Ron Wood brings to his second solo album the same enthusiasm he exudes with the Rolling Stones and Rod Stewart and the Faces. While there are some rough edges here, with some of the melodies only half formed, Now Look, like last year's I've Got My Own Album to Do, is as fresh and buoyant a supersession as anyone has ever done.

Wood's playing with the Stones actually gives a false picture of his talents as a guitarist. His slide playing, dominant here, is almost never used with the Stones. And Wood is a marvelous slide player, loose and free in the manner of Elmore James, rather than dark and sinister like the more country/blues-influenced Mick Taylor and Keith Richard. In addition, his duets with Keith Richard—here as well as onstage—are marvels of compacted heavy rock riffing. Coproducer Bobby Womack's R&B figures complement them perfectly, particularly on "I Can Say She's All Right."

As a vocalist, Wood's confidence and skill have grown remarkably. His raspy voice is often reminiscent of Dylan's best singing on Blood on the Tracks and Before the Flood. On "Big Bayou," he takes a rocker tailor-made for Rod Stewart and turns in a more than creditable performance, although he is not so effective on a ballad, "If You Don't Want My Love," which would also be a perfect Stewart vehicle.

The other musicians turn in predictably stalwart efforts. Ian McLagan, who coproduced with Womack and Wood, shines here as he rarely has in his regular keyboard gig with the Faces, and even Mick Taylor, whom Wood has replaced in the Stones, gets off a fine slide solo on "It's Unholy." Richard is everywhere.

The highlight, however, is the riskiest track on the record, a reworking of Ann Peebles's "I Can't Stand the Rain." Wood's scratchy vocal is as affecting as, and distinctly related to, Peebles's spooky version. Its ominous qualities point up the lighthearted, good-natured qualities of the rest of the album. Clearly, even without the Faces and the Stones, Ron Wood is capable of making first-rate music. (RS 193)

DAVE MARSH