There's More Than One Way to Roll a Stone5 Out Of 5 Stars
For the third CD in their "All Wood And..." series, singer songwriter James Lee Stanley teams up with past collaborator John Batdorf and takes another dip in the deep well of Mick Jagger/Keith Richards compositions. The previous effort, "All Wood and Doors" (James with Cliff Eberhardt) was so well conceived that Doors members John Densmore and Robby Krieger pitched in on the effort, and while Keith and Mick didn't join in the proceedings, "All Wood and Stones II" is done with the same amount of respect as James and John did on the previous effort.
What happens here is that James and John take songs you've heard a million times over and turn them inside out, folk-wise. That's not to say that you'll never recognize what songs are here, but you will notice some angles that you may not have before. "Get Off Of My Cloud" still has the playful call and response Hey! You! hook, but it still sports a neatly strummed arrangement. "Honky Tonk Woman" sounds more like an actual honky-tonk song. These are sung primarily by John, whose rough hewn voice nicely compliments James' clearer sound. It makes for some terrific harmonizing ("Time is On My Side").
My favorite is when they do a total reconstruction on the 1978 disco thumper, "Miss You." Slowed down and minus the dance beat, "Miss You" becomes a bluesier lament for an absent lover. Interestingly enough, the other song arrangement that I enjoy also comes from "Some Girls," Richards' personal recounting of his drug misadventures with the law, "Before They Make Me Run." In my opinion, it's the biggest surprise on "All Wood and Stones II." It's worth making it a two-pack with 2005's "All Wood and Stones."
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