In the summer of 1979, there was not more of a rock ‘n’ roll band than The New Barbarians. The story began in 1977 when Keith Richards got busted for drugs and had to play two free shows for the blind as his court punishment. Meanwhile, Richards’ best friend and fellow Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood had just released a solo album and wanted to back it with a tour. Add these two together, not to mention saxophonist Bobby Keys, keyboardist Ian McLagan, bassist Stanley Clarke and Ziggy Modeliste on drums, and you have The New Barbarians.
For years, fans were seeking bootlegs from this “live-only” band. Finally, on Oct 19, 2006, Ronnie Wood delivered the double CD, “Buried Alive: Live in Maryland,” the only official recording of the band on his home label.
As entertaining as it may be listening to Wood’s and Richards’ gruffly voices from years of hard living, the band’s charm lies in the drug-addled but solid guitar work of Richards and Wood. It is in these long jams that they accomplish the ancient art of guitar weaving. That means that one may be playing lead guitar while the other plays rhythm, then they quickly switch. Therefore, you cannot tell which guitar does what.
Wood has a larger presence on the first disc as he sings the majority of the songs, including some covers like Chuck Berry’s “Sweet Little Rock ‘n’ Roller.” Many of Wood’s own songs are good but nothing special. However, Wood strikes magic a few times on tracks such as “Buried Alive,” which contains one of the darkest, drugged-up riffs ever played.
Later, Richards responds with “Sure the One You Need,” in which he starts off with one of his classic riffs and sings in his nasally chain-smoking voice. Robert Johnson’s “Love in Vain” is good enough to close the first disc with its intense long jam that keeps building, and it clearly shows the guitar weaving between Richards and Wood. Then again, nothing compares to Wood’s closer “Breathe on Me,” which starts off with Keys’ great saxophone and Wood and Richards singing together. Out of nowhere, Keys’ sax bridges the song into two great separate dueling solos between Richards and Wood.
Richards has a larger presence on disc two, which contains more predictable and famous songs except for the first two, “Let’s Go Steady” and “Apartment Number 9,” which are ballads sung by Richards with Wood on sax and pedal steel guitar.
With that out of their systems, they go into a Quaalude-fueled version of “Honky Tonk Women.” Some good-all-around covers are here, too, such as John Lee Hooker’s “Worried Life Blues” and Bob Dylan’s “Seven Days.”
The last two songs are pretty predictable but great nonetheless, with Richards belting out his autobiographical song “Before They Make Me Run,” in which he sings, “Booze and pills and powders, you can choose your medicine.” Finally, on “Jumping Jack Flash,” the band uses the last of its energy to turn the three-minute single into a seven-minute jam.
Wood, who seems to have a larger all-around presence on the album, did a great thing by releasing this album and not messing around with it. It truly makes you feel like you are hearing the band live in 1979, with each song leading to the next.
Typical of the show is Wood sarcastically apologizing for Mick Jagger not appearing. The band knew deep down inside that it did not need a famous lead singer, since the passion and energy came from its guitar weaving and jam-oriented songs. That was what made The New Barbarians a truly special band.
