The Woodentops:
Before During After:
One Little Indian:
Out Now:
9/10
Occasionally a compilation or reissue comes along that kicks other similar releases into touch - this is one such collection. Never mind that it features a band that sadly never inspired a guaranteed rush for its wares, the dedication and the detail shown by the compilers is something to be admired - take a bow.
So it only leaves the Woodentops to deliver - and deliver they do. Their entire canon, bar a couple of notable omissions (b-sides, mainly), is represented here and on listening to it all in one sitting, you're left wondering how the hell this lot never 'made it'. Musically as tight as a gnat's arse, lead-singer and founder Rolo McGinty, who provides the in-sleeve commentary, marched his Woodentops as far up pop's fickle hill as he could, frustratingly failing to reach the summit, before marching them back down again and quitting. Signed to Rough Trade, the band's brand of indie-skiffle and electro-pop pre-empted the fusion of industrial-funk and Balearic beats by a good few months. If they were Mancunian, they'd have been hailed as baggy heroes along with Happy Mondays, The Charlatans and Northside (but probably not The Stone Roses).
The first disc rounds up their debut album Giant, along with various remixes and rarities associated with the album. Giant itself is a triumph, perhaps too subtle for your typical student tastes in the '80s but hardly the Mumfords-style or fiddle-de-dee folky bollocks you'd find in some digs these days. Generously proportioned with melodies, choruses and nifty production, songs like So Good Today, Love Affair With Everyday Living and Last Time are supreme examples of The Woodentops easy-going oeuvre, while their penchant for blazing a hurried sub-rockabilly trail are best displayed on Love Train or Get It On. Key dance-crossover track Why Why Why was given a hefty overhaul by frequent collaborator Adrian Sherwood, represented here by the full 12" mix and an indicator as to where the band was headed next for album #2.
Compared to Giant, Wooden Foot Cops On The Highway was a pale cousin but still had its moments. REM's go-to producer Scott Litt ably sewed the recently-written songs into a colourful tapestry that was high on substance but sadly, low on pop. Exceptions are the stellar dance tracks Wheels Turning and They Can Say What They Want and the Giant-esque single You Make Me Feel, while the remainder are a mixture of the occasionally sublime (Heaven) and the ridiculous (In a Dream). Bonus tracks include songs originally recorded for an abandoned third album, including the excellent Surely plus more Sherwood shenanigans.
Disc three houses more of those unfinished album tracks, plus the first few non-album singles including the under-stated Plenty and the shoulda-been-hits It Will Come and Move Me. Even with XTC's Andy Partridge at the helm, Well Well Well failed to excite anyone, aside from regular Indie-Chart aficionados and diehards. The best b-side in the world, Do It Anyway, pissed over most of the indie-schmindie pretenders then and now - I still grin at the bonkers keyboard riff in the middle of the 100kph acid-skiffle belter. A few rare dubs, including an Arthur Baker take on the album-track Give It Time, fill out this CD that is admittedly aimed at diehards and completists - suits me fine then.
Although The Woodentops never quite matched label-mates The Smiths as worshipped icons or chart-buddies, much of their output still sounds as timeless as Morrissey's reliable charges. A really rewarding 3CD treasure-trove.
Before During After:
One Little Indian:
Out Now:
9/10
So it only leaves the Woodentops to deliver - and deliver they do. Their entire canon, bar a couple of notable omissions (b-sides, mainly), is represented here and on listening to it all in one sitting, you're left wondering how the hell this lot never 'made it'. Musically as tight as a gnat's arse, lead-singer and founder Rolo McGinty, who provides the in-sleeve commentary, marched his Woodentops as far up pop's fickle hill as he could, frustratingly failing to reach the summit, before marching them back down again and quitting. Signed to Rough Trade, the band's brand of indie-skiffle and electro-pop pre-empted the fusion of industrial-funk and Balearic beats by a good few months. If they were Mancunian, they'd have been hailed as baggy heroes along with Happy Mondays, The Charlatans and Northside (but probably not The Stone Roses).
The first disc rounds up their debut album Giant, along with various remixes and rarities associated with the album. Giant itself is a triumph, perhaps too subtle for your typical student tastes in the '80s but hardly the Mumfords-style or fiddle-de-dee folky bollocks you'd find in some digs these days. Generously proportioned with melodies, choruses and nifty production, songs like So Good Today, Love Affair With Everyday Living and Last Time are supreme examples of The Woodentops easy-going oeuvre, while their penchant for blazing a hurried sub-rockabilly trail are best displayed on Love Train or Get It On. Key dance-crossover track Why Why Why was given a hefty overhaul by frequent collaborator Adrian Sherwood, represented here by the full 12" mix and an indicator as to where the band was headed next for album #2.
Compared to Giant, Wooden Foot Cops On The Highway was a pale cousin but still had its moments. REM's go-to producer Scott Litt ably sewed the recently-written songs into a colourful tapestry that was high on substance but sadly, low on pop. Exceptions are the stellar dance tracks Wheels Turning and They Can Say What They Want and the Giant-esque single You Make Me Feel, while the remainder are a mixture of the occasionally sublime (Heaven) and the ridiculous (In a Dream). Bonus tracks include songs originally recorded for an abandoned third album, including the excellent Surely plus more Sherwood shenanigans.
Disc three houses more of those unfinished album tracks, plus the first few non-album singles including the under-stated Plenty and the shoulda-been-hits It Will Come and Move Me. Even with XTC's Andy Partridge at the helm, Well Well Well failed to excite anyone, aside from regular Indie-Chart aficionados and diehards. The best b-side in the world, Do It Anyway, pissed over most of the indie-schmindie pretenders then and now - I still grin at the bonkers keyboard riff in the middle of the 100kph acid-skiffle belter. A few rare dubs, including an Arthur Baker take on the album-track Give It Time, fill out this CD that is admittedly aimed at diehards and completists - suits me fine then.
Although The Woodentops never quite matched label-mates The Smiths as worshipped icons or chart-buddies, much of their output still sounds as timeless as Morrissey's reliable charges. A really rewarding 3CD treasure-trove.