Ronnie Wood & Bo Diddley Live At The Ritz

Having rescheduled their March and April tour dates due to the ongoing Covid-19 emergency, elbow have brought forward the release of ‘Live at The Ritz – An Acoustic Performance’. Recorded in October 2019 in the intimate surroundings of The Ritz in Manchester, the album includes acoustic versions of tracks from ‘Giants of All Sizes’ alongside older favourites.

2022 marks the 25 year anniversary of the release of Mansun's debut, the iconic #1 album Attack of the Grey Lantern. The much-loved and experimental piece of music is at the heart of fervent cult following for the British group. To celebrate, Kscope presents Paul Draper’s 2018 performance of the album in full.

The second part of a trilogy of live albums paying tribute to Ronnie Wood's early musical inspirations, Mr. Luck: A Tribute to Jimmy Reed – Live at Royal Albert Hall captures a November 1, 2013 concert at Royal Albert Hall. Mick Taylor sits in with the Ronnie Wood Band, while Bobby Womack, Paul Weller, and Mick Hucknall all take a turn in the spotlight – enough guests to grab the attention of the curious but not enough to overwhelm the proceedings. What happened on the stage was a spirited, loving tribute to the great bluesman Jimmy Reed, whose boogies and shuffles are easy to play and tricky to master. Wood and Taylor have long since absorbed the intricacies of the interplay of Reed and Eddie Taylor, staying faithful to the spirit and opening up the blues to a wealth of solos, including some appropriately greasy harp. There are no reinventions here, but there didn't need to be: saluting Jimmy Reed with just the right amount of heart and humor makes Mr. Luck a rocking good time.

Wood's mission was straightforward enough here: promote his album of the time, Slide on This, before raiding the Faces' treasure trove and solo standards like "I Can Feel the Fire" and "Am I Grooving You," the latter done with sassily funky aplomb. Don't expect any surprises; you know Wood's guitar will charge out front, with some type of Hammond organ or boogie-woogie piano banging away behind him. Anyone who got this album originally knew what they wanted and what they'd be getting. Four songs capably hoist the banner for Slide on This: "Testify," "Show Me," "Josephine," and the shimmering ballad "Breathe on Me," where vocalist Bernard Fowler truly excels.