Roy Wood (born Roy Adrian Wood, 8 November 1946, Kitts Green, Birmingham, West Midlands, England) - sometimes erroneously thought to be born as Ulysses Adrian Wood, from an offhand interview comment in the 1960s - is a songwriter, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist. 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 groups.
Review by Doug Stone
This collection stays fairly true to its title, chronologically lining up Move, Electric Light Orchestra, Wizzard, Helicopters, and solo Wood tracks. Because of a vast disparity of labels and bands, Wood singles and albums are difficult to attain in a cohesive and comprehensive compilation. The premium Through the Years does an admirable job, as the liner notes adhere (for the most part) to the track listing and the sound quality is decent. Most of these cuts are brilliant A-sides ("Tonight," "I Wish It Could Be Christmas Every Day") with a few insane B-sides ("Music to Commit Suicide By," "Bend Over Beethoven") thrown into the brew. Notice that Cheap Trick cribbed the opening of "Downed" from ELO's "10536 Overture." The beautiful and rare "Green Glass Windows" is a stunning oddity. Though it too is less than perfect, the double Roy Wood: Exotic Mixture set, released later, eclipses this and most Wood collections (there are many), but Through the Years remains a premium introduction into the wild, noisy, and ingenious world of Roy Wood.