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January 12, 2003 Sunday

Solo cuts

The members of the Rolling Stones form the world's greatest rock 'n' roll band. But is the group more -- or less -- than the sum of its parts? As the Stones head back to Chicago, we look at the solo efforts of the group's five primary members.

By John D. Thomas

Keith Richards

"Talk is Cheap" (1988): Because the tone of the Stones relies most heavily on Richards' rhythm guitar, you would expect his solo efforts to sound the most Stonesy, and they do. The last Stone to roll solo, Richards creates a joyously sloppy rock record with a few real gems, including "Take It So Hard" and "Struggle." Probably the best Stones solo project. ****

"Main Offender" (1992): A little more polished than "Talk Is Cheap," and even Richards' vocals are a bit clearer, but it's equally propulsive and raw, with a little Motown thrown in for good measure. The only sour note occurs when "Keef" tries to get his Bob Marley on in the faux reggae cut "Words of Wonder." ***1/2

Charlie Watts

"Charlie Watts Orchestra, Live At Fulham Town Hall" (1986): With the Stones, Watts is essentially a slumming jazz drummer, and his solo breaks have focused on his first musical love. His first solo release evolved from a world tour with a jazz orchestra that Watts bankrolled. ***

"Charlie Watts Quintet, From One Charlie" (1991): Watts' second solo effort was a short, up-tempo set of instrumentals that grew out of a children's book about Charlie Parker he wrote in the mid-1960s. ***

"Charlie Watts Quintet, Tribute to Charlie Parker With Strings" (1991): The quintet's sophomore CD featured an additional infusion of orchestral strings as well as vocals from Bernard Fowler. ***1/2

"Charlie Watts Quintet, Warm & Tender" (1993): On their third CD, Watts and crew enlisted help from the London Metropolitan Orchestra. ***

"Charlie Watts Quintet, Long Ago & Far Away" (1996): Again working with the London Metropolitan Orchestra, Watts focused on the kind of classic tunes he heard his mom crooning during his childhood ("In the Still of the Night," "All or Nothing at All"). ***

"Charlie Watts/Jim Keltner Project" (2000): Watts teams up with rock drummer Jim Keltner to produce an album of acid jazz based on and named after other famous drummers, including Art Blakey and Max Roach. ****

Mick Jagger

"She's the Boss" (1985): The Stones' frenetic frontman put out his first solo disc when he was feuding with Richards about the future of the band, the former wanting to go more pop and the latter wanting to stay rock hard. Jagger ended up with this quite commercial album that was propelled to platinum by heavy MTV rotation and hits such as "Just Another Night." Even though Jeff Beck and Pete Townshend play, it stills smells of '80s cheese. **1/2

"Primitive Cool" (1987): Another poppy effort from Jagger that came out when he was desperately trying to distance himself from the Stones and develop his solo career. It had only one minor hit (the oddly populist "Let's Work") and it sold fewer than 500,000 copies. **1/2

"Wandering Spirit" (1993): Taking an if-you-can't-beat-'em-join-'em approach, Jagger used Rick Rubin of Beastie Boys fame to produce his third solo album, generally regarded as his best. Hits include a cover of "Use Me" with Lenny Kravitz and the country lament "Evening Gown." ***1/2

"Goddess in the Doorway" (2001): There is some solid work here, especially the thumping rocker "God Gave Me Everything," but in the end there are so many styles and celebrity sidemen (Bono, Pete Townshend) that the album lacks focus. ***

Ron Wood

"Gimme Some Neck" (1979): Former Faces ax man Ron Wood joined the Stones in 1976, and his first solo album after that was less than a stone's throw away from the group, as it featured all of his bandmates save Wyman. It's a rockin', rousing affair. ***

"1234" (1981): Perhaps the most memorable aspect of this album is its totally weird cover, which depicts Wood sitting on a camel in a desert with the Hollywood sign behind him and jumbo bomber jets soaring overhead. *1/2

"Slide on This" (1992): More than a decade later, Wood released his next solo studio album, and many thought it was his best. Guests included The Edge from U2 and Def Leppard's Joe Elliott. His rendition of The Parliaments' "Testify" is a total house-rocker. ***

"Not for Beginners" (2002): It took 10 more years for Wood to record another solo studio record, and, even though Bob Dylan sat in, the results were much poorer than on "Slide on This." **

Bill Wyman

"Monkey Grip" (1974): The band's longtime, laconic bassist was the first Stone to venture out on his own. Wyman still swings a mean bass, but he also wrote, produced and sang lead. Wyman's inspiration is American roots music, but his tone is much less sinister than the Stones'. This record, which features guests like Dr. John and Leon Russell, earned decent reviews. Today, however, it sounds dated. **

"Stone Alone" (1976): Wyman's second solo effort also featured an array of all-star guest players, including Van Morrison, Joe Walsh and two of the Pointer Sisters. Stylistically, it's all over the map, featuring doo-wop, reggae lite, Native American beats and, believe it or not, Wyman trying (somewhat successfully) to sing like Louis Armstrong. ***

"Bill Wyman" (1982): With a voice sounding robotic and disembodied, Wyman goes New Wave. The high point has to be the brilliantly titled dance club ditty "(Si Si) Je Suis Un Rock Star." **1/2

"Bill Wyman and the Rhythm Kings, Struttin' Our Stuff" (1998): Wyman, now an ex-Stone, put together a new all-star band, featuring high-profile players such as Peter Frampton and Eric Clapton. Their soulful Deep South juke joint sound rocked pretty true to its roots. ***

"Bill Wyman and the Rhythm Kings, Anyway the Wind Blows" (1999): The Kings' sophomore record was more of the same cover-heavy, classic R&B-based rock. There's nothing revolutionary here, but it's solid nonetheless. ***