Izzy Stradlin

On a live interview on Rockline Thanksgiving Day 1991, W. Axl Rose delivered the dreaded news: Izzy has left Guns N' Roses.

In the months leading up to his decision, Izzy Stradlin', Guns' reclusive rhythm guitarist, had been the subject of music industry rumors and fans' concern due to his noticeable absence from recent videos and apparent disillusionment with the bigger than life rock n' roll touring phenomenon that Guns N' Roses had become.

The release of Use Your Illusion I and II had for the first time defined Izzy's contribution to the band. With primary songwriting credit for seven tracks, including the hit releases "You Could Be Mine" and "Don't Cry," and sole credit for "You Ain't the First," "Double Talkin' Jive" and "Pretty Tied Up," Stradlin's own brand of musicianship and lyrical skill captured the attention of fans accustomed to Axl's sole possession of the GN'R spotlight.

Even before the albums were released, critics and fans had noticed Izzy's increased role on tour. Some of the best of Guns' as-yet-unfamiliar new material featured Stradlin's gravelly vocals ("Dust N' Bones") and his more bluesy style of rock n' roll ("Bad Obsession"). As a foil to Rose's artistic and personal extremism, Stradlin's introverted persona and laid-back rhythm and blues added some depth and a sense of mystery to the highly controversial, out-of-control band.

Stradlin, the enigmatic lyricist and rhythm guitarist so unlike the whole Guns N' Roses image developed in the media, never really participated in all those infamous publicity-grabbing antics of the band (though he did once piss in a trash can on a commercial airline). His gradual withdrawal from the obligatory fast-paced lifestyle and lack of enthusiasm for the tour, the videos and even the production of the long-awaited new albums served as warning signs to fans and the media. So when Axl confirmed Izzy's departure on a live radio interview, fans may have been disappointed but no one was really surprised.

Now, almost a year after his official resignation from Guns N' Roses, Izzy returns to the world of rock n' roll with a new band and a new solo album. On Izzy Stradlin and the Ju Ju Hounds, Stradlin eschews the excesses of heavy metal superstardom for a tight rhythm and blues jam session that showcases his Sixties-rock, Rolling Stones influences. Stradlin even collaborates with a member of the legendary rock group on the album's ninth track, "Take A Look at the Guy," which features vocals and lyrics by veteran Stones guitarist Ron Wood. Stradlin's debut solo album thus provides abundant support for his former bandmates' theory: Izzy thinks he's Keith Richards.

Stradlin sounds like Keith Richards too, launching into the first track, "Somebody Knockin," with a vintage Stones mid-tempo guitar groove. His classic "guitarist gone solo" gravelly vocals complement the track's gritty feel, and the simplicity and repetition of the lyrics demonstrate Stradlin's focus on stripped-down musicianship for this album.

Izzy and his Ju Ju Hounds take a short detour from their retro-rock trip and generate a high-energy Social Distortion-esque vibe with the second track, "Pressure Drop," a two-and-a-half minute burst of raspy punk rock winding down to a reggae beat.

Stradlin and his session musicians let loose on "Time Gone By," a hand-clappin', thigh-slappin' bluesy guitar jam that shows the band at its best. A simple tale of love and loss and the effects of time and distance, "Time Gone By" has little to offer in the way of lyrical artistry but the groove is good and the sound satisfying.

The fourth track, "Shuffle It All," with its swelling Hammond organ a la The Black Crowes, captures the resigned realism of a life of loneliness and impermanence, such as a young Jeff Isbell must have experienced on his way from smalltown Indiana to the rock underworld of Los Angeles.

Stradlin and the Ju Ju Hounds make liberal use of the Hammond organ, trademark of the retro movement so popular among rock n' roll musicians today, as well as such instruments as the mandolin for a sound noticeably different from that of Guns N' Roses. The soulful, passionate rock n' roll of such tracks as "Shuffle It All" and "Come on Now Inside," the last track on the album, reveal Stradlin's move away from hard-driving bitterness and destruction that characterized his former band.

With Izzy Stradlin and the Ju Ju Hounds, Stradlin seems to have softened a bit since the days when he wrote such delicate, sensitive pieces as "Pretty Tied Up." However, much of his new material lacks the raw energy and lyrical force (albeit politically incorrect) of Guns N' Roses. Only after listening to his solo work with his new band does one realize that much of what made Izzy's songs on Use Your Illusion I and II so powerful was the caliber of musicians backing him up.