The Move were a tremendously dynamic and highly innovative British Pop/Rock group, active from 1966 to 1973. While their main source of inspiration was the Beatles, they were able to integrate a multitude of musical influences and instrumentations into their amazingly progressive sound. A testimony to the infinite range of the group's influence - extending to many contemporary sounds - is the rocking, wide open, uninhibited, honest and direct rhythm and artistic integrity of their vast variety of musical expressions.
Very much a dynamic element in the wave of expanded awareness relating to spiritual, creative and social values that arose in Britain, America, Europe (and so, around the world) in 1966 and 1967, The Move presented remarkable depth of harmonic, colouristic, phantasyistic, emotive and progressive elements of tone, sound and rhythm in their staggering oeuvre of musical expositions.
The Move's masterpiece was the album Message From The Country (1971), which presented all their creative instincts at their most vibrant. The songs on the album range from classically-influenced rock, orchestral/choral, balladic, straight country, near-Elvis and traditional British music hall. The album is stunning in its consistency as well as in its variety of genre. A most remarkable aspect of the pieces appearing in a truly classic assemblage of music is that every song is timeless unto itself, even as the collected works create a whole infinitely greater than the sum of their parts.
The Move furthered their immense contribution to the tone of the times in an appearance at Britain's Isle of Wight Festival in 1968 - a year before the massive gathering - from the world over - at America's Woodstock the following year.
The band reached #1 on one occasion - only in the UK - with their single "Blackberry Way" (late 1968). They had a string of successes in the UK, with seven titles reaching the Top Ten ("Night Of Fear" and "Flowers In The Rain" both reached #2 in 1967).
At the crest of the wave of psychedelic rock, they entered into new realms of musical imagery by blending unique elements of instrumentation to create a powerful impact. Many of their pieces possess extraordinary usage of woodwinds and strings that constitute highly resonant departures for such a form of musical expression.
The Move's last single, "Do Ya" (1973), served as a transitional piece to their next incarnation as The Electric Light Orchestra. "Do Ya" achieved significantly greater commercial heights when a later version was released by ELO.