Piles of Move collections have been released over the years, so perhaps it's easy to dismiss Salvo's 2009 set The Very Best of the Move upon first glance, thinking that with that generic title it is no different than the dozens of comps that have preceded it. That would be a mistake; that would ignore the considerable work Salvo has done in getting the Move's messy discography in shape via a series of impressive expanded reissues, including a fine box set, Anthology. Their The Very Best of the Move fills a necessary, long-neglected gap in the band's discography by providing a multi-label retrospective of the band's work -- something that has long been missing, with only Repertoire's The Best of the Move encompassing both halves of the group's career. That disc relied on singles, As, and Bs, where this attempts to be more discerning, naturally choosing all the big singles from "Night of Fear" to "California Man," but throwing in some choice album cuts and live tracks along the way. Since imperfection is a way of life with the Move, this great idea is somewhat undercut by a sequencing that leaps all over the place, but perhaps that's appropriate for a band with a staggering surplus of ideas: the Move never settled into a groove so it fits that this compilation doesn't, either. Plus, that unpredictability -- never knowing what sound will come next, whether it's dense psychedelia, crisp guitar pop, or brutal rockers -- winds up being as fitting an introduction to the band as the generally excellent song selection, making this The Very Best of the Move preferable to all the other similar collections. Stephen Thomas Erlewine.
Flowers In The Rain Blackberry Way I Can Hear The Grass Grow Night Of Fear California Man Fire Brigade Omnibus Beautiful Daughter When Alice Comes Back To The Farm Curly Tonight Don't Throw Stones At Me Here We Go Round The Lemon Tree It'll Be Me (Live At The Marquee) Do Ya Cherry Blossom Clinic Disturbance Hello Susie (Abridged) Wild Tiger Woman Piece Of My Heart (Live At The Marquee) Wave The Flag And Stop The Train Chinatown Useless Information Brontosaurus Move