Stones alone

And so we meet again... What a tough few weeks! Last weekend, a virus made it's way into my hard drive, resulting in a total scrub of everything on there. Good thing my music and pictures are on an external drive! So, now it's time to play catch up. The record listening has been coming along nicely. I got the new Ron Wood CD, "I Feel Like Playing" and a few days later, found Mick Taylor's debut album "Mick Taylor". So, I decided to go on a Stones solo thing. With the Mick Taylor album, somehow I never got around to checking it out (it came out in 1979). While I really wasn't expecting a Stonesy sounding record, I did expect some recognizable guitar sounds and maybe some things in the Stones groove. I do already have a live CD he did in Europe which does include some Stones numbers, including his encore of 'Can't You Hear Me Knocking'. With alla that in mind, I didn't find as much stuff to sink my teeth into as I expected. 'Alabama' (not the Neil Young one), 'Slow Blues', 'Giddy-Up', and 'Spanish / A Minor' turned out to be songs of note. Taylor has always been such a great player and he does display it here, usually in an understated way.

I then dug into "Monkey Grip" by Bill Wyman. It's a decent record full of lotsa grooving, bluesy, good time music. While not a star studded affair, he does get some decent help from Dr. John, Lowell George, George Terry, and Leon Russell. 'Crazy Woman', 'What a Blow', 'Pussy' (yes, that one), and 'White Lightnin' ' highlight this one.

Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' debut albums were much documented. Keef's record sees Keith do songs that sound like songs he would do. No big stars, other that Bootsy Collins playing bass on 'Big Enough'. I remember at the time thinking it was the best Stones album they never made. Mick's record received by far the most hype. It was practically an event went it came out. It's a very 80's sounding record that, among others, includes a some what restrained Jeff Beck. Any record that has Jeff Beck on at least half of it's songs can't be all that bad, could it?

As for the Ronnie Wood CD, it seemed a bit underwhelming, until about track 4, when he's joined by Billy Gibbons for a couple numbers. It is worth picking up, though. Onto the next stack o' records!

Albums listened to since last post; "Amorica" (Black Crowes), "Mick Taylor", "She's the Boss" (Mick Jagger), "Monkey Grip" (Bill Wyman), "Talk is Cheap" (Keith Richards) . Total listened to: 31. To go: 655 (337 days).