Search - Ron Wood :: Not for Beginners

Ron Wood up close, personal, & at his best

J P Ryan | Waltham, Massachusetts United States | 07/13/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With Rolling Stones' guitarist Ron Wood's drug and alcohol problems prominent in many recent stories about the band's 2002 -2003 tour,and Wood's own very uneven performances during that tour--based on three shows I attended in Boston and NY, he skated from focused, brilliant, even dazzling (on "Can't You Hear Me Knocking," Happy," and numerous other superb performances), to desultory, inaudible in the mix, and at one Boston show, visibly not playing for half a dozen songs in a row--I was not optimistic about his newest solo album, recorded prior to his 2002 detox.
Remarkably, "Not For Beginners" is a return to the more organic and distinctive form Wood showed on his early albums with Rod Stewart (the Mercury label classics issued from 1969 through 1974,especially "GasolineAlley," "Never A Dull Moment," and "Every Picture Tells a Story,")and his concurrent tenure with that great British band, Faces. Wood's musicianship, especially his extraordinary and highly individual slide work, was noteable for it's sensitivity to the singer (usually Stewart or Ronnie Lane)--it might be witty ("It's All Over Now,"), other times somehow both loose and detailed, with a rare ear (in a supposed hard rocker) for emotional nuance("Jo's Lament," Dylan's "Only A Hobo", the instrumental "Jerusalem,"), with a jagged edge even at it's most lyrical. Of course, he be best known for the dense, slashing "That's All You Need," and "Stay With Me," deploying massive chordal sheets of slide-as-lead guitar.
This new CD finds Wood in the company of old (Dylan, Ian McLagan) and new (Kelly Jones) friends, and it cuts far deeper than those who've only seen Wood mugging on stage might expect. The sometimes acoustic, alway organic album has a notable bittersweet aspect. There are some gorgeous melodies, an overall aura of melancholy and sometimes (as on the Byrds' "Rock and Roll Star) anger. The title is appropriate, for this is a man who has lived the highs and lows and more recently, appears to have been listening and looking inward and around himself after the excesses of the past decades, and the music he has crafted shows genuine emotional range and depth, with some songs expressing an uncomfortable but powerful mix of delicacy and pain. The lyrics are not always quite as eloquent as the music (including Wood's ravaged vocals), but they are blunt, generous, and plainspoken.He is not, after all, Leonard Cohen. The "feel" is loose, lilting at times, swinging in the natural way one finds on Faces and Stones recordings ("Sweet Virginia"), rocking hard on only a few of the tracks. The songs stick in the mind and heart after only a couple of plays, and I can only hope Wood is able to bring his revived talents into the studio for next Stones album. Surely he has not, on the evidence of "Not For Beginners," lost it, even if he is a bit ragged around the edges.
Lovers of fine, layered guitar playing in the British folk/rock/blues tradition: this is a collection of songs that express an appreciation for those haunted memories that give a renewed awareness of the transitory nature of love and life --with that special, distinct edge one associates with Wood, and the Stones-- give this a chance."

Great Album!! Worth the 2 week wait!!!

Preston P. Toney | Charlotte, NC USA | 01/04/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Ronnie Wood's first solo album in nearly ten years is a true family affair. Both his son and daughter appear on the record either singing or playing guitar. Some of the tracks are instrumental pieces including the final track "King of Kings" written by Bob Dylan. Dylan plays guitar on the track and also on another instumental piece entitled "Interfere". A cover of "Rock n' Roll Star" also appears on the album. My favorite track on the album is "Whadd'ya Think"."