Woodentops search/destroy/whatevertheheck

One of their tunes was a massive Balearic record- big piano line - something like Sympathy for the Devil?

Giant is a masterpiece.

no. they were mid-to-late 80s smarty pop that really is not like much else i can think of.

start with giant then get everything else.

holy shit this band

i am shocked that this is the extent of ILM conversation on this band, or is search function no worky

The Smiths were the best band since the Woodentops for a while.

i remember "wooden foot cops" being good but i haven't heard it in 10,000,000,000,000 years.

They were good, just not good enough!

Yeah, I vaguely remember Wooden Foot Cops... too. One of the first albums I lent from the local library. If I remember this thread tonight I'll try to download Giant.

woodentops have reformed!

their webpage has loads of mp3s of live gigs and vids etc..

http://badapplesmusic.com/

The early singles and Giant were all pretty good.

Live performances (if memory serves I reckon I saw 'em 5 times - once each at Reading Uni., The After Dark and Glastonbury and twice at Reading Festival) increasingly seemed to walk a dangerous tightrope where a gloriously frantic rush of adrenaline could easily turn into a wall of senseless thrashing, as songs were played faster and faster and faster for no other apparentreason than because they could.

They were proclaimed as the beginning of "indie-dance" at the time. (xpost to Frank-e and Tantrum)

Obviously, not for long.

the remixes with On-U Sound were astounding ..
and after seeing them live, the association was a lot more obvious from their much tamer recordings, as live they were a full on beat monster.
they were fantastic live back in 89 (ish).

"They were proclaimed as the beginning of "indie-dance" at the time.

Obviously, not for long."

Because this led to an international amphetamine shortage or because too many Woodentops fans ended up in A&E after trying to keep up the pace as the band insisted on playing "Love Train" progressively faster and faster and faster until Rolo eventually ended up sounding like Pinky and / or Perky?

Re-mixes with On-U sound? Where can you get those? If they had been around during Madchester they would have been massive.

Quite possibly. Those the breaks.

re On-U remixes came with the double 7" of Everyday Living.

the remixed tracks were Everyday Living, and Why, with the extra 7" being Move Me, and Well Well Well in their normal version, i think.

It was also at the one Woodentops gig i went to at Leeds Poly (pre-rebranding days) that Rolo gave away his multi coloured jacket to an audience member "You like it ? Here have it", and that I bought my now rotting due to excess wear and tear, Keith Leblanc, Major Malfun(c)tion t-shirt.

a great gig.

the one time i saw them live - at the electric cinema, 'supporting' a screening of 'The Shape of Things to Come' - Rolo almost BEGGED the audience to dance.

lovely rec covers

I remember Rolo had a penchant for removing all clothes below the belt-line mid-gig. I was quite shocked at the time (The Mighty Lemon Drops never did this). It was at the Camden Electric Ballroom I think. Did he do this at many gigs or was I just very ''lucky''?

You can ask him yourself. They reunited and are touring right now, and I chatted briefly with Rolo on <a href=http://www.myspace.com/thewoodentops>;Myspace last year</a>. Their BBC sessions will be issued on Renascent in September.

This was a band that turned out to be cooler than I remembered them. Their second album was better than I originally thought too. They even worked with Lee Perry!

I'm listening to the new Bongos reissue right now, which has many similarities.

You can ask him yourself. They reunited and are touring right now, and I chatted briefly with Rolo on Myspace last year. Their BBC sessions will be issued on Renascent in September.

This was a band that turned out to be cooler than I remembered them. Their second album was better than I originally thought too. They even worked with Lee Perry!

I'm listening to the new Bongos reissue right now, which has many similarities.

Damn, this stuff was just so THRILLING back in the day. I don't know how it sounds out of context but I still dig it - search the recent BBC sessions comp, fantastic.

Really liked "Maybe It Won't Last" way back when.

Listen! http://www.myspace.com/4326666666666662333

"Giant" got reissued on CD a few years ago with the early singles added on, "Well Well Well," "It Will Come," etc. Spectacular.

Also Rolo was mentioned in the Fall song "Slang King." "McGinty thought he could fool the Fall with his imitation speed..."

Duh, I got the wrong Fall song. It's "Pat, Trip Dispenser," not "Slang King."

There's some nice stuff up on Youtube for these guys:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41bHVEHOxQE

damn.
that live album.
fucking brilliant.
lets hope they get/got a few more punters at their uk gigs than is mentioned in the recent quietus review.

Yeah, the live album is really cool. That's the only album by them I've got. It's a little disappointing to me that the studio stuff doesn't replicate their live aesthetic a little more.

i agree.
i put on the other albums afterwards, and while some of the tunes still make me tingle, nothing gave me that buzz like the full on rhythmic assault of the live set.
i see cherry red have reissued all the albums on cd, each with extra tracks .. i may succumb to the urge.

I just realized I do have other stuff by them. I picked up a real old, real cheap CD of Giant not that long ago. After years of playing livehypnobeatlive, everything on Giant sounded so sedate. Has there ever been a band who sounded this different live?

There's a remix of Well Well Well somewhere. It's longer and more banging. It's great but I can't remember where it came from though.

The BBC sessions disc is ace as well. Word is they've reformed and have a new record due out - I have very low expectations.

There's a remix of Well Well Well somewhere. It's longer and more banging. It's great but I can't remember where it came from though.

possibly this remix : http://www.discogs.com/Woodentops-Everyday-Living/release/993658 ?

the beats are a lot heavier.

and yes, gerald, they have reformed.

review of recent gig posted on the quietus site.

I've got the Well Well Well 12" and that's a lot longer than the 7" version and with added noisy chaos.

That version is on this: http://www.discogs.com/Woodentops-Well-Well-Well--The-Unabridged-Singles-Collection/release/987448

Okay. That's the one I was thinking of. I'm listening now and it's the shit. For some reason I thought it was longer - like about 6 minutes, but I must've imagined that.

Saw Giant at a thrift store for $1, pulled it out, turned to the kid next to me and said "I already have two copies of this, you should get it." He did. Hope he likes it. What's not to like?

Really surprised this thread isn't longer.

yes !

today one little indian announced a 3 cd set coming out at the end of may.

both albums remastered + remixes, live stuff, and unreleased material they recorded for a never finished 3rd album.

well chuffed as my original vinyl of GIANT has worn out ...

actually the quality of the pressing was always crap - so to have this stuff in full quality has been on my wishlist for years !

That version is on this: http://www.discogs.com/Woodentops-Well-Well-Well--The-Unabridged-Singles-Collection/release/987448

arse.

this version is not included ... was looking forward to hearing this.

from what i can tell, the only version of 'well well well', included is a 4 minute version

humph ..

still no jumps, no clicks and pops throughout this bands mix of indie guitars and dance floor friendliness makes me grin like a cheshire cat

I think I've got a Bang the Party mix of one of their tunes

ooh .. this is included.
not got to it yet ..

i will buy this thing i think, it'll be great to listen to when springtime finally arrives

I need to check these guys out

yup.
if you like late 80s indie via some mad mad stripped-to-the-max beats (live versions), you do.
whereas, giant, just sounds bloody gorgeous at last ..

Pretty psyched to hear about this, anyone have a tracklisting yet?

Still not sure what other longer version of "Well Well Well" you lot are looking for, there isn't a 6 minute version as far as I know. Let's hope it shows up on the box.

track listing :

CD1 01. Get It On 3:21
CD1 02. Good Thing 3:48
CD1 03. Give It Time 3:48
CD1 04. Love Train 3:08
CD1 05. Hear Me James 3:40
CD1 06. Love Affairs 3:51
CD1 07. So Good Today 3:03
CD1 08. Shout 2:11
CD1 09. History 3:24
CD1 10. Travelling Man 3:18
CD1 11. Last Time 4:10
CD1 12. Everything Breaks 4:52
CD1 13. I Want Your Love 4:06
CD1 14. Good Thing Remix 5:18
CD1 15. Travelling Man Remix 4:29
CD1 16. Love Affair With Everyday Living (Adrian Sherwood Remix) 4:13
CD1 17. Why Why Why (Adrian Sherwood Mix) 7:55
CD1 18. Give It Time (Adrian Sherwood Remix) 5:43
CD2 01. Maybe It Won't Last 3:05
CD2 02. They Can Say What They Want 4:16
CD2 03. You Make Me Feel 3:11
CD2 04. Wheels Turning 5:18
CD2 05. Stop This Car 3:22
CD2 06. Heaven 4:07
CD2 07. What You Give Out 3:28
CD2 08. Tuesday Wednesday 3:33
CD2 09. In A Dream 3:32
CD2 10. Stop This Car (Ian Tregoning/Rolo Remix) 7:40
CD2 11. Wheels Turning (Adrian Sherwood Remix) 6:03
CD2 12. In A Dream (Glastonbury 87) 2:21
CD2 13. Keep A Knockin' (Adrian Sherwood Mix) 5:13
CD2 14. Surely (Rough Mix) 4:20
This document was created using iPool music promotion software - http://iPool.info
CD2 15. Pleasure 4:46
CD2 16. You Could Be Happy 4:30
CD2 17. Umeboshi Plum 6:06
CD3 01. Plenty 3:18
CD3 02. Have You Seen The Lights 3:04
CD3 03. Move Me 4:35
CD3 04. Well Well Well 4:22
CD3 05. It Will Come 3:10
CD3 06. Do It Anyway 2:42
CD3 07. Steady Steady 6:11
CD3 08. Plutonium Rock 2:42
CD3 09. Get It On Live (Glastonbury 1987) 3:57
CD3 10. Why Why Why (Balearic Re-Edit) 5:44
CD3 11. Give It Time (Arthur Baker Dub) 7:24
CD3 12. Tainted World (Kid Batchelor Rub) 6:26
CD3 13. I'd Love You Again 4:41
CD3 14. Children Of Today 6:23
CD3 15. Conehead 5:59
CD3 16. Don't 6:07
CD3 17. Everybody 2:23

Huh, it seems they're missing "Get It On (single version)", "Special Friend" and "Cold Inside" from the "Well Well Well" singles comp.

i honestly had no idea before today that rolo mcginty had previously been in both the wild swans and the jazz butcher

umm neither had i until now ..

only found this out cos i was listening to giant and thought to myself 'hey this makes me want to listen to southern mark smith by the jazz butcher'. googled that, got the whole story on the fall's 'pat, trip dispenser' etc

"McGinty thought he could fool the Fall with his imitation speed!"

ha !

well i never.

then again, it seems that the jazz butcher had a lot of passing through trade : http://www.jazzbutcher.com/htdb/people

for years i thought rolo was the same rolo in faithless.

i wrote this somewhere on the wire, and then many years later, out of the blue i got an email from rolo telling me straight that he was not the same rolo as the faithless rolo.

cant recall the reason as to why i thought it was the same guy but still, that email was a bit of a 'whoaaa .. this internet thing gets a bit mad at times' moment

hahaha, poor rolo!

mad list of jazz butcher conspirators. recognised the names of a good few blue aeroplanes, some bauhaus dudes, sonic boom, laurence from dark star...

exactly .. for a while they were the clearly the indie youth club band ..

w-wait Butch is the 'Pat' in Pat-Trip Dispenser and Rolo is the McGinty?!?!?!?!

alas not! pat squishes that theory on that link i posted :(

"So there you have it. Not the JBC, but some dodgy Mancunian c***. Hope that clears things up."

https://soundcloud.com/#cherryredrecords/a-little-more-time-the

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SCIxkdqnRsY

Love the new album!

http://www.musicomh.com/reviews/albums/woodentops-granular-tales
http://louderthanwar.com/the-woodentops-granular-tales-album-review/
http://flipsideflipsidereviews.blogspot.com/2014/01/album-review-woodentops-granular-tales.html
http://agitreader.com/wp2/the-woodentops-granular-tales/

nice to see love.
not had the urge re the new album, as the recent 3cd boxset reissue fills all my needs ..
am i bad man to hold such an attitude ?

Not bad, but you should pick it up, it's fun. And Rolo is a very personable fellow on Facebook, I've found!

yeah, i have chatted to rolo in times gone by ..

properly decent bloke ..

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7scqCGLmnkA

^ think this song was their big breakthrough but at the time i thought it was a bit too goofy with that bluebells-y fiddle in the chorus and all. not sure i've really changed my mind on that, but listening to it now and i'd not really noticed before that it's not too distant from a lot of flying nun stuff from that era. anyhow i gotta check this new stuff out i guess

i suppose that's just the whole velvetsy hypnosis-thru-strumming common-root influence manifesting itself. that and the organ.

i have got a bit bored by some of this 3-disc box but the adrian sherwood mix of why why why is superb! well well well still crushes too

well well well why why why

SO much Suicide in this group.

Bravo!

Tri-annual reminder how great this band is/was.

Only now learned that Scott Litt produced Wooden Foot Cops on the Highway. I don't go back to it as often as Giant.

Good interview w/ Rolo here:
https://palebloomsandbeyond.wordpress.com/2013/05/26/the-woodentops-rolo-mcginty-interview/

There was a cool interview with him in a recent issue of Electronic Sound. It's not online as far as I can see. It's about the details of recording the livehypnobeat album and particularly Why Why Why which I now learned is a Balaeric classic.

i got the vinyl comp Well Well Well at the time and they were so hyper electric and at times cathartic feeling, it was an amazing intro for me. when giant dropped, i liked it a lot, but the urgency wasn't quite so present. my tastes didn't even have me get to wooden foot cops by then. i had no idea they had a 2014 release, i'm about to listen out of curiosity.

I don't know what the hell "Umeboshi Plum" is (off the box set) but it's awesome, it's like Balearic post-punk or something.

(re: Why Why Why)

The version of the song that became a hit in Ibiza was taken from the concert recording Live Hypnobeat Live. Recorded at The Palace Theatre, Los Angeles in 1986. Do you have any particular memories of that gig? I heard a story that the band had taken Ecstasy during the performance. Is this true? Or a Balearic myth?

No, it`s not Balearic myth. It was our first time, so it was a stand out night for us and we pretty much forgot we were recording live – for the KROQ radio station – and really went for it. At the time we had no reason to think we were recording a live album. I remember much about the show. The bizarre sight of Donny Osmond and a camera crew wading through the crowd. Donny was having a 60 Minutes documentary filmed about him. Being on the same label as us, he could get free tickets to any hot show in town, and bring a film crew, which he did. Large silver lighting umbrellas cameras and lights followed him. So his entrance at the back there was pretty high profile. They made their way through the middle of the crowd. I could just make out a large white blur. In the song Move Me you can hear me saying “What is that?” I found out later it was him and he came down to meet us.