Mike Bennett writesFriday iPod/MP3 Shuffle—Happy Birthday Ronnie Wood Edition

He’s one of the great sidemen in rock. Ronnie Wood got his first taste of success with The Birds, who had a minor British hit with the freakbeat classic, “Those Magic Words”. He next turned up in The Jeff Beck Group, and then Faces, supporting Rod Stewart. The Faces were one of the great live bands of the ’70s, and were a great training ground for Wood’s next gig, taking the place of Mick Taylor in The Rolling Stones. While the Stones’ output hasn’t always been the best during Woody’s tenure, there’s no doubt his laid back vibe has allowed the band to keep humming along (periodically). Wood has also made some fun solo records and he has done some great session work too. Let’s pay tribute to Woody by grabbing your iPod or MP3 player, hitting shuffle, and sharing the first 10 songs that come up. 

1. *Fatima Mansions — Mr. Baby (Viva Dead Ponies):8 One of my favorite albums of the early ’90s. Cathal Coughlin was in the twee folk band Microdisney, and he brought that melodic ability to the much harsher, rocking Fatima Mansions. This is great politically charged rock. This is one of the bouncier tunes, with most of the malevolence coming from the lyrics and Coughlin’s vocals, which drip with contempt.
2. The Photos — Now You Tell Me That We’re Through (The Photos): This chirpy post-punk is the essence of new wave music, augmented by the colorful modernist album cover. The Photos’ focal point was lead singer Wendy Wu, whose accented vocals weren’t always perfectly in key, but were always pretty forceful. This is a pretty good pop tune.
3. The Dave Clark Five — Whenever You’re Around (The History of The Dave Clark Five): A smooth ballad from the DC5. This was tailor made for a slow dance at a prom in 1965.
4. Doleful Lions — When We Were Wolves (Out Like A Lamb): A song off of my favorite Doleful Lions album. This is a delicate song which showcases Jonathan Scott’s amazing vocals. The primary accompaniment is gentle acoustic guitars along with decoration from bits of lead playing. This song almost plays like a cross between a hymn and a pop song and is utterly captivating.
5. Cheap Trick — Surrender (Heaven Tonight): One of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll songs ever recorded, and my point of entry into Cheap Trick. The only station that played this was WEFM (now US 99 in Chicago), and it is simply a thrill ride, with lots of expansive guitar chords from Rick Nielsen, Bun E. Carlos’s rat-a-tat drum fills, Tom Petersson’s melodic-yet-powerful bass playing and that soaring chorus. For a lot of us in the Midwest, Cheap Trick was the bridge to punk rock, as their combination of rock power and melody was a bridge to grasping bands like Buzzcocks.
6. Beastie Boys — What Comes Around (Paul’s Boutique): It’s still hard to accept the passing of Adam Yauch, perhaps because the Beasties were part of the high school/college/early post-college years of so many and their music always had a youthful orientation. This is probably one of the lesser cuts on this hip-hop classic, but that’s only a relative distinction. This track is built on a sly funk riff and some cool samples for the so easy anyone can sing along chorus.
7. The Sneetches — Little Things (Blow Out The Sun): This American-British band really captured a certain slice of the softer side of late-‘60s rock. The band really captured the sunny yet bittersweet melodies, and played them in a way that confirmed their retro-brilliance without sounding merely like imitations. This is a really good track.
8. Ben Folds — The Frown Song (Way To Normal): At his best, Ben Folds mixes his ability to spin great ’60s and ’70s pop melodies with a really creative deployment of instruments and clever arrangements. This is one of those songs, which has lots of cool textures, relies on a big beat and layers on more things without overwhelming the track.
9. The Romantics — Stone Pony (National Breakout): While they are a two-hit wonder band for most, the first two Romantics albums have a lot of great power pop, garage rock and Merseybeat. This is a dumb riff rocker with a rough-hewn vocal and simple chorus. It really rocks.
10. Madness — That Close (The Liberty of Norton Folgate): A song from the best Madness album ever, which came out just a few years ago. This jaunty number is one of their patented music hall pop numbers in the vein of The Kinks and The Beatles. Madness perfected the ability to make a song with a superficially happy sound, undercut by melancholy. This song is a grand example of it. Suggs may not be the rangiest of vocalists, but for this type of song, he is perfect. Someday I’ll have to rank the best British bands — Madness deserves a very high placing.