WIZZARD - “Angel Fingers”
Again Wizzard offer maximalism pushed to the point of grotesquerie, a sprawling rock’n’roll pastiche that keeps flinging hooks at us, simply not knowing when to stop. This time though the effect is more touching, as “Angel Fingers” is a love song, and a music nerd’s love song at that – Roy finds himself surrounded by his favourite records on a jukebox, pleading with his baby not to leave him. Maybe the song is just all of them playing at once.
Actually, let’s look at that line, “I drove my motorcycle to that small café” – and think about one of Wood’s acknowledged inheritors, Bruce Springsteen. “Angel Fingers” lends “Born To Run” its size and clarity and a heap of specific ideas, but that line encapsulates why there hasn’t been, and can never be, a British Springsteen: our motorcycle dreams end in small cafes, service stations, scuffles on beaches, cold Midlands nights. Our roads are rarely open. 7
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Matthew H on September 17th, 2007
And you can bet they wouldn’t print Ian Hunter’s heartfelt words today. It’s political correctness gone mad.
Disgracefully, I think I only know three Wizzard tracks. The beauty of a forum like this is that I’ll rush out to find out more.
Marcello Carlin on September 17th, 2007
That “Star Words” mag sounds suspiciously like Disco 45, to which I did subscribe, or possibly Popswap (xpost)…
Erithian on September 17th, 2007
Personally I still think of it as “neon” and think it works better than “Dion”. More on “Words” early in ‘74, with a passage I tragically remember verbatim about a particular number one. I think this was the mag that had a strange feature on Mott which maintained that “All The Young Dudes” did OK, but their real breakthrough was “Honaloochie Boogie” (about a dozen chart places further down and a year later).
Marcello Carlin on September 17th, 2007
Mott’s biggest selling single in the UK was actually “Roll Away The Stone” which did about 300,000 but only peaked at number eight because, as previously mentioned, the competition at Xmas 1973 was especially fierce…
intothefireuk on September 17th, 2007
Well ‘Disco 45′ was probably THE lyric mag to have but ‘Words’ was it’s bastard cousin - worth searching out for comedy value alone.
As regards more road songs, how about Roy Harper’s ‘Watford Gap’ (a plate of grease and a load of crap) gem.
Brian on September 17th, 2007
Does ” Driving Home For Christmas ” by Chris Rea count as road song or Xmas song ?
Tez Burke on September 17th, 2007
For many years, I laboured under the misapprehension that when Lonnie Donegan sang about the Cumberland Gap being fifteen miles from Middlesbrough, he was referring to the A66 junction of the A1 at Scotch Corner, which is indeed about fifteen miles from Middlesbrough and eventually comes out in Cumberland!
Not the best song about roads in Teesside though; that honour falls not to Boro boy Chris Rea either, but to Steely Dan’s “A19″.
Caledonianne on September 17th, 2007
Steely Dan’s A19 - ROFLOL!
Marcello Carlin on September 18th, 2007
Roy Wood was on the Radcliffe/Maconie show last night talking about the reissue of Boulders. Apparently it was recorded in ‘69 but didn’t come out for four years since Don Arden essentially sat on it (insert punchline of your choice here) on the grounds that it would confuse Move fans. “Dear Elaine” got played and it never ceases to astound me that it got to number 12 in the chart (yes, I know you only need to sell 12 copies to get to number 12 nowadays but in those days you needed to sell about 20,000 minimum even to get to number 40)…it’s like Animal Collective or Ariel Pink thirty years ahead of schedule, gorgeously wracked avant-indie pop (and better than either AC or AP IMO but then I would say that)…pity they didn’t play “Miss Clarke And The Computer” though, which for 1969 is a pretty bloody astonishing song and production.
Erithian on September 18th, 2007
Darn, missed that last night.
Roy Wood’s Rock’n’Roll Band is still gigging – they’re playing the Mick Jagger Centre in Dartford on 15 December. Wonder what the encore might be? (Just steer clear of those toilets, Roy…)
Number 2 Watch – the week “Angel Fingers” was number one, Sweet crashed straight in at two with “Ballroom Blitz”. Of course I thought it was sure to go the extra step the next week, but didn’t. Gutted. Especially given the record that overtook it.
Marcello Carlin on September 18th, 2007
Interestingly, in last night’s interview, Roy gave a severe public reprimand to top Tory drummer Bev “Bev” Bevan for touring with “a bunch of his mates” under the Move name and without Roy’s consent. That’ll learn him to try it!
jeff w on September 18th, 2007
I really enjoyed that interview. Roy sure gives good anecdote.
Snif on September 18th, 2007
Is that interview available as a podcast?
Marcello Carlin on September 19th, 2007
If you go to the Radio 2 website and use the Listen Again facility you’ll be able to hear that programme, including the interview, online up until next Sunday.
mike on September 21st, 2007
intothefireuk OTM! Yet to become a serious vinyl collector - that was still a few months way - “Angel Fingers” was a rare purchase, and sounded wonderful when played on the Bush mono gramophone with the smoked-effect perspex hood that my father bought me to cheer me up when my mother walked out on us to marry his best friend. In the midst of such a desperately miserable year, the surging day-glo joyfulness of glam-pop was exactly what was needed to take me out of myself, and “Angel Fingers” took me further than any other single from that year. I played it incessantly and obsessively, luxuriating in its maximalist thrill, dancing with myself in the sanctuary of my room. (I had routines, and a video in my head.) Sonically, it’s a fuller, tighter, more intricately worked upgrade on “See My Baby Jive”, with a scintillating pizzicato break and glorious french horns. Wood’s continuing Spector obsession eventually led me back to the original productions, but this was a case of the pastiche surpassing its source. 10 out of 10 (and having finally, FINALLY heard the “one that got away” space age madrigal “Dear Elaine” for the first time this summer, I can only say that it was worth the wait).
Marcello Carlin on September 21st, 2007
Despite Tom Browne’s sterling efforts on Solid Gold Sixty to convince us that it was about a woman named Deirdre Lane.
mike on September 21st, 2007
Oh, and I quite agree about Words being Disco 45’s poor cousin; the layout was shonky and amateurish even by 1973 standards, and the song choices frequently bizarre and wide of the mark attempts at second-guessing future hits. Whereas Disco 45 was my pre-teen proto-Smash Hits bible, when I wasn’t sneaking glances at my sister’s Music Star…
Caledonianne on September 21st, 2007
Ooh, Music Star!
I loved Music Star!
Marcello Carlin on September 21st, 2007
My principal reading matter in terms of pop music in 1973 was the Story Of Pop magazine-which-builds-up-to-a-complete-encyclopaedia series, complete with free binders. Even now I’m unsure whether the publishers ever actually completed the run (I also subscribed at the same time to All About Science which was the same thing and probably the same publishers - Phoebus? - but with science, obv. Nice bright blue binders they had).
mike on September 21st, 2007
…whereas I was a Pictorial Knowledge child, also complete with (orange) binders, whose run was abruptly and prematurely ended by the publishers.
Waldo on September 22nd, 2007
I didn’t read any music mags in 1973. I do however recall reading “Catch 22″ at about this time and my English teacher telling me that I shouldn’t “fill (my) head with such nonesense”. Heller’s masterpiece is one of the great novels of the 20th century, surely to goodness? Problem was, I was a child who whilst gobby, couldn’t possibly argue with a teacher. I’d rip the idiot to pieces today.
FT's pˆnk s lord sükråt cunctør on September 22nd, 2007
treasure
world of wonder (cancelled)
look and learn (grew out of)
puffin post (grew out of)
nme (read then wrote from then “famously” resigned from)
sounds (stopped takin in disgust at poor review of 1st raincoats LP)
the wire
wichita lineman on May 19th, 2008
Ah, so that’s who you are, P^nk etc.
Is Angel Fingers the first pop-fan-as-pop-star number one? The only one, even? The blaring Spitfire saxes, the pin-up strewn bedroom in the opening verse, the image of a divine teen goddess on the chorus, this is just so damn evocative.
In almost every pub conversation that it’s cropped up in, 25 years and counting, I’ve been the only person defending it. Well done Popular! Another winner!
FT's richard thompson on June 9th, 2008
I remember Disco 45 and they had articles about different groups each week and they said all the young dudes should have done a lot better than it did, they got the words wrong to see my baby jive as well.
mike on June 9th, 2008
Ooh, did someone mention All The Young Dudes?
This is as good a place as any to shoehorn in the Exciting Revelation that Overend! Watts! from Mott The Hoople was in our village pub the Sunday before last. He is currently walking from Land’s End to John O’Groats, popped in on his own, and ended up getting dragged into our fund-raising Quiz Night.
The aforementioned Exciting Revelation is that both Overend and Ian Hunter are in favour of a Mott reunion (”Well, everybody else is doing it”), and that Steps Are Being Taken to that effect. You heard it here first.
DJ Punctum on June 9th, 2008
Speaking of which, we ought to compile a list of OTHER RECORDS ARE AVAILABLE BY THIS ARTIST for the benefit of radio station programmers, and Mott/”Dudes” would be top of the list.
Also:
Harley/Cockney Rebel (Make Me Smile)
Talking Heads (Lifetime/Road To Nowhere)
Curtis Mayfield (Move On Up)
(posters plz come up with other examples kthnxbye)
Billy Smart on June 9th, 2008
We may be pre-empting ourselves a bit here, but -
THE HUMAN LEAGUE, CULTURE CLUB AND DEXYS DID HAVE OTHER HITS, YOU KNOW! Some of which are every bit as good…
Barry White
Take That
mike on June 9th, 2008
Human League: “D*** Y** W*** M*”
The Clash: “Rock The Casbah”
The B-52’s: “Love Shack”
(EDIT: Oh, snap!)
DJ Punctum on June 9th, 2008
Yesterday on BBC Radio London Tony Blackburn treated us to “Together In Electric Dreams” by “Philip Oakley.”
Billy Smart on June 9th, 2008
Heaven 17
ABC (why does everybody know The Look Of Love, and no-one under 35 know Poison Arrow?)