Music Book

構成数 : 2枚
合計収録時間 : 00:00:00
What separates Music Book from the legions of Roy Wood retrospectives released over the years is that the man himself selected the 36 tracks on this 2011 double-disc set. But if ever an artist should not be trusted to compile himself, it's Roy Wood, a restless rock & roller so enamored with the new that he dismisses his past. Of course, it's no small irony that he celebrates the past of others, settling comfortably into a hybrid of big band and swing, old-time rock & roll, and Brian Wilson, but he's so unattached to his early work and best songs that he's selected Nancy Sinatra's "Flowers in the Rain" and Status Quo's "I Can Hear the Grass Grow" instead of the Move originals, and he's also added a few string overdubs to "Blackberry Way" while revisiting "Fire Brigade" in his "shed." True, it's hard to tell whether these selections are due to some licensing oddities, and while some of the odd alternates are somewhat interesting -- the opening "California Man" arrives complete with a horn fanfare that quotes "Brontosaurus," setting the stage for much of the lunacy that lies within -- this insistence on traveling scenic detours means that, once again, an opportunity for a definitive Wood compilation has been missed. Then again, it may be more accurate to argue that this weird collection of hits -- here, that designation primarily belongs to singles by Wizzard, including "Ball Park Incident," "Angel Fingers," "See My Baby Jive," and "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day," although the Move's shoulda-been hits "Tonight," "Chinatown," and "Brontosaurus" are here -- album tracks, vague rarities, old favorites, and '80s relics are about as good an introduction to the peculiar wonders of Roy Wood as any other collection...and perhaps it's better than most of its competition, as it has most of Wood's best solo cuts and Wizzard work, and its weaknesses can be strengthened via a supplement of a good Move collection. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine