Search - Ron Wood :: Ronnie Wood Anthology: The Essential Crossexion

Ron Wood Looks Back

J P Ryan | Waltham, Massachusetts United States | 01/05/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Ron Wood has had a remarkably prolific and successful career, stretching back to 1964, when Decca released the debut single by The Birds, 'You're On My Mind', a Wood original. Wood made posters promising "Pounding Beat and Savage Music", and listening to The Birds' exciting compilation on the Deram label it's hard to believe the lead guitarist was only 17 when the group's first records were released, and 19 when he split to form a group with Jeff Beck and Rod Stewart in December 1966 - the band recorded first rate London punk/maximum r&b, as incendiery as the early Who or Small Faces. Ron Wood has been a 'rock star' for so long it's easy to forget the body of great music he's produces as member of several major bands, as collaborator extraordinaire, and on a dozen or so solo albums. So having passed his 60th birthday a box or 2-disc retrospective along the lines of, say, Clapton's "Crossroads" (or scores of lovingly researched and lavish packages celebrating far less important bands) seems appropriate, even overdue. Thus I find myself both pleased and a little frustrated at this collection. There is no doubt that had this project received the TLC it deserves, a lot more listeners and critics would be re-evaluating Wood's legacy. Ron Wood joined The Rolling Stones in 1975, and though his influence on the band was immediate and undeniable (imagine "Some Girls" with Mick Taylor) a combination of factors have led to his creative marginalization, and though he's handled his position with greater finesse than Brian Jones and Mick Taylor, he'll always be the 'newest' member, and these discs prove Wood is far more than a capable support player. Oh well, the career-spanning "Crossexion" is a too brief sampler that contains some great music from five decades - yet is flawed, first by glaring factual mistakes (famed engineer Gary Kellgren becomes Gregg...) and typos within the 2-CD set's booklet. But more importantly, though Wood and Virgin licensed the recent - and brilliant - EMI remasters of The Jeff Beck Group's 1967 - 69 material, elsewhere the mastering is less than stellar on some tracks - which is especially unfortunate because much of Wood's solo work is either out of print or (in the case of his albums for Warner Bros and Columbia) available in fifteen or twenty year old CDs in serious need of sonic upgrade...Too bad Rhino didn't produce this well-deserved retrospective, for a cursory comparison to that label's fantastic 4 CD box set by Faces (Wood's 1969-75 band) clearly suggests what could have been something special. As it stands, the man has been famous for most of his adult life, and "Crossexion" will hopefully encourage a reconsideration of his fantastic career, and give Rolling Stones fans an opportunity to investigate both his solo catalog and pre-Stones work with Faces, Jeff Beck Group, Rod Stewart, Creation, and The Birds. I suspect, however, it will not sell enough or get the press attention Wood deserves. In recent years Wood has been active performing solo shows and recordings, guesting with friends, and releasing gems from the vaults (i.e the New Barbarians)when not busy with the Stones, yet more attention has been given to his struggles with various addictions. Unlike Taylor and Jones, Wood was already a certified rock star when he began working with the Stones in 1974 (during sessions for his solo debut album, which featured Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, and Taylor, and produced 'It's Only Rock 'n Roll' which - what a guy! - he let the Stones use on their own album later that year. Far from a faceless session pro, his highly personal approach to both bass and, especially, guitar playing was rich and distinctive. He became a star when he joined Faces, where his role was curiously similar to Keith's in the Stones, and by then he was already an established songwriter, alone and in collaboration with the likes of Jeff Beck, Rod Stewart, Ronnie Lane, Bobby Womack, and many others. Wood's important role in the making of classic albums like (the Beck Group's) "Truth", as well as Stewart's five absolute best ever solo albums (the ones that made him famous, for the Mercury label in 1969 - 74), and his role in Faces proved was, and can still be, one of the most immediately recognizable and soulful guitar stylists of his generation; only Duane Allman, and Ry Cooder approach his beautiful and unique slide work. This compilation can't match the Faces box, but there are plenty of classics such as 'Every Picture Tells A Story' and 'Stay With Me'. Sadly, the 'solo' disc misses too much of the best from that, less celebrated side of his career, which begins on a high note with 'I Can Feel The Fire' (with Mick and Keith on board), 'Cancel Everything' (a beautiful original featuring stellar guitar work by Wood and Richards), and the gorgeous collaboration with George Harrison, 'Far East Man', all from 1974. These, and every track excerpted from 2002's "Not For Beginners" sound better than ever, but why not include the original 1975 version of 'Breathe On Me' (one of Wood's most powerful songs) with it's deep groove and gorgeous guitar work, and wonderful harmony singing by Keith Richards? And to these ears there are too many tracks from "1234" his least successful solo album. And much of the second disc - his work within bands - is familar, readily available in superior contexts. Such as the following, all recommended:

The Birds: "A Collection Of Rare English Birds" (Deram, 1999) for some great and scorching Brit Invasion protopunk.

Creation: "Biff Bang Pow!" and "Making Time" two double-vinyl and CD sets that collected "The Complete Works" of this fine mod psych band, issued by Retroactive in 1998

Jeff Beck Group: "Truth" and the Stooges-meet-Led Zep "Beck-Ola" are best heard in the 2003 and 2004 EMI (UK) editions - the US editions don't capture the raw power and seem drawn from rather drab and different masters of those classic albums (yes that includes the 2006 US Legacy reissues that have the same cover art and bonus material as the EMIs).

Faces, "Five Guys Walk Into A Bar..." one of the best boxed sets ever, revelatory, and mostly non album material at that. And petition Rhino for those original studio albums to get the expanded/upgraded treatment they deserve.

Rod Stewart, "Complete Mercury Studio Recordings 1969 - 74" Five classic studio albums, non-album singles, and more on 3 CDs.

As for Wood's solo stuff, my favorites are his latest, "Not For Beginners" an intimate, organic work, with layered shimmering guitars, basses, dobros, and no concessions to current (2002) trends, it is Wood's most personal and emotionally powerful album. Then check his collaboration with Bobby Womack from 1975, "Now Look." And his 1976 soundtrack album with Lane, "Mahoney's Last Stand," features two or three tracks that rate with the Faces at their best (it's shame this collection contains nothing from that gem, a terrific soundtrack to a film starring the young Sam Waterston).

The Stones albums I assume you know, but with only a pair of Wood-written tracks to close the second disc, one can ask why no "Down In the Hole" which illustrates the differences between the Keith/Ron era and the Keith/Taylor era quite nicely. Or, for another lesser known stunner, the live "When the Whip Comes Down" from "Sucking In the Seventies"?

BTW, the two unissued tracks that close disc one are both lovely, one ('Little Mixed Up') from Wood's 1997 sessions that provided bonus material to the Koch label's reissue of "Slide On Live" and the other ('You Strum and I'll Sing')a 2001 collaboration with Rod Stewart that actually evokes the spirit of Sam Cooke, something I'd never guess Rod could still do. I'm glad to add them to my collection, but really despite a lot of very fine music (one surprise if the live "Seven Days" with Booker T. & The MGs from the Dylan 30th anniversary celebration), I was hoping for something more, something carefully and lovingly prepared and in each case taken from original masters. To quote Faces, "Too Bad.""