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.
Looking On presents the band dabbling in heavy metal ("Brontosaurus"), blues ("When Alice Comes Back to the Farm", "Turkish Tram Conductor Blues"), prog-style epics ("Open Up Said the World at the Door"), soul ("Feel Too Good"), and, in the case of the title track, all four styles mashed together. It's also the first album to feature Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne as a tandem, with Wood’s use of cello and woodwinds and Lynne's use of piano in addition to guitars and vocals, reflecting the work they were pursuing in The Electric Light Orchestra, the debut album of which they were recording at the same time. The jazzy fills on the title track also serve as a signpost of the style that Wood would later develop in Wizzard and the Wizzo Band.
Background
The Move was effectively a dead band walking when Lynne joined in February 1970 after fronting (and producing) The Idle Race. Wood had wanted to launch a new group with Lynne that would feature rock and strings and retire the Move immediately. According to Wood, none of the members of The Move had any interest in the band at this point; Lynne in particular had joined the band solely so that he could get the separate orchestral project started with Wood.[3] But contractual obligations and management pressure kept the band name kicking, regardless of the drastic changes in sound and the unwillingness of the personnel.
Wood and Lynne took the opportunity to begin work on the embryonic Electric Light Orchestra (ELO) project in the studio and get the Move off the road, for the most part—the occasional live set in 1970 usually featured most of the tracks on Looking On, a cover of The Beatles' "She's a Woman," and one of The Move's singles, "I Can Hear The Grass Grow".[citation needed]
The album ends with an (uncredited, but usually attributed to Wood and Lynne together) doo-wop-style coda, "The Duke of Edinburgh's Lettuce".
Looking On has been reissued on CD with various combinations of bonus tracks, including in 1998 by Repertoire, in 2008 by Salvo and by Esoteric Recordings in 2016.
Cover art
The cover is a photo from the record company's archives. It was taken years before to be used for the Move, but had not seen print before this point.[3]
Just as Shazam was overlooked on store shelves in the wake of Carl Wayne's departure and Wood's new, wild on-stage persona, Looking On was overlooked in excitement over the debut of the Electric Light Orchestra. Fly chose not to promote it extensively, in part because the Move had left the company to join EMI's new Harvest Records label shortly after sessions for the album were completed.[citation needed]
Looking On was regarded by some critics as uneven, noodling, and self-indulgent.[citation needed] Drummer Bev Bevan told journalist Mark Paytress that even he felt the LP was "ploddy" in the liner notes of the 2008 reissue of the album.[5] "Brontosaurus" was covered by Move fans Cheap Trick, and "Feel Too Good" was later featured on the soundtrack of the movie Boogie Nights as well as in the pilot episode of the UK series Life on Mars.
5. "She's a Woman" (BBC session, recorded 23 March 1970) (Lennon/McCartney)
6. "Bev Bevan interview" (BBC session, recorded 23 March 1970)
7. "Brontosaurus" (BBC session, recorded 23 March 1970) (Wood)
8. "Falling Forever" (BBC session, recorded 23 March 1970) (Lynne)
9. "Lightnin' Never Strikes Twice" (BBC session, recorded 23 March 1970) (Price/Tyler)
10. "Looking On" (BBC session, recorded 28 July 1970) (Wood)
11. "When Alice Comes Back to the Farm" (BBC session, recorded 28 July 1970) (Wood)
12. "Bev Bevan and Roy Wood interview" (BBC session, recorded 28 July 1970)
13. "She's a Woman" (BBC session, recorded 28 July 1970) (Lennon/McCartney)
Personnel
Roy Wood - lead vocals (except on "What" and "Lightning Never Strikes Twice"), oboe, sitar, banjo, slide guitar, cello, guitars, bass (on "Feel Too Good"),[3] saxophones
Jeff Lynne - piano, guitars, percussion, drums (on "Feel Too Good"),[3] lead vocals (on "What" and "Open Up Said the World at the Door")
