Ronnie Spector - The Last of the Rock Stars
The ex-wife of Phil collaborates with Patti Smith and Keith Richards
By Andrew Perry
Observer Music Monthly
March 19, 2006
The main voice on the Ronettes' “Be My Baby” has remained largely unflexed for nigh-on 20 years, save for the odd public appearance with her now late friend, Joey Ramone. Rather unforeseeably, then, Spector's comeback album finds that famous Noo Yawk, vibrato-tremblin' voice soaring majestically in service of, well, the right kind of music.
She tackles raunchy rockers such as “Hey Shah-Lo-Ney” and soulfully lovelorn classics by the Ramones and Johnny Thunders with equal dynamism. Even minus a Wall of Sound, she's a gigantic presence.
Ronnie Spector
The Last of the Rock Stars (High Coin)
4 stars (****)
By Betty Clarke
Guardian
April 7, 2006
Ronnie Spector is a fantasy figure of rock 'n' roll. The Beatles and the Stones lusted after her, punk rock musicians adored her and Madonna based her style on Spector's trashy but vulnerable voice. Yet Spector's career, with classic girl group the Ronettes, lasted a mere five years, stolen from her by the man who not only made her a star and his wife but also a prisoner, according to Be My Baby, Spector's 1989 account of life with hubbie Phil.
Following her divorce in 1974, the Spanish Harlem-born singer released two solo albums, 1987's Unfinished Business and 1999's acclaimed but quickly forgotten She Talks to Rainbows - the latter produced by one of her longtime fans, the late Joey Ramone. Spector turned again to Ramone for The Last of the Rock Stars, which stands as a tribute to his belief in her not as a victim, but a survivor.
Like a frayed and muddied Snow White, Spector picks up where she left off with the Ronettes. Her heartache and sex appeal are reawoken by an affectionate kiss from her Prince Charming, Ramone - and by equally awestruck smooches from other credible collaborators including the Raveonettes, Nick Zinner of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Patti Smith, who adds an ice-cool cameo to “There Is an End.” Ramone's backing vocals on “You Can't Put Your Arms Around a Memory” make its bitter nostalgia even more poignant.
Even without Phil Spector's wall of sound to prop her up, Ronnie's voice remains a delicious thrill. Some of the trembling in her voice can now be ascribed to age, especially in the overly-rocky “Never Gonna Be Your Baby,” but the 62-year-old still makes a single “woah-oh” bleed with desperation and transforms the word “baby” from a girlish endearment to a wanton appeal. It helps that the keyboards, guitars and backing vocals subtly construct a familiar backdrop to Spector's throaty remonstrations.
But it's the ghost of Phil that haunts the album. “All I Want” conjures up images of a controlling lover, while “Girl from the Ghetto” is more explicit. “I hope your hell is filled with magazines and on every page is a picture of me,” she spits, later changing "hell" to "cell" in a reference to Phil Spector's upcoming trial for murder. Though there is nothing approaching the beauty of “Baby I Love You” here, Ronnie Spector leaves you in no doubt that she is flesh, blood and undiminished spirit.
