At one point, the connective highways of talent and imagination ran through to Electric Light Orchestra. Those two visionaries – Roy Wood, and Jeff Lynne – imagined a classically-tinged brand of Pop/Rock. Unfortunately, Roy Wood dropped out leaving the successes to Jeff Lynne and his ELO bandmates. Roy Wood went on to form Wizzard, a band that tied a stronger orchestral blend to Pop/Rock songs than ELO was willing to undertake. This band exploited the style to excesses and the costs to maintain proved to be extraordinary. But before the collapse, Wizzard left behind a brilliant album that earned UK success but unlike ELO, couldn’t tap into the vein of the US interest.
On December 1, 7Ts Records (Cherry Red UK) will release a 2CD collection of Wizzard A and B-sides released in the short window of the band’s brief existence. The set will feature 22 tracks that include the XMas favorite, “I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday”. A booklet is packed in with new notes, photos, and other exclusive goodies about Wizzard. The set will be known as Wizzard: The Singles Collection.
The Singles Collection – Wizzard
CD1
01 Ball Park Incident
02 The Carlsberg Special (Piano’s Demolished Phone 021 373 4472)
03 See My Baby Jive
04 Bend Over Beethoven
05 Angel Fingers (A Teen Ballad)
06 You Got The Jump On Me
07 I Wish It Could Be Christmas Everyday
08 Rob Roy’s Nightmare (A Bit More H.A.)
09 Rock N’ Roll Winter (Loony’s Tune) “Sorry, The Word `Spring’ Wouldn’t Fit”
10 Dream Of Unwin
11 This Is The Story Of My Love (Baby)
12 Nixture
CD2
01 Are You Ready To Rock
02 Marathon Man
03 Rattlesnake Roll
04 Can’t Help My Feelings
05 Indiana Rainbow
06 The Thing Is This (This Is The Thing) Roy Wood’s Wizzo Band
07 The Stroll
08 Jubilee
09 Dancin’ At The Rainbow’s End
10 Waiting At This Door