ALBUM REVIEW: The Ronnie Wood band – Mr Luck – A Tribute to Jimmy Reed: Live at the Royal Albert Hall

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ALBUM REVIEW: The Ronnie Wood band - Mr Luck - A Tribute to Jimmy Reed: Live at the Royal Albert Hall

“Calling all guitarists…It’s the Jimmy Reed move,” proclaims the blurb on the rear sleeve. “It’s all about those visceral chords that send a shiver down your spine.” The passage finishes with, “It’s the flavour
of the album.”

Some introduction then, but it’s more than justified for an album of pure blues. While it should be essential listening for any guitarist, anyone with an interest in blues or rock music will benefit from the class and showmanship of the Ronnie Wood Band in tribute to Jimmy Reed.

Recorded on the closing night of Bluesfest in 2013 the only question hanging over the beautifully produced double LP is why it took so long to be released. It’s the second of a trilogy of albums Wood is behind which honour those who most influenced his career. Featuring cover art by Ronnie Wood and some excellent photography from the gig, the vinyl version is a collector’s item itself, before you even get to the music.

The ‘Jimmy Reed move’ is the simple act of adding a note to a classic blues progression, but it’s gone on to influence innumerable performers. His recordings from the early 1950s are raw, but immediately identifiable with his guitar playing, rasping vocal and harmonica solos.

Here the Ronnie Wood band reimagines those early tracks, extending them and treating them to a full band production. Side one flies out of the blocks and the band quickly settles in, with Wood and right hand man Mick Taylor trading solos in ‘Mr Luck’ Like Reed before him, Ronnie Wood screams out harmonica lines as he keeps the rhythm chugging on guitar and we get a first flash in ‘Let’s Get Together’ of Dexter Hercules’s brilliance on drums.

It’s impossible not to be swept along by the insatiable shuffle of the first few tracks before ‘Honest I Do’ shifts the tone to a slow blues. Again the musicality of the band is front and centre with a subtle sweep-picking riff standing out on guitar, then the instrumental ‘Roll and Rhumba’ gives the ensemble a moment each in the spotlight. Here, it’s drummer Hercules who really shines. Throughout the album, he’s the backbone of the band with occasional flourishes punctuating phrases, but in Rhumba he’s really given the space to express himself and takes his moment well.

The middle section of the album highlights the extent of Reed’s influence. Tommy Hare guests on ‘Baby What You Want Me To Do’ before Paul Weller, Mick Hucknall and Bobby Womack lend their talents. Weller’s contribution on ‘Shame Shame Shame’ makes it one of the album’s stand out tracks. Each guest performer dovetails beautifully with Wood, sharing and harmonising lines almost instinctively. There’s spontaneity and spark; nothing feels rehearsed. Given Reed’s music has been covered so extensively, by artists from Elvis to Tina Turner, it’s fitting to have a range of voices and interpretations peppered
through the album.

With much of Reed’s repertoire being raw and typically short in duration, Wood and co. have a fine balance to strike between paying an honourable tribute and simply using the songs as a jumping off point for their own solo breaks. They strike it perfectly though and there’s no self indulgence, which can happen so easily on albums like this. The track listing is edited a little from the original 2013 set list, but that serves to benefit the flow and balance of the album.

The lack of interaction between band and crowd, save for a quick opening salvo, reinforces the mood that although Ronnie Wood is running the show, the focus is very much on Reed and the music. Wood’s thoughts are kept to last, in a studio recorded composition titled ‘Ghost Of A Man’ in which he pays a raw and literal tribute to the bluesman and guitarist who had such an impact on his own career. It resolves the album perfectly and doesn’t feel at all out of place on an otherwise live collection.

There’s plenty here for any blues fan, even one unfamiliar with Reed’s music. Either as the bottling of magic on one night in 2013 or a route of discovery into some classic blues recordings, Mr Luck is an arresting listen from start to finish.

Xsnoize Author
Daniel Lynch 40 Articles
Daniel is a freelance journalist and writer based in Belfast. He plays guitar in several bands and releases their music through his label, Tin Man Heart. Favourite bands - Thin Lizzy, Gaslight Anthem, Tom Waits and Ryan Adams Favourite Album - Elsie - The Horrible Crowes

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