Beautiful Daughter
| "Beautiful Daughter" | |
|---|---|
| Song by The Move | |
| from the album Shazam | |
| A-side | "Turkish Tram Conductor Blues" |
| Released | 27 February 1970 (album) January 1971 (single) |
| Studio | Advision, London |
| Genre | Rock |
| Length | 2:36 |
| Label | Regal Zonophone (UK), A&M (US), Ariola (Germany) |
| Songwriter(s) | Roy Wood |
| Producer(s) | Roy Wood, Carl Wayne, Rick Price, Gerald Chevin |
"Beautiful Daughter" is a 1970 song performed by The Move and written by Roy Wood. The song was released on the band's second studio album, Shazam, on the 27th of February, 1970, as the second track and the only original composition written for the project, with all of the other songs being covers.
The song was originally meant to be released as a single, although the single release was cancelled due to Carl Wayne's departure around that same time, as he was a lead singer on the song. Eventually, the song would be re-released as the B-side of the song "Turkish Tram Conductor Blues" in Germany.
Composition
[edit]The song, a rock composition, features Carl Wayne on vocals, Roy Wood on guitar, and Bev Bevan on drums, alongside Tony Visconti (mainly known for his work with David Bowie and T. Rex) on bass and string arrangements. "Beautiful Daughter" was Visconti's sole contribution to Shazam. The song was written by Wood and produced by him too, alongside Wayne, Rick Price (the newest member of the group at the time) and Gerald Chevin. According to Wood, the song "just sort of happened. I think I based it around the chord sequences on that. I based the whole song around the chords. I did a lot of open string work on that and it worked quite well."[1]
The song is the only original composition on the whole album. All of the other songs are covers of pre-existing songs (including their own), and "Beautiful Daughter" is the only original composition. Because of this, spoken word segments were added to the album to pad out the runtime, alongside giving the album a concept.
Release
[edit]"Beautiful Daughter" was first released on Shazam, the band's second studio album, on the 27th of February, 1970. The song was originally going to be released as a single, but the idea dropped once Carl Wayne left the band.[2] The song was, however, released in Germany as the B-side to the third and final single from the band's third studio album, Looking On, called "Turkish Tram Conductor Blues", in January 1971.[3] By then, Jeff Lynne had taken over lead vocals, replacing Wayne's position.
Critical reception
[edit]AllMusic, when reviewing Shazam, described the song as "gentle", "string-laden", and "quite clearly a holdover from previous sessions due to both its sweetness and brevity".[4]
Personnel
[edit]The Move
- Carl Wayne - vocals[5]
- Roy Wood - guitar
- Bev Bevan - drums
- Tony Visconti - bass, string arrangements
References
[edit]- ^ Sharp, Ken (30 September 1994). "Roy Wood: The Wizzard of Rock". The Move Online. Archived from the original on 15 January 2008.
- ^ "The Move". Bad Cat Records. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
- ^ Lasserre, Vincent (28 September 2017). Camion Blanc: La saga de Roy Wood Brumbeat forever (The Move, Wizzard, ELO, etc.) (in French). Camion Blanc. ISBN 978-2-35779-989-9.
- ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Shazam - The Move". Allmusic. Retrieved 14 April 2013.
- ^ a b "'SHAZAM' - Record Collector Magazine". 22 June 2017. Retrieved 31 August 2024.
- ^ Barlass, John (29 November 2023). "The Move - Shazam! (Remastered Vinyl Edition): Album Review". At The Barrier. Retrieved 31 August 2024.