Movin' On

Released in the same year as his swan song, Back on the Street Again, hearing this initially feels like as a bit of a letdown. Newly composed Hazlewood originals do not appear and overall the album comes close to a not-so-greatest-hits collection. The only two songs by his own hand are taken from the impressive concept album Requiem for an Almost Lady. Alas, out of their context and bereft of their superbly funny spoken-word introductions ("And you wake up one morning and you say: I feel good, I don't miss her, I can live without her/And you soon learn: that time will come, but it wasn't that day"), they make less sense. Furthermore, including four songs from 1969's career peak, Forty, while leaving out "The Bed" and "Bye Baby" makes you wonder whether Hazlewood had any influence on this at all. Does this turn Movin' On into a disappointing experience for longtime fans as well? Thankfully not, for there's still the other half of the album with songs selected by the man himself. You'll find it amazing how well the hilarious "Kung Fu You" matches his own repertoire. In fact, Hazlewood does it so well, you actually picture him getting in position before being hit black and blue with his own black belt. Like the previous 20th Century Lee, part of Movin' On suffers from over-production. Though some of the studio musicians are, in fact, the guys who would make ABBA famous in years to come, they opt for a kind of cheesiness that surpasses even Hazlewood in his own territory. Only incidentally do they hit the right mark, with "The Rising Star" and "It's for My Dad" being done in a tasteful manner and carefully suited to the sort of mourning Vegas act Hazlewood turned himself into on 1973's Poet, Fool or Bum. In a helpful mood, he performs both without a hint of irony. A nice Peterbilt truck on the album cover might serve to support a careful recommendation.