Roy Wood Albums (7)
What The Critics Say
Since disbanding the ambitious and highly experimental Wizzard, new records from Roy Wood have been frustratingly sporadic. With an artist of his stature, any release is noteworthy, even if it may not be as groundbreaking as Wizzard's Brew. Starting Up is one of Wood's true solo albums where, other than the strings on one song, he sings, plays, and arranges every part. Wood's prodigious talents in the other areas help compensate for material that isn't consistently among his best. The unconventional instrumentation -- from oboes to bagpipes -- that distinguished other Wood records is absent, lending most of the album a conventional mid-'80s rock sound. A heavy dose of drum machine and dance beats on tracks like "Starting Up" and "Hot Cars" demonstrate Wood's ability to work in virtually any genre he chooses. Other than a smoking sax section on "Hot Cars," though, none of the dance-oriented tracks stands with his best material. More satisfying cuts include "Red Cars Are After Me," featuring a trademark Wood saxophone hook and guitar break, and "Raining in the City," with a smooth '60s sound reminiscent of "This Is the Story of My Love" from his Introducing Eddy & the Falcons album. As a foray into contemporary rock, Starting Up is only partially successful. Still, there are enough solid additions to the Wood songbook to make the album worthwhile. ~ James A. Gardner, All Music Guide
'On the Road Again'
Release Date 1/1/1979
Tracks 10
Label Warner Bros.
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What The Critics Say
The gargantuan, galumphing Super Active Wizzo band out of his system, Roy Wood returned to the light, sunny oldies of Eddy & The Falcons with 1979's On the Road Again. As the title makes clear, On the Road Again is Roy Wood's version of a road album, the kind of record that was created on the road to be played on the road - that would be true if Wood was a conventional musician, but he's not, as this was not supported by a large tour and even didn't see a release in his native UK. Therefore, this record is merely the yin to Super Active Wizzo's yang, a record that is about pop songs instead of instrumental interplay. Wood's Beach Boy adoration shines brightly, surfacing on a three-chord rocker called "Keep Your Hands on the Wheel" that could have shown up on Sunflower, and coloring the very bad disco indulgence "Colourful Lady." The presence of "Colourful Lady" indicates that even though Wood is in his oldies mode he's not totally immersed in it, and still has an eye on the possibility of chart success, even if he's not quite committed to do whatever it takes to get a hit. As such, On The Road Again gets quite muddled, vacillating between old-fashioned rock & roll rave-ups like "Road Rocket" and the quite excellent ELO homage "Backtown Sinner," occasionally dipping into the late '60s freak-folk of "Jimmy Lad." It makes for a head-spinning listen, which may be par for the course with Wood - Boulders hardly stayed in one place - but On the Road Again feels like a jumble due to its uneven batch of songs and, most especially, the overly slick production which feels like a misguided attempt at a big splashy radio hit, something that Wood could never quite achieve with his best songs…and none of the tunes here could conceivably be placed in that category. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
'Super Active Wizzo'
Release Date 1/1/1977
Tracks 6
Label Warner Bros.
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What The Critics Say
The very title of Super Active Wizzo suggests a fizzy, over-charged, amped-up version of Roy Wood's first band as a leader, Wizzard -- and, in a way, that's exactly what Wood's Wizzo Band was, with its lone 1977 LP recalling nothing so much as Wizzard Brew. No song on this six-track album clocks in at under five minutes, with two weighing in at over the 11-minute mark -- a structure mirrored on Wizzard Brew, which was dominated by nine and 13-minute tracks. But where that album was consciously a heavy, heavy rock & roll album, almost metallic in its attack, Super Active Wizzo has a lighter touch, preferring galloping rhythms and jazzy harmonies to bludgeoning riffs. Wood teases listeners with a pop hook every once and a while -- and the one that provides the structure for "Waitin' at This Door" is pretty good. This may hint at jazz-rock, but only in how it rides a groove: there is no improvisation or soloing, and the grooves stay in one place for long stretches. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Unlike Boulders, Mustard is designed as a full-fledged album instead of a collection of pop vignettes. Outside of Wood's love for Brian Wilson there's no concept, yet it flows smoothly and attractively, since each song sounds like an epic pop extravaganza in miniature. In a typically perverse turn, Wood opens the record with a scratchy parody of the Andrews Sisters, tackling the harmonies with sped-up vocal tapes, but as soon as "Any Old Time Will Do" kicks off, it's clear that this is a shining, glittering pop record. There isn't much of his signature absurdist humor or quirky studio effects, apart from the jaw-dropping "You Sure Got It Now," a masterwork that Wood claims "sounds like the Andrews Sisters backed by John Mayall," yet it isn't missed since the studiocraft on Mustard is quite alluring. Where Boulders felt homemade, almost pastoral, Mustard is unabashedly grand, bolstered by endlessly layered harmonies, chiming keyboards, and cavernous productions. The Beach Boys influences shine brightly on "Why Does a Pretty Girl Sing Those Sad Songs" and "Look Thru' the Eyes of a Fool," and are inescapable on the gorgeous ballad "The Rain Came Down on Everything." Wood never really rocks out until the multi-segmented closer, "Get on Down Home" and even if it's the one misstep, it hardly detracts from the pop wonders that precede it. Mustard might not equal the brilliantly maverick Boulders, yet it's easily one of the best, most cohesive records Wood ever made and one of the few to capture him as a (relatively) focused pop craftsman. [Edsel's 1999 CD reissue of Mustard is graced by no less than seven bonus tracks, all A- and B-sides of non-LP singles, highlighted by "Oh What a Shame" and "Indiana Rainbow."] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
'Introducing Eddy & the Falcons'
Release Date 1/1/1974
Tracks 15
Label United Artists
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What The Critics Say
Since Roy Wood loves music more than the nostalgia, on Wizzard's early rock & roll tribute Introducing Eddy & the Falcons he doesn't offer an oldie pastiche, a la Sha Na Na. Wood takes this project very seriously even when he's offering gentle satire. He wrote eight different stylistic and artistic tributes, summarizing with the closing "We're Gonna Rock n Roll Tonight," a song that recalls such latter-day Move rockers as "California Man" -- a neat way of illustrating what Roy learned, actually. The rest of the album is deliberately self-conscious, as Wood labors to reconstruct specific sounds -- Phil Spector on "This Is the Story of My Love (Baby)," Del Shannon's "Runaway" on "Everyday I Wonder," Elvis on "I Dun Lotsa Cryin' Over You," teen idol pop on "You Got Me Runnin'." The trick is, Wood's writing retains much of its character no matter what suit he tries on. Depending on your point of view, this is a fun stylistic exercise -- either in Wood's musicality or in nostalgic almost-camp -- or it's a little contrived and irritating. Eddy & the Falcons divides audiences in two because it's too easy to hear the wheels turning on certain songs. This may not bother listeners looking for a straight-up rock & roll record, especially since a handful of songs are pretty good, yet Wood fans that cherish his eccentricity and ability to fuse disparate strands into something distinctive will likely appreciate Eddy & the Falcons as a conceptual coup rather than truly enjoy it. [Edsel Records reissued Introducing Eddy & the Falcons on CD in 1999 with five bonus tracks; they don't jibe with the rest of the record, but they are interesting, even if there are no real classics among them.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Roy Wood designed Wizzard's singles to be hooky, accessible propositions. The "real art" was saved for the albums...or at least that's the impression their debut, Wizzard Brew, leaves. It's hard to tell what to make of Wizzard Brew, actually, and it seems all the stranger since it was released the same year as four jubilant, sparkling pop singles, all deliberately left off of the LP. Stylistically, the album isn't all that different from the hits -- four of the six songs are firmly rooted in '50s rock & roll, while the other two hearken back to the Move at their most self-consciously British -- but the music sounds as if it was performed by a different band. In a way, Wizzard Brew picks up where "Brontosaurus" left off, since its foundation is heavy on guitars and complicated riffing, yet that still doesn't explain the strangeness of the album. Despite its Chuck Berry/Eddie Cochran roots, the record plays like sonic terrorism -- a bizarre blend of boogie riffs and old-time rock & roll, spiked with traces of British psychedelia and music hall, all filtered through sheer white noise. Wizzard Brew is easily the noisiest damn record of its era -- compressed, processed, and flattened within an inch of its life. It's possible that this is all the result of a studio mishap, but it doesn't feel that way. The noise feels like an artistic decision, a way to push Wizzard's blend of retro rock and art into uncharted territory. It's the polar opposite of ELO -- consciously primitive art rock. Only two songs clock in at under five minutes; the rest beat the listener into submission with their pummeling riffs, unbridled boogie, and sheets of noise. It leaves you dazed and senseless, yet not necessarily satisfied. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
An intricate, deliberately idiosyncratic record, assembled piece by piece, Boulders perfectly captures Roy Wood's peculiar genius, more so than anything else he recorded. All of his obsessions are here -- classical music, psychedelia, pre-Beatles pop, pastoral folk ballads, absurdist humor, studio trickery, and good old-fashioned rock & roll -- assembled in a gracefully eccentric fashion. Some listeners may find that eccentricity a little alienating, but it's the core of Wood's music. He wrote tuneful, accessible songs, but indulged his passions and weird ideas, so even the loveliest melodies and catchiest hooks are dressed in colorful, odd arrangements. The marvelous thing is, these arrangements never sound self-consciously weird - it's the sound of Wood's music in full bloom. Never before and never again did his quirks sound so charming, even thrilling, as they do on Boulders. As soon as "Songs of Praise" reaches its chorus, a choir of sped-up, multi-tracked Roys kick in, sending it into the stratosphere. All nine tunes unwind in a similar fashion, each blessed with delightfully unpredictable twists. It's easy to spot the tossed-off jokes on the goofy "When Gran'ma Plays the Banjo," but it may take several spins to realize that the percussion on "Wake Up" is the sound of Roy slapping a bowl of water. Boulders is a sonic mosaic -- you can choose to wonder at the little details or gaze at the glorious whole, enjoying the shape it forms. Wood has an unerring knack for melodies, whether they're in folk ballads, sweet pop or old-fashioned rock & rollers, yet his brilliance is how he turns the hooks 180 degrees until they're gloriously out of sync with his influences and peers. Boulders still sounds wonderfully out of time and it's easy to argue that it's the peak of his career. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide
