Post by jptheprofessor on Mar 2, 2006 16:03:12 GMT -5
BILL WYMAN’S RHYTHM KINGS – LIVE (Ripple) Two years after he left the Rolling Stones in 1993, Bill Wyman picked up his bass and decided to get back into music. But he decided to have some fun with it this time, embracing the old time blues and soul that first made him want to play an instrument, and forming the Rhythm Kings with some musicians he had long wanted to work with. After several studio albums both in America and Europe, Live captures the latest edition of the Rhythm Kings in concert on June 15, 2004 in Berlin, Germany. Besides Wyman himself on bass and vocals, this edition of the Kings features Terry Taylor, Albert Lee and Andy Fairweather Low on guitars, Mike Sanchez on piano and vocals, Nick Payn and Frank Mead on saxes, Graham Broad on drums, and Beverley Skeete on vocals. Through Live’s 73-minute-plus duration, we hear Bill Wyman and his cohorts smoothly rip through a seventeen-song set spanning early rock’n’roll, blues, swing, soul and more. Only one song here is a Wyman original, the rollicking “Jitterbug Boogie.” The rest of the set finds the Rhythm Kings giving sparkling reads to such diverse offerings as Ray Charles’ “I Got A Woman,” Louis Prima’s “Jump, Jive and Wail,” Jackie Wilson’s “Baby Workout” and “I’ll Be Satisfied,” Etta James’ “If I Can’t Have You,” Jimmy Reed’s “Bright Lights, Big City,” Jimmy Rodgers’ “Muleskinner Blues,” Chuck Berry’s “You Never Can Tell,” Count Basie’s “Roll ‘Em Pete” and more. The lion’s share of lead vocal chores are shared out between Sanchez, Low, Lee and Skeete, with Sanchez’ and Skeete’s voices standing out the strongest. Skeete shines especially in her performance on the Beatles’ “Taxman.” The Rhythm Kings’ performance is rousing and upbeat throughout; the musicians gel well together and sound happy to be onstage, and the audience’s response indicates they were having a good time this night as well. The sound mix is clean, crisp and balanced; and puts the listener right up front and center. Live shows us that this former Rolling Stone is gathering no moss; Bill Wyman and his current bandmates are rolling on and having fun celebrating their roots. Although not as raucous or rowdy as his former band, Live shows us Wyman and his Rhythm Kings still work up plenty of gusto here, and the result is a document of a fun night with lots of soul and passion.