Like the rest of
the Rolling Stones
,
Ronnie Wood
had his life changed by
Chuck Berry
, so it's fitting that he decided to release a tribute album to his idol. Recorded at Wimborne Tivoli Theatre on November 13, 2018 and released nearly a year later,
Mad Lad: A Live Tribute to Chuck Berry
finds
Wood
playing with
His Wild Five
, a band featuring pianist
Ben Waters
and vocalist
Imelda May
.
kicks off the proceedings with "Tribute to Chuck Berry," a shambling, funny salute that is good-natured and filled with dad jokes that are just this side of embarrassing.
avoids "Dear Dad" along with many other modernist rockers from
Berry
, preferring to play the blues. "Talkin' 'Bout You" helps get the set off to a cooking start, "Almost Grown" and "Back in the USA" anchor the middle, and "Rock N Roll Music" and "Johnny B. Goode" bring things to a rousing close, but the long-ish jams on "Wee Wee Hours," "Blue Feeling," and "Worried Life Blues" give
Mad Lad
a bit of a relaxed, after-hours vibe.
didn't always play in this fashion -- certainly, if he was headlining a club, it was a crapshoot whether you'd get a good gig -- and there's a slight de-emphasis on his lyrical genius, but that's fine. It's clear that
Ronnie Wood & His Wild Five
love playing this music and that palpable joy makes
a fine time. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine