Roy Wood

Boulders - Harvest 1973

Tracks: 1. Songs of Praise / 2. Wake Up / 3. Rock Down Low / 4. Nancy Sing Me a Song / 5. Dear Elaine / 6. Medley: "All the Way Over the Hill"/"Irish Loafer (And His Hen) / 7. Miss Clarke and the Computer / 8. When Gran'ma Plays the Banjo / 9. Rock Medley: "Rockin’ Shoes"/"She's Too Good for Me"/"Locomotive"

Comments:

Much of the "Boulders" was recorded while Roy Wood was still in The Move, and quite a lot of the music actually sounds like this group and could well have been released in that name. Roy Wood, however, is behind just about everything, and in that sense it is uniquely a solo album. Also, there is a lot to playfulness with the songs, which hardly would have been allowed on a Move album, although in the band too there was room for both experiments and fun whims.

Overall, "Boulders" obviously oozes musicality and a desire to play with the music. Wood is clearly a wizard in the studio and he really gets around in his music. He often puts his listener to the test, and you never quite know if he is serious or just trying to tease. The opening number "Song of Praise" is a good example of this. Is this a serious bid for a gospel number ??. "Wake Up" is a fine ballad in classic Move sound, with flute and strings etc.; but also water splash sounds throughout? "Rock Down Low" is like a Move rocker; heavy as "Brotosaurus" and "When Alice Comes Back From Farm" "Nancy Sing Me a Song" - if you didn't know better, you'd probably think this was a forgotten Move track - in the very best "Blackberry Way" style; a personal favorite. "Dear Elaine" is another great ballad, with a fine lead vocal from Wood; Here, however, he plays a lot with the music, and so the neatness is challenged. "All the Way Over" is another fine "Move" rocker. "Miss Clarke and the Computer" is a quiet and somewhat strange song where Wood's vocals are almost unrecognizable. "When Grandma Plays the Banjo" is an unpretentious blue-grass pastiche.

At the final medley Wood brings us through some of the pop-rock flocks of the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s. An exciting album where you are not likely to get bored along the way.

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