Roy Wood - Main Street (Expanded Edition) (2000)

Recorded in 1976, but not released until 2000 because the record label considered it uncommercial, Main Street proves the record company right -- there was no way in hell this collection of winding jazz-influenced instrumentals, studio experimentation, and dense post-Beach Boys pop would have gotten onto the charts, particularly in 1976. That doesn't mean that it should have sat on the shelves for nearly 25 years, either, since Roy Wood's cult is of the kind that will purchase anything he cut. Still, this can be pretty tough sledding even for that cult, since it isn't so much eccentric as it is messy. There are a few nice moments here and there, particularly on the terrific "Indiana Rainbow," but that's better heard on Exotic Mixture. This is for Roy fanatics and historians; interesting to hear once, but unlikely to find its way back to the stereo too often.© Stephen Thomas Erlewine /TiVo