Wild Tiger Woman

"Wild Tiger Woman"
Single by the Move
B-side"Omnibus"
Released30 August 1968
Recorded21 March 1968, at Olympic Studios, London
GenreHard rock
Length2:55
LabelRegal Zonophone
Songwriter(s)Roy Wood
Producer(s)Denny Cordell
The Move singles chronology
"Fire Brigade"
(1968) 		"Wild Tiger Woman"
(1968) 		"Blackberry Way"
(1968)

"Wild Tiger Woman" is a song recorded by the Move, and as with all the other A-sides of their singles, written by Roy Wood. First issued as their fifth single, it failed to chart on the UK Singles Chart, despite all previous singles having reached the top-5 on that chart.[1][2]

Background and recording

"Wild Tiger Woman" was much heavier than the band's earlier singles, bearing the influence of Jimi Hendrix, whom the group greatly admired and had often played on the same bill with. [citation needed] Wood and rhythm/bass guitarist Trevor Burton had sung backing vocals on the track "You've Got Me Floating" from The Jimi Hendrix Experience's album Axis: Bold as Love.[3] For the "Wild Tiger Woman" session, musician Nicky Hopkins played piano. According to Wood, producer Denny Cordell was not present for the mixing of the track and so it was handled by the band themselves and the engineer, which he felt resulted in an inferior mix.[4]

According to Burton, "It had the heavier rock'n'roll sound we should have been playing all along, and I really thought it was on its way to the very top."[5] Wood was less enthusiastic: "The song's all right. I wouldn't choose to sing it now."[4]

Reception

Unlike their first four singles, which had all reached the UK top five, it did not even make the Top 40. A factor in this failure to chart may have lay in the lyrics which included the line "tied to the bed, she's waiting to be fed", which led to the single being banned from Radio 1.[6] Another factor was that the single's mono mix was muffled, as compared to prior Move singles.[7] (A recent first-time stereo mix shows that the tune was nicely recorded, just initially poorly mixed.)

Its failure was a disappointment to the rest of the group, who conceded that it had been something of a mistake, and that the more melodic B-side, "Omnibus", would have been a more suitable A-side instead. They announced that they would probably disband if their subsequent single did likewise.[8][9] The song that they chose for it, "Blackberry Way", became a number 1 hit, however, and so the group did not disband until 1972, when they were supplanted by Electric Light Orchestra.[10][11][12]

Personnel

The Move

  • Carl Wayne – lead, harmony and backing vocals
  • Roy Wood – lead, harmony and backing vocals, guitars
  • Trevor Burton – lead, harmony and backing vocals, bass guitar
  • Bev Bevan – drums, backing vocals

Additional personnel

References

  1. ^ "Move". Officialcharts.com. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  2. ^ Roberts, David (1998). Guinness Rockopedia (1st ed.). London: Guinness Publishing Ltd. p. 282. ISBN 0-85112-072-5.
  3. ^ Unterberger, Richier (2009). The Rough Guide to Jimi Hendrix. Rough Guides. p. 75. ISBN 978-1-84836-002-0.
  4. ^ a b Sharp, Ken (30 September 1994). "Roy Wood: The Wizzard of Rock". The Move Online. Archived from the original on 15 January 2008.
  5. ^ Shazam, 2007 CD reissue, booklet notes.
  6. ^ "A beginner's guide to: The Move". Counteract – News | Music | Film | Food. 2 January 2018. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  7. ^ Larkin, Colin, ed. (2006). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music: Morricone, Ennio - Rich Kids. MUZE. p. 42. ISBN 0195313739.
  8. ^ Howard, David (2004). Sonic Alchemy: Visionary Music Producers and Their Maverick Recordings. Hal Leonard Corporation. p. 126. ISBN 9780634055607.
  9. ^ Kutner, Jon; Leigh, Spencer (26 May 2010). "265". 1,000 UK Number One Hits. Omnibus Press. ISBN 978-0857123602.
  10. ^ Burns, Lori; Lacasse, Serge (2018). The Pop Palimpsest: Intertextuality in Recorded Popular Music. University of Michigan Press. p. 127. ISBN 9780472130672.
  11. ^ Picking up where the Beatles left off ... Jeff Lynne and ELO. Photograph: Andre Csillag/Rex Alan McGee (16 October 2008). "ELO: The band the Beatles could have been". The Guardian. Retrieved 29 August 2020.
  12. ^ Van der Kiste, John (21 January 2017). Jeff Lynne: Electric Light Orchestra - Before and After. Fonthill Media. ISBN 978-1781554920.


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