Ian McLagan Albums (9)
What The Critics Say
There are plenty of differences between the self-destructive Ronnie Lane and his journeyman friend and bandmember Ian McLagan. However, both arrived at somewhat similar musical destinations, at least based on Mac's 2008 solo release. While McLagan is a survivor who keeps playing the old Faces hits in concert and rocks out occasionally here, the bulk of this self-penned set swims in more folksy, introspective waters, similar to those of Lane's post-Faces career. There are still a few nods to the raucous, Chuck Berry rocking most associate with McLagan's rollicking boogie-woogie style, in particular the crunchy "I'm Hot, You're Cool." But from its opening title track ballad, arguably one of the keyboardist's most beautiful and touching melodies, Never Say Never is an older, wiser statement from a musician who has been there, done that, and is ready for some reflection as he winds into the final quarter of his life. Even this disc's rockers, such as the midtempo Dylan-ish "I Will Follow," are relatively restrained. There's nothing wrong with that and it suits both McLagan's grainy, authentic, somewhat world-weary voice and elder statesman status just fine. The laid-back acoustic "Killing Me with Love" even sounds like it could have been written by Lane during his solo years. The tinges of regret are palpable on the bluesy gospel of the closing "When the Crying Is Over," one of a handful of lovely, heartfelt tracks dedicated to Lane's recently deceased wife, Kim. That's also the case on the solo piano ballad "Where Angels Hide," a beautiful tune sung with painful soul that will bring tears to the eyes of most listeners acquainted with McLagan's love for his wife. The keyboardist's latest version of his ongoing Bump Band gets co-billing for good reason; they sympathetically follow his lead with a talent born though veteran musicianship, shifting effortlessly from the low-key rockers to the more philosophical material that dominates this classy set. Never Say Never, with songs such as the clearly autobiographical "An Innocent Man," is Mac's most personal and melodic statement yet and shows that his songwriting talents are finally on par with his magnificent keyboard playing. ~ Hal Horowitz, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
In 2004, Ian McLagan, infamous keyboard player with the Small Faces and the Faces, songwriter, Austin, TX, resident cum expatriate Brit, and all around fun hound, cut a killer little record that almost nobody heard called Rise and Shine. A little later that year he and his utterly wooly bar band Bump -- starring guitar king "Scrappy" Jud Newcomb, bassist Mark Andes (Heart, Canned Heat, Jo Jo Gunne), and drummer Don Harvey (Ronnie Lane) -- played a studio gig at Austin's Public Radio Station KUT. They blew the lid off the joint, playing an ultra-raw, good-time set captured to greasy perfection by engineer Walter Morgan. There are 13 cuts of gritty rock & roll complete with mistakes. (This band plays every Thursday at Austin's Lucky Lounge, so it's not like they're unrehearsed, but playing in a barroom format they don't sweat the details; they do it for fun and they don't need to fix or apologize for anything by re-recording it.) McLagan & the Bump Band ride through a slew of Mac's fine songs, including the beautiful "Wishing Hoping, Dreaming" (written for the late Lane) and the unreleased Jerry Lee Lewis-inspired "I'm Hot You're Cool," which moves toward in-the-red garage roots rock bombast. To be honest, McLagan & Bump have what so few "serious" bands do: the willingness to take the tradition and let it rip without giving a toss what anybody thinks. One can hear in his and Lane's "You're So Rude," the reading of Walter Jacobs' "Temperature," and Johnnie Lee Schell's "Little Troublemaker" why the music was once regarded as dangerous. It moves the ass as well as the feet. The mind gets to shut down and instinct takes over. It's swaggering, sexual, crazy, and loose. This isn't to say the music doesn't have a sensitive side; check McLagan's reggae cum soul-tinged "Date with an Angel," or the band's version of "Mystifies Me" by Ronnie Wood, another former Faces mate; they give up no territory in terms of rawness, yet peel back the veneer of the artifice of song to get to what's real underneath the chord changes and lyrics. Two of these cuts -- "Wishing Hoping Dreaming" and "She Ain't My Girl" -- were recorded live at the Christmas part of another radio studio, KGSR. This is the first real rock & roll record to be released in 2006. To all the faceless (no pun intended) bar bands out there playing trad rock or blues, this is how it's done; this is the standard of loose and crazy to aspire to. Quit worrying about how "authentic" you sound, and let it rip and have a good time. You can't lose. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
While Rod Stewart has been a wimp for decades, and his latest attempts at being Frank Sinatra are pathetic, the rowdy spirit of the Faces lives on in the tough, bluesy, rock & roll swagger of Ian McLagan. Rise and Shine is his sixth album, and is easily his finest. First there's the band, composed of guitar slingers Gurf Morlix and Scrappy Jud Newcomb, bassist George Reiff, and drummer Don Harvey. Add Mac's rootsy keyboards, and selective backing vocals by Patty Griffin (paying Mac back, no doubt, for playing on her wondrous Impossible Dream album) and what you have is an unbeatable combination. There are 11 tracks here ranging from the strolling pub rock-drenched country soul of "Date With an Angel," the pumped up rock & roll of "You're My Girl," the bluesy piano roll and pop of "Been a Long Time," the shimmering late-night balladry of "Anytime," the Jerry Lee Lewis infused "Your Secret," the bottleneck slide guitar and piano torchiness of "Lying," to the stomping barroom rock of "Rubies in Her Hair," it's all raw, up front, in your face, rollicking greasy good-time music done by a master. Rise and Shine crackles with an energy that once was the lifeblood of all rock & roll. This is an album that belongs on the shelf next to the Faces' material to be sure, but also with Exile on Main St., Sticky Fingers, and Ronnie Lane's (rest in peace) Anymore for Anymore. Mac hasn't lost a degree of his edginess or ragged elegance: this set is smoking hot. ~ Thom Jurek, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Rock & roll keyboard player Ian McLagan is best known as a member of the Small Faces and the Faces between 1965 and 1975, after which he worked as a backup musician to high-profile performers, including the Rolling Stones, Bob Dylan, and Bruce Springsteen. His third solo album, which is his first in 20 years, sounds like you'd expect it to sound given his resumé. McLagan's singing voice is similar to those of mates like Rod Stewart, Ron Wood, and Ronnie Lane, a loose, lightly accented tenor with a rusty edge, and it is well-suited to his rollicking tunes, most of them rockers that put a little more emphasis on the piano or organ than is typical, but still sound like the sort of thing that you could find on records by his friends. Just as he is an adequate singer, McLagan is also an adequate songwriter, displaying the occasional flair, especially on the title track, an expatriate's warm-hearted tribute to his homeland, and "She Stole It!," a lament about a woman who left and took the singer's much-prized record collection with her. The Bump Band, augmented on occasion by such guests as Billy Bragg and Ron Wood, does a good job of playing the songs in the appropriate gutbucket manner. Best of British is an enjoyable album that sounds like what it is -- a busman's holiday by a talented sideman. ~ William Ruhlmann, All Music Guide
What The Critics Say
Ian McLagan's Troublemaker is a sequel five years in the making to the Ron Wood 1974 disc I've Got My Own Album to Do. Guitarist Johnny Lee Schell augments Keith Richards and Ron Wood here, while Stanley Clarke and Paul Stallworth provide the bass (it was the wonderful Willie Weeks holding the bottom on the Wood disc), with Ringo Starr and Jim Keltner on drums (Wood's album had Andy Newmark). Though McLagan's third album, 2000's Best of British, is the real phenomenon, Troublemaker has lots to rave about. There's a tremendous Ronnie Wood tune which concludes the album, "Mystifies Me," a bit of gospel, a bit of reggae, these veteran rockers giving it that intangible which keeps kids in their garages banging away to find the same magic. Six of the ten tunes are Ian McLagan compositions, the opener, "La De La," a perfect choice for when Rod Stewart and the boys put the Faces back together. "Headlines" follows the opener with rowdy guitars and solid production. It could be mistaken for Mott the Hoople doing the Rolling Stones' "Shattered." Well, what the heck, with Keith Richards, Ron Wood, and Bobby Keyes participating on different portions of this disc, it's going to lean as much towards the Stones as it will the Faces. This version of Carl Levy's "Truly" borrows heavily from the 1973 Johnny Nash reggae hit, "Stir It Up," and at almost six minutes, it is pretty much double the two-and-a-half to three-and-a-half minute range framework that the other nine tunes stay within. Speaking of Mott the Hoople, McLagan's closing number on side one sounds like a distant cousin to that band's "Jerkin' Crocus." The title track tumbles off of side two with enthusiasm and spirit, the keyboard player for Small Faces has his friends from the Beatles and the Rolling Stones creating some instant fun all over this very musical disc. Another McLagan original, "If It's Alright," has that "Country Honk" ragged edge that served the Stones so well, the record with just enough of a laid-back attitude to avoid the sterile atmosphere some of the Faces tracks got bogged down with. "Sign" is one of the more polished tunes, McLagan co-writing with guitarist Schell, nice organ runs bubbling under the beat. There are no surprises on this amazing musician's debut solo disc: It is what you expect, and fans of the Beatles and the Stones will consider it a must-have for the collection, but one that you won't mind pulling out and playing when your party guests want a nice change of pace at 3 a.m. ~ Joe Viglione, All Music Guide
