The 1981 Listening Post - The Movies - Motor Motor Motor

 Reviewed by Paul J Zickler

Released: 1981 The Movies Motor Motor Motor Genre: Rock Rating: 3.9 out of 5 Highlights: Hello From Outer Space Motor Motor Motor The Kind of Love That Shows (No Tears For This) Tearaway The first song on The Movies’ fifth and final album, Motor Motor Motor, starts up so abruptly, I thought I might have missed the first 30 seconds. One quick couplet featuring the title, Hello From Outer Space, then right into a squealing guitar solo and what sounds like the bridge. One verse, one chorus, a repeat of the bridge, the drummer begins flailing wildly under more screechy guitar and we’re out. Song two, Hard Heart, opens with acoustic strumming and an Elle Greenwich & John Barry melody. Song three, Dance Some More, dives headfirst into the Power Pop end of the pool, bopping through a mostly wordless chorus that might sound like the Ramones if it was played with more grime and less glee. I like the enthusiasm, even if the fadeout goes on too long. Song four, Slavery Time, lays down some poppy new wave but adds harmonica where you’d expect synthesizers. Imagine if Clover had hewn closer to the sound of My Aim Is True when they started recording with Huey Lewis as the News. Song five, Clockwise Into the Sun, really wants to be a Bowie song circa Aladdin Sane, but it’s too normal to make it there, at least until the noisy last 20 seconds. Thus ends side one. My observations so far: The Movies play pretty good rock and roll, maybe coming out of a blues background, but they really wanna be early ‘80’s pop stars, so they’re trying on a bunch of cool costumes. I am enjoying watching them try them on, even if I don’t take them seriously as any of these characters. Side two opens with the title track, a much more straightforward rocker with a touch of glam. The three word melody of the title provides an infectious groove over a busy but effective bass line. There’s a middle break that’s almost Monkees like, followed by some terrific screaming from the lead vocalist. I hope this was the single. It’s a banger. The fun continues with The Kind of Love That Shows, which feels like what Duran Duran could have been if they were actually kids having fun playing music instead of fashion models doing photo shoots. Bonus points for the judicious use of xylophone. The madly catchy (No Tears for This) Tearaway had me bopping in my chair, and the lyrics were a hoot: “Do you want a sex symbol / Do you wanna take mine / Do you wanna get married / Do you wanna have a good time / Put a ring upon her finger / And I wish you good luck / She’s a tearaway / Just a tearaway / I let her tear away / There are no tears for this tearaway.” This should have been the second single, which should have gotten even more airplay than the first. The video should have been cheeky and silly. Did any of this happen? I assume it did not. Sad, really. I must admit the title of the next song caught my eye: Straight No More. Yes, he gave his girlfriend everything, but it doesn’t matter because she’s straight no more. It happens to be the requisite raga/dub influenced track here, but once again the addition of harmonica and harmony switch it up a bit. I get a Squeeze vibe from this one; maybe it’s the backup singing, or maybe it’s the playfully woeful treatment of the subject matter. Either way, side two retains its high score, even if this song isn’t quite single worthy. Since the album opens with Hello From Outer Space, it’s only right to end with Dancing in Space. “40,000 miles over Florida / We are dancing in space / It’s not so hard / To go dancing in space / No matter where you are.” The faint hint of a samba keeps this one afloat, even if it feels less spacey than serene. The Movies once again betray their basic rock roots, but by now I’m willing to accept it because I like these guys. I have a hunch they started out as a Pub Rock band, which would explain the musical chops, but decided 1981 called for some more adventurous choices. Or maybe their label wanted it that way? Fair enough. I can’t help but wish the song order had been different. Opening with the 2 minute blast of Hello… is fine, but why not head straight into your best songs after that? How many people stuck around long enough to get to the brilliant trifecta that opens side two? Not enough apparently. I did find a website dedicated to The Movies, “a band that has not existed for more than 30 years.” Judging by how many Geocities links the site contains, I’m guessing it’s closer to 45 years now. They gigged a lot, changed lineups a lot, made some records, got tired of the industry, and broke up. It’s only rock and roll, but I like it.

The 1980 Listening Post - The Movies - India

 Reviewed by Jim Coursey

Released: April 1980 The Movies India Genre: Whatever Works (formerly pub rock) Rating: 3 out of 5 Highlights: Bardot Love is Sacrifice I picked this album for its cover: a dark, garish, hand-painted image of a demon attacking a woman, likely taken from an advert for a Bollywood musical, topped with the band’s name in faux Devanagri script. The image sparked my imagination about what strange, fantastic, or utterly appalling sounds might be contained within. Sadly though, it was all a ruse – the album is about as generic as they come by 1980 standards. Well, you can’t judge a book by its cover. The fourth of the band’s five albums, “India” appears to represent a departure from The Movies’ pub rock roots. Opener “Must Be The Angel” kicks off with a soaring metal riff, giving off some heavy NWOBM vibes, before settling into a ripping hard rock groove. This is followed by “Bardot”, which begins with a hard rock riff before settling into a chugging power pop groove. By the time we get to track three, “See Through Me”, we are fully in pop mode, with some light funk and island flourishes. From here on out we’re looking at basic 80s pop, with touches of hard rock and new wave thrown in. What of the metal? Well, you can’t judge a book by its cover. Fake-outs aside, the first side of the album had me thinking these guys were pretty good at what they were doing, and probably ought to have had a minor hit or two over the years, though at best I can tell they never had a hit. Single “Love is a Sacrifice” is particularly catchy and could have easily charted -- maybe they lacked that little stroke of luck or magic that elevates a track? If someone like the Motels or another radio-friendly act took a stab at it, maybe slowed it down a notch to boot, it could have passed muster. If I have any gripe with this one, it’s the bridge, which is musically pedestrian and a bit lyrically dumb: “I knew she was a loser, but now I am sure That falling in love is like going into war God only knows what I do this for But I will pay the price, love is a sacrifice” Side two though follows along the path they’ve carved thus far, but runs between mediocre and plain bad, and generally should be avoided. Second single “Have Another Body” is modestly catchy but imminently missable, as is the “Golden Years”-like closer “8AM,” and those are the high points. Having not heard The Movies’ earlier work, it’s hard to know where this album fits into their sound, although they are generally categorized as ‘pub rock.’ While I’m hardly knowledgeable about the genre, it’s billed as favoring raw and rootsy rock, and I have always figured it a repository for acts that want to rock and roll but haven’t figured out anything inventive to do with that impulse. If “India” suggests the band is moving away from classic, no frills, AOR-loving rock, it certainly stays true to its roots in terms of artistic ambition. Modestly engaging but creatively slight, “India” is a party sampler of an album by a band that doesn’t fully know what they want to be, other than hitmakers. Maybe we can’t judge it by its cover, but its predictable nonetheless.