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The Finest 'arvest of the Wurzels | 
| Artist: Wurzels
Label: EMI Gold
Category: Music
List Price: £6.99
Buy New: £3.98
You Save: £3.01 (43%)
New (28) Used (3) from £3.59
Rating:  13 reviews
Sales Rank: 1406
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.2
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 5 x 0.5
UPC: 724353440121
EAN: 7243534401216
ASIN: B00005MKVD
Release Date: August 13, 2001
Shipping: Eligible for Super Saver Shipping
Availability: Usually dispatched within 24 hours
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| Tracks:
| • | Combine Harvester | | • | I Am A Cider Drinker | | • | Morning Glory | | • | Blackbird | | • | Farmer Bill's Cowman | | • | Drink Up Thy Zider | | • | Twice Daily | | • | Chitterling | | • | All Over Mendip | | • | Champion Dung Spreader | | • | Don't Tell I Tell 'ee | | • | You Don't Get Drunk On A Saturday Night | | • | My Threshing Machine | | • | Pill Pill | | • | Down The Nempnett Thrubwell | | • | I Love To Swim In The Zider Zea | | • | I Got My Beady Little On Thee | | • | Keep Yer 'and On Yer 'alfpenny | | • | Market Gardener | | • | Back Of My Old Car | | • | I Wish I Was Back On The Farm | | • | Wurple Diddle I Do Song | | • | I'll Never Get A Scrumpy Here | | • | Drink Drink Yer Zider Up | | • | Combine Harvester |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Amazon.co.uk Review
The finest band to ever come out of the West Country, The Wurzels have enjoyed a surprising amount of success during their long career, with their tales of cider (or zider, as they prefer to call it) and farming. Primarily known for the classic "Oi've Got A Brand New Combine Harvester (I'll Give You The Key)", this Best Of compilation has so much more to offer than bizarre West Country ways of proposing marriage. For starters it contains the utter classic "I Am A Cider Drinker", a drinking song to the tune of "Una Paloma Blanca", complete with hearty "Oooo-arrr" chorus. Like Ivor Biggun, this is British smutty humour at its best, with songs like the tale of the "Market Gardener", who takes his date to the garden to show her his "produce" only to hear her utter the magical words, "I'd like to take a sample of your cucumber home tonight", or the slightly dodgier "In The Back Of My Old Car" with it's scary refrain of "I'll give you an economy ride". Ooo-arrrr, missus. --Helen Marquis
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| Customer Reviews: Read 8 more reviews...
Ooh arr OOH ARR May 15, 2008
Never meant to be taken seriously, the Wurzels have nevertheless proved their longevity by keeping themselves busy making music over a period of more than forty years. For much of the time, they have been content to play local venues in Bristol and Somerset, but they have made an impact nationally (with a British number one hit) and internationally (with the same song becoming a Canadian number one hit). They actually scored hits with five different songs in the British charts. A re-mix of their biggest hit also charted. Wurzel music is difficult to classify. British stores such as HMV and Zavvi generally put it on the easy listening shelves, but I would say that the main influence is folk. The Wurzels like to call their music Scrumpy and Western, so perhaps they think their music should sit on the country music shelves next to Tammy Wynette's albums. You must make up your own mind what classification you file their music under, if you feel the need to classify it.
The Wurzels began their long musical career in 1966, with Adam John (Adge) Cutler as their leader. Under his leadership, they built a loyal local following in the Bristol and Somerset area and making some impact further afield. They scored a minor British hit (Drink up thy cider) in 1967, which helped the associated album (Adge Cutler and the Wurzels) into the British album charts. They continued to perform in their local area but seemed either unable or unwilling to make any further impact nationally. Tragedy struck when Adge Cutler was killed in a road accident while driving home one night in 1974. This forced the remaining Wurzels to consider their future. They stayed together but made some adjustments. While some fans insist that the Wurzels were always better with Adge than without him, the fact remains that their greatest commercial success came without him.
In 1972, while Adge was still alive, Melanie (Safka) had a huge international hit with a lightweight but brilliant song, Brand new key, which made number one in America and became a top five hit in Britain. Everybody who is familiar with the pop music of the early seventies knows this song. In 1976, the Wurzels recorded their version of the song with very different lyrics and re-titled Combine harvester. This recording gave the Wurzels their first and only number one hit. On one level, it can be seen as a silly song, but it is quite amusing. In many ways, it typifies their music. If you don't like Combine harvester, I can't imagine that you'll like any of their other music. Having hit on a successful formula, the Wurzels followed up with another re-working of a popular seventies hit. I am a cider drinker (Una paloma blanca) made the top three in Britain later in 1976. Yet another re-working of an oldie, Farmer Bill's cowman (I was Kaiser Bill's batman) was only a minor British hit in 1977, after which the Wurzels disappeared from the British charts for the rest of the millennium. They returned in 2001 with a new version of Combine harvester, which gave them a minor hit. One further minor hit (Don't look back in anger), which isn't included here, completes their British chart history to date.
Despite the big hits being re-workings of other people's songs, the vast majority of their songs are entirely original. The Wurzels managed to encapsulate life in their local area (Bristol and Somerset) in much the same way that Fivepenny Piece did for their local area (Lancashire) although there are noticeable differences, not least because the Fivepenny Piece had different singers (male and female) to take turns on lead vocals. A more obvious comparison is with the Yetties (from Dorset, which shares a border with Somerset).
This is basically a fun album, but it is an insult to describe it as novelty music (as some do) because there's a lot more depth to it than is immediately apparent. Most people won't care about that and will simply enjoy the fun.
 Proper job! October 26, 2006
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
Yer - Thur do be two paarts to Wurzul istry moi luvver, thur d'be the furst bit wiv Aaadge Cutler, an then thur d'be the bit wot they dun aaafter ee died. The Cutler stuff were luush, and the latur stuff not aaardly as good loike.
To return to English, Wurzels founder Adge Cutler was a creative genius who developed a type of folk music based on the country life of the West Country. Starting up in the coastal area west of Bristol Adge recruited Tommy Banner (piano), Reg Quantrell (Wurzelphone) and various other contributers in a changing line up.
The early heydays saw his poke fun remorselessly at his friends and hisself with colliquialisms and observations on the slow and simple way of life in the country. Classics like Pill Pill, Don't Tell I Tell 'Ee, Wurple Diddle I Doo, and the classic Thees Gottn Wur Thee Cassn't Backn Hassnt? represent musical in-jokes that people of the area appreciated enormously.
Adge was killed in May 1974 when returning from a series of performances in Hereford. His car overturned and a legend was lost. The years that followed showed manager John Miles transforming the image into a more nationally-appreciated novelty band that acheived national success. This was a big directional change from the original plans, and many fans refer to this post-Adge period as the end of the Wurzels.
This album will be lost on many people, and the early music lost on all outside the corner of Zummerset where Adge and the Wurzels were known and loved - and truly understood. To those within it who love the region and its people, it's great music.
The middle part of the album (track 6-14) does capture the real essence of Wurzeldom, with classic Adge tracks like those mentioned above. But there are a few classics missing, notably 'Thees Gottn Wur Thee Cassn't Backn Hassnt?' - (arguably the all time classic), also 'Up the Clump' and 'Easton-in-Gordano'.
Despite this there's some classics here and a good selection of the 'modern' (post 1974) version after the big change in direction.
Drink up thee zider moi luvs!
Proper job, this 'un! May 8, 2005
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
A must have album for anyone who's ever enjoyed a night in a proper 'local' zummerzet pub. Every weekend this gets chucked on in our local and we all raise a mug of cloudy scrump to this fine bunch of merry men and have a sing song. If on the other hand you don't have a local pub full of red-faced zider zupperz get a couple gallons of cider-u-can-chew-on, drag the barbie out, get your mates round and do it the 'Wurzel' way...
The weekend just wouldn't be the same without it.. Perfick!!
Wurple-Diddle-I-Doo-tasic! February 18, 2005
8 out of 8 found this review helpful
You see, primarily I listen to metal. I'm talking Morbid Angel, Cradle of Filth, Opeth...... But at the end of a long day or when the mood takes you there's nothing I like better than sticking this (or any other Wurzels CDs) in the stereo and having a good drink or two (or three, or four.... 5...6...7 etc. And Zider at that!).It really blows your troubles away and exercises the ability to laugh and be exceedingly happy! I would DEFINETLY recommend this! The classics are endless from "Combine Harvester" (Brand New Key), "Drink up thy Zider", and "My Threshing machine"! Obviously there wasn't room for all the classics as it is missing "My Somerset Crumpet Horn" and "Look at 'ee Lookin' at I" but it has its fair share and is still a proper job! Oooh aah!! More people should indeed listen to The Wurzels! Try it, you might like it!
I've found it! The best of the wurzles on one album. October 7, 2004
5 out of 5 found this review helpful
They are excellent fun songs that I came to know through my cousins during my stay in England. I even saw the wurzels live in herefordshire. When I returned I found my mum used to go to dances where the wurzels played. So it's been a must find album. It brings back soo many memories of Young farmers.
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