I’ve been meaning to pay homage to Mick Ronson long before Bowie’s death was announced. Bowie worked with some of the greatest guitarists but Ronson stands as his #1 axeman but also #1 arranger — that’s saying something. Of course the term “x is one of the best ys” is so easily bandied about. But MR really is quite astonishing in the sense that he was part and parcel to the success of some of the greatest music of the 20th Century. And much of it has to do not with “hack technicality” (Frank Zappa referring to the mid-70s prog rock type guitarist), nor with merely a highly talented and solid hired gun — but to do with the hyper-dramatic-modernism he injected into the music and without ever losing its profound soulfulness.
Now here’s a Ronson nerd — love it! And yes, there is a part two featuring Ian Hunter.
manwithoutqualities 