Roy Wood & Wizzard - Look Thru' the Eyes of Roy Wood & Wizzard: Hits & Rarities, Brilliance & Charm... 1974-1987 (2006)

God knows that there have been too many Roy Wood compilations released over the years, but such a complicated glut only seems fitting for an artist who would start new bands and record under different monikers at the drop of a hat. If he was that reckless, it only makes sense that his discography would be that messy, too, but Castle's 2007 double-disc set Look Thru the Eyes of Roy Wood & Wizzard tries to sort through the mess, offering up, as its subtitle says, "Hits & Rarities, Brilliance & Charm 1974-1987." Given its generous two-disc span, it would seem like this would be a comprehensive overview of Wood's solo career, something that he needs since despite the multitude of releases over the years, not one has offered all of his best songs or biggest hits on one compilation. Neither does Look Thru the Eyes, unfortunately. Take another look at the subtitle and notice that this begins not at the outset of his solo career, but a couple years into it, so there is nothing from his brilliant first album Boulders, nor any of Wizzard's earliest hits, including the perennial "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day." This is a pretty big detriment, but an even bigger drawback is that many of the best-known and best Wood & Wizzard songs are here in alternate takes. It's a downright shame that the version of "Oh What a Shame" is rare but lifeless, lacking the blitzkrieg joie de vivre of the original, and this isn't the only time that something classic is sidestepped for something rare. There are many Wood classics that are present in alternate versions (usually live takes) that are good but inferior to the studio versions: among the substitutions are "This Is the Story of My Love (Baby)," "Angel Fingers (A Teen Ballad)," and "Ball Park Incident." This, combined with the missing songs -- which include not only the aforementioned Boulders but there are also other great songs like "Mustard/You Sure Got It Now," plus songs from the Wizzo band and other late-'70s projects that have never shown up on CD -- whose absence just points out that this disc is not nearly as comprehensive as it initially appears. In fact, the chief goal of this set appears to be to rope in those Wood diehards who will buy each comp for a couple of rarities, and this has more than most -- but the rarities, while never outright bad, aren't that compelling, either. Certainly, they're not quite good enough to pull in listeners happy with the previous double-disc set, Repertoire's 1999 Exotic Mixture, which may lack some Wizzard material, but it has more of Wood's best than this, but this is really a neither fish nor fowl kind of compilation: it's not clear or focused enough to be an overview, nor is it chock-full of worthy rarities for the collector. As such, Look Thru the Eyes doesn't stand out from the pack, it winds up being as frustrating -- and as enjoyable, it must be said -- as any of the muddled Wood comps on the market. © Stephen Thomas Erlewine