[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 #373 July 20, 2002 In this issue: * TheMoveOnline * Reminder: Roy Wood Think Tank Contest * Song Of The Week (week of 7/15): "(Here We Go Round) The Lemon Tree" * "Keep Your Hands On The Wheel" lyric analysis (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: TheMoveOnline Date: Fri, 19 Jul 2002 18:43:27 -0700 From: Lynn Hoskins If it's been a while since you've visited TheMoveOnline, you might be surprised by what's there now. Lots more to be added, including interviews, articles, photo archives, graphics, sound files, etc. But I think you'll enjoy some of the new (old?) photos and features that have just been added. There's a section on Carl's recent stint on BBC Radio WM - the playlists have been "graphically enhanced" and there's a write-up on all the guests. The interviews with Ace and Trevor are being transcribed, so stay tuned for those. Rob met up with Ace this past week, got some items autographs for fans, and "interviewed" him with your questions. Ace spent a hour and a half responding, so that will be interesting reading indeed! http://www.themoveonline.com ********** Subject: Re: TheMoveOnline Date: Sat, 20 Jul 2002 09:59:09 -0700 From: JANES434 Yes I have looked at The Move online recently and it looks fantastic particulary the new photos some of which I have'nt seen anywhere before. The biographies on the band members was an interesting read look forward to Ace's and Trevor's being added. Also liked the album covers on the playlist of Carl's radio show excellent!! I received Ace's autographs today I sent two items which he signed for me one personalised to me which was great. Can't wait to hear Ace's interview and the candid way he talked of his experiences throughout his life it will indeed be a fascinating read. Linda Maidstone Kent UK ********** Subject: Re: TheMoveOnline Date: Sat, 20 Jul 2002 17:44:18 -0700 From: "Jim McAlwane" Just had a good look around at the site. The pages looks very good, if you want I'll have a look through some old 60's mags later and see if I can scan you some old adverts or something through, if you (or for that matter anyone else) want I'll see what I can come up with something, let us know..... Jim Mac http://www.marmalade-skies.co.uk ********** Subject: Reminder: Roy Wood Think Tank Contest Date: Sat, 20 Jul 2002 18:35:43 -0700 From: Lynn Hoskins Just a reminder... Some excellent entries have come in so far. The list will enjoy them (as will Roy.) Let's get more of you participating... Roy Wood Think Tank Contest In less than 200 words, please let the list know why it is vital that Roy release an album of new material before the end of 2003. No guidelines (you can be serious, witty, or you can beg - just no filth! It can be a poem, an essay, or a maximum of 10 "reason's why"), just let your creative juices flow. The best/funniest/most pathetic may win a prize, but don't hold your breath. How could you convince Roy that he absolutely, without question, must put out a new album? If he wouldn't fall over laughing, I may even pass on the winners' thoughts... :) ----- Entries should be sent directly to me at lhoskins@earthlink.net. I will post them all to the Move List, including the winners, the week of 29 July. There will be one "grand prize" winner and two "runners up." Contest start date: Monday, 15 July, 2002 Contest end date: Friday, 26 July, 2002 Good luck! ********** Subject: Re: Song Of The Week: "(Here We Go Round) The Lemon Tree" Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 22:07:17 -0700 From: "Tyler C.Sherman" This one actually sounds like parts of three songs strung together, each part quite different from the other. The structure and style of the verses are, as others have pointed out, very Who-like. The chorus is rather anthem- like, while the bridge is a pretty string laden ballad that could have been developed into a song of it's own. A great example of Roy's somewhat schizophrenic style of writing and what make him so different from other songwriters. Here's something to think about. "Here We Go Round The Lemon Tree" is sort of similar to the song Roy wrote for the Acid Gallery, "Dance Round The Maypole", issued a year later. What are the chances he might have presented the latter to The Move to record but they passed on it? And he subsequently put together the one-off A.G. single, which he produced, played and sang on? Is this a fantasy thought, a brain fart or totally irrelevant? Any comments? Wizzards, Tyler ********** Subject: Re: Lemon Tree, here we go.... Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 11:29:07 -0700 From: "andrew torok" greetings, i was not a great fan of either track. maybe the idle races wins just! but did roy play on that track? i heard the rumour a few times that he was involved in the idle races version. does any body know? ********** Subject: I have a bone to pick with Simon Glickman Date: Tue, 16 Jul 2002 13:34:08 -0700 From: Lynn Hoskins Finally had the opportunity to pick up musicHound's Rock: The Essential Album Guide for a reasonable price (would you believe US$4.99?) and naturally went straight to the section on The Move. Why do I bother? A Mr. Simon Glickman felt he should warn the world against purchasing "Boulders": "What To Avoid: Wood's Boulders (United Artists, 1973, prod. Roy Wood) has one or two lovely moments but for the most part chronicles his artistic schizophrenia, careening from pretense to adolescent retro-rock. Wood played, arranged, and sang everything on the record. He clearly needed a hand." Boy, 'ol Simon just doesn't get it, does he? It's the "artistic schizophrenia" that sets the great ones apart from the mediocre. Fortunately, we have Stephen Thomas Erlewine, a writer for the All Music Guide, to set things straight: "An intricate, deliberately idiosyncratic record, assembled piece by piece, Boulders perfectly captures Roy Wood's peculiar genius, more so than anything else he recorded. All of his obsessions are here - classical music, psychedelia, pre-Beatles pop, pastoral folk ballads, absurdist humor, studio trickery, and good old-fashioned rock & roll - assembled in a gracefully eccentric fashion. Some listeners may find that eccentricity a little alienating, but it's the core of Wood's music. He wrote tuneful, accessible songs, but indulged his passions and weird ideas, so even the loveliest melodies and catchiest hooks are dressed in colorful, odd arrangements. The marvelous thing is, these arrangements never sound self-consciously weird - it's the sound of Wood's music in full bloom. Never before and never again did his quirks sound so charming, even thrilling, as they do on Boulders. As soon as 'Songs of Praise' reaches its chorus, a choir of sped-up, multi-tracked Roys kick in, sending it into the stratosphere. All nine tunes unwind in a similar fashion, each blessed with delightfully unpredictable twists. It's easy to spot the tossed-off jokes on the goofy 'When Gran'ma Plays the Banjo,' but it may take several spins to realize that the percussion on 'Wake Up' is the sound of Roy slapping a bowl of water. Boulders is a sonic mosaic - you can choose to wonder at the little details or gaze at the glorious whole, enjoying the shape it forms. Wood has an unerring knack for melodies, whether they're in folk ballads, sweet pop or old-fashioned rock & rollers, yet his brilliance is how he turns the hooks 180 degrees until they're gloriously out of sync with his influences and peers. Boulders still sounds wonderfully out of time and it's easy to argue that it's the peak of his career." Thank you, Stephen. You definitely "get it." ********** Subject: All Do Ya, All Day (Part 2) Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 17:35:46 -0700 From: Lynn Hoskins Back in May I posted about Tallboy Records' tribute to "Do Ya" featuring cover versions of the song by Kenny Howes & The Yeah, Parallax Project, Einstein's Sister and Linus of Hollywood. It's on clear vinyl and is pretty cool looking, I have to say. Anyway, I got a lot of e-mails from non-U.S. fans asking if they could purchase by credit card. The 7" EP is also being sold by Not Lame (which accepts credit cards), but if you want a "Do Ya?" button you need to get it direct from TallBoy. There is now a PayPal option on the Tallboy Records site: http://www.tallboyrecords.com (When you go to the site, click on "Orders.") Even though PayPal charges a transaction fee, executive producer Anna Borg has decided not to raise the price of the EP to cover this fee. (Thanks, Anna!) It's US$7.00 for United States orders, US$9.00 for overseas. The buttons come in three colors, and are US$1.00 each. Prices include shipping. For those interested, here's a review from Fufkin.com: Various Artists - Do Ya? (Tallboy) by Mike Bennett A tribute album takes some courage, but to tackle one of the great proto-power pop songs of all time? Kudos to the label and Kenny Howes & The Yeah, Parallax Project, Einstein's Sister and Linus Of Hollywood for having the balls to even tackle this project. In baseball parlance, this mini-comp yields a grand slam, a homer, and two doubles to the alley. Howes, who is a rocker through and through, is the logical candidate to tackle a straight version of the tune, and he does well, though one almost wishes that he had waxed a live version, where the crowd energy would raise the roof. Keeping with Mike Giblin's skinny tie sound, Parallax Project posits how the song may have sounded if Jeff Lynne led a New Wave quartet. Both of these are nice, but the mellower takes on the song are the gems. Einstein's Sister casts the song as something in the nature of The Rascals or The Youngbloods, which doesn't require rearrangement so much as reconceptualizing the instrumental attack. Dang good. But Linus takes the gold medal here, the soft-popper in his maximum Gilbert O'Sullivan mode. I've had mixed emotions about his radical covers (Ozzy - yes; Smoking Popes - no), but this might be the best he's ever done - it's so wrong that it's perfect. A fun spin on clear vinyl. tallboyrecords.com If you have any questions, just write to Anna at anna@tallboyrecords.com. ********** Subject: Re: "Keep Your Hands On The Wheel" lyric analysis Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 03:00:10 -0700 From: "Bob Coulter" Big Larry wrote: >I'm reading it fairly literally. >"Two forty one we'll be high in the sun >....Havin' fun with the radio on >Through the haze of the day" >means "we'll be high (drug/drink?), as we're sitting in the sun"?? >What kind of haze are we talking about? Altho Roy is non-drug... Perhaps you're not reading it literally enough. It reads to me like the bus travels through space and Roy and Marie et al will be "high in the sun" at 2:41. This is probably the same bus that transports the shining love in "From The Sun To The World". >...But as I peer through the froth in my beer >See Marie on her own >I ask her over >We end up in my car >Then it happens" Nobody has addressed the serious issue of drinking and driving. Although Roy doesn't actually say that he drank the beer. Maybe women just look better to him when he's peering at them through beer froth, and he has a glass of beer solely for this purpose. I've never been on a bus that serves beer. Do they require a liquor licence? >I think "the driver" is Roy himself, as it's HIS car (the >magically >appearing vehicle, which is conveniently near the bus) >that is addressed >immediately before the chorus. The bus driver >gets no mention in the >song, so I doubt it was about him. But everywhere else in the song, Roy refers to himself in the first person. If it's not the bus driver, then in the chorus Roy is suddenly referring to himself in the third person. Why would he do this? Because he is ashamed of his lustful impulses and wants to distance himself from them? Or does he have a split personality? Maybe in the chorus, Roy is referring to a certain part of the male anatomy as a separate identity. "The Driver" would be an appropriate name for Woody's woody, don't you agree? But why would Marie talk directly to Roy's "Driver"? Most women object when men talk to their breasts, so shouldn't she be more considerate? And why does Marie think Roy's Driver has "hands"? I know Roy sometimes looks like a bit of a freak, but why should Marie think that that would mean Roy is a mutant? Wouldn't Roy be justified if he replied, "No, Marie, they're not hands, they're balls! Let me show you if you don't believe me."? Bob Coulter, Bobcaygeon, Ont. PS: Roy's ability to steer his car with his Driver is quite impressive. Bravo! ********** Subject: Re: "Keep Your Hands On The Wheel" lyric analysis Date: Thu, 18 Jul 2002 11:28:30 -0700 From: PrimoChuck (Charlie) My question, is Roy in a car with the wheel on the left or right side? If he was in an American car, Roy would make his move with his right hand. If he was in a British car, Roy would make his move with his left hand. Roy is a right handed man, I believe. Where does this song take place? Maybe this song has nothing to do with sex. It's another in the series of Roy Wood penned driver safety songs starting with "Walk Upon the Water." End of Useless Information #373 ******************************* [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.]