Fearless: Anthology 1965-2025 is due on September 26th
Ronnie Wood will celebrate his 60-plus-year career with the release of Fearless: Anthology 1965-2025. The compilation will feature key tracks from Wood’s seven solo studio albums and co-writes and other key career moments with The Rolling Stones, the Faces, Rod Stewart, Ronnie Lane and the Jeff Beck Group. The CD edition transports back to his teenage days of the mid-1960s with his first band, the Birds and, briefly, the Creation.
Wood’s worldwide fan base will also be excited by the inclusion of no fewer than four new recordings, marking his first new solo material since 2010’s “I Feel Like Playing.”
It’s a rich and varied set of tracks unveiled on this anthology – a version of the 1960s favorite of many British beat groups, “A Certain Girl” (written by New Orleans ace Allen Toussaint under the pseudonym Naomi Neville) features typically distinctive guest vocals by Chrissie Hynde. Imelda May provides additional vocals on both “You’re So Fine,” an update of the Falcons’ 1959 US R&B smash, and an infectious remake of Jamaican star Hopeton Lewis’ rocksteady hit “Take It Easy,” also features on the release. The final fresh inclusion is a new composition by Wood, “Mother Of Pearl.” All four tracks are co-produced by Ronnie’s son Jesse and the similarly in-demand Sean Genockey.
The album features an extensive new essay by music writer and author Paul Sexton, who has interviewed Wood and all of the Stones extensively over more than 30 years. The CD collection opens at the exact moment that the sonic story of Ronnie Wood, the songwriter and performer, begins, as the composer and guitarist on the Birds’ “You’re On My Mind.” The vinyl edition kicks in with his inspired co-write as part of the Jeff Beck Group, with frontman Rod Stewart and Nicky Hopkins, for the landmark 1969 album Beck-Ola.
As Wood’s reputation as a guitarist and a fine writer grew to even greater proportions, so Fearless continues to celebrate his 1970s achievements. All-time Faces classics such as “Ooh La La” and “Stay With Me” – recently reprised by Ronnie as Stewart’s special guest at Glastonbury – sit alongside his vital contribution to Rod’s rise to solo superstardom. There’s also extensive representation of Ronnie’s often underrated work in his name, starting with 1974’s “I’ve Got My Own Album To Do.”
Wood’s arrival in the Stones 50 years ago, and the spiritual home he had always dreamed of, was soon showing itself on “Hey Negrita,” one of the highlights of their 1976 album Black and Blue. It now features on the CD edition of Fearless, while both formats also include his further Stones co-writes “Dance (Part 1),” “Everything Is Turning To Gold,” “Black Limousine,” “No Use In Crying, and “Pretty Beat Up.” Ronnie’s frequent solo adventures are also well reflected in the new set, all the way to his most recent longform studio release, 2010’s “I Feel Like Playing.”
From his earliest steps in the studio right through to its quartet of new tracks, Fearless celebrates a virtuoso guitarist, gifted songwriter, performer, sometime frontman, and international treasure. It’s a fitting compendium of 60 years and counting of unique creativity.
