Shazam

Like Led Zeppelin's debut album, "Shazam" was basically a snippet of the Birmingham group's 1969 stage act captured on vinyl. A crunchy mix of California psychedelia, heavy metal riffs, thundering drums and quotations from classic composers, the disc was generally praised by critics -- "Rolling Stone" gave a glowing review in the spring of that year -- and is generally regarded as the band's best LP. The band had spent most of 1969 on the cabaret circuit in England, much to the delight of lead singer/crooner Wayne and to the disgust of guitarist/composer Roy Wood. When the group finally toured the United States in the autumn for the first -- and only -- time, they let down their hair and cranked up the volume. Thus, "Shazam" is a classic split-personality album -- one side of originals, another of covers -- from a band wrestling with split musical personalities. Wayne, who picked some of the songs on Side 2, delivers touching, tender ballads (Wood's "Beautiful Daughter") and serves as a compere on spoken-word tracks between the songs; you almost can imagine him in a tie and tux, working the audience like Viv Stanshall. 'Beautiful Daughter' was under consideration for release as a single, the follow-up to 'Curly', in 1969. Tracks like 'Hello Susie' and 'Don't Make My Baby Blue,' meanwhile, with their distorted riffs and monster drum fills, would not have sounded out of place on Black Sabbath's debut album. 'Susie' had previously been a hit for Amen Corner, though their faster, more pop-oriented version was very different from the Move's heavy metal treatment. 'Cherry Blossom Clinic Revisited' was a variation on 'Cherry Blossom Clinic', a track from the group's debut album, taken at a slower pace, the first verse diffidently spoken by Wayne, recorded without any strings or brass, and interpolating a medley of classical tunes including works by Bach and Tchaikovsky, played on guitars. While drummer Bev Bevan regards this as his favorite Move album, Wood's memories were more bittersweet. 1969 had been a roller-coaster, draining year for the band. The "Blackberry Way" single hit No. 1 in the UK to open the year; Bassist Trevor Burton quit shortly thereafter. The early 1969 American tour was canceled because of Burton's departure; When it finally happened later that year, it was a financial failure and a logistical farce -- because of shoddy planning, the band basically had to race across the entire country by car (and a U-Haul trailer) to make very few dates. Wood and Wayne always had different personalities and temperaments, but the relationship was quickly fraying at the edges. The two dynamic creative forces in the band were frequently at odds with one another over style and content -- Wood reckoned The Move had gone as far as it could go, short of breaking through in America, and wanted to launch a new strings-and-rock project with Jeff Lynne. Returning to the cabaret circuit after the debacle in the United States was the last straw for Wood. One night, in Sheffield, he infamously chucked a glass at a mouthy cabaret patron who'd called him "a poofta." Wayne blew up at him backstage, and the original Move was all but finished. Wayne quit the band in January 1970, just before "Shazam" was released. While not a commercial success in the UK -- it was overshadowed by the hit single, "Brontosaurus," which debuted a fortnight after "Shazam" hit the stores -- or in the US when it debuted on A&M Records, the heavy feel, tight harmonies and extended solos made it a cult favorite and the record that introduced most American fans to the band. It also proved to be a stylistic template for successful '70s bands such as Cheap Trick and Kiss. In the 1990s, a group called The Shazam -- a power-pop outfit from Nashville who were huge fans of The Move -- took their name from this album.