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Introducing Eddy & (+5 Bonus Tracks) (Re

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The follow up to Wizzard Brew was originally intended as a conceptual double album divided into a disc each of jazzy pop (too Beach Boys-inflected for Steely Dan comparisons to ring true) and 1950's radio pastiche. The former was scrapped and went unreleased for decades before finally being issued in 2000 as Main Street. The latter was released in 1974 as Introducing Eddy & the Falcons, a record for the most part more formally ambitious and historically revisionist than Wizzard's usual 45 rpm fare (or the nostalgic dreck of Sha Na Na) but more streamlined and polished for radioplay than the proto-psychobilly nightmare of their near-brilliant and sadly misunderstood debut. Where Wizzard Brew and Boulders made passing references to Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Phil Spector, Chuck Berry, Carl Perkins, Bo Diddley, and the Everly Brothers, Eddy & the Falcons actually mimicked the sounds of their recordings (albeit filtered through British whimsy).

"Eddy's Rock" is the greatest prog-rock song the eponymous Duane Eddy never wrote, sort of like "Peter Gunn" with gratuitously shifting time signatures and every production flourish the mid-70's had to offer (including George Harrison/Badfinger-esque slide guitar overdubs). It's an interesting idea, the most unique and aesthetically subversive song on the album.

"Brand New 88" is something akin to Jerry Lee Lewis pummelling Jackie Brenston & Ike Turner's 1951 classic "Rocket 88," considered by many to be the first rock 'n' roll song ever recorded. Always cleverly self-aware, Wood allows Keith Smart's post-Moon power drumming to rear its ugly head in some of the breaks.

"You Got Me Runnin'" recalls teen pop a la Frankies Valli and Lymon, with the kind of sanitized (Carl and Luther) Perkins-twanging that Dave Edmunds would popularize and a million power-pop groups (in particular the Exploding Hearts) would accept as canon. It's all very tongue-in-cheek, the closest to Sha Na Na Wizzard will get: "Sha-la-la-la-ding-dong."

"I Dun Lotsa Cryin' Over You," is a slapback-happy Elvis Presley pastiche with tic-tac upright bass and subdued chicken-picking. Wood's sense of humor elevates it beyond nostalgia or parody; he actually sings "run my sticky fingers over you." Wood's forte is the instrumental middle-eight, here evidenced in a symphonic wah-wah slide guitar solo that somehow flows seamlessly with the rockabilly that surrounds it.

Alongside "Eddy's Rock," the hidden gem of this album is "This Is The Story Of My Love (Baby)," a completely historically inaccurate Phil Spector homage, featuring Pet Sounds-inspired harmonic parlor tricks and virtuosic rock drum fills. The "Wall Of Sound" production technique is applied to great effect (think Spector's production for the Righteous Brothers' "You've Lost That Loving Feeling" or Tina Turner's "River Deep, Mountain High"), incorporating symphonic ideas that Jeff Lynne was arriving at around the same time. The saxophones are reminiscent of early Bruce Springsteen, who was so new in the game in 1974 that the similarities are likely coincidental. The surface is early 1960's pop, but the heart of this ballad is pure Roy Wood in the mold of "Wear A Fast Gun." Whatever impression this description gives, it is inaccurate - this song should be heard and enjoyed in the same unintellectualized manner as the classic radio bubblegum it invokes. Simultaneously mindless and clever, this is great pop music.

Appropriately for Wizzard's strange satirical approach to nostalgia, the most blantant copycats on Eddy & The Falcons are also the most deceptively original. The instrumental segments, chord progression, and overall production style of "Everyday I Wonder" may be a dead ringer for "Runaway" (and let's face it, Roy Wood always sings like he wants to be Del Shannon), but the songwriting itself is ethereal in a way peculiar to the immediate post-psychedelic period, its haunting melody recalling little else in the history of pop despite its simplicity. The spacey aura draws attention to the similarities between the guitar riffs of "Runaway" and "Ghost Riders In The Sky," floating through Ennio Morricone territory in the process without ever actually mimicking his compositional style. The electronic keyboard melody of the Del Shannon hit is transformed into a brainy woodwind arrangement, and a funky '70's clavinet surfaces occasionally with disorienting results. A really beautiful tune, even if Wood remains as lyrically vapid as ever.

"Crazy Jeans" is a deliriously stupid rockabilly boogie.

"Come Back Karen," a send-up of Neil Sedaka's "Oh Carol," is easily a highlight, showcasing a near identical arrangement to the original but with a much more interesting melody and chord progression informed by Buddy Holly. Wood's faux-tragic vocalizations are unforgettable.

"We're Gonna Rock 'N' Roll Tonight" is the hardest song on the record, recalling the generic boogies of Boulders or a tamer version of Wizzard Brew's heavy metal explorations. It's a pleasant enough throwaway with a blistering country guitar solo and some pseudo-ragtime honky tonking on the 88's, but an unfortunate closer to an otherwise charming album.

Despite the overall strength of the craftsmanship and the frontman's endearing personality, Introducing Eddy & the Falcons is somewhat underwhelming when taken as a whole - more of a boogie soundtrack with occasional gems than a conceptual tour de force. Perhaps it is too much to expect a consistent album from an artist whose very charm is his short attention span and insatiable passion for revisiting cliches so worn out that one almost forgets they were there in the first place. Roy Wood has always been more of a craftsman than an artist, but his work is so loveable that one can easily forget that he never quite made the masterpiece that was so obviously in there somewhere.

OK so Roy Wood, abandons his hitmaking formula, the one that garnered him smash hits such as See my baby jive, and Angel Fingers, and tries to take on America by releasing this retro rock LP. Of course radio dosen't give it a sniff, and it tanks, along with Wood's chance to finally make it in the U.S.
But the album is terrific, with pseudo covers of songs from Duane Eddy to Elvis. Wood has a supple voice and his use of guitars, sax and even an oboe solo in Everyday I wonder, is brilliant. Tack on the extra tracks, and you will get an album that has few rivals for it's time. Why did bands like Sha Na Na and the Rubinoos make it with hits and nothing from this masterpiece? Roy Wood remains one of the great lost voices of rock in the seventies.

Why do I love this album so much, and no one else in the universe knows about it? Mr. Wood and his band of rockin tough guys takes you back to the fifties and sixties - authentic sounding production, flawless playing, and superb songwriting. If you like rock & roll - played by one of the best guitarists - Roy Wood - you will love this masterpiece. "We're going to rock and roll tonight" features a guitar solo which tastefully pays tribute to both Chuck and Keith.

When You want to listen to old rock saxophones and teardrop songs this is it.