 'n' roll revivalism and the neo-Beatles of ELO; instead you get heavy riffs between Black Sabbath and Cream, and a proggy liking for time changes. The results are enjoyable enough - see Open Up Said The World At The Door's heavy take on Steely Dan - but like soulful 10-minuter Feel Too Good, they're possibly too loud for the casual listener. Seven bonus out-takes are included for the hardcore.

3 stars Ian Harrison

UNCUT magazine, 2008

The Move
Looking On
Salvo

**** (4 stars)

The Move were a most perplexing and misunderstood group who, today, are grossly overlooked. Blazing on the scene with smart, high-energy pop, they soon effortlessly embraced flower power before unleashing the volte-face of 'Looking On', with its hard-rocking, progressive sound introduced by the grungy single 'Brontosaurus'. The first Move album to feature Jeff Lynne, he became an instant creative foil to the waywardly brilliant Roy Wood, whose musical ambition always outweighed common sense. 'Looking On' is an abandoned mix of hard rock, proto-glam, free-form saxes, bleating crumhorns and overdubbed I-Am-The-Walrus-cellos which signalled the stylistic origins of ELO, soon to eclipse its parent group.

Mick Houghton
Uncut Issue 133, June 2008

Get Ready To Rock, 2008

THE MOVE Looking On
Salvo

The Move

Their 'Flowers in The Rain' launching Britain's BBC Radio 1 back in '67, paisley popsters The Move tipped the toys out of the pram in 1970 when they made their most compelling and original album in 'Looking On'. Key changes at play were the swing to more serious 'progressive' sounds and the arrival in Jeff Lynne of a writing partner Roy Wood could really spar with.

Left to their own devices in the studio by new label Fly - distracted by ingenue signing Marc Bolan - the two got to work fusing hard rock with doo-wop, bar room boogie and chamber, crossing amplified sawing cello, piping oboes, sitar and squalls of lead guitar, the multi-textured melange driven solidly by the hod-carrying backline of bassist Rick Price and drummer, Bev Bevan while over it all piped the trademark megaphone vocal. The result: dense, melodic, melodramatic - contrived to be both raw and sophisticated.

The singles 'Brontosaurus' and 'When Alice Comes Back To The Farm' are respectively lumbering and manic, while the lengthier 'What?' and 'Open up Said The World At The Door' indicate the door marked 'Electric Light Orchestra', a vehicle Lynne would have fired up right away but for contractual obligations.

Cheaply-packaged, 'Looking On' limped out and was left. But this top notch reissue more than makes up for the injustice: beautifully re-mastered, lusterous gatefold digi-pack, plenty of period imagery, highly-informed and entertaining notes from Mark Paytress, expanded with studio out-takes and the 'Brontosaurus' B-side. Good-bye 'Blackberry Way' and Hallo 'Mr Blue Sky' by way of 'Paranoid', the Cinderella in The Move catalogue finally goes to the ball.

**** out of 5 stars

Review by Peter Muir

Snaz Music, 2008

Looking On (salvo/fly) **** out of 5 stars

Following on from the monster riffing Brontosaurus the Move had turned a corner, vocalist Carl Wayne had quit to join the chicken and basket set as a cabaret singer and his replacement was ex-Idle Race vocalist and guitarist Jeff Lynne. 1970 was a turning point for the pop orientated bands of the 60's as they sought to achieve some serious musical attitude and this was given further credence when those bands started to get involved with like minded music labels such as Fly who happily snapped up the likes of the Move, Joe Cocker and T-Rex to give their roster some kudos. After a run of highly successful pop orientated singles such as Flowers in the Rain, Curly and the brilliant Blackberry Way, all of which achieved high chart positions, the shift of mood had changed in the wake of the Beatles Sgt Pepper and the album format had taken precedence. Front man and main songwriter Roy Wood embraced this new dawn and took the brave and selfless decision to bring in Jeff Lynne to add songwriting and new ideas. Looking On is a perfect marriage of old and new Move, singles When Alice Comes back to the Farm and Brontosaurus are a perfect combination of well crafted pop songs aligned to a much heavier and almost progressive feel and the album overall is far removed from the previous years Shazam.

In many respects Looking On was aimed at a more discerning type of audience and the whole band excel throughout, Roy Wood in particular seems to be at the forefront with a wide range of skills as a multi-instrumentalist that would culminate in his vision of classical and rock music coming together in the wake of the Electric Light Orchestra project., in fact album track What? Would have made a fine early E.L.O. single.

Salvo the label behind this release have done an excellent job adding an extra 7 songs to the original 7 track album, amongst these gems are the much forgotten but superb Brontosaurus 'b' side Rick Price and Michael Tyler penned Lightnin' Never Strikes Twice, Looking On parts 1 & 2 and a totally roughed up version of Turkish Tram Conductor Blues which has to be heard to be believed, part 50's Rock 'n' Roll pastiche, Part Beethoven. One of the standouts on this fantastic re-issue is the inclusion of the very soul tinged Feel too Good that benefits with some remarkable female soulful vocals that in many ways has the feel of Bowie Young Americans era four years further down the line, in fact this is a glimpse of what could have been a fascinating and unusual direction the Move could have gone.

Overall a brilliant package throughout, from the music, artwork and booklet included makes this one of the standout re-issues so far this year.

Many thanks to Chas Chandler @ Union/Salvo.

Reviewed by Tony Bartolo

The Beat Magazine, 2008

Looking On
Salvo / Fly - SALVOCD014

The Move's third album, released at the end of 1970, was the group's first since the departure of front-man singer Carl Wayne and the arrival of Jeff Lynne as a collaborator for Roy Wood. It reflected the band's switch from pop and psychedelia to a much heavier approach - but there was also a very distinct foretaste of what was to follow with the creation of ELO and Wizzard.

Wood, Lynne, stalwart drummer Bev Bevan and bassist Rick Price had embarked on a musical project that had produced eclectic results and a sound that was boisterously progressive but leavened by some attractive vocal work and exotic instrumentation.

The LP - which comprised seven tracks, among them the rowdy singles 'Brontosaurus' and 'When Alice Comes Back To The Farm' - has been remastered and boosted beyond the one-hour mark through bonus tracks that include rough mixes of alternate takes found on recently uncovered studio tapes. An illustrated booklet carries the background story, complete with contributions from band members, and an informative track-by-track guide.

RUSSEL NEWMARK- THE BEAT MAGAZINE

The Independent (UK)

Album: The Move, Looking On (Salvo)
(Rated 2/5 )

Thursday, 17 April 2008

Looking On was a transitional album in The Move's career, with Jeff Lynne drafted in to replace the cabaret-bound Carl Wayne and share some of Roy Wood's songwriting burden, en route to ELO.

The drift from psychedelic pop to more eclectic priorities is signalled in Wood's instrumental credit: "Oboe, sitar, slide guitar, cello, guitar, bass and all saxes" - which makes the predominance of heavy rock riffing all the more puzzling.

Proto-metal rocker "Brontosaurus" is the standout, but elsewhere prog-rock stodge like "What?" dominates. Lynne's "Open Up Said The World At The Door" is the most preposterous, the baroque excesses of its kitchen-sink production accommodating foreground stints by the aforementioned sitar and oboe, and just about everything else in their instrument cupboard.

ANDY GILL

"…some of the heaviest guitar known to science."

"A fun record…"

THE MOVE: LOOKING ON (Fly)
Disc, December 1970

One word - Brontosaurus - sums up most of this release from Messrs. Wood, Lynne, Bevan and Price. The heavy driving rhythms of the hit single (included) are present all the way through. The follow-up is also here, 'When Alice comes Back To The Farm' - a fun song, very much the spirit of the whole record. Even on Side Two when the first track drifts off into "a big production" sound one can still imagine the band having a ball. A fun record, which sounds very much better played loud - very loud!

REVIEWER UNKNOWN

"…no holding back on quality."

"…classic mid-Sixties raunch at its near best."

MOVE GET BACK TO THE FARM The Move: When Alice Comes Back To The Farm (Fly BUG 2) Daily Mirror, October 1970

If Alice does make it back to the farm, she'll find The Move in their most energetic mood. Roy Wood-inspired high gymnastics, with that tremendously tough sound occasionally splattered into comparative quietitude by one, or possibly more, cellos. It's a pretty long single, near enough four minutes, but The Move are old at keeping the interest going. Vocally, it's not quite as full-sounding as some of the earlier stuff, but it is certainly incisive. There's a piano going near-berserk. Guitar finally makes it to berserk-dom. Flip is slowe, more deliberate and actually a bit draggy. Chart cert! PETER JONES

MOVE BRIDGE GAP BETWEEN POP & PROGRESS
The Move: When Alice Comes Back To The Farm (Fly BUG 2)
NME, October 1970

Having now completely dispensed with the teenybopper sound that stamped some of its earlier hits, The Move lays it on really thick and heavy in this latest routine. It's a juddering penetrating sound and the fact that it's been recorded on echo seems to intensify the earthquake. Written and produced by Roy Wood, it's a tingling and gutsy work-out, made all the more exciting by the injection of a supercharged rock beat. But make no mistake, this isn't the underground music of the kind that commands only a specialised appeal. Indeed, it's extremely commercial, with a catchy melody line for the youngsters to join in. All things considered, a very good pop record that successfully bridges the gap between conveyor-belt mainstream and the more way-out progressive sounds. REVIEWER UNKNOWN

MOVE MOVE ON The Move: Brontosaurus (Regal Zonophone) NME, March 1970

The Move's first single for some considerable time, and its first since the departure of Carl Wayne. Written and produced by Roy Wood, this generates a much heavier and thicker sound than the group's last few hits. Gone is the commercial, almost teeny-bopper, approach of the past - and in its place we have what is virtually an underground sound. Raucous juddering twangs, a forceful beat, rattling piano and an uninhibited vocal create a blockbusting - almost mindblowing effect. And there's such a catchy hook phrase in the lyric which is the only concession to the mainstream masses. An exciting ribald disc, which maybe won't find widespread favour - but the initiated minority will support it wholeheartedly. REVIEWER UNKNOWN

The Move: Brontosaurus (Regal Zonophone) March 1970
What's this rubbish? Bah humbug! Sorry about that lads, but Southern Region trains were late again this morning owing to wild pigs attacking a lone signal box in Kirkcudbrightshire. Not feeling too capable of dealing with heavy echoing rock and bop that will doubtless roar straight to the top. REVIEWER UNKNOWN

MOVE The Move: Brontosaurus (Regal Zonophone) Disc, March 1970

I've always had a strange affection for that meandering clumsy beast the Brontosaurus - poor old pre-man being that he was. The Move transfer their affections for this beast into a typical Roy Wood piece which reminds me of 'Delta Lady' and 'Lady Madonna' in parts. A double track Carl Wayne (sic) sings somewhere in a dustbin by the sound of it - all very potent aggressive stuff. Meanwhile there is a slow snarling guitar pace. A peculiarly messy piece which will no doubt grow on me. REVIEWER UNKNOWN

The Move: Brontosaurus / Lightnin' Never Strikes Twice (Regal Zonophone) Daily Mirror, March 1970
Usual tough edge on this one. Well, frantic is perhaps the word. Fast-paced cutting-edge guitar figures, and lacking only in the usual clean melodic edge. Maybe more advanced, in a sense. But the moving Move was writ and it looks like a biggie. Chart cert. REVIEWER UNKNOWN

For further information on individual Move releases worldwide, please see the Discography (coming soon!).