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Ronnie Wood & Ronnie Lane - Mahoney's Last Stand (1976)

Track listing:
  1. Tonight's Number 3:09
  2. From The Late To Early 3:44
  3. Chicken Wire 2:01
  4. Chicken Wired 3:47
  5. I'll Fly Away 0:31
  6. Title One 3:32
  7. Just For A Moment 2:52
  8. Mona - The Blues 4:30
  9. Car Radio 4:50
  10. Hay Tumble 2:57
  11. Woody's Thing 1:48
  12. Rooster Funeral 3:50
  13. Just For A Moment (Reprise) 2:50

Notes

Ronnie Lane: Vocals on 2, 4, 5, 12, 13, Bass on 1, 4, 6, 8, 9, 13, Guitar on 2, 6, 7, 10, Banjo on 3, 4, Percussion on 6, 7, 13.
Ron Wood: Vocals on 2, 4, 5, 8, 12, 13, Guitar on all except 5, Harmonica on 2, 7, 8, 10, 13, Bass on 7, 10.
Bruce Rowlands: Drums on all except 1, 5, 8, 10, 12, Vocals on 5.
Kenny Jones: Drums on 1.
Pete Townshend: Guitar on 1, Percussion on 9.
Ian McLagan: Piano on 1, 4, 9, Harmonium on 3.
Bobby Keys: Brass on 1, 6, Tenor Sax on 9.
Jim Price: Brass on 1, 6, Baritone Solo on 1.
Benny Gallagher: Bass on 2.
Rick Grech: Bass on 3, Drums on 8, Violin on 10, 12.
Glyn Johns: Vocals on 5.
Billy Nicholls: Vocals on 5.


Micky Waller: Percussion on 10.

Former Faces aces Ronnie Lane and Ron Wood collaborated one last time on this affair, which is more firmly grounded in atmospheric mood pieces than actual songs. Lots of top-flight guests lend a hand, including the Who's Pete Townshend, former Jeff Beck Group drummer Mickey Waller, and sub-Rolling Stones pianists Ian Stewart and Ian McLagan. The boisterous "Chicken Wired" — which Lane recorded on his Anymore for Anymore album — also gets remade into a syrupy, slide-driven instrumental. The arrangements are sharp and inventive, such as the funky but folksy, horn-driven stomp of the title track; "Tonight's Number"; and "Car Radio," which features an exciting guitar-sax battle. Other tracks feel like 1930s-era period pieces. "From the Late to the Early" is a twangy country weeper, while "Hay Tumble" upholds the rootsy rowdiness with aggressive harmonica work, "Rooster's Funeral" does the same with violin, and "Woody's Thing" uses mostly solo guitar and banjo plucking. No genre goes untouched. The former Faces were always good musical historians, so it's hardly surprising to find an a cappella gospel number ("I'll Fly Away") and a raunchy but slow blues ("Mona"). The music deserved a better fate than accompanying a film that nobody seems to have seen, but it's a valid extension of Lane's own agreeably rootsy solo work, and fans of Wood's off-kilter but creative playing style will plenty to enjoy here.