[This digest is the copyright of the Move "Useless Information" Mailing List. Re-publication or re-distribution of "Useless Information" content, in any form whatsoever, is expressly prohibited without prior written consent.] USELESS INFORMATION The Move Mailing List Digest Issue #350 May 7, 2002 In this issue: * Song Of The Week: "Kilroy Was Here" * Bev Bevan in OK! Magazine * Hollies Long Beach show cancelled * Robert Christgau reviews * Super Active Wizzo - fan interest? (cont.) * Never mind the balls here comes Trevor (cont.) * Lonesome cowboy Bert * Move Live CD * Tell us the news about yourself... (cont.) ============================================================== To POST TO THE LIST: Send an e-mail to: move-list@eskimo.com Useful Web addresses: TheMoveOnline: http://www.themoveonline.com Official Roy Wood site: http://www.roywood.co.uk Face The Music Online: http://www.ftmusic.com Join the ELO List: http://www.eskimo.com/~noanswer/showdown.html Move List Info & Archives: http://www.eskimo.com/~noanswer/movelist.html TO UNSUBSCRIBE: Send an e-mail to move-digest-request@eskimo.com with the word "unsubscribe" (no quotes) in the subject line ============================================================== Subject: Song Of The Week: "Kilroy Was Here" Date: Mon, 6 May 2002 14:57:34 -0700 From: Lynn Hoskins Song Of The Week - May 6, 2002 "Kilroy Was Here" from the album "Move" Ideas for discussion: Songwriting/lyrics Vocals Live performance Arrangement & instrumentation Overall production What were your thoughts the first time you heard it? How has it held up over the years? Strengths/weaknesses Who's Kilroy? Can he play guitar? *********************** "Kilroy Was Here" (R. Wood) There's a fellow roaming round the street I think most of all I'd like to meet I must consider him a clever lad Making like a young Sir Gallahad Everywhere I go I think he's been He autographs the walls around the scene If you look hard enough you'll find him there In rooms of public places everywhere CHORUS: Kilroy was here Left his name around the place Kilroy was here Though I've never seen his face On a short vacation with my friends I found I had time on my hands to spare Surveyed my telescope around the land And saw his name imprinted in the sand CHORUS (repeat) I wonder could he be a cavalier Or a roving musketeer Or just a dustman who's insane Every place regardless where or when The public's poet strikes again and again and again If I ever meet that man at all I'll hang a plaque upon my bedroom wall A monument erected in his name Would help to contribute towards his name CHORUS (repeat) ********** Subject: Re: Song Of The Week: "Kilroy Was Here" Date: Tue, 7 May 2002 09:59:33 -0700 From: "Tyler C.Sherman" Who else but Roy would write an ode to a cartoon doodle of a man devoid of hair, save a squiggly one on top of his head, peering over a fence that has appeared as grafitti for decades? Makes one wonder about the origins of this little character. He may have first appeared during WWII, according to my father. This is a fun one, isn't it? Not a particularly amazing track, didn't break any new ground sonically as the Move were prone to do in those days, but a clever little ditty nonetheless. Roy's stuff is difficult to play and this is one that always pops up whenever my old musician pals gather for a bit of jamming because the structure isn't that tough. We always have fun kicking it around. Interesting note: On the BBC Sessions CD it seems that Roy had not written the last verse yet as he repeats the first verse. This might indicate that the BBC version was recorded before the the first album. Any comments? Wizzards, Tyler ********** Subject: Re: Song Of The Week: "Kilroy Was Here" Date: Tue, 7 May 2002 09:59:53 -0700 From: Edward Morris I like the lyrics to this one. Interesting and novel subject matter - a number of Roy's early lyrics are observational (another example being Useless Information) which I like. Funny that you never see graffiti of this ilk anymore. Maybe Roy could write a new one called, "Nick B iz a bender" or "Debbie & Shaz of Brum on tour 9T8". Or maybe not. ********** Subject: Bev Bevan in OK! Magazine Date: Tue, 7 May 2002 10:01:02 -0700 From: "Michael Scott" Just wanted to let you know that Bev Bevan appears in Issue 314 (May 9 2002) of OK! Magazine. There's a photo of him on page 143 with Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi and singer Paul Young. The article reads: 'British Olympic showjumper Nick Skelton played host to sportsmen, musicians and even royalty at the VIP opening party for The Durham Ox, his country pub near Warwick. A power failure on the night merely enhanced the atmosphere, with candlelight and a roaring log fire providing a real "rural tavern" feel!' The caption for the photo reads: 'Black Sabbath guitar hero Tony Iommi, chart-topping singer Paul Young and legendary ELO drummer Bev Bevan were among the famous faces who graced the opening of The Durham Ox pub' All the best, Mike Scott (Egham, Surrey, UK) ********** Subject: Hollies Long Beach show cancelled Date: Tue, 7 May 2002 23:44:33 -0700 From: Lynn Hoskins For those who were considering coming out to Long Beach, California to see the Hollies on July 27 at the Green On The Hill, the show has been cancelled. There was a contract dispute between the venue and the city, and the entire summer concert season was cancelled. (I'm glad it wasn't something I said... ;) (Complete Hollies tour schedule can be found at http://www.hollies.co.uk/html/tourmain.html) ********** Subject: Robert Christgau reviews Date: Fri, 3 May 2002 17:57:33 -0700 From: Lynn Hoskins I know a lot of people on this list are miffed at Robert Christgau for his review of Roy's NYC shows (for the Village Voice), but try not to be too hard on the guy. Can someone who gave an A- to "Message From The Country" be ALL bad? ;) Taken from: Christgau's Consumer Guide http://www.robertchristgau.com Message from the Country [Capitol, 1971] "I have reservations about any record of hard rock for critics, but am willing to grant that to climax a side of music from Brobdingnag with a Johnny Cash imitation is to show truly transcendent chutzpah. In fact, after brief acclimatization I like every cut. What seemed forced on Looking On now seems comic -- there are parodies here of everything from weedy Yes-style vocals and wimpy Baby-style acoustics to rockabilly and music hall. And melodic moves that sounded glued on now seem integral. Recommended to those who like the idea of Grand Funk Railroad better than the reality. A- And for the list's added entertainment... Shazam [A&M, 1970] Its enthusiasts to the contrary, this is hardly the greatest rock and roll record ever to thump down the pike. It's just an artier version of the overly self-conscious mode I call stupid-rock, simultaneously gargantuan and prissy, like dinosaurs gallumphing through the tulips. It would be a lot worse if it weren't so funny, but it would also be a lot less funny if it were a little better. Recommended to Stooges fans who just found a five-dollar bill. B- Looking On [Capitol, 1971] Anyone who doesn't believe heavy metal is a Yurrupean plot will kindly inform me which B the countermelodies on this one were stolen from. Not Berry or the Beatles, believe me. C+ Split Ends [United Artists, 1973] "Do Ya"--rated single of the year in the rock press, apparently the only place it was distributed--signals a phase in the Move's career that comprises four songs, three uncharacteristically rock-and-rolly and all prime. Most of what remains here was first released on the more exotic Message From the Country (already a cut-out), which I also admire. Consistently good stuff, although the styles do grate. A- The Best of the Move [A&M, 1974] I could trot out the complaint that this double-LP would make a good single, but why bother? Comprising the band's 1967 U.K. debut LP and a lot of uncollected forty-fives, with two sets of notes and detailed discographical data, this is a labor of love that lists at only a buck over the one-record price. Anyway, they wouldn't pick the same cuts I would: my fave is "Wave Your Flag and Stop the Train," which they regard as a Monkees imitation--not a very exact one, I'd say, but close enough to the pop at which they supposedly excelled. I love rock and roll--I just want it to be better. Bands like the Move feel hemmed in by rock and roll-they want it to be different, or more. When they succeed, as the Move finally did, it's often better too. But usually it's less. B No Answer [United Artists, 1972] In which Roy Wood and Jeff Lynne work out their obsession with celli, French horns, and such like. The result is crude chamber music in rock time--pretty tuneful, and sometimes pretty funny as it lumbers along. Might even get interesting if Wood and Lynne weren't also working out their obsession with suffering ladies. Though they do OK by suffering men. B- Electric Light Orchestra II [United Artists, 1973] Roy Wood's departure leaves Jeff Lynne to re-create this band in his own image: a conventional art-rocker less ponderous and more long-winded than previously indicated, with an uncommonly lyrical side and his own sense of humor. The symphonic "Roll Over Beethoven" has been out there waiting for a long time. C+ ********** Subject: Re: Robert Christgau reviews Date: Sat, 4 May 2002 01:15:03 -0700 From: "Robert Sutliff" >Can someone who gave an A- to "Message From The Country" be ALL bad? ;) I'm sure no one is all bad, but a C+ for ELO II and a B for Best of the Move? This from a guy who consistantly gave A's for every Al Green album released (I love Al Green, but his albums had lots of filler). ********** Subject: Re: Robert Christgau reviews Date: Sat, 4 May 2002 01:15:36 -0700 From: kakman1 Whether R. Christgau gives a thumbs up or a thumbs down to any releases by my fave artists is irrelevant to me. I find most of his writings pretentious. I also believe his opinions and his conclusions to be either tenuous or convoluted. His ostentatious attempts to intellectualise rock music appreciation spawned many weak imitators bowled over by his showy affected style. (Then again, Lester Bangs, one of my faves, spawned many weak imitators, too.) I am not letting off my critical hook. Kevin Kunreuther Dallas TX ********** Subject: Re: Robert Christgau reviews Date: Sat, 4 May 2002 11:06:45 -0700 From: "Tyler C.Sherman" Nice of Christgau to give "Message..." an A- but it would be even better if his review actually made any sense. Wizzards, Tyler ********** Subject: Re: Super Active Wizzo - fan interest? Date: Sat, 4 May 2002 14:03:22 -0700 From: John DeSilva Movers: Let me add my support to what Chris and Bernardo have said regarding SAW - a "First Light - ELO" type release with the album, b-sides from the era, and the "BBC Sight And Sound" concert as a bonus (with DVD? Enhanced CD?) would be fantastic - and you could charge my credit card right now for a preorder!! From what Joe Doyle has said, "Sight and Sound" is brilliant, so I'd love to have that on to complete the "First Woody - Wizzo" package!!! (no jokes Joe D!!! ;-D ). The other JD San Jose, CA ********** Subject: Re: Super Active Wizzo - fan interest? Date: Sat, 4 May 2002 14:02:59 -0700 From: Plastic Ono Dream $uperactive $avings! hey it just might be a drop in bucket, but i'll put away $100 in kool american cash for "super active wizzo"! now doesn't it just figure i love this album? of course no company is gonna invest any money in re-issues that no one will buy, no matter how much we, the rabid-obsessed-hardcore fans, love the material right? for anyone who doesn't 'get' "super active wizzo", i would suggest...not trying to! i never 'got' the friggin' "grateful dead"...give me "the 1910 fruitgum company" any day. i wouldn't call "super active wizzo" a jazz album, try "sketches of spain" by "miles davis", or "headhunters" by "herbie hancock" if you want good jazz. and how can someone say "superactive wizzo" fails...what does it hope to accomplish? did "roy wood" make a statement prior to the albums release saying what it should be? i'm closing my coffin lid now.... ********** Subject: Re: Super Active Wizzo - fan interest? Date: Tue, 7 May 2002 23:49:06 -0700 From: "Jeff McFadden" Rob said: > The record company is willing to release it if I can guarantee there is > definite fan interest (they've heard the album....) equating into sales > up front. I've been in line for a copy since 1997! My wallet is open. ********** Subject: Re: Super Active Wizzo - fan interest? Date: Sat, 4 May 2002 14:02:49 -0700 From: "WERKELIN MIKAEL" Great! And the BBC live concert has to be on a bonus CD!!!!! It's one of the best concerts I've heard!!!!! The only song officially released from the concert is the edited version of California Man, called The Mystery Song, on the B-side of... I think it was OTT? ********** Subject: Re: Super Active Wizzo - fan interest? Date: Sun, 5 May 2002 10:27:32 -0700 From: "Mark J. Moerman" I would absolutely be willing to pay up front to guarantee a CD release of this!! How much do I love Super Active Wizzo? Enough to get me to pop up out of lurkerdom and say so!! I've played SAW endlessly over the years and probably know every note and beat of the thing, and I'd rank it second only to Wizzard's Brew among Roy's albums. Bring it on! ********** Subject: Re: Super Active Wizzo - fan interest? Date: Sun, 5 May 2002 00:56:56 -0700 From: BigLarry26 (Larry Harris) Count me in! I'll gladly let my cash do the talking. I just hope that the sales figures for "Main Street" and "First Light" carry enough weight to sway opinions in our favor! Maybe a limited pressing (ala First Light) could be offered first, to be followed later by a 1-CD unit? Just an idea... ********** Subject: Re: Super Active Wizzo - fan interest? Date: Sun, 5 May 2002 10:59:05 -0700 From: "Boz Mdcn" Definitely a hand up from me on this one as well. I've not heard SAW but I'm intrigued by some of the comments on it. Paul ********** Subject: Re: Super Active Wizzo - fan interest? Date: Sun, 5 May 2002 20:43:48 -0700 From: "Richard Pasquini" I'll buy 3 copies!!!!!!!!! This album by Roy is simply super-active and must be released...with bonus tracks, of course... Plus "On The Road Again", "Alive"...and all the unreleased rare stuff...hard to get...and every B side etc... I'll pay much money for any Roy Wood product...HIS STUFF SHOULD ALL BE AVAILABLE. Why not a limited massive box set for his base fans...there must be some demo versions of "She'll Be Gone" or a demo version of Roy singing "Farewell". I never heard the stuff he did with Jeff in the 90's....or any of The Big Band stuff like "Lion's Heart". Anyway, enough rambling... I'll support any and all Roy Wood releases...as someone from the list quoted..."Bring 'em on." ********** Subject: Re: Super Active Wizzo - fan interest? Date: Sun, 5 May 2002 15:36:59 -0700 From: Edward Morris At least two copies for me!! This CD is long overdue. So I really really really hope it sees the light of day. On the other topic that keeps arising, I wish I'd grabbed a few more copies of Back to the Story when it was released, as it would seem that I could be retiring to the bahamas by now :-) ********** Subject: Re: Super Active Wizzo - fan interest? Date: Sun, 5 May 2002 01:56:02 -0700 From: Rob Caiger John DeSilva wrote: >"First Light - ELO" type release with the album, b-sides from the era, >and the "BBC Sight And Sound" concert as a bonus (with DVD? Enhanced >CD?) would be fantastic - and you could charge my credit card right >now for a preorder!! Currently, we're not looking at using the BBC concert with Superactive (though that was my original first idea). There's various licensing issues to contend with which I don't want to get into at this stage. We are working with the BBC on a variety of projects to appear probably early 2003, and Sight and Sound in Concert is part of that, as is The Move's Colour Me Pop. ********** Subject: Re: Never mind the balls here comes Trevor Date: Thu, 25 Apr 2002 10:45:13 -0700 From: "Jeff Cooper" Interestingly enough, Trevor could be spotted on TV last night - TOTP2 featured a Steve Gibbon's track (shock horror, it wasn't 'Tulane' either, it was 'Tupelo Mississippi Flash' from the album Rollin On. Very nice to see and hear it was too... ********** Subject: Re: Never mind the balls here comes Trevor Date: Wed, 24 Apr 2002 17:55:39 -0700 From: "stephen mulcahy" well i have an early solo dave edmunds rendition of a burton song called DOWN DOWN DOWN from about 1972 that was ok. it's far from the best tune on the album though, which is a compilation of dave's fine work with the blues/psych band love sculpture. as well as i hear you knocking and other early singles. ********** Subject: Lonesome B*******d Date: Thu, 18 Apr 2002 20:58:08 -0700 From: "chris roberts" In his 'tell me the news....' piece, Joe Doyle said he liked : >Lonesome Lullaby Wassat? Ooh! one I didn't know about, I just love it when this happens - do please tell more Joe. :O) And he also asked : > Did Trevor Smith ever play on record with Wizzard? (what a dull > bastard I am.....). We dull bastards have to stick together Joe - I'd like to know this too!! Chris (Cardiff, Wales, UK) ********** Subject: Lonesome cowboy Bert Date: Fri, 19 Apr 2002 16:25:09 -0700 From: "Doyle, Joe" From my friend and fellow dullard Chris Roberts... >In his 'tell me the news....' piece, Joe Doyle said he liked : >Lonesome Lullaby > >Wassat? Chris, LL is a track from the latest ELO album, Zoom. Shame on you laddie for not owning this excellent piece of work. The track is (rumoured to be) about Mr Michael Bevan's behaviour regarding ELO II, the name, the debacle, the lawsuits and so forth. I don't know if it is, but would guess so by the incisive and biting lyrics, that cut through a great tune and arrangement. This is Jeff at his John Lennon best. The whole album is extremely strong and is well worth adding to the collection of any WoodyJeffophile, as it harks back to latter day Move and early ELO in many of the tracks. It has George Harrison and Ringo guesting, as an added bonus(in fact on one track, if you listen veeerrrry closely, via headphones, you can hear Jeff say, in his best Australian accent, "A Ringo stole my drum kit!"). Buy it now, or I will eat your hamster!! Joe :) ********** Subject: Move Live CD Date: Sat, 27 Apr 2002 10:22:30 -0700 From: MontyDaman (Harold) Does anyone know when the release date is suppose to be for the Move Live at The Fillmore is? I'm going to see another one of my favorite British bands from yester-year The Yardbirds on May 8th in Campbell, California. They are doing a small club/festivals tour as they just finished recording a new lp in LA. Only two original members but folks in the UK who saw this new lineup recently say new lead singer and guitarist are sensational!!!! ********** Subject: Re: Tell us the news about yourself... Date: Thu, 2 May 2002 19:28:01 -0700 From: BigLarry26 Hey folks! Yes, I'm a procrastinator. Here's my bit... >Your name, age, location, occupation. Larry Harris, 31, irving (near Dallas), TX. Returning-to-college student >How long have you been a Move and/or Roy Wood fan? Since 1987 >What was your first Move related experience? "Best of The Move -Vol 1" on Pickwick Records aka "the afro album" >Tell us about your top 5 favorite Move related tracks. Jeeeez, umm... Curly, Omnibus, Mist On A Monday Morning, Beautiful Daughter, When Alice Comes Back >What's your favorite Move related album, and why? Message From The Country. The quality of the songs, and the cohesiveness. However, all the b-sides and non-album singles would easily amount to another album's worth of material! >What topics would you like to see discussed on this list? I'd like to see more people offering to send me cash donations. >If you've seen the Move or any member of the Move in concert, tell us >about that show. I visited England in June, 2001, mainly to see Roy. At the Robin 2 club, where he plays somewhat regularly. The show was magical... truly. Hearing the Big Band live is a real experience!! Huge sound, and every player a valuable part. After the show, when Roy learned that a fan had come all the way from Texas to see him, he graciously invited me to visit with him backstage. I got very excited (plus I was half-lit by that time), and started talking very quickly with him about guitars, MIDI, and who-knows-what-else. The whole thing kind of flashed by, the way monumental occasions in our lives tend to do. It was late, he was tired, yet he took the time to make my experience even greater. Also met him in New York, back in March and got to talk with him longer, as he graciously took a couple hours to met fans after the gigs. >Tell us about an amusing or interesting situation that has happened >as a >result of you being a Move/Roy Wood fan. In New York, Roy and I got to talking about Freddie Mercury. I rolled up my left sleeve and showed him my tattoo of the QUEEN logo. I told him that I'm planning to get the Madness logo on my other arm. He smiled and said "You know you're quite insane." I just laughed and said "Well, that's no secret." >Who are some of your other favorite artists/bands? Queen, Madness, Ryuichi Sakamoto, Van Dyke Parks, Beach Boys, ELO, Idle Race, Beatles, Residents, Prince >Which Move related song do you wish one of your favorite bands >would cover? Queen - When Alice Comes Back To The Farm >What is the one burning question that you have never had answered >in relation to Move/Roy Wood history or music? Why did Roy get expelled from art school? >Are you having trouble finding any Move related music on CD? Well, the problem is not the difficulty in finding the countless re-issues (tho some are very good quality). The problem is that nobody saw fit to release things like "Super Active" and "OTRA". It's only when Rob Caiger came along, and began his endeavors, that I've become optimistic about hearing these things done RIGHT, by someone who truly cares! Brighter days are on the horizon for us Roy fans!! End of Useless Information #350 ******************************* [This digest is the copyright of the Move "Useless Information" Mailing List. Re-publication or re-distribution of "Useless Information" content, in any form whatsoever, is expressly prohibited without prior written consent.]