Rolling Stone Ron Wood Feels Like Playing

Who's gonna chuck one of rock's MVPs (Faces, Stones, Jeff Beck Group) outta bed for eating crackers? Music bearing Wood's brand has been a window into all-nighters with the major talents he calls friends. Shining moments are nice surprises: you could say I've Got My Own Album to Do has more staying power than contemporary Stones effort It's Only Rock 'n' Roll.

I was excited by the prospect of an album featuring Faces keyboardist Ian McLagan, soul vocalist Bobby Womack, and veteran bam-bam Jim Keltner. Flea, Slash, Billy Gibbons, Bob Rock, and Ivan Neville fold into the blend with the self-effacing professionalism for which Wood could pen a guidebook. But the best hope for standouts like the Dire Straits-ish "Thing About You" and soulful "Tell Me Something" is landing in classic-rock/drive-time-for-Baby-Boomers mixes (ouch). The ouch stings less when it dawns that the same comment holds for most of Wood's solo work. Yeah, I'm kind of depressed that feel-good reggae workout "Sweetness My Weakness" could have been pumped out by the Heptones in the '70s. "Spoonful" doesn't even try for Willie Dixon's pregnant pauses, instead wallowing on a laidback funk/soul path. (On the other hand, only Wood would have the chutzpah and self-knowledge to do this.) "Catch You" is almost alluring enough to redeem the whole deal — Wood has always had a penchant for the smokin' soul he welded with the Faces. At heart, he's an unabashed romantic.

• Album: I Feel Like Playing (2010)
• Artist: Ronnie Wood
• Label: Eagle Records
• Songs: (1) Why You Wanna Go and Do a Thing Like That For (2) Sweetness My Weakness (3) Lucky Man (4) I Gotta See (5) Thing About You (6) Catch You (7) Spoonful (8) I Don’t Think So (9) 100% (10) Fancy Pants (11) Tell Me Something (12) Forever