As with all rockers, eventually they all return to their first love, and for guitarist Ronnie Wood, of fame from The Faces and The Rolling Stones, he gets back to where he once belonged, giving a tribute to his guitar icon, master of the slide shuffle beat of Jimmy Reed, at this concert at Royal Albert Hall.
He joins up with Stones alumnus Mick Taylor on guitar along with Ben Waters/keys, Ian Jennings/b, Dave Green/ab, Dexter Hercules/dr and a rotating team of vocalists that spit out the rural blues. Bobby Womack belts it out on “Got No Where To Go” and an earthy “Bright Lights, Big City” while Paul Weller stomps out some Chuck Berry riffs on a swinging “Shame Shame Shame” with voice and ax. The shuffle is deep with Tommy Hare on “Baby What You Want Me To Do” while Wood sounds like he’s having the time of his life picking and grinning on the relaxed “Mr. Luck”, slinky “Honest I Do” and blowing the harp like it’s a wind off of Lake Michigan on “High & Lonesome”. The classic Yardbird’s blue eyed soul “I Ain’t Got You” sounds wonderfully sweaty” and the team strolls on for “Got No Where To Go”. Taylor and Wood sound like they’d give up a month’s Stones royalties to play like this the rest of their lives. Not a bad trade.