I Feel Like Playing

iTunes Review

Ronnie Wood has been an integral part of the Rolling Stones since the mid-‘70s. His good-time-Ronnie charm has landed him in rehab, but his rock-star excesses have never interfered with his ability to lay down the perfect riff. 2010’s I Feel Like Playing is exactly like his previous solo albums from the ‘70s where the party is always on. Wood invites as many friends as he can pack into a studio and off they go, with little interest in commercial considerations but with a focus on a great backbeat and the feel of genuine classic rock ‘n’ roll. This album adds Flea, Ivan Neville, Bernard Fowler, Slash, Eddie Vedder, Billy Gibbons and Jim Keltner, among others. “Why You Wanna Go and Do a Thing Like That For” is a great piece of melancholy that shows shades of “You Can’t Always Get What You Want.” “Lucky Man” is a ferocious little piece of Stones-like motoring. Wood’s weather-beaten voice is just the tonic for these sessions. “Spoonful” takes the old Willie Dixon blues standard and shuffles it around. “Well I Don’t Think So,” with Bobby Womack, is the sound of veteran rockers letting loose.