Re: ronnie wood rules
Date: October 13, 2006 05:01
Personally, I like much of the debut, and Ron proved he can write and arrange beyond the Faces, and gather the cream of his peers - Far East Man is gorgeous, I Can Feel the Fire a hot & funky rocker, the 2 Jagger/Richards tracks excellent - but the backing vocals (Liza Irene Strike etc) and occasional synth mar some of it ('Cancel Everything' would be even better w/out the b.v.'s)..."Now Look" is even better, thanks to superior production and Bobby Womack, who's added so much to classic albums from Sam Cooke to Aretha and Wilson Pickett and Sly Stone (Wood and Womack are always brilliant collaborators with others). "Mahoney's Last Stand" with Ronnie Lane is an underrated gem, evoking the more organic sound of "Gasoline Alley" & "Beggars Banquet" with its fiddles, dobros, acoustics, slides, and soul - as well as some great material such as "Just For A Moment" (as exquisite as 'Breathe On Me')...To me Gimme Some Neck was a little weaker due to RT Baker's sludgey production and mix and some so-so songs ('F.U.C. Her', etc) but still good. "1234" has some fine moments, but you can taste the coke and Ron's voice is sometimes thick, mucoid, raspy. "Slide On This" was very good with a more modern sounding production and a great choice for collaborator (Bernard Fowler) and the subsequent live album also had some hot moments ('Pretty Beat Up', for one, and since '98 two brilliant studio bonus tracks)...But to me the most underestimated of the bunch is one that grew on me over a year or two, "Not For Beginners" - with its shimmering array of layered elec/acc/pedal steel guitars/electric & standup basses/dobros/mandolins/etc. The songs and performances are emotionally open, passionate (just check the haunting and soul-deep intro to 'R U Behaving Yourself'), convincingly presenting Wood's scars and most heartfelt latter-day experiences: near-despair, fear, humor, and finally values: love, family, friendship, & the satisfactions of joyous musical camaraderie with those he's been closest to...."Hypershine" (with McLagan and Dylan, must be one of the most sensitive, expressive instrumentals of recent years, with its fragile, seemingly effortless, lilting pulse and brilliant sense of tension and release...It's as fine an album as he's ever made - despite one of the ugliest examples of 'cover art' by a major artist ever.