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Rating: Dismissed by David Bowie, who soon grew tired of glam rock, his character Ziggy Stardust, and the accompanying band Spiders from Mars, guitarist Mick Ronson quickly took refuge in the almost equally glam Mott the Hoople. They lasted just as briefly, but this time the friendship with their leader Ian Hunter lasted for the rest of his, unfortunately short, life.
Strange, then, that there exists this only formally credited album as a duo, fifty/fifty, from these two distinguished figures of English rock. Up until that moment, Ronson's name had remained in the background, in the entire series of albums credited solely to Ian Hunter in which the guitarist was just a collaborator. But an explanation can be found: in 1990, the year this album was released, Ronson was already dealing with the carcinoma that would take him to his grave a few years later, and so the crediting of this work can be seen and experienced as a kind of homage from Ian to his struggling friend.
The rustic composer and singer with a Dylan-esque accent, Hunter, and the brilliant guitarist and arranger, Ronson, were made to be together, each one enhancing the qualities of the other, so complementary, so in tune. So much so that this album turns out very good, I would say excellent.
It begins with the emphatic ode to American music, "American Music", then slides more properly into glam with "The Loner", which instead celebrates the positive side of being alone. "Women Intuition" is a glam rock 'n' roll typically in Hunter's vein when he decides to head towards the Rolling Stones: Ronson doesn't flinch and starts playing like Keith Richards!
"Tell It Like It Is" is instead a hypnotic rock blues (thanks also to Ronson who works the tremolo with his amp) and roughly danceable, while "Livin' in a Heart" is a subdued ballad that highlights the imperfect but extremely expressive voice of the bespectacled and curly-haired singer: precarious intonation and heart in hand, the great Ian Hunter; how much I like him!
In contrast, "Big Time" is a swift rock 'n' roll resembling "Once Bitten Twice Shy", but faster and less brilliant. Mick Ronson doesn't bat an eyelid and stamps out a little solo in perfect Chuck Berry style; good lord, if there was one who could do it all, it was him, Mick from Hull, Yorkshire, England, the best sidekick a captain could have.
To further diversify the album, there’s "Cool," a funky rhythm&blues with suitable brass explained in counterpoint, in a very American style, just like Wild Cherry. Hunter extends his powerful voice and his partner chiseled with a wah-wah pedal. Everything disappears when the tight and claustrophobic hard gospel rock(!) of "Beg a Little Love" arrives, shaken by always galloping drums, tormented by a highly distorted guitar, somewhat cleared by female gospel choirs, held together by sweeping Hammond organ stabs in the old-fashioned way.
Recovery comes with "Following Your Footsteps", a ballad made sinuous by the fretless bass, so in vogue in the nineties. Hunter’s lyrics are always interesting, as is Ronson's guitar, clean and embroidered on the occasion, especially in the trembling and incisive solo. Just to continue varying, a little electronics arrives in "Sons 'n' Lovers", a danceable and negligible episode, not ugly for this reason; on the contrary, just... dated!
Nearing the end, there’s "Pain", again very glam, so much so that you might imagine it performed by David Bowie... Ronson swims in it like the proverbial duck when there’s water, with his proverbial excellent melodic, timbral, rhythmic ideas. And then there's "How Much More Can I Take", which is instead punk-paced but soon gives way to the usual dose of melody.
But the grand finale belongs entirely to the poor, unfortunate, great Ronson, who revives an old country piece by Don Gibson named "Sweet Dreams", renames it "Sweet Dreamer", and leads it instrumentally on the guitar, sensitive and incisive as only he knew: a testament of expressiveness, calmness, musicality, melancholy for a life that is slowly ebbing away, his.
As an everlasting memory of an exquisite musician, of an emotional guitarist, this track is the perfect, albeit sad, finale of a work whose solid variety is its main virtue, undoubtedly placing itself among the best in the discography of both these great musician friends.
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