User Profile
Todd Leiter-Weintraub
Singer/songwriter and music geek. Occasional music writer and tireless promoter of all that I consider to be "good" music. Love all genres, but gravitate toward underground/indie/independent and classic rock, classic country and classic RnB. Delving more into "World" music, too. Esp. Tropicalia and various African styles.
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Todd Leiter-Weintraub's Album Reviews
Having been kicked out of his own band, the former leader of The Move either went over the deep end or just simply decided he was going to completely amuse himself in the studio for his solo debut in 1973.
Either way, Roy pulled out all the stops for Boulders, and the world is a better place for it.
The stylistic ground covered on the album is dizzying, and it's the way it's covered -- with a pastiche of symphonic glory and cookies -- is a stroke of genius. The album opens with what appears, at first, to be a straight-ahead gospel-inflected rocker in "Songs Of Praise". But that notion is quickly dispelled by the chorus of sped-up, chipmunk Roy voices that sing harmony in the chorus. That's followed up with the sleepy-eyed "Wake Up", which features percussion provided by a hand splashing in a bowl of water.
The rest of the album follows suit, as every whim is indulged. The country hoedown of "When Gran'ma Plays the Banjo" to "The Irish Loafer and His Hen" and the pedal steel-led "Rockin' Shoes" (which sounds like it could be a countrified Move outtake).
It's a warped masterpiece of the highest order.
If Roy Wood followed his muse right over the cliff... he landed in a humongous pile of feathers and marshmallows, where we can all frolic together.
Either way, Roy pulled out all the stops for Boulders, and the world is a better place for it.
The stylistic ground covered on the album is dizzying, and it's the way it's covered -- with a pastiche of symphonic glory and cookies -- is a stroke of genius. The album opens with what appears, at first, to be a straight-ahead gospel-inflected rocker in "Songs Of Praise". But that notion is quickly dispelled by the chorus of sped-up, chipmunk Roy voices that sing harmony in the chorus. That's followed up with the sleepy-eyed "Wake Up", which features percussion provided by a hand splashing in a bowl of water.
The rest of the album follows suit, as every whim is indulged. The country hoedown of "When Gran'ma Plays the Banjo" to "The Irish Loafer and His Hen" and the pedal steel-led "Rockin' Shoes" (which sounds like it could be a countrified Move outtake).
It's a warped masterpiece of the highest order.
If Roy Wood followed his muse right over the cliff... he landed in a humongous pile of feathers and marshmallows, where we can all frolic together.
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