Tuesday, August 11, 2015

Oh, Hell -- Let's Make It Roy Wood Week!

From 1973, please enjoy the incomparable Wizzard and the funniest b-side instrumental of all time, "The Carlsberg Special."





Actually, today's title notwithstanding, Wood didn't write this one; it is, in fact, the work of Wizzard keyboard guy Bill Hunt. But you get the idea.

7 comments:

Alzo said...

From the same maniacs who brought you 'Meet Me at the Jailhouse' and 'Saxmaniax.' Wonderful stuff-- if you're not hooked by the sitar break, there's no hope for you. Roy Wood brings great joy along with the kitchen sink to his arrangements. Remarkably, he refrained from bagpipes this time. I think he is singlehandedly responsible for bringing the baritone sax back to rock 'n' roll (and partnering it with the cello- see 'Rock Down Low'). Viva Ulysses!

Anonymous said...

Can anyone name the Bach piece this joyous instrumental is based on?

Carlsberg Special Brew was a beer infused with brandy and a cheap rot gut high. Apparently a fave of the band. The phone number in the subtitle was Bill Hunt's home phone at the time. A joke played upon him by the band.

VR

Anonymous said...

Also, for any DJ's out there, here's a tip for a great segue:

Play Carlsberg Special. When the last vestiges of the song are airing, cue in Born On the Bayou. It really is quite wonderful.

VR

Anna said...

From Bill Hunt himself:

BH: Yeah it’s based on a Bach piece one if his Preludes, it’s the same sort of chord sequence as that and it’s just a little variation on that really.

See:

http://cherryblossomclinic.x10.mx/bill.html

I never got around to buying The Move's "Live At The Fillmore 1969" (I think I've got a nice soundboard on some hard drive or other) but all of this Woodsy chat had me looking it up on Amazon UK last night–they open the show with a fairly credible version of Nazz's "Open My Eyes", but later in the show, they cover "Under The Ice" quite nicely, too. Todd/Utopia's "Do Ya" pales in comparison, but Todd had kinda gone off the rails by that point...synthy/noodly/jammy weirdness. Sigh...loved him right through "Todd".

Then again, Roy didn't fare too well after "Eddy & the Falcons", either.

Anna said...

...erm–with the notable exception of the sublime "Forever", that is.

Anonymous said...

But which Bach Prelude is it?

The Fillmore West album is a fucking blessing, whether you have the boot or official release.

As I mentioned here previously before, I quite accidentally saw The Move at the Whisky on this tour. Had seen Karen Dalton and Dan Hicks earlier that night in Westwood. We hitch-hiked down Sunset to the Strip to hang out. The guy that gave us a ride turned us on to some moderately trippy purple microdot. Had no idea they were playing and flipped out when we found out. Managed to catch their late set and dance with abandon. They were a pretty heavy band live.

VR

Anonymous said...

Take that Gary Brooker. Conquistadore? Really?