More Than Just Christmas Everyday: The 20 Best Songs of Wizzard frontman Roy Wood – ranked! | Pop and rock

20. Aisha – The Farewell (1973)

Roy Wood sometimes wrote for others – Psych fans should check out Acid Gallery’s brilliant 1969 single Dance Round the Maypole – and the single he composed with his girlfriend Aishia Brough, a TV presenter in the early 1970s, exemplifies his distinctive pop skills. and His method for organizing the kitchen sink: kettle barrels! More oboe!

19. Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne – You and I (1989)

At the end of the 1980s – a decade in which musical trends did not fit Wood’s approach at all – the Electric Light Orchestra engineers briefly regrouped, recording two tracks that were never released. You and I is a selection that offers a tantalizing glimpse of what ELO might have looked like in its final days if Wood had never left.

18. Wizard – Indiana Rainbow (1976)

The brilliant single “Lost Wizzard” (recorded for the rejected 1976 album Main Street) saw Wood grafting a charming big-band-influenced ballad and arranging it over a thunderous dancefloor drumbeat. The music sounds surprisingly like the disco-swing hybrid of Dr Buzzard’s Original Savannah Band’s 1976 debut album, which may have been the reason for its late release.

17. Movement – ​​Brontosaurus (1970)

By the release of Brontosaurus, Wood’s career was in flux: Jeff Lynne had joined the movement with plans to start ELO; Wood began wearing slicked-back hair and makeup that embodied his Wizard look. The track itself is proto-metal but still has a great pop melody.

16. Wizard – Meet Me in Prison (1973)

Wood was always keen to point out how different Wizzard’s albums were from their songs. He wasn’t kidding, as evidenced by Wizzard Brew’s puzzling 13-minute piece “Meet Me at the Jailhouse,” which moves between heavy strumming and off-rhythm free jazz, accented by angular guitar shredding.

15. Roy Wood – Why Does This Pretty Girl Sing Those Sad Songs (1975)

Wood’s second solo album, Mustard, is almost as brilliant as its predecessor, Boulders, replicating Wood’s theatrical, writing and production style of it all, if not his commercial success. But chart success isn’t everything: Why This Pretty Girl Sings Those Sad Songs is Wood’s most beautiful and beautiful tribute to the Beach Boys.

14. Movement – ​​Hello Susie (1970)

The Move’s second album, Shazam, was a commercial disaster that precipitated the departure of vocalist Carl Wayne. But that was no reflection on its contents, as proven by the brilliant “Hello Susie” – the sound of Wood applying his irrepressible pop wit to music designed for a heavier, heavier, more modern new age.

13. Roy Wood – Songs of Praise (1973)

Songs of Praise was written as a potential entry into Eurovision 1972 for new seekers. At the risk of sounding arrogant, he was very good for it, a perfect example of Wood’s ability to pluck tunes that sounded instantly familiar – as if they had been around for years – out of the ether.

12. Wizard – Rock and Roll Winter (Looney Ringtone) (1974)

You can look at Rock ‘n’ Roll Winter as a more accurate sequel to the immortal “I Wish It Was Christmas Every Day” (which was supposed to be released in January while its predecessor was still in the charts): the decorations are down, the festivities are over, and the mood has shifted to a kind of wistful optimism.

11. Movement – ​​Wild Tiger Woman (1968)

An incredibly exciting single, Wild Tiger Woman’s failure on the charts may simply prove that it was too far ahead of its time: its combination of rock ‘n’ roll influence, deliberately dense synthetic sound and fuzzy, frenetic production makes it sound less like a product of the late 1960s.

10. Elo – Look at Me Now (1971)

From the beginning, Lin and Wood were pulling ELO in different directions – the former closer to the music of the Beatles, the latter more influenced by baroque classical music. It couldn’t have lasted, but when their first album succeeds — as in Wood’s drum-less, cello-and-flute-embellished ballad “Look at Me Now” — it makes you wish it had.

9. Wizard – I Wish It Was Christmas Every Day (1973)

There’s something rather sad about the yearly success of this song overshadowing the rest of Wood’s rich oeuvre. But, equally, to write something that becomes part of the fabric of national life is a major achievement. Note the cash register that opens the path: a grain of irony in the cheerful façade.

8. Wizard – Angel Fingers (Teenage Song) (1973)

“Be My Baby” is a sumptuous reworking of the ’70s, with lyrics that sum up the wannabe pop star’s raison d’être — “If I could get a job with this great rock band / You’d notice me with that red guitar in my hand” — and ponder the fleetingness of fandom: “Will Dion still be so important to you on your wedding day?”

7. Roy Wood – Dear Elaine (1973)

Wood’s debut solo album, “Boulders,” may be his masterpiece. Given the speed at which pop music was moving at the time, it seems odd that its contents were recorded between 1969 and 1970, as they fit the climate of 1973 perfectly. But then immortality does not belong to history: the baroque beauty of Dear Elaine would hit home in any era.

6. Movement – Fire Brigade (1968)

A masterclass in an uncompromising genre of pop songwriting, Fire Brigade delivers two and a half minutes in which every second is packed with hooks and earworm melodies: Byrds-y jangle, stunning vocal harmonies, and Duane Eddy’s guitar licks. The whole thing feels like happiness transformed into musical form.

5. Wizard – The Ball Park Incident (1972)

A great song and an arresting statement of intent, Wizzard’s debut release transcended the 1950s rock ‘n’ roll influence that ran through magic: a vast, thunderous wall of sound—two drummers, a myriad of brass and woodwinds, honky-tonk piano, and distorted guitars—topped with a throaty, throaty bass. What a wonderful song.

4. Movement – Blackberry Road (1968)

So far, Wood’s inability to stay in one place musically seems to have affected his bandmates: Blackberry Way’s shift into dad-friendly – if somewhat sad and psychedelic – baroque pop helped hasten the departure of guitarist Trevor Burton, while vocalist Carl Wayne refused to sing it. Its great melody sent it to number one regardless.

3. Roy Wood – Forever (1973)

By the time Forever reached the Top 10, Wood had appeared on Top of the Pops in four different guises – The Move, ELO, Wizzard, and now solo – in 18 months. The song is absolutely gorgeous, an endearing combination of the Beach Boys and Neil Sedaka: both of whom have been credited as “inspiration” on the label.

2. Movement – ​​I Can Hear the Grass Grow (1967)

The hardest example of moving is on the psychedelic form, where acid’s snarling superiority towards “the people in line” is undercut by the feeling that the LSD experience has proven to be too much: “I need you to help”. One of the The great British psych single, still sounding amazingly strong.

1. Wizard – Watch My Baby Jeff (1973)

“Roy Wood was a huge fan,” Bob Stanley wrote approvingly in his book Yes Yes Yes: The Story of Modern Pop Music. “He wanted to be all pop, at the same time.” It’s a brilliant summation of a work that is so rich and eclectic, that it makes choosing a #1 really difficult. A masterpiece and one of the craziest, most bizarre songs to hit the charts of the 1970s, See My Baby Jive is a brilliant pop song with a completely upbeat chorus, a chaotic, jam-packed work at the sonic extreme: five minutes long, filled with unexpected key changes, a French horn solo and an outro that refuses to end. Joy.

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