"Carl Wayne"

BVCM-37222

"It's not The Move - this album was never intended to carry on in the exact same style Carl had with The Move. He sought to develop some of the things he'd achieved with Roy (Wood) in the group but also forge into new and challenging areas.

That is the beauty of the album - it goes into many musical genres and styles, from rock to Broadway and all points in-between. The producers' original blueprint was to emulate what Tom Jones and Elvis Presley were achieving at the time - hugely successful with their own style of music yet able to diversify into other styles (and markets). You can only pull that off if you've got the vocal ability - and Carl certainly has.

The CD remaster itself is a revelation. I hated the 'thin' sound of the original vinyl, but on CD it's like listening to a completely different album - the vocals of both Carl and Dusty soar.

If you are into what The Move achieved and how each member developed away from the group, then this is a valid part of their story."

- Rob Caiger, Face The Music 

Controversial Move lead singer (and Axeman) Carl Wayne’s debut solo album has finally been given a long overdue release in Japan on remastered CD. Following that country’s ongoing love affair with all things Move, “Carl Wayne” has appeared as part of BMG Funhouse’s acclaimed “Wonder Garden Pop” series (also featuring Colin Blunstone, Skip Bifferty, The Paper Dolls and more).  

Originally a 1972 RCA release, the album was produced by Don Paul and utilised four different arrangers, marking a definite departure from Wayne’s recordings with Roy Wood and The Move. Varied, adventurous, and demonstrating the full range of his incredible voice, the album shows what was merely hinted at with The Move – that Wayne possesses one of the finest (and underrated) voices in music.  

The album also includes a legendary surprise - Dusty Springfield. Uncredited (still) and previously unknown, her quite outstanding backing vocals can be clearly heard across four songs.  Looking back over almost 30 years, Wayne explains how this collaboration came to be:
"RCA put me with a lovely guy called Don Paul. We became wonderful friends and we put together, very lovingly, this album called "Carl Wayne". We recorded at Command Studios in Piccadilly and as there was always a mixture of engineers, it was quite traumatic, yet there were some momentously happy times. Don was a great friend of Dusty Springfield's and as a result, she came and sang on four tracks on my album. 1 o'clock in the morning, Dusty and I would be pissed out of our brains, sitting in the studio! You can hear her clearly on "Spirit in the Sky" and other songs on there. It was great!"  (Click here to read this interview in its entirety)

Dusty Springfield

The 24bit K2 re-mastering gives a warm, clear sound, enhancing both singers' vocals and serves to accentuate everything from the tenderness of the ballad  “Rosanna” to the raw emotion of “Long Long Time”, to the upbeat frivolity of “Jubilee Cloud”.  

The CD release of this important album gives Move fans the exciting opportunity to hear some of Carl Wayne’s most imaginative and interesting work. It also gives music historians a headache in revising Dusty Springfield’s recording career! Listen and enjoy the voice of an ambitious young man discovering his potential as one of the UK’s finest vocalists.

   Helen Macdonald

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