ORIGINAL ALBUM REVIEWS

Melody Maker 1973
ROY WOOD: Boulders (Harvest £2.14)

The bloody cheek of EMI calling this a solo album - why, there's somebody else playing a snatch of the harmonium on two tracks. I know Woodie wrote everything, played everything, sung everything, produced everything, arranged everything, designed the sleeve and painted the cover picture, but he didn't play the harmonium did he? Of course it's sheer brilliance. That one geezer can have done all this and achieved what it takes some bands years of striving to attain (and sometimes fail) speaks volumes about his talent.

Whether you want out and out rock, folk, comedy, balladeering or straightforward pop, it's all here courtesy of the Brummie brain. Among the best of the brilliant tracks are "Songs Of Praise", "Dear Elaine" and "Rock Medley".

Roy Hollingworth

Disc 1973
ALBUM OF JOYFUL CELEBRATION
Roy Wood: "Boulders" (HARVEST)

Roy Wood says this is a completely solo album - all instruments and voices by himself - which is impressive in itself though doesn't necessarily make for a good record. What does in this case, is a bunch of good, and sometimes rather strange songs, and Roy Wood's singing, playing and arranging. In some ways, this reminds me of early David Bowie albums, in others of Ray Davies, but all the time it is very individual Roy Wood. The album starts with his New Seekers/Eurovision entry "Songs Of Praise", which he does with a great deal of bounce and exuberance. You can see how it was perfect for the New Seekers, but in Wood's hands it takes on something rather more than they gave it. That mood of joyful celebration gets into a number of tracks, a rock and roller on the first side, and a mock-live banjo feature on the second, where the live effects are very cleverly done.

That's followed by a kind of medley of songs, the best of which sounds like an archetypal early sixties teenage anguish song, almost but not quite in the footsteps of Buddy Holly and the Everly Brothers. Other songs are treated more sparingly, with maybe acoustic guitars, piano, flute and cello. And he weaves a very nice atmosphere with some cleverly constructed sound textures. That is something that Roy Wood does better than most - setting just the right kind of mood for his songs so that you can get into them where, had someone else done the song, you'd probably cringe a bit. This is basically a very happy album, and one that gives you a nice lift when you put it on; but more than anything else, it proves that Roy Wood is a very adept pop song writer. And this album shows him at his best. - S.P.

NME 1973
OFF TO HEAR THE WIZARD OF WOOD
ROY WOOD - "Boulders"
Harvest SHVL 803, £2.38)

A few pages earlier in this issue, Roy Wood admits to being very impressed with the workings of one Frank Zappa about the time he made this album, that being some three years ago. Well, that statement from Roy, ex-Move and ELO man and now leader of the famed Wizzard, makes me wonder whether or not I ought to label him Britain's answer to Zappa, the bizarre king of rock music. It's no insult; indeed it's meant as a compliment, as Roy succeeds in combining his incredible writing, playing and singing talents with an uncanny sense of humour and ridiculousness.

Roy plays somewhere between 17 and 27 instruments (the figure seems to vary from hand-out to hand-out), wrote all 12 numbers, produced and arranged the whole thing, and painted the album cover. That's what I call a solo album.

"Rock Down Low" and "Locomotive" (with the lines "Do the locomotive and you'll get promoted") are in the vein of the current Wizzard output, while "Nancy Sing Me A Song" (it continues, "something to make my hair grow long") and "Dear Elaine," the current single, are slower, more listenable tracks.

There are shades of the Move with "All The Way Over The Hill," while "Irish Loafer (And His Hen)" is a genuine Irish jig. Then come two of Roy's more clever compositions. "Miss Clark And The Computer," influenced by "2001," is a sad love story with a distorted computer voice declaring passion for its operator, while "When Grandma Plays The Banjo" is a "live" recording of a barn dance where the old lady gets up and shows the kids how it's done. Then we're into the rock medley with the instantly memorable Elvis-styled "Rockin' Shoes," and the Everly Brother-ish "She's Too Good For Me," with clever double tracking harmonies.

Showing his incredible skill on nigh on every instrument imaginable, Roy Wood has justified every "genius; one-man band; musical legend in his own lifetime" tag that has ever been attached to him and his music.

I don't know, but it seems to me that "Boulders" is a pretty inadequate title for this set. Tamala Motown have used the best two I can think of - "Music Of My Mind" and "Music And Me."

****
BS

Record Mirror Dec 1973
ALBUM OF THE WEEK
Roy Wood: "Boulders"
(Harvest SHVL 803).

ROY WOOD'S PRICELESS BOULDERS

WHILE THERE was every reason to suppose that after three-and-a-half years this will be of only historical interest, now that it's finally been released, I think one play should be sufficient to convince that nothing could be further from the truth. There IS historical interest, insofar as it is evident that some of the ideas in Roy's mind at the time were the germs of what became the original Electric Light Orchestra, but other than that, I can't find any reason why this could not have been made today, and why anyone would not be proud to own it in 1973.

Really good genuine solo albums - an over dubbed one-man band rather than the usual conglomeration of superstars that passes as solo - are rare indeed, but just in the last few weeks we've suddenly got two: John Fogerty's Blue Ridge Rangers effort (which sounds so much like a real band that I got taken in when I reviewed it) and now "Boulders". The similarities are strong. Both Fogerty and Wood have been around for a long time, putting very individual touches to everything they did, mastering all the studio techniques as well as the instruments, trying a wide variety of approaches and styles. Both seem to have provided amazingly complete albums, touching all the bases of interest and coming up with masterful work, full of variety but always maintaining the artists own view and interpretation instead of just wallowing from one thing to another.

Roy's become so apologetic about the whole thing in recent years that I came to it not expecting too much, and ended up hurriedly playing it again, which is really the ultimate you can say about a review record. I use the word only with reluctance, but I think it's a brilliant album, and with the possible exception of the first E.L.O. album, the best Roy's ever had his name on. Each track is distinct, different and immaculately done. Hear Roy become the Beach Boys on "All The Way Over The Hill", the Rolling Stones on "Rock Down Low", a girls' choir on "Songs Of Praise", an Irish jig band on "Irish Loafer", and (which makes it worthwhile) remaining inimitably Roy Wood at the same time. There's a lot more besides - "Miss Clarke And The Computer" is a love affair in appropriately programmed deadpan computerese with decelerating vocals at the end done as efficiently as when HAL had his plugs pulled out in "2001". "Nancy Sing Me A Song" is naggingly stupid, worthless and priceless… It IS out now. Hear it. - R.M.

RETROSPECTIVE ALBUM REVIEWS

Sounds Dec 3, 1977
ROY WOOD
'Boulders'
(Harvest Heritage SHSM 2021) ***

OF COURSE Roy Wood has been enormously commercial for years in three different bands and as a solo artist, but I wonder how many actual fans he's got - people who wait anxiously with pond notes poised to snap up his latest offering whatever it may be. I suspect that each of his hits would have got there separately, on its own merits. He makes little personal impression on people because he hides his own quiet and shy character behind a lot of hair, outlandish costumes and warpaint and creates music to match - clever and imaginative but with the heart always concealed.

The re-release of 'Boulders' is the one where he did absolutely everything, even the sleeve painting. The real Roy Wood could surely have been expected to stand up. Just possibly he did. The ethereal romantic who shimmers 'Dear Elaine' might be the man, but even the cover notes describe it as 'almost contrivedly tender.' And most of the other tracks are reverent pastiches of one kind or another approximating the Beach Boys, an Irish jig, the Everlys and rockabilly.

A most unusual guy is Roy Wood. Superficially a matter-of-fact Brummie he produces self-conscious Art, with a capital A. Yet he has the knack of making it massively popular. And a lot of people are saying that '78 will be the comeback year for 'pop'. If he can put his Wizzo Band over-ambitions behind him that could be good news for Roy Wood.

'Boulders' is entertaining enough, but if you really want to take a retrospective look at him, check out 'The Roy Wood Story', including tracks from the Move, ELO, Wizzard and his solos.

Phil Sutcliffe.

AllMusic.com Review 2003
by Stephen Thomas Erlewine

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 humour, 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 colourful, odd arrangements. The marvellous 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 realise 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.

Stylus Magazine (USA) September 2003
by Tom Casetta

For better or worse, we here at Stylus, in all of our autocratic consumer-crit greed, are slaves to timeliness. A record over six months old is often discarded, deemed too old for publication, a relic in the internet age. That's why each week at Stylus, one writer takes a look at an album with the benefit of time. Whether it has been unjustly ignored, unfairly lauded, or misunderstood in some fundamental way, we aim with On Second Thought to provide a fresh look at albums that need it.

Nothing charms us record geeks more than a total eccentric does. We all have pored over Brian Wilson's Pet Sounds and the aborted Smile sessions like biblical scholars studying the Dead Sea scrolls. We have examined the artistic crack-ups of Syd Barrett. We have debated whether Skip Spence's Oar is the work of a genius gone mad or another example of crap from the overrated San Francisco scene. All this systematic study leaves one tired; we need to find a new idiosyncratic musician to explore. Let me steer you towards Roy Wood's Boulders.

Roy Wood first came into the focus of the rock and roll spectrum as a leading member of one of the most legendary, and indeed, notorious bands of sixties- The Move. Controversy reigned throughout The Move's career. Their ferociously wild live set, which included the demolition of various worldly goods, resulted in them being banned from concert halls across the country. Roy's lyrics revealed an original and often curious view of the world (eg. second Move single "I Can Hear The Grass Grow") that raised many a disapproving eyebrow and the band had the dubious honour of being sued by Prime Minister Harold Wilson concerning the promotional postcard used to advertise "Flowers In The Rain", the first ever record to be played on Radio One.

The Move morphed into The Electric Light Orchestra. A band created to satisfy Wood's burning desire to create pop songs with heavily classical overtones. After co-writing and co-producing the first ELO album, Wood decided to look elsewhere for a fresh challenge and a new direction. He began work on a solo recording. The idea of one person overdubbing enough stuff until he had played the entire song was relatively young when Wood started work on Boulders; his truly solo album (even more solo in the sense that he also painted the cover art). Wood had been working on Boulders four years prior to its release, and indeed it contained at least one song that he had written for The Move. Some of Wood's more impressive feats on this album were "Dear Elaine", on which he overdubbed as many self-played cellos as possible, and a mock-Irish jig called "The Irish Loafer And His Hen." The loveable "When Grandma Plays the Banjo" is a personal favourite. In some places, Wood employed early tricks - such as slowing down or speeding up the tape while recording background vocals - to increase his already considerable singing range.

Oh, this album breaks my heart, I love it so much. Few pop albums move me like this does. This album is sweet and wide-eyed. It's a lovely record, emotional, funny and full of melody like the ocean is full of water. Had the album came out in 4 years before and not in 1973, it would have gained more prominence. Time has held it's own. It is dated in spots, but it is all jewels from beginning to end. As much as I love The Move, I think this album tops those records. I have no idea what was going on with Wood's mental state, but the album strikes me as a last-stand for a grown man's childhood love of pop music.

ORIGINAL SINGLE REVIEWS

ROY WOOD: "WHEN GRAN'MA PLAYS THE BANJO" (HARVEST).

This, I guess, is what they call a novelty record. This, I fear, is probably what they call a hit record. Oh well. Mr. Wood is a talented young man who I once recall daubed my walls (office) with strange signs one day. This track has absolutely nothing to do with that fact. It's from his new solo album "Boulders", with masses of applause everytime gran'ma or another member of this outrageous family plays banjo - suitable banjo breaks accompany. It drove me mad.

Sounds July 1973
ROY WOOD: "DEAR ELAINE" (HARVEST).

"My dear Elaine, may I see you again" sings our Roy against another turn-of-the-century brass band sort of backing. Except that as far as I can tell (to a point about three furlongs West of Shrewsbury on a clear day) there's no brass actually used in the arrangement. The deeper instruments are simulated on bass and cello and yer trumpets an' stuff with the human voice. As far as I can tell. This single is lifted from Roy's forthcoming solo LP and it's a charming, eccentric, gentle record from one of rock's real craftsmen. It may be too languid for popular success but it's a lovely record anyway. Ignore it at your peril.