“Elevator” (1979) – The Rollers * Written by Eric Faulkner, Duncan Faure, and Stewart Wood * Produced by Peter Ker * LP: Elevator * Label: Arista
The Bay City Rollers reconstruction project started with the Elevator album. It was their first post-Krofft Superstar Hour event and included a number of loud hints that they were interested in ditching the preteen audience. They put a barbituate on the cover. (A downer going up.) They put a moustache on guitarist Eric Faulkner and abolished the words “bay” and “city.” They banished former frontman Les McKeown and included the words “erection” and “shit” on their lyric sheet. But in spite of such try-hard invitations for ongoing ridicule was the secret reality that they had released their finest album, a power-pop pleasure piece. Producer Peter Ker had been in the midst of working with the Motors, and new Roller frontman Duncan Faure, from South Africa, was showing a clear penchant for—and investment in—songcraft that carried on throughout their next two (and final) albums, each of them highly listenable yet awkwardly marketed affairs.