Ron Wood/Gimme Some Neck Rough Mixes, Early Versions & Outtakes

It's been five years since JEMS' ``FOXES IN THE BOXES'' series, which astounded Stones enthusiasts around the world. A long-awaited sequel suddenly appeared on the internet. Moreover, the sound source unearthed this time is really cool. What was included in "FOXES IN THE BOXES VOL.4" is a rough mix of Ronnie Wood's 1979 solo album "GIMME SOME NECK". This is his third album, and the first after transferring to Columbia Records. While the previous two albums had a strong R&B sound, this rock album is looser and looser, making use of his experience as a member of the Stones between then and the release of this album. It was an album. Even Columbia, a major record company, could not help but welcome straightforward and easy-to-understand rock, rather than the funky or R&B style of the Warner era. As a result of his efforts, ``GIMME SOME NECK'' rose to number 45 on the US charts, achieving the greatest success of his albums. Although it is such an album, until now no rare sound sources have been discovered, and the only option was to rely solely on the New Barbarians' live sound sources that were performed after the album was released. For that reason, this excavation is surprising, but it is enough to surprise enthusiasts around the world. When releasing this sound source, JEMS also attached a detailed explanation, but we added further verification before releasing it. Let's introduce each track. 01. Breakin' My Heart v2 Although it is the opening track, JEMS explains that this is the second version. This song had a mix that had a particularly poor sound spread among the songs on "GIMME SOME NECK", but here it is a mix with a more spacious sound, and Ronnie's sound, which was mixed together in the final version, was mixed. I can understand guitar parts well. More than that, Mick Jagger's voice in the chorus can be heard more clearly than in the final version. 02. Lost And Lonely　It's a rough mix that starts with a little exchange and Ronnie's count before the performance starts. That impressive backing chorus has already been added, but Ronnie's guitar parts and lead vocals are raw. Or rather, it feels like it's raw. What's more, you can even feel the realism of the studio. However, the placement of the guitar is completely different. And the backing chorus at the time of fade-out, which was flying left and right in the final version, stays in the middle until the end, and instead, Ronnie's guitar and Mac aka Ian McLagan's organ can be heard well from left and right. And the ending is 12 seconds long. 03. Worry No More This is the opening song of the album, but according to JEMS's text, there is "almost no difference, just barely any overdubbing of the guitar." Certainly the lead guitar that appeared from the right channel at the ending is not heard here. What's even more noteworthy is that it's much more vivid than the final version. On the album, Ronnie's vocals had an unnatural feel, as if they were pushed to the back, but here they are much more vivid and brought to the forefront, which is good. 04. We All Get Old This is a completely different mix. The final version had a compact performance, but here all the instruments are brought to the forefront, as if they were competing with each other. In the intro, Ronnie's extra lead guitar sounds, which is no wonder why it was deleted in the final version, and it is certainly in a rough state. However, it is true that this one suits him much better. Roy Thomas Baker, the producer of this album, was involved in detailed recordings like Queen's, so perhaps he wasn't suited to producing rough, loose recordings like Ronnie's? That's what I think. 05 Seven Days Not only is this a song that inspired Bob Dylan, but it is also the only song on the album that features Mick Fleetwood playing the drums. In this rough mix, the sound of his drums stands out, and in fact, it's so powerful that the sound almost cracks. In the final version, he was made to be much more mature. It is still the same at this point that the riff phrase is already overdubbed by Ronnie, but there is still no backing chorus that sounds as if Keith was shouting from a distance. And Ronnie's lead vocal is a different take, but it sounds like he sings with more power. From producer Baker's point of view, perhaps that was the point of failure? 06 I Got Lost When I Found You This is probably the biggest surprise of this excavation. A remake of the song co-written with Bobby Womack, which was the opening theme for their second album "NOW LOOK". The original version was played in a funky tone that symbolized the atmosphere of that album, but as expected from the "GIMME SOME NECK" session, it was reborn into a straight and rough rock style with a new riff added. Masu. What's more, surprisingly, the guitar solo and backing chorus are overdubbed. The fact that you re-recorded the songs from the previous album and went through all that work did you think that they were meant to be used as a pairing for a single? Or perhaps this remake version was intended to replace the instrumental "Delia" in which Ronnie played the traditional song. 07 F.U.C Her　Like most of the songs on "GIMME SOME NECK", the final version had a very muffled sound quality. In that respect, this one is much clearer and more vivid. In the final version, effects were added to Ronnie's vocals, making it even more muffled, so this freshness is as if the fog has cleared. It is also impressive that the piano, which was mixed modestly there, is pushed to the front. 08 Don't Worry　The final version of "Don't Worry" which closed the album was produced by Baker's true character, with multiple recordings of Ronnie's vocals flying from left to right. The recorded vocals haven't been assigned yet, which is a little frustrating (lol). Instead, it's a powerful rough mix with guitar parts jumping out aggressively from left and right. I think this one suits Ronnie better. On the contrary, since the horn section of Bobby Keyes and others was not added at this point, you can hear various guitar parts that were drowned out in the final version, and it sounds very fresh. 09 Infekshun　The entire performance here also sounds overwhelmingly raw. And in the final version, effects were added to Ronnie's vocals here as well, so this one is suddenly more natural and powerful. Above all, the feeling of the guitar part coming forward is a huge difference. 10 Tiger Balm　This time it's a completely unreleased song. It's a laid-back song reminiscent of the late-stage sound of The Band, which Ronnie was also associated with. The organ tone and play heard here sound more like Garth Hudson than Ian McLagan. Surprisingly, Ronnie also recorded his vocals properly and even added backing chorus. His sweet singing voice is so nice. If this were the case, it would have been no different if it had been included on the album. Another surprising outtake. 11 Buried Alive It is natural that the sound itself is vivid here as well, and above all, Mick's chorus harmony sounds louder than the finished version, which is an attractive state. In the final version, you could barely hear his voice at the ending, so this rough mix is ​​even more appealing as Mick's voice becomes more prominent as the performance progresses. Still, the ending itself is longer than the final version, and you can even hear Mick's voice. 12 Come To Realize　There are also few overdub parts of Ronnie, and the sound of Mac's electric piano stands out. And above all, there was still no backing chorus that was chorus-like, and Ronnie only overdubbed the chorus by himself. Moreover, the ending of the final version seems to fade out while the chorus is rising, but this version is recorded for a longer time and then fades out. 01. Breakin' My Heart v1 This is the first version, so there are almost no overdubbings, and it seems to be close to a basic track with only Mick and other backing choruses added. Above all, Ronnie's vocals are different from the final version and the second version, and in the second half you can even see him instructing Mick on the timing of the chorus. It's probably a rough mix. When it comes to rough mixes for albums, most of the time the basic lines are done, but there are some differences here and there. In that respect, the sound quality of this sound source is completely different from the finished album, and it is not at a subtle level like discerning the difference in the matrix of a record, but at a level that can be understood with a complete listen. It's even more interesting that there are even unreleased songs. It is truly valuable just because it is a rare sound source of Ronnie's album that has never been seen before, but it is also surprising that the sound quality is completely at the official level. It was originally a cassette containing a rough mix, so even the slight hiss makes it feel like a cassette, and there's nothing unpleasant about it. In fact, for this release, there was no need for any equalization or modification, and the version that appeared on the internet was used as is. Although it is a high-quality sound source, it is interesting that the rough mix of the album, which had such a rough finish, is now being discovered. This is the biggest excavated sound source in the first half of 2020! Recorded at Pathe Marconi Studios, Boulogne-Billancourt, France, March and/or April 1978 and Cherokee Studios, Los Angeles, September-November 1978 Foxes In The Boxes Vol. Four (53:38) 01. Breakin' My Heart(II) 02. Lost And Lonely 03. Worry No More 04. We All Get Old 05. Seven Days 06. I Got Lost When I Found You 07. F.U.C. Her 08. Don't Worry 09. Infekshun 10. Tiger Balm 11. Buried Alive 12. Come To Realize 13. Breakin' My Heart(I)