Hollywood Freeway - I've Been Moved/ Cool Calamares

 

Superb bit of pounding plastic soul from a mysterious source

Label: Deram

Year of Release: 1972

A mystery wrapped in a riddle inside a conundrum, this one. "I've Been Moved" was originally slated to be released on the Moody Blues "Threshold" label in April 1972, but only emerged as a promotional demo copy there. It finally hit the shelves in July 1972 on Deram, the jump to a different label and the release delay seemingly remaining unexplained. Was the release just too "pop" for the Moody Blues progressively inclined label, or was there some kind of business disagreement? Who knows. 

What I do know is that "I've Been Moved" is another example of the criminally under-rated sunshine pop/ plastic soul sound the British market seemed riddled with in the early seventies. For every single of this ilk which broke through, another dozen perfectly good examples seemed to dip unloved into the vinyl recycling melters at the pressing plant - and in the case of "I've Been Moved", this would have been a harsh ending. The record pounds, parps and joyously speeds its way towards euphoria, like a Denmark Street employee's streamlined idea of a Northern Soul sound. 

The group Hollywood Freeway are something of an unknown quantity, though, and once again the temptation to conclude that they're just a studio group is strong. Jobbing producer Michael Aldred was clearly at the mixing desk here and also wrote the B-side, so I was initially tempted to say it's a project of his, but their second single "You're The Song (That I Can't Stop Singing)", released by Pye the following summer, was co-penned and produced by Tony Rivers and had no Aldred involvement.

The facts are hard to establish, and all we're left with is an enjoyable record which might have been a hit if the breeze had been blowing in the right direction when it was finally released. Surely that's enough, readers? If anyone can unmask the people involved, though, please do let me know.

If the previews below aren't working properly, please go right to the source.