Shazam

Shazam is the second studio album by English rock band the Move, released in February 1970 by Regal Zonophone. The album marked a bridge between the band's quirky late 1960s pop singles and the more aggressive, hard rock, long-form style of their later albums. It was the last Move album to feature vocalist Carl Wayne, and the first to feature bassist/vocalist Rick Price. Background and recording The "Blackberry Way" single hit No. 1 in the UK in 1969. The single's success reinforced bassist/vocalist Trevor Burton's feelings that the band had become too commercial. He quit shortly thereafter and replaced by Rick Price, and the February 1969 American tour was cancelled because of this. The band spent most of 1969 on the cabaret circuit in England, which vocalist Carl Wayne eventually adjusted to but Rick Price and guitarist/vocalist Roy Wood loathed. When a new American tour was launched later that year, it was a financial failure and a logistical farce—due to shoddy planning, the band was forced to race across the country by car (and a U-Haul trailer) to make very few dates. During this time, they loosened up their performance and played at a louder volume, and the relationship between Wood and Wayne - who had always had different personalities and temperaments - was being severely tested. Due in part to their hectic touring schedule, by the time of the recording sessions Wood (at the time the band's only songwriter) had only one new song written, "Beautiful Daughter". As such, though numerous spoken word sections were added to both pad out the album's length and give it the appearance of a concept, Shazam was essentially the Move's 1969 stage act captured on record: a mixture of California psychedelia, heavy metal riffs, thundering drums, and interpolations from classic composers. The shortage of new material also meant that, even with the band re-recording a track from their first album ("Cherry Blossom Clinic"), the bulk of Shazam (33 of its 39 minutes) had to be devoted to cover songs. These include a medley of works which were in the public domain and appear on the album as a hidden track. The band's management wanted Wood to be the album's producer, but the other members of the band objected and virtually the entire band ended up getting involved in the production. Wayne in particular had been frustrated at his shrinking voice in the group, and was allowed to choose most of the cover songs included on the album.