Customer Reviews

Mustard

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

My God! It's hard to put into words how amazing this album really is. The songs, the textures, the sounds, the playing and just the overall presentation.
I had already owned "Boulders" for about a year when I saw a vinyl copy of this in a record store in Montreal. I snagged it and studied the cover and liner notes until I could return to my turntable in the States. I wasn't sure what to expect as I had such strong feelings about "Boulders" (how could Woody top that masterpiece?). Well, to say the least, I was absolutely floored. From the opening USO-sounding vocal group/big band of "Mustard" right into the "Any Old Time Will Do", I knew that this was a special album. When I heard "The Rain Came Down On Everything" with its jazzy breakdown complete with rain and thunder in the background, I was totally sold.
This album has it all for Roy afficiandoes: complex vocal layering (listen to the Roy-choir during "The Song", every voice sung and recorded by Woody himself), Fifties-style Doo-Wop ("Why Does Such A Pretty Girl Sing Those Sad Songs?") and monumental instrumentation(again "The Song", Roy closes it with a classical waltz and check out his drum solo on the final album track).
The remaster sounds warm and alive and Roy's vocals come out very crisp. The additional bonus tracks on this CD reissue only sweeten the deal. If you are a Roy fan you absolutely NEED to own "Mustard".

I had this on vinyl, and I honestly haven't played it for at least, well, many years. It was, I thought, horribly produced.

When I saw that it was recently released with extra tracks, I figured, what the heck, go for it. And while it still doesn't astound like Boulders or Shazam (The Move), it's a whale of a sonic improvement over the old LP, and the songs really shine with improved mastering. Lots of Phil Spector and Beach Boys influence. Very strong album, with the unfortunate exception of "Mustard," which has been flattened to sound like a '40s recording and "Get on Down Home," which goes on way too long, and has a lumbering drum solo. My suggestion: program that song out and you'll still have a great 45 minute listening experience. Would rate 5 stars if not for "Get on Down Home" and less than excellent sound quality. If you like the Move, like Roy Wood, and don't have this album, I'd strongly recommend it.

I like Roy Wood's music and called on this to be re-released. When it came out, I bought it and ate it up, musically.
When Exotic Mixture came out, I noticed how clear the Mustard songs were presented on EM. In doing an A->B listening, this Mustard album presents a little bit muddier production whereas the same on Exotic Mixture were nicely and cleanly presented.
Perhaps this album should be "re-remastered" like EM was. Unfortunately, there is probably a weak market for Roy Wood product.
The songs rate a full 5 stars, but the production is lacking... rate that at 1 maybe 2 stars.
If this album is available on mp3, you may want to sample a track or two to see if the quality was improved over the CD version.

Alex Chilton may have taken Beatle pop and gave punks permission to be melodic with Big Star, but when this young Box Top was still crying like a Memphis Soul baby, Roy Wood was crafting power pop with the Move.

When the Move was no more, Wood just kept power popping. On Mustard, he takes a page from Paul McCartney; he plays everything on this album. Pop, ballads, raw jams with melodic charge, Mustard is a triumph of primal musicality. These tracks are stripped compared to the masterful elegance of Wood's Boulders.

But a great artist, Wood cuts it using a sketch pencil as well as a full palate of paint.

I must admit I've been waiting a long time for Mustard to go down in price on Amazon.com. Then, out of the blue it became affordable(at one time new CDs were selling for $40-$50. Out priced me.

But now that I have this "tasty little sucker" in my hands and on my system all I can say is it was definitely worth the wait. It's all here: rock, jazz, country, classical motives, Beach Boy's derivative harmonies, fifties music, even a nod to the ninteen forties. And it has Annie Haslem!

Roy Wood is as close to an English Frank Zappa as it gets. "Does humor belong in music?" If you like Boulders and Wizzard's Brew you will like this CD. The bonus singles only help to compliment the CD. The above reviews pretty much sum up the particulars. Although I disagree about the drum solo. It's like "The Clap" on Frank Zappa's Chunga's Revenge.

Needless to say if your budget can afford to purchase this CD and you are a Roy Wood fan you cannot pass this up. It is dense, lyrical, and pays obvious homage to Roy's heroes.

I had not listened to this album in years. Hearing it on CD brought back a lot of great memories and it is indeed a big improvement sonically over my vinyl LP. Over the years I had made myself believe that it had been something of a disappointment since I absolutely loved BOULDERS.

Yes, the drum solo on "Get on Down Home" is self-indulgent and too long, but this is a great CD! It was like being reunited with a lost friend! It makes me sad that we had been apart for so long!

The bonus tracks are really nice and "Oh What a Shame" fits in wonderfully. I have now revisited ON THE ROAD AGAIN and discovered MAIN STREET (why did they not release it when it was originally ready?!). Man, Roy had a great streak going there and they sound even better on CD!!!

this is not wood's best solo effort: boulders is considerably better. but it is a fine album for the most part. the song is a really beautiful number- wood was very good at classically influenced epics like this and wear a fast gun from the wizzard brew album that were actually quite moving. why does such a pretty girl sing those sad songs and look through the eyes of a fool display wood's fascination with the sounds of the beach boys and phil spector's wall of sound. as always wood's impressive and comprehensive arsenal of instruments are used to great effect, and the songwriting and singing are generally quite good. unfortunately, for me, this is kind of his last gasp- the material i've heard that appeared after this album's release in 1975 tended to be of below average quality. mustard however remains a worthy album.

Roy Wood is a great songwriter and multi - instrumentalist, who's best work was with The Move between '67-'71.His "Boulders " album also did his talent justice. This album is a mess with boring songs and some of the worst record production in history. Really for die hard Woody fans to have in their collection only, and even then a two rating is stretching it a little.