Glitter Wizard - Kiss The Boot

 

The album's title largely gives what you are in store for. This is the UK  in 1974, although the Glam Rock is enhanced at times with Guitar Rock and Synth Runs. It takes me back to the teenage me and the singles that I adored. All this here and the music that surrounds me started with Glam, both sartorially and listening wise.

Glam Rock should always be fun and this is from start to finish. She's A Star certainly wears its Platform Boots proud and tall with its Glitter Band drums and from then on the glitter never stops. Sequins And Leather adopts all the riffs. There is a cover of Bowie's Suffragette City, a great song covered faithfully, but I'm not sure that you can add much to the original.

Sugar Beat is call and response and Pogo Tonight heads more towards Pop Rock with a Synth Riff that is all Sweet's Fox On The Run, It is the period Synth parts that take the songs into different directions such as Space Rock and even light Prog.

Glitterati is the stand out here. With a vocal starts all Ozzy Osbourne and transcends into ELO. The Synth line sounds like something from a 1970s Kids TV Space series. There may be a good deal of pastiche here, but the set works because of its wholehearted musical joy.

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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Glitter Wizard - Kiss The Boot

 

We're back, but not as the man in the mask, more as in the New York Groove and so it seems apt to start with San Francisco's Glitter Wizard. As you'd expect there are plenty of nods to the 1973 - 1974 UK Glam Rock scene and it is done really well.

This isn't a new idea to plenty of I Don't Hear A Single followers with both The Darkness and Ulysses. Glitter Wizard however add something with different, Whereas The Darkness are more theatrical with a multi range lead vocalist, Ulysses mastered Pomp Rock, here there is far more instrument wise.

This allows the band to follow heavier directions and the synth takes them in more Space Rock areas. The base is the drum sound of The Glitter Band and everything else spreads its tentacles far and wide. Sugar Beat is pure Glitter Band throughout.

She's A Star starts all Glam, but heads more into 70s Rock with added synth, drum and guitar solos. Glitterati leads with a BBC Sci Fi Series theme like affair, but the vocal and Guitar are heavier. A little like Black Sabbath Never Say Die times and the Guitar solo is very Tony Iommi.

Sequins And Leather has that Glam Rock chug, but also Boogie Rock's a bit more. Pogo Tonight even has a synth run, very close to Sweet's Fox On The Run. There is also cover of Bowie's Suffragette City which does Glam Pop it up a bit, but seems a bit pointless. There are some songs that should be left alone, this being one.

Yes Kiss The Boot is very derivative, but that's the point. The genre was never gonna change the musical world, but it was pure fun and bringing it to a new audience is just the job as well as allowing fans my age to remember the Flares and the Butterfly Collars is a great Nostalgia vibe. 2023 really does need more fun and Glitter Wizard aim to please.

You can listen to and buy the album here.

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