Shazam

Shazam 1970

The Move are definitely one of those bands you probably haven't heard of.  But you know Electric Light Orchestra, right?  Founding Move members, Bev Bevan (drums), Roy Wood (guitar). and Jeff Lynne (guitar) would go on to form ELO.

There's s so much to say about this album.  The album is astonishingly only 6 songs long, but each song takes the listener through a completely different listening experience.  It is as if each song is The Move trying to play a popular genre of the time.  Critics called it "stupid rock" and "overly self-conscious."  But that should not be a deterrent for any potential listeners. There's no doubt about it - the album is weird - but it rocks, quite literally.  The sound of move is driven by the powerful backbeat of Bev Bevan on drums.  He bangs the skins hard on each track which gives the album the energy it is so known for.

The album is a mix of psychedelia, metal riffs, banging drums, and classical orchestration.  It combines for a sublime inventive sound that is truly a magical listening experience, and one like you've never heard before.

McDonald and Giles

McDonald and Giles 1971

Welcome to "The Best Albums You Probably Haven't Heard Of"

You probably haven't heard of the album McDonald and Giles from 1971, and that's ok, I hadn't either until my roommate inherited his father's record collection. Each night became a new previewing night. We sit around, have a beer, and throw on an LP we've never heard of before.  It became a nighttime ritual that continues to this day.

British musicians Ian McDonald and Brian Giles created this masterpiece of progressive rock and weird greatness.  Sounds of folk, jazz, and rock come together with off-tempo drumbeats and jazz flute to make for a auralgasm.  Both McDonald and Giles would go on to join King Crimson where they continued to set the bar high with their breeds of prog rock and jazz fusion.

With song titles like "Suite in C" and "Birdman: The Workshop" you won't be let down.  The album is short - only 45 minutes, but it packs a punch.