Search - Wurzels :: Finest Arvest of

Play this LOUD!

NedMuffin | Cambridge, UK | 04/25/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Those West Country thrash merchants deliver another slice of bowel-loosening rawk in this, their finest album to date.



There's a solid grunge undercurrent, a hint of melodic death metal (occasional growls and whimpers) and an overall country bumpkin aesthetic (black waistcoats and red neckerchiefs).



The songs themselves are an unusual mix of high-octane, head-banging numbers and synth-licked ballads, which deal with everything from the joy of stamp collecting to the dangers of Estonia's current monetary policy.



However, the real strength of the Wurzels is singer and lead axe-man, Phil (pictured on the right), with his earthy, operatic voice he delivers stirring, anthemic tones that will make your ears bleed - brilliant!

"

Ooh arr OOH ARR

Peter Durward Harris | Leicester England | 05/15/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Never meant to be taken seriously, the Wurzels have nevertheless proved their longevity by keeping themselves busy making music over a period of more than forty years. For much of the time, they have been content to play local venues in Bristol and Somerset, but they have made an impact nationally (with a British number one hit) and internationally (with the same song becoming a Canadian number one hit). They actually scored hits with five different songs in the British charts. A re-mix of their biggest hit also charted. Wurzel music is difficult to classify. British stores such as HMV and Zavvi generally put it on the easy listening shelves, but I would say that the main influence is folk. The Wurzels like to call their music Scrumpy and Western, so perhaps they think their music should sit on the country music shelves next to Tammy Wynette's albums. You must make up your own mind what classification you file their music under, if you feel the need to classify it.



The Wurzels began their long musical career in 1966, with Adam John (Adge) Cutler as their leader. Under his leadership, they built a loyal local following in the Bristol and Somerset area and making some impact further afield. They scored a minor British hit (Drink up thy cider) in 1967, which helped the associated album (Adge Cutler and the Wurzels) into the British album charts. They continued to perform in their local area but seemed either unable or unwilling to make any further impact nationally. Tragedy struck when Adge Cutler was killed in a road accident while driving home one night in 1974. This forced the remaining Wurzels to consider their future. They stayed together but made some adjustments. While some fans insist that the Wurzels were always better with Adge than without him, the fact remains that their greatest commercial success came without him.



In 1972, while Adge was still alive, Melanie (Safka) had a huge international hit with a lightweight but brilliant song, Brand new key, which made number one in America and became a top five hit in Britain. Everybody who is familiar with the pop music of the early seventies knows this song. In 1976, the Wurzels recorded their version of the song with very different lyrics and re-titled Combine harvester. This recording gave the Wurzels their first and only number one hit. On one level, it can be seen as a silly song, but it is quite amusing. In many ways, it typifies their music. If you don't like Combine harvester, I can't imagine that you'll like any of their other music. Having hit on a successful formula, the Wurzels followed up with another re-working of a popular seventies hit. I am a cider drinker (Una paloma blanca) made the top three in Britain later in 1976. Yet another re-working of an oldie, Farmer Bill's cowman (I was Kaiser Bill's batman) was only a minor British hit in 1977, after which the Wurzels disappeared from the British charts for the rest of the millennium. They returned in 2001 with a new version of Combine harvester, which gave them a minor hit. One further minor hit (Don't look back in anger), which isn't included here, completes their British chart history to date.



Despite the big hits being re-workings of other people's songs, the vast majority of their songs are entirely original. The Wurzels managed to encapsulate life in their local area (Bristol and Somerset) in much the same way that Fivepenny Piece did for their local area (Lancashire) although there are noticeable differences, not least because the Fivepenny Piece had different singers (male and female) to take turns on lead vocals. A more obvious comparison is with the Yetties (from Dorset, which shares a border with Somerset).



This is basically a fun album, but it is an insult to describe it as novelty music (as some do) because there's a lot more depth to it than is immediately apparent. Most people won't care about that and will simply enjoy the fun"