Move It! is the debut album by American electronic dance music project Reel 2 Real, featuring vocalist the Mad Stuntman. The musical project had seven top 10 hits on the US Hot Dance Music/Club Play chart in the 1990s including "I Like to Move It", which was a big hit in many other countries around the world. Other singles released from the album were "Go on Move", "Can You Feel It?", "Raise Your Hands" and "Conway".

Move It!
Studio album by
ReleasedOctober 10, 1994
Length56:02
Label
ProducerErick Morillo
Reel 2 Real chronology
Move It!
(1994)
Reel 2 Remixed!
(1995)

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic     [1]
Smash Hits2/5[2]

AllMusic said, "Heard in clubs all over the world and still one of the most frequently licensed compilation tracks, Reel 2 Real's 'I Like to Move It', still sounds as hot today as it did when it first came out in 1993. The pulsing synths and sirens of the song made for an instant wall shaker. The mastermind of super DJ and remixer Erick Morillo, Move It combines the textures of Latin house music with a reggae vibe. Morillo is one of the world's bussiest and most sought-after DJs and remixers. Some of Move It's other standout tracks are 'Raise Your Hands', 'Can You Feel It?', and 'Conway'."[1] Caroline Sullivan from The Guardian wrote, "The first single by this handbag-techno crew, 'I Like to Move It', lingered in the chart for 20 weeks. This album doesn't quite match its growly catchiness, but it's a respectable enough debut. The mood is upful, and singer The Mad Stuntman is equally proficient on ragga tracks like 'The Stuntman's Theme' and Eurodisco affairs such as 'Conway'. But partner Erick Morillo makes only the expected noises on his keyboards, and when will we see an end to cliches like 'Respect in every aspect?'"[3]

Pan-European magazine Music & Media commented, "Scientists couldn't invent it, but these New Yorkers headed by the Mad Stuntman could: the pocket-size jukebox. It contains the hits 'I Like to Move It', 'Go on Move' and 'Can You Feel It' plus the future chart-busters, all made according the same "Euro-goes-ragga" concept, with 'The Stuntman's Anthem' being the purest reggae effort of the lot. As such it's vaguely reminiscent of Double Trouble & The Rebel MC's 1989 hit 'Street Tough'."[4] Lucie Cave from Smash Hits gave the album two out of five, writing, "Reel 2 Real have conjured up an album jam-packed with booming bass lines. And the Mad Stuntman proves that shouting loudly is not his only talent. 'One Life to Live' captures hints of a mellow Jamaican mood, but generally most of the tracks rely on all too familiar dance beats."[2]

Track listing

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All tracks written by Erick Morillo and Mark Quashie, except where noted.

No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."I Like to Move It" (UK Radio Edit) 3:51
2."Can You Feel It?" 4:25
3."Raise Your Hands"
  • Morillo
  • Quashie
  • Keith Litman
4:56
4."One Life to Live"
  • Morillo
  • Quashie
  • Peter Tulloch
4:19
5."The Stuntman's Anthem"
  • Morillo
  • Quashie
  • Tulloch
3:47
6."Erick "More"'s Anthem (Can You Feel It?)" 6:43
7."Conway"
  • Morillo
  • Quashie
  • Litman
4:40
8."Wine Your Body" 4:41
9."R.E.X."
  • Morillo
  • Quashie
  • Tulloch
4:27
10."Toety" 4:05
11."Go on Move" 4:11
12."I Like to Move It" (DJ Dero NRG Remix) 5:51

Personnel

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Adapted from the album's liner notes.[5]

Musicians

  • Erick Morillo – all keyboards, drum programming
  • The Mad Stuntman – vocals
  • Althea McQueen – vocals (tracks 2, 10 and 12), background vocals (track 6), additional vocals (track 11)
  • The Joker – rap (track 4)
  • Donovan G. McKitty – guitar (tracks 4, 8 and 12)
  • Marcus Quintanilla – live percussion (track 2)
  • Karl Wright – additional percussion (track 4)
  • Peter Tulloch – additional vocals (tracks 3 and 7), additional keyboards (track 8)
  • Jose Nuñez – additional percussion (tracks 5, 7 and 10)

Production

  • Erick Morillo – producer (all tracks), mixing (all tracks)
  • Keith Litman – producer (tracks 1, 3 and 6)
  • Peter Tulloch – producer (tracks 4, 5 and 9)
  • Ralphie Muniz – producer (tracks 1 and 11)
  • DJ Dero – additional production and remix (track 12)
  • Nicolas Querrieri – additional production and remix (track 12), engineer (track 12)
  • Alejandro Guerrieri – additional production and remix (track 12)
  • Tuti Gianakis – executive producer (track 12)
  • Dave Lambert – edit (track 1)
  • Jose Nuñez – engineer (tracks 2–10)
  • Ani Phearce – additional arrangements (tracks 3 and 6)
  • Mark Humphrey – photography
  • Campagna, New York – design
  • Mastered at Townhouse, London, by Gordon Vicary

Charts

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Chart performance for Move It!
Chart (1994) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[6] 135
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[7] 37
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[8] 71
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[9] 63
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[10] 42
Scottish Albums (OCC)[11] 28
UK Albums (OCC)[12] 8

References

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  1. ^ a b "Reel 2 Real – Move It!". AllMusic. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  2. ^ a b Cave, Lucie (12 October 1994). "New Albums". Smash Hits. p. 65. Retrieved 5 October 2024.
  3. ^ Sullivan, Caroline (14 October 1994). "Music: Your essential guide to the new CDs - Pop". The Guardian.
  4. ^ "New Releases: Albums" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 11, no. 47. 19 November 1994. p. 15. Retrieved 23 May 2021.
  5. ^ Move It! (liner notes). Reel 2 Real featuring The Mad Stuntman. Positiva. 1994.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  6. ^ "Reel 2 Reel ARIA Chart history complete". ARIA. Retrieved 26 July 2024 – via Imgur.com. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column represents the release's peak on the national chart.
  7. ^ "Austriancharts.at – Reel 2 Real feat. The Mad Stuntman – Move It" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  8. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Reel 2 Real feat. The Mad Stuntman – Move It" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  9. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Reel 2 Real feat. The Mad Stuntman – Move It" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  10. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Reel 2 Real feat. The Mad Stuntman – Move It". Hung Medien. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  11. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 10, 2022.
  12. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved September 10, 2022.