Monkey Grip (Bill Wyman album)
1974 studio album by Bill Wyman
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Monkey Grip is the debut studio album by the English rock musician Bill Wyman, released on 10 May 1974 by Rolling Stones Records.[1]
| Monkey Grip | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 10 May 1974 | |||
| Recorded | November 1973 – February 1974 | |||
| Studio | Record Plant (Sausalito, California) | |||
| Genre | Rock | |||
| Length | 37:05 | |||
| Labels | ||||
| Producer | Bill Wyman | |||
| Bill Wyman chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Singles from Monkey Grip | ||||
| ||||
Although Wyman sings on every track on the album, he had only sung lead on one song in the Rolling Stones, the 1967 song "In Another Land".
Critical reception
In a retrospective review, Steve Kurutz writing for AllMusic rated the album four stars out of five. He noted "I Wanna Get Me a Gun", "White Lightnin" and "I'll Pull You Thro" as the best songs on the album and hinted approval of Wyman's vocals, describing them as "loose and joy-filled". They also praised the album for avoiding the usual egotism of solo albums: "Though these types of albums can be self-absorbed affairs, Monkey Grip is meant to be a relaxed, unpretentious outlet for the compositions that would never see the light of day in Wyman's main band – and, as a credit to the bassist, it comes off exactly that way."[6]
Track listing
All tracks are written by Bill Wyman, except "What a Blow", co-written by Malcolm Rebenack.
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "I Wanna Get Me a Gun" | 4:57 |
| 2. | "Crazy Woman" | 2:41 |
| 3. | "Pussy" | 2:10 |
| 4. | "Mighty Fine Time" | 3:36 |
| 5. | "Monkey Grip Glue" | 4:56 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 6. | "What a Blow" | 5:22 |
| 7. | "White Lightnin'" | 2:42 |
| 8. | "I'll Pull You Thro'" | 4:23 |
| 9. | "It's a Wonder" | 5:30 |
| Total length: | 37:05 | |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 10. | "Wine and Wimmen" (Early Version) | 3:42 |
| 11. | "It's Just a Matter of Time" | 3:03 |
| 12. | "If You've Got the Feelin'" | 3:39 |
| 13. | "Five Card Stud" | 3:47 |
| 14. | "Monkey Grip Glue" (Single Edit) | 3:18 |
| 15. | "What a Blow" (Single Edit) | 3:46 |
| 16. | "White Lightnin'" (Single Mix) | 2:44 |
| 17. | "Pussy" (Single Mix) | 2:11 |
Personnel
- Bill Wyman – vocals, bass guitar (1–5, 8, 9), acoustic guitar (3, 4, 7, 8), Jew's harp (3), acoustic piano (4), backing vocals (4), electric guitar (6)
- Dr. John – acoustic piano (1), organ (6), pedalboard (6)
- Duane Smith – acoustic piano (2, 8)
- Leon Russell – acoustic piano (4)
- William "Smitty" Smith – acoustic piano (5)
- Hubert Heard – organ (8, 9), acoustic piano (9)
- Danny Kortchmar – electric guitar (1, 2, 4–6, 9), 12-string guitar (7, 8)
- Joey Murcia – electric guitar (2)
- George Terry – slide guitar (2), electric guitar (8)
- Jackie Clark – electric guitar (3, 4, 8)
- John McEuen – banjo (3), dobro (7), mandolin (7)
- Lowell George – lead guitar (5)
- Dallas Taylor – drums
- Joe Lala – percussion (1–3, 5–9)
- Byron Berline – fiddle (3, 6)
- Peter Graves – trombone (3)
- George McCrae – backing vocals (1, 2, 5, 8, 9)
- Gwen McCrae – backing vocals (1, 2, 5, 8, 9)
- Betty Wright – backing vocals (1, 2, 5, 8, 9)
- Abigale Haness – backing vocals (4)
Boneroo Horns (Tracks 1, 2, 4–6 & 8)
- Bill Wyman – horn arrangements
- Neal Bonsanti – baritone saxophone, tenor saxophone, cor anglais
- Mark Colby – soprano saxophone, tenor saxophone, clarinet
- Peter Graves – trombone, euphonium, horn arrangements
- Ken Faulk – trumpet, flugelhorn
Production
- Bill Wyman – producer, arrangements
- Howard Albert – assistant production, engineer, mixing
- Ron Albert – assistant production, engineer, mixing
- Karl Richardson – mastering at Criteria Studios (Miami, Florida)
- Jimmy Wachtel – design, artwork
- Amanda Finch – design assistant, artwork assistant
- Bob Jenkins – photography
Charts
| Chart (1974) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Australia (Kent Music Report)[7] | 36 |
| United Kingdom (Official Charts Company) | 39 |
| United States (Billboard 200) | 99 |