Wizzard - Wizzard Brew (1973) [Expanded Remastered Ed. 2006]

Wizzard Brew is the first album by glam rock group Wizzard, released in March 1973. It reached a peak of No. 29 in the UK Albums Chart. In the United States, it was released by United Artists Records as Wizzard's Brew (with a different cover photo) and but failed to chart there. Roy Wood's debut Wizzard album. Newly remastered from the огiginal analogue tapes with 4 Top 10 hits, 2 no.1 sng1еs, rare b-sides and an all-timе Christmas classic. An explosive brew of Spectorish pop, dynamic rock 'n' roll & heavy metal сеllоs.







WIZZARD BREW

01. You Can Dance The Rock 'n' Roll (4:38)
02. Meet Me At The Jailhouse (13:33)
03. Jolly Cup Of Tea (2:12)
04. Buffalo Station - Get On Down To Memphis (7:37)
05. Gotta Crush (About You) (3:44)
06. Wear A Fast Gun (9:17)

BONUS TRACKS - EMI HITS & B-SIDES

07. Ball Park Incident (3:42)
08. The Carlsberg Special (Pianos Demolished Phone 012 373 4472) (4:16)
09. See My Baby Jive (5:01)
10. Bend Over Beethoven (4:42)
11. Angel Fingers (A Teen Ballad) (4:39)
12. You Got The Jump On Me (6:28)
13. Rob Roy's Nightmare (A Bit More H.A.) (3:47)
14. I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday (5:50)

Produced by Roy Wood
Engineers: Alan Parsons & Peter Ollif
Remastered by Peter Mew

Personnel

• Roy Wood - vocal, electric and acoustic guitars, sitar, cello, bassoon, baritone saxophone, string bass, B-flat bass tuba, trombone, percussion
• Rick Price - bass guitar, vocals, percussion
• Bill Hunt - piano, harpsichord, French horn, trumpet, flugel horn, tenor horn, bugle, euphonium, E flat tuba, little glass, trumpet, backing vocals
• Hugh 'H' McDowell - cello and ARP synthesiser
• Nick Pentelow - tenor saxophone, clarinet & flute; bass backing vocals
• Mike Burney - alto, tenor, baritone & synthesized saxes, clarinet & flute
• Keith Smart - drums
• Charlie Grima - drums, congas, percussion
• The Cowbag Choir - choir/chorus, vocals

Notes

Roy Wood designed Wizzard's singles to be hooky, accessible propositions. The "real art" was saved for the albums…or at least that's the impression their debut, Wizzard Brew, leaves. It's hard to tell what to make of Wizzard Brew, actually, and it seems all the stranger since it was released the same year as four jubilant, sparkling pop singles, all deliberately left off of the LP. Stylistically, the album isn't all that different from the hits – four of the six songs are firmly rooted in '50s rock & roll, while the other two hearken back to the Move at their most self-consciously British – but the music sounds as if it was performed by a different band. In a way, Wizzard Brew picks up where "Brontosaurus" left off, since its foundation is heavy on guitars and complicated riffing, yet that still doesn't explain the strangeness of the album. Despite its Chuck Berry/Eddie Cochran roots, the record plays like sonic terrorism – a bizarre blend of boogie riffs and old-time rock & roll, spiked with traces of British psychedelia and music hall, all filtered through sheer white noise. Wizzard Brew is easily the noisiest damn record of its era – compressed, processed, and flattened within an inch of its life. It's possible that this is all the result of a studio mishap, but it doesn't feel that way. The noise feels like an artistic decision, a way to push Wizzard's blend of retro rock and art into uncharted territory. It's the polar opposite of ELO – consciously primitive art rock. Only two songs clock in at under five minutes; the rest beat the listener into submission with their pummeling riffs, unbridled boogie, and sheets of noise. It leaves you dazed and senseless, yet not necessarily satisfied. Review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine



Many thanks to the original uploader: vicpalbk2006