| WIZZARDLP | ||
| Introducing Eddy & the Falcons | ||
| This Vinyl is graded EXCELLENT on my grading system. The Cover is graded VERY GOOD on my grading system. Initials in felt pen on cover Since Roy Wood loves music more than the nostalgia, on Wizzard's early rock & roll tribute Introducing Eddy & the Falcons he doesn't offer an oldie pastiche, a la Sha Na Na. Wood takes this project very seriously even when he's offering gentle satire. He wrote eight different stylistic and artistic tributes, summarizing with the closing "We're Gonna Rock n Roll Tonight," a song that recalls such latter-day Move rockers as "California Man"  a neat way of illustrating what Roy learned, actually. The rest of the album is deliberately self-conscious, as Wood labors to reconstruct specific sounds  Phil Spector on "This Is the Story of My Love (Baby)," Del Shannon's "Runaway" on "Everyday I Wonder," Elvis on "I Dun Lotsa Cryin' Over You," teen idol pop on "You Got Me Runnin'." The trick is, Wood's writing retains much of its character no matter what suit he tries on. Depending on your point of view, this is a fun stylistic exercise  either in Wood's musicality or in nostalgic almost-camp  or it's a little contrived and irritating. Eddy & the Falcons divides audiences in two because it's too easy to hear the wheels turning on certain songs. This may not bother listeners looking for a straight-up rock & roll record, especially since a handful of songs are pretty good, yet Wood fans that cherish his eccentricity and ability to fuse disparate strands into something distinctive will likely appreciate Eddy & the Falcons as a conceptual coup .. All Music Guide | |
