1001 Songs Challenge #761: Move Any Mountain-Progen 91 (1991)

On 11 February 2019 I set myself the challenging of reading 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die by Robert Dimery (ed.) and following the book’s advice to the letter. I’ve previously read 1001 Films… and started 1001 Albums… but felt 1001 Songs… would be a sensible place to start for what I have in mind here.

My challenge is to read about one song per day and listen to it (YouTube and Spotify, I need you tonight!) before sharing my own thoughts. Some songs I will love, others I’ll hate, and I’m sure there will be those that leave me perplexed but listen to them I shall.

I’ll also try, and most likely fail, to pinpoint the best song from the 1001 on offer but I’m nothing if not foolhardy. Instead of one song, I’m predicting I’ll have about 100 favourites by the end and may have to resort to a Top 10 so far to maintain any semblance of sanity.

So long as I post everyday (including Christmas) then this challenge should come to an end on Wednesday 8 November 2021. Staying with the Barney Stinson theme I am hoping that the whole experience will prove to be…

 

The Shamen – Move Any Mountain-Progen 91 (1991)

 

We’re leaving the US today, dear reader, and returning to the UK. We head north to Scotland and find ourselves in Aberdeen. Formed in 1985 The Shamen were an electronic dance band who began with psychedelic melodies before switching closer to house music in the late 1980s. We join them in 1991 with their fourth album, En-Tact, having been released the year before but 1001 Songs have gone with a 1991 remix of one of the tracks – Move Any Mountain-Progen 91.

Move Any Mountain has at its core a positive philosophical message. The narrator is moving through life ready for any challenge. They have complete faith in themselves to overcome whatever may await them. The idea of the mountains is that they are deemed to be an obstacle of sorts but with the right mindset one can not only defeat them, you can even move them as well. The track is heavy in drum and synth melodies with the chorus being the most catchy part.

I was not familiar with The Shamen but Move Any Mountain-Progen 91 is an example of the desire at this time for remixing tracks. Musicians would end up with multiple versions of their songs potentially getting onto the charts, with some remixes proving more successful than the original. That was the case for The Shamen who reached the UK Top 10 with this song. Their career flourished for a time but by 1999 they had disbanded with the members going their separate ways.

 

Favourite songs so far:

The Animals – House of the Rising Sun (1964)

Simon & Garfunkel – The Sounds of Silence (1965)

The Beatles – A Day in the Life (1967)

The Doors – The End (1967)

Pink Floyd – Wish You Were Here (1975)

Meat Loaf – Bat Out of Hell (1977)

Ultravox – Vienna (1980)

The Smiths – How Soon Is Now? (1984)

Tracy Chapman – Fast Car (1988)

U2 – One (1991)