Customer Reviews

Wizzard Brew

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

In the annals of rock history, little consideration is given to the importance and influence of Wizzard (in the U.S., anyway). In their native Britain they cut a larger figure, but disbanded too quickly to be remembered among the greats. That's too bad, because they belong in the same upper echelon as contemporaries Mott the Hoople, Queen, Roxy Music, King Crimson, and Slade. This album contains traces of the sounds of all of these bands, and vice-versa. I can hear Wizzard influence on their recordings.

In interviews of the era, Bryan Ferry offered high praise for the group - and I think Queen's third album "Sheer Heart Attack" is hugely influenced by this record, which came out a year earlier. Suddenly Queen was recording harder-charging songs with less frippery and overt touches of 1950's rock - all Wizzard hallmarks. Hmmm. There was clearly a lot of cross-pollination going on in England at this time!

Wizzard itself was a rather schizophrenic aggregate, alternating raucous and fast loud rock (this album) with fussed over, Phil Spector-sounding pop singles. The year 1973 was their peak, which saw the release of this and 3 of their 4 biggest hit singles. Multi-instrumentalist (he plays A LOT of different instruments), band leader, and chief songwriter Roy Wood radically departs here from what fans may have expected of his earlier band The Move. This also is different from what followed later, which was his reputedly half-hearted involvement with the first Electric Light Orchestra album. I can't emphasize enough how much this thing rocks, or how loud it is - it's almost punk-ish at times ("Buffalo Station/Get On Down To Memphis" medley), yet isn't above featuring a long King Crimson-like instrumental passage in the middle of the rocking "Meet Me At The Jailhouse". It swings, it rocks, it's got it all! Includes their 4 fantastic biggest hit singles and their B-sides as a bonus, which helps give a very complete picture of the band.

This is my number one candidate for best early 70's "lost" album that no one knows about but should. British eccentricity and musicianship at its finest. Don't miss it.

P.S. - Goes well with the excellent Roy Wood compilation CD "Singles", which collects his main hits (including all of the British top-tenners) with The Move, Wizzard, and solo.

This album has got to be the most crazed and manic thing that Roy Wood has ever done. If you only know Wizzard from thier Top 40 hits or "Eddie and The Falcons" then you will not believe this is the same band. This album is all over the place and with each song it seems to get more and more nuttier.One word can perfectly describe this record...NOISY! Roy Wood has created some very starge music before this and after, but this album has a sound to it that I've never quite heard from him before. It has a certain flattened and processed feel to it. There are just layers and layers of noise on this thing. "Meet Me At The Jailhouse" has got to be the most powerful song on this. It sounds like Roy wanted to take up where he ended on The Moves "Brontosaurus". I love this darn crazy album but for some it may be a bit too much to take. This album will certainly beat your ears to death but if you like music that has a certain off-the-wall charm to it, then I think you'll love this.

If you haven't acquainted yourself with the music of Roy Wood, do yourself a favor. Wizzard Brew is allready a great record, and this version with Ball Park Incident, See My Baby Jive, Angel Fingers, and I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday, is a pretty definitive Roy Wood and Wizzard statement.

This record is actual creativity and imagination. That's pretty rare.

along with boulders,roy wood's solo album, this is his best post the move release. it is very weird, a strange mix of fifties rock and elvis impersonations ( got a crush about you, and a part near the end of buffalo station /going down to memphis) , avant garde ( the free jazz/ metal/ god knows what of meet me at the jailhouse) excellent heavy pop ( you can dance your rock and roll) and barroom silliness ( jolly cup of tea). wear a fast gun would reallymake a fine theme for an imaginary western, to quote jack bruce meet me at the jailhouse is about 14 minutes long, but it is never dull, wood's eternally underrated guitar work in this is always stunning. as always, wood's mastery of numerous instruments is simply superb, and the other members of this raucous outfit make valuable contributions as well. i also suggest boulders, mustard, and the 1st elo album ( no answer) for any roy wood or move fans interested in learning more about this vital and underrecognized rock genius. wizzards brew isn't perfect, but it's never dull and certainly a very fine record.

I owned the US version of this album in'73. Different cover (replicated inside the CD's booklet)and slightly different track lineup. I also owned the UK import vinyl. Problem for me was that I didn't appreciate or understand what Roy Wood was doing. Having revisited ELO through their excellent remaster series, I felt compelled to rediscover Wizzard. What a treat! Roy's influence on early ELO is so obvious on this great CD. 30 years ago I thought this sounded too 50's. Not at all. It's very cool Rock 'n Roll with cellos, horns and occasional oboe. Plus, all of the non-album singles and b sides are present and accounted for. I hope the Japanes do a mini lp cover version. I recall it had a cool textured conver. Anyway, if you like ELO give this a listen. 8/2/07 I just received the Japanese edition of this album. The mini lp cover is very cool and is textured and includes the original inserts that came with the lp. The CD face replicates the original Harvest label. Sound quality is a bit deeper with better definition than the Euro version. If you are into asthetics then the extra $ is worth paying for the Japanese version.

I recently picked this album up again, 20 years after I last heard it at art school. I had forgotten how great it is. It's not fine work at all - the arrangements are towering chaotic heaps, with myriad instruments competing for the listener's attention - but then this is the Birmingham Elf at his most unapologetic. Each track is different, but an air of decadent excess pervades throughout. It's hard to describe. The individual musicians are all highly proficient and play like hell, but the conductor seems to have left the room. Roy Wood's Wizzard had several major hits in the UK in the mid 70s, and each was a hilarious joy. Here, he gets serious. 'Meet me at the jailhouse' is what happens when about five separate rock bands get together and drop a lot of acid, but 'Gotta Crush' is Eddie and the Falcons in the embryo. This is the man who went on to give us the world's first reggae bagpipe song ('Going down the road') and one of the major Christmas monsters ('I wish it could be Xmas every day'), but try as he might (and he did) he never surpassed this Herculean effort. Most people will deride Wizzard Brew for its sloppiness and self-indulgence, and that's all true, but to me, it's part of my youth, and still has enough layers of wacky detail to entrance me again many years later.

WIZZARD'S BREW is the first of 2 albums from ROY WOOD'S WIZZARD, the band he put together after splitting from Jeff Lynne & E.L.O. And, as if trying to out-do all his previous efforts in one shot, it also gets my vote as the STRANGEST album he ever did in his entire career! 6 tracks, each in a completely different style, give listeners a very schizophrenic collection. There's "Meet Me At The Jailhouse", a 14-1/2 minute jam session that mixes jazz & rock in ways I've never heard before or since. (Strangely, the CD is actually MISSING about the last 30 seconds of this epic track that had been on LP. Wha' hoppen?) "Jolly Cup Of Tea" sounds very much like the kind of song you'd hear in "The Village" (on the TV show THE PRISONER). "Wear A Fast Gun" is an epic that could have come from some avant-garde film score. And in the midst of all that is "Got A Crush About You", a tribute to Elvis Presley!! This would provide the direction of his follow-up, EDDY & THE FALCONS. This album is NOT an easy listen! So be warned... no matter what your musical experience, you've probably NEVER heard anything quite like THIS before! (I only wish the CD had included as bonus tracks the singles that came out about the same time: "Ball Park Incident" and "See My Baby Jive", but I'm sure they can be found elsewhere.)

Roy had just left ELO during the "ELO 2", sessions, and formed his next band Wizzard. Roy Wood's first album with the glam,progressive rock and part jazz-rock, "Wizzard Brew" hit #29 in the U.K.. The album originaly only 6 songs, but with this re-issue they add 8 more tunes, 4 a -sides and 4 b-sides. "Ball Park Incident" #5, "See My Baby Jive", #1 love this song! "Angel Fingers" #1 and the most popular Christmas song, that I really like "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday", #2, this song has been covered by several artists since, most notably Wilson Phillips, Ash and The Spice Girls. The B-sides consist of the electric piano driven "The Carlsberg Special" written by Bill Hunt, "Bend Over Beethoven", their comeback to ELO's "Roll Over Beethoven", written by Hugh McDowell who later that year rejoined ELO. The 50's romp "You Got The Jump On Me" written by bassist Rick Price. And then you got "Rob Roy's Nightmare" a jazz rock piece with Roy's classic sitar written by Mike Burney. Back story here on Rob Roy was one of ELO's roadies during the 70's, he was tragically killed by another man on the road in the U.S. in the late 70's, Rob was was caught with that man's wife.

On the original album Roy wrote all the songs.

"You Can Dance That Rock 'N' Roll"- the drums pound, the sax wails, cello's swing, a wild ride with a 50's rock vibe.

"Meet Me At The Jailhouse"- the longest track, reminds me of The Move's "Brontosaurus", then you get a great sax workout, some wild guitar by Roy, Psycheldelic in spots, A song to drive away pests!

"Jolly Cup Of Tea"- The shortest song, it has that soccer chant and that John Philip Sousa sound.

"Buffalo Station- Get Down To Memphis"- great 50's style rocker, Roy puts it all out here, with 20's sounding dixieland.

"Gotta Crush (About You)"- Doo Wop, A great fun fast tune, love the sax on this track.

"Wear A Fast Gun"- A great excellent ballad by Roy, reminds me of "Dear Elaine" in spots.

This is a wild ride by Mr. Roy Wood, if you like The Move and Roy Wood get this release.

I have never heard this cd, but I have played the lp (and a cassette of the lp for listening to in my car) many times. There's "Jolly Cup Of Tea", an eccentric marching band type arrangement of an ode to the power of tea (it makes everything alright) and Wear A Fast Gun, a ballad of strange advice "Wear a fast gun and you'll be alright". Both excellent songs, each in their own way. Then there's the rest of the songs. Some of the loudest, most powerful rock that I've ever heard. Now, just as in my old 1973 2002 playing the cassette copy, I can't seem to play it loud enough. My Vandersteen speakers have LEDs behind the grille cloths that blink when they are at the point of overloading. This has only happened twice in the 14 years that I have owned them. Both times I was playing "Wizzard Brew". I've learned to be careful playing this lp.

Roy Wood's voice is beautifully distorted on the remaining songs, adding to an extremely rocking feel. The sax's sound is a three dimensional presence in the room. The guitars, heck everthing, has a solid/weighty quality that just feels like "hard rock" at it's best. It's all kind of crazy and definitely great.

I've read, here and elsewhere, that the sound is thin on the cd release. I hope it doesn't have to be that way. This album seems like the sort of sound that cd might not be able to capture. Maybe SACD (?) but then I still wouldn't be able to play it in my car. (Thinking about this album is making me wish I would have went ahead and gotten a cassette player in my current car, for stuff like this.) Maybe a particularily talented mastering engineer could get enough of it on cd. Maybe a Japanese release (seems like they often have a knack for often getting the best sounds). If they ever release a decent sounding cd of this, I'll be the first in line to buy it. (Or maybe this album will cause me to try the transfering of lp to cd for the first time.)