The Move Shazam

The Move Shazam Full Album
The Move Shazam Fields Of People
The Move Shazam Full Album

Shazam is the second studio album by English rock band the Move, released in February 1970 by Regal Zonophone. The LP marked a bridge between the band's quirky late '60s pop singles and the progressive, long-form style of Roy Wood's next project, the Electric Light Orchestra. The Move A&M 4359 Released: 1970 The Move's new album, Shazam, is an honest, happy child of that heavily electronic brand of rock and roll which was born of the Who and later massively popularized by Cream and their imitators. Those tens of thousands of tours they've endured have paid off handsomely for the Move: their music, both in performance and on this album, is structured and flowing.

The Move – Shazam (1970) review

Released nearly two years after The Move’s eponymous debut LP, “Shazam” finds a band maturing and hitting its stride. This edition supplements the album’s six tunes with an incredible 37 bonus tracks, for a total of 43 tracks containing over two and a half hours of music, making this the absolutely definitive edition of “Shazam”!

Hitting record stores in February, 1970, “Shazam” contains six extended tracks compared to the thirteen on “Move.” The arrangements are more complex and the instrumental talents of the band members are certainly on display, from the LP’s opening track “Hello Susie” with its pile driving beat and gorgeous melody and continuing throughout the album.

“Shazam” consists of an equal mix of original and cover tunes, unlike “Move” which had ten Roy Wood compositions and only three cover versions. Not to disappoint, the covers are well selected and incredibly performed. A rocked up version of folk singer Tom Paxton’s “The Last Thing On My Mind” is joined by a gorgeous take on Barry Mann and Cynthia Weil’s “Don’t Make My Baby Blue” and an absolutely brilliant arrangement of Wyatt Day and John Pierson’s “Fields Of People” all prominently featuring Roy Wood’s lead guitar and Carl Wayne’s vocals.

Disc one of the reissue contains the original album supplemented by a dozen bonus tracks, a total of 18 tunes with a run time of over 80 minutes! “Hello Susie” opens with swirling guitar courtesy of Wood and pounding drums from Bev Bevan before Carl Wayne and the rest of the band join in. The tune is wonderfully phased and the rhythm section of Bevan and new bassist Rick Price, Trevor Burton’s replacement, pounds the beat, pushing Wood’s guitar into the stratosphere. The tune, in its US single edit is included as a bonus track. The Wood original “Beautiful Daughter” features gorgeous lead vocals by Wayne and is supplemented by gentle strings, giving the song a Beatlesque feel. Wood’s guitar is simply perfect. Revisiting a song from their debut LP, “Cherry Blossom Clinic Revisited” is an extended track with Wood’s guitar featured, quoting Bach’s “Jesu, Joy Of Man’s Desiring” along the way before settling into a gorgeous melody. Carl Wayne’s lead vocals introduce “Fields Of People” which features beautiful harmony vocals and an infectious groove led by Wood’s gentle guitar work, while Wood’s sitar and the song’s chanted chorus add to the charm of this ten minute musical adventure. A gentle, spoken passage introduces “Don’t Make My Baby Blue” before Wood’s snarling lead guitar shifts the track into overdrive. The band does a wonderful job of mixing the thundering rhythm section and driving lead guitar with Wayne’s restrained lead vocals. The album closes with an incredible arrangement of Tom Paxton’s “The Last Thing On My Mind” with Wood’s overdubbed guitars at the fore. Wayne’s plaintive vocals are a perfect complement, giving the tune its deceptively heavy sound. Jangling guitar and delicate harmony vocals set the scene for an incredibly inspired, wah wah driven solo by Wood, with just the right amount of phasing added for good measure on this seven and a half minute gem.

The set’s bonus material begins with both sides of the album’s three related singles, “Wild Tiger Woman”, “Curly” and the gorgeous “Blackberry Way” which shot all the way to #1 on the UK single charts. These tunes have never sounded so good and are joined by their b-sides. Disc one closes with an album outtake, a stereo version of “Wild Tiger Woman”, an extended version of its b-side “Omnibus”, an alternate mix of “Curly” and a demo of that tune’s flip side “This Time Tomorrow.”

Disc two contains 25 tracks, 71 minutes in all, opening with the demo of a song “That Certain Something” that was not released at the time and a reduced mix of “Beautiful Daughter” before shifting to 23 cuts recorded for the BBC between May, 1968 and November, 1969. As was common, The Move recorded tracks for the BBC that did not find release on any of the band’s albums or singles. Among these are a cover of Neil Diamond’s “Kentucky Woman,” takes of the classic “Long Black Veil”, Goffin/King’s “Goin’ Back”, Brian Wilson’s “California Girls”, Paul Simon’s “Sound Of Silence” and Nazz’s “Open My Mind” all performed with The Move’s special flare. These are joined by renditions of some of the band’s best known songs including all three singles released in conjunction with “Shazam” and interviews with drummer Bev Bevan and lead vocalist Carl Wayne.

This deluxe edition of “Shazam” was compiled for Esoteric Recordings by Mark Powell. The 20 page color booklet contains an essay by Mark Paytress, complete track annotations, 24-bit remastering by Ben Wiseman at Broadlake Studios and lots of gorgeous photos. This third installment of Esoteric’s pre-EMI Harvest recordings by The Move is definitely up to the level of its predecessor’s “Move” and “Something Else from The Move.” Kudos to Mr.’s Powell, Wiseman, Paytress and all other’s involved for a job very well done! This double disc edition of “Shazam” belongs in the collection of all fans of psychedelic music of the 1960s and 1970s and cannot be recommended too highly.

By/March 26, 2019 12:12 pm EDT/Updated: March 26, 2019 1:44 pm EDT

With the release of 2019's Shazam!, Warner Bros. has another superhero hit on its hands, further proving that you don't have to make your movie part of the MCU to have a good time. Thanks to strong performances from the whole cast, sharp writing, and an overall sense of fun, Shazam! is a hit with critics and breathes new life into the DCEU.

As with any movie based on a comic book, there are bound to be little bits and pieces that make sense only to a small portion of the audience. And nowhere is that more apparent than in the movie's final act. While the ending itself is pretty straightforward, there are enough head-scratching and surprising moments in the movie's latter third that might be in need of some explanation. Don't sweat it! That's why we're here. Let's say the magic words — spoilers ahead — and explain the ending of Shazam!

Say my name

If you're not a longtime comic book reader, you may have scratched your head at some of the superhero names Billy and Freddie came up with over the course of the film. From Thundercrack to Captain Sparklefingers, none of them seemed to stick. Even by the end of the film, the big dude in red played by Zachary Levi never seemed to actually get the codename that gets attached to so many other superheroes. You'd think after so many attempts at getting him a moniker, he'd do better than 'Shazam,' a name he can never say without losing his powers in a bolt of lightning. So what's the deal?

The short version is that the superhero we meet in Shazam! didn't always go by this name. In fact, he used to go by Captain Marvel, back when he first debuted in 1939. We won't get into all the ins and outs here, but there was a period of time when Captain Marvel comics weren't being published, and during that period, Timely Comics changed its name to the more familiar Marvel Comics we all know and love. When Marvel created its own Captain Marvel character in 1967, DC and Marvel Comics had to come to an agreement about how to navigate the tricky trademarks. Eventually, in 2011 DC just gave up 'Captain Marvel' entirely, and simply renamed the character 'Shazam.' So if you were wondering why he never settled on the pretty good name of the Red Cyclone, well, now you know.

A family affair

The final battle with Doctor Sivana and the Seven Deadly Sins provided one of the most awesome climactic moments in recent superhero movie history, when Shazam extends his powers to his foster siblings and creates five more superheroes to save the day. Now, instead of one new superhero joining the DCEU, there are actually six. If you wondered how and why the movie could justify pulling five super-rabbits out of its magical hat, there's actually a pretty nice set-up for this final act twist earlier in the film that you might've missed if you weren't paying close attention.

The Move Shazam Full Album

When Billy encounters the wizard Shazam, the old man yells about the empty chairs behind him on the Rock of Eternity — his brothers and sisters in magic, who have all long since died. When Billy shares his powers, he's filling five more of those seats... though just who will wind up sitting in that seventh chair is a question we probably won't have answered until the next film. However, since this origin story seemed to pretty closely follow the plot of DC's New 52 Shazam! miniseries, there's a good bet that the current run of Shazam! comics DC is publishing will offer some clues as to the seventh Shazam's identity.

Speaking of hidden identities...

Superman's secret identity

The very last scene before the credits rolled offered up two really fun moments. The first was when Billy came to lunch as Shazam, fulfilling a promise made to Freddie and showing the creeps at Fawcett Central that he wasn't lying when he said he knew Philadelphia's newest hero. The other was when Billy's special guest — none other than Superman — made an appearance of his own. Of course, while the audience saw Superman's blue supersuit, the shot was conspicuously composed to keep the actor's head out of frame. Considering that Superman's one of the most popular, important superheroes ever, it might've seemed weird to the average moviegoer that the filmmakers went out of their way to not show his face.

The Move Shazam Fields Of People

Well, there's some drama going on behind the scenes at Warner Bros. and DC regarding just who is going to wear the big blue suit going forward. The most recent actor to take the role of Superman, Henry Cavill, is reportedly in talks with Warner Bros. about whether or not he'll return to play the character in future movies. But while Cavill's future as Superman is murky, the filmmakers still wanted to have a Superman cameo, so they did the next-best thing by simply hiring a buff dude to put on the suit, while simply keeping his face out of frame. The moment lands as pretty funny if you don't know about Cavill's alleged contract disputes, and it's even funnier if you do.

Mister Mind and the Seven Realms

One of the reasons Shazam! is so much fun is that it's an exceptionally weird movie. It's got a magic wizard who lives in a cave, the physical embodiments of religious concepts, and an unexplained obsession with tigers. But weirdest of all, it's got a talking, evil worm, who shows up in the film's mid-credits scene in Doctor Sivana's prison cell, ranting about Seven Realms. As with so many elements of superhero movies, there was probably a sizeable portion of the audience that saw this and couldn't be more confused. Don't feel bad — this little guy is pretty bizarre and obscure, even for comic book fans. Let's just dig into this thing.

The little talking bug is a longtime Shazam villain named Mister Mind. He's a talking, super-intelligent worm from another planet. That planet is sometimes Venus, depending on which comic books you're reading. He's the founder of a team of supervillains in the comics called the Monster Society of Evil, which has included members such as Jeepers, Mr. Banjo, and literally Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, just to name a few. It's... it's pretty wild.

As for the Seven Realms, this seems like it refers to a pretty recent addition to the pages of DC's Shazam! comics. As of this writing, the comics are only starting to dig into what these realms are and their significance, so if you want to know more about what's likely to happen in a sequel to Shazam!, start reading.

The Move Shazam Full Album

The future of Shazam!

It's nice to imagine that we're getting all these superhero movies because what the world needs now is the ability to believe in selflessness and heroism. But the reality is that if a movie can't kickstart a franchise, it's not worth doing. Fortunately, Shazam! seems to do double duty on that front. Not only does it have plenty of potential for sequels starring Billy Batson, Freddie Freeman, and the rest of the Shazam Family, but it also easily connects to the wider DC Extended Universe. 2018's Aquaman proved that DC movies don't have to be grim and brooding. But Shazam! took things to the next level and showed that DC movies can have strong connections to each other without being bogged down in cinematic universe set-up and continuity gobbledygook.

Regarding the next Shazam! film, there's plenty of questions that still need answering. Who's going to fill that seventh chair at the Rock of Eternity? Will it be Black Adam? What's Mister Mind got planned for those seven realms? Will we meet Billy Batson's mysteriously imprisoned father? In short, Shazam! did a great job offering viewers a complete, well-rounded movie while also leaving plenty of room for expansion within its corner of the DCEU.

The future of the DCEU

Meanwhile, there's a ton of set-up for future interactions with other DC heroes. We already caught a partial glimpse of Shazam teaming up with Superman in the Fawcett Central lunchroom. The second post-credits scene (glimpsed in this trailer) hints at another possible team-up, when Shazam tests his abilities to talk to sea creatures and realizes just how cool it would be if he could. Can you imagine how awesome it'd be to see Jason Momoa's Aquaman hanging out with Shazam?

While Warner Bros. undoubtedly stumbled out of the gate with their early efforts in terms of critical reception, Aquaman and Shazam! seem to have fully righted the ship. While the current crop of DC Comics movies that began with Man of Steel, Batman v Superman, and Suicide Squad had its share of vocal fans, the wider moviegoing audience was mostly confounded by their dark, gritty takes on characters that they'd always remembered as being bright and colorful. The disappointing box office performance of Justice League was clear proof that most movie fans weren't interested in seeing where this whole DCEU thing was headed.

Shazam! may change all that. It remains to be seen whether or not the forthcoming slate of DC movies will actually have any connections to this film. But if Warner Bros. can find a way to take the lessons of Shazam! and make Superman, Batman, and the rest of the gang fun again... well, we'll be in for a pretty super batch of movies.

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