Introducing Eddy and the Falcons is the second album by Wizzard

Wizzard

Wizzard was a Birmingham-based band formed by Roy Wood, former member of The Move and co-founder of Electric Light Orchestra. The Guinness Book of 500 Number One Hits states, "Wizzard was Roy Wood just as much as Wings were Paul McCartney."-Biography:...

. It peaked at No. 19 in the UK album chart – a much better placing than its predecessor, Wizzard Brew

Wizzard Brew

Wizzard Brew is the first album by glam rock group Wizzard, released in March 1973. In the US it was released by United Artists Records as 'Wizzard's Brew' and failed to chart....

.

As with the previous Wizzard album, all songs were composed by Roy Wood

Roy Wood

Roy Adrian Wood is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He was particularly successful in the 1960s and 1970s as member and co-founder of the bands The Move, Electric Light Orchestra, and Wizzard. As a songwriter, he contributed a number of hits to the repertoire of these bands.-Career:Wood...

. The album had a concept similar to The Beatles

The Beatles

The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...

' Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band

Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band is the eighth studio album by the English rock band The Beatles, released on 1 June 1967 on the Parlophone label and produced by George Martin...

, in that the intro 'featured' the appearance on stage of fictional band Eddy & The Falcons. All tracks were written and recorded as tributes to 1950s and early 1960s rock’n’roll greats, "Eddy’s Rock" being a guitar and saxophone instrumental played in the style of Duane Eddy

Duane Eddy

Duane Eddy is a Grammy Award-winning American guitarist. In the late 1950s and early 1960s he had a string of hit records, produced by Lee Hazlewood, which were noted for their characteristically "twangy" sound, including "Rebel Rouser", "Peter Gunn", and "Because They're Young"...

, while "Everyday I Wonder" was similar in sound and approach to Del Shannon

Del Shannon

Del Shannon was an American rock and roll singer-songwriter who had a No. 1 hit, "Runaway", in 1961.- Biography :...

’s "Runaway

Runaway (Del Shannon song)

"Runaway" was a number-one Billboard Hot 100 song made famous by Del Shannon in 1961. It was written by Shannon and keyboardist Max Crook, and became a major international hit...

", and "Come Back Karen" did the same for Neil Sedaka

Neil Sedaka

Neil Sedaka is an American pop/rock singer, pianist, and composer. His career has spanned nearly 55 years, during which time he has sold millions of records as an artist and has written or co-written over 500 songs for himself and other artists, collaborating mostly with lyricists Howard...

’s "Oh! Carol

Oh! Carol

"Oh! Carol", sometimes just "Oh Carol" is an international hit written by Neil Sedaka in 1958 about his then-girlfriend, Carol Klein, later to become Carole King. The song was co-written with Howard Greenfield. The song reached #9 in the American charts in 1959. It also earned Sedaka his first #1...

". A particularly clear tribute was to Elvis in "I Dun Lotsa Cryin’ Over You".

One single was released from the album, "This Is The Story Of My Love (Baby)". Its chart performance (No. 34) was a disappointment, as all Wizzard's previous singles had reached the Top 10. Music journalists thought that the more catchy, up-tempo "You Got Me Runnin’" would have made a better single.

The album was initially meant to be half of a double album by the group, with the other half in a more progressive or experimental jazz-rock style. However the record company heard the work in progress, and asked for the rock’n’roll part to be recorded and released as a single album.

The sleeve featured a credit 'Custard pies - D.L.T.' This referred to one of their appearances on "Top Of The Pops

Top of the Pops

Top of the Pops, also known as TOTP, is a British music chart television programme, made by the BBC and originally broadcast weekly from 1 January 1964 to 30 July 2006. After 25 December 2006 it became a radio program, now hosted by Tony Blackburn...

", when presenter Dave Lee Travis

Dave Lee Travis

Dave Lee Travis , also known professionally as DLT and the Hairy Cornflake, is a British radio presenter, best known for his career on BBC Radio 1.-Early life:...

 had been the apparently unwitting recipient of a custard pie wielded by one of the group.

The jazz-rock material was recorded later but not released until 2000, on the album Main Street – some 25 years after Wizzard had disbanded.

The original release of "Eddy" on the Warner Brother label, in a gatefold sleeve, included a fold-out poster of Roy Wood on stage. It was reissued by Edsel on CD

Compact Disc

The Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store digital data. It was originally developed to store and playback sound recordings exclusively, but later expanded to encompass data storage , write-once audio and data storage , rewritable media , Video Compact Discs , Super Video Compact Discs ,...

 in 1999, featuring bonus tracks (1974 singles, A- and B-sides, which had not been recorded as part of the original concept), but soon deleted.

Track listing

1. "Intro" – 0:45
2. "Eddy’s Rock" – 3:56
3. "Brand New 88" – 3:22
4. "You Got Me Runnin' " – 3:15
5. "I Dun Lotsa Cryin’ Over You" – 3:22
6. "This Is The Story Of My Love (Baby)" – 4:45
7. "Everyday I Wonder" – 4:56
8. "Crazy Jeans" – 2:47
9. "Come Back Karen" – 3:05
10. "We’re Gonna Rock’n’Roll Tonight" – 5:06

Bonus tracks (1999 reissue)

1. "Rock & Roll Winter"
2. "Dream of Unwin"
3. "Nixture"
4. "Are You Ready to Rock"
5. "Marathon Man"

Personnel

• Roy Wood
  Roy Wood
  Roy Adrian Wood is an English singer-songwriter and musician. He was particularly successful in the 1960s and 1970s as member and co-founder of the bands The Move, Electric Light Orchestra, and Wizzard. As a songwriter, he contributed a number of hits to the repertoire of these bands.-Career:Wood...
  
   – vocals, guitars, drums, oboe, cello, bass, keyboards, bassoon, string bass, tenor and baritone saxes, percussion;
• Rick Price
  Rick Price (bassist)
  Rick Price is an English bassist, who has played with various Birmingham based rock bands, most notably Sight and Sound, The Move , Electric Light Orchestra and Wizzard...
  
   – bass guitar, guitar, vocals, percussion;
• Nick Pentelow – tenor saxophone;
• Mike Burney
  Mike Burney
  Mike Burney is a jazz saxophonist, most notable for his tenure in Roy Wood's Wizzard.- Early life :...
  
  – tenor and baritone saxes;
• Keith Smart – drums;
• Charlie Grima – percussion;
• Bill Hunt – piano;
• Bob Brady – piano and vocals (on final track) and 'incidental boogies'.