Bill Wyman 2: Stone Alone

With enough time on his hands, Bill Wyman once again gathered some of his talented pals—this time including Van Morrison, Joe Walsh, and two of the Pointer Sisters—and recorded his second solo album. The title Stone Alone may have been intended to add a little marketing push, but the heavy glam makeup on his front portrait didn’t pique the prospective listener’s excitement.

A faithful take on Gary U.S. Bonds’ “Quarter To Three” would be better if Bruce Springsteen wasn’t already playing a phenomenal version onstage every night. He presents a convincing thesis on “Gimme Just One Chance”, and the other singers drown him out on the discofied “Soul Satisfying”, but he really shouldn’t sing. And while the bass work is pretty tasty on “Apache Woman”, the sentiment would not pass muster in the woke era. His John Cale voice comes back for “Every Sixty Seconds”, which has some clever lyrics while Van blows harp, and “Get It On” continues his one-track mind.

Danny Kortchmar is responsible for the she-done-me-wrong “Feet”, which might have been a hit if Ringo Starr had recorded it, but the excessive cooing on “Peanut Butter Time” is not sexy, to the point where “Wine And Wimmen” is just indulgent. By now his attitude is crystal clear, but just in case, a heavy cover of “If You Wanna Be Happy” has the organ, flute, and guitar fighting for a place in the mix. At this point, the very country “What’s The Point”, with fiddle and steel courtesy of John McFee, is a welcome change of dynamic, but he puts on a Louis Armstrong voice for “No More Foolin’”, with a backing like early ‘70s Kinks albums.

The overall effect of Stone Alone was he was competing with John Entwistle, another underappreciated bass player who indulged a ‘50s fixation with a goofy sense of humor. As other people have pointed out, the album wasn’t any better or worse than what Ringo was recording around the same time, but it doesn’t have Ringo’s charm, or even vocal ability. Luckily for the average Stones fan, he took the hint and didn’t make a third right away. (Those who must, however, would want the expanded CD for the bonus tracks, two of which are single mixes, “High Flying Bird” and “Back To School Again” are instrumental, and “Can’t Put Your Picture Down” and “Love Is Such A Wonderful Thing” are inoffensive.)

Bill Wyman Stone Alone (1976)—2
2006 Bill Wyman Solo Collection Edition: same as 1976, plus 6 extra tracks