Following on from their impressive debut album Days, The Wood return with new single Romantic Attitude, a cover version of an obscure soul gem from 1969, by John Fitch and the Associates.
Romantic Attitude is a smooth groove of a song that mixes ’60s soul with a psychedelic tinge, aided and abetted by some excellent wah-wah guitaring. I will admit to never having heard the original until this cover sent me in search of its source. It is a classic slice of American soul that captured the time when that music was colliding with hippy culture and I will be checking more of John Fitch’s back catalogue as soon as possible.
The Wood’s version captures the spirit and feel of the original but benefits from superior production techniques and a more modern sound. Alex Evans vocals are perfectly suited to this kind of soul groove and Steve Powell’s guitar licks take the song to spectacular heights.
The Wood again impress with their abilities and their authenticity. Romantic Attitude is a worthy addition to their canon. In a way it’s a shame this wasn’t released a month or two earlier, as it is the perfect soundtrack to a lazy summer day spent kicking back with sunglasses and cocktails.
We spoke to The Wood about their history and their plans for the future.
S13: How did The Wood come together?
Alex Evans: “We first met when Steve recorded me about 12 years ago when I came to his studio.”
Steve Powell: “We were recording a single and I was blown away by Alex’s voice.”
AE: “Not long after we began writing together.”
SP: “It just clicked and we found we worked well as a writing partnership.”
S13: How do you and Alex get along in terms of songwriting and rehearsals?
SP: “We both always have ideas for songs, so we develop those in the studio. We always have a few songs on the go and work on them over a period of time.”
AE: “The process feels quite natural. Once one of us brings in an idea we are just throwing stuff around and bouncing off each other. It’s a really fun and rewarding experience.”
SP: “Sometimes we come up with ideas on the spot and we just run with it.”
AE: “Each song is different. There’s no particular formula or method we use. Sometimes the melody comes first, sometimes the chords or the lyric. Once we find the groove it’s hard to stop.”
SP: “In terms of rehearsing, with it just being the two of us, we tend to pull our friends in to help us out and just rehearse when we have a performance coming up. At the moment we are putting a band together and looking to do many more gigs.”
S13: What effect do you think your years of experience has had on The Wood?
SP: “I’ve worked on and come to appreciate many styles of music. I can use the studio as a tool to express and develop what I am hearing in my head. We’re able to build songs without the need of a band, although looking forward, we want our music to be more of an organic band driven process.”
AE: “Although I haven’t got quite the experience Steve has got, I have been heavily influenced by music from an early age and growing up music was always a major part of my life. Being surrounded by others with the same passion as myself has helped me grow personally and broaden my horizons and styles, which has now given me the knowledge and the platform to be a confident songwriter and performer.”
SP: “I think I realised a long time ago that you shouldn’t try and write songs that other people will like. Be selfish with your songs. You have to love what you do.”
S13: Where do you think The Wood fit into Liverpool’s musical history?
SP: “The immediate future.”
S13: Steve, which side of the studio do you prefer to be on, producing or performing?
SP: “Both. Performing for the buzz of creating music, producing for developing and realising a vision. There’s immense satisfaction in hearing a finished piece of music, especially something I’ve been involved in writing and recording.
“Once it’s done it’s immortal, committed to other people’s ears. It’s nice when people are complementary when they have heard something I’ve recorded for the first time, often things from a long time ago, like for example The Michael Head & The Strands album from 30 years ago. Those memories come flooding back. I’d like to think that The Woods music will still have that effect on people in the future.”
The Wood - Romantic AttitudeS13: Alex, how do you think your vocal talents have kind of gone under the radar so far? Is the music business a fair place to work?
AE: “I think there’s so many great musicians and singers that go under the radar these days. It’s hard as support has dwindled for unsigned artists over the years. The music business is not like it used to be, you’re out on your own a lot of the time. It’s a tough industry to be successful and make a living.
“For me this isn’t what success is all about and I think everyone views success differently. Writing and recording the songs that I believe in is my success. I’m very lucky that I have met Steve and we have the tools to achieve this. We have just released our first album in the last nine months, so people are only just hearing our music for the first time.
“The reaction so far has been really encouraging so who knows what the future brings but hopefully this is the start of something.”
S13: Where do you draw your inspirations from?
SP: “From life, people, circumstances, the good and the bad in the world, the planet we live on and much of the music and musicians from the last 100 years or so.”
S13: Tell us about your new single Romantic Attitude.
SP: “It’s a cover of a song by John Fitch & Associates from 1969. I’ve loved it since I was a kid, it was the B side of a single my cousin gave me. I played it to Alex and he said “Yeah, let’s do a version!”
AE: “We left it sitting there for a while and then we thought, ‘why don’t we put it out there, It’s a great song and if we like it so much, maybe other people will too’. The reactions were really great.”
S13: I believe you’re also in the process of recording an EP. What will that be like?
SP: “The lead track is called Cold Fire. It’s a soul song, one of the first songs we wrote together. Another one that has been down the back of the couch, so to speak. I said to Alex, “maybe we should revisit it and have a female singer featured.” Al suggested Brooke Combe, which was a great shout.”
AE: “I asked Brooke and she said she was up for it. She gave a fantastic performance. Such an amazing voice, we are really grateful. The songs turned out great. It’s been given a new lease of life. We are really happy with how it sounds.”
SP: “As for the other songs, there’s a rock track, a country tinged acoustic song, so typically for us a pretty mixed bag.”
S13: What is next from The Wood?
AE: “Apart from the release of our EP next month, we are currently putting the finishing touches to our second album, which we are looking to release in a few months. As we mentioned earlier we are putting a band together so will be looking for more regular gigs.”
SP: “We’re really proud of the second album. We can’t wait for people to hear it. The third one is already under way.”
So that’s where we leave The Wood for now, but we’re thankful that there won’t be too long a wait for more of their emotive soul. In these times where it is common for bands to take years between album, The Wood’s prolific approach is a welcome one and should keep us supplied with soul grooves for the foreseeable future, a situation we are more than happy with.
Romantic Attitude is out now. Purchase from Bandcamp.
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