Groovin'

GROOVIN' IS the final chapter in the Rhythm Kings' trilogy, which began a couple of years back with the rootsy R&B of Struttin' Our Stuff and its follow-up, Anyway The Wind Blows, a collection of mainly '30s and '40s blues/jazz standards.

The former Rolling Stone bassist, Bill Wyman, is joined on this thoroughly enjoyable exercise by, among others Georgie Fame, Albert Lee, Andy Fairweather Low and his one-time Stones colleague Mick Taylor.

The title track is indeed the Rascals' glorious sixties summer hit and the version here is faithful to the spirit of the original with backing-singer-to-the-stars Beverly Skeete lending her soulful tonsils to good effect.

She also makes a fair fist of the Screamin' Jay Hawkins standard 'I Put A Spell On You', which is arguably the highlight of the album, while Gary Brooker of Procol Harum fame takes the lead vocal on a couple of cuts, including Lovin' Spoonful's charming if slight pop hit 'Daydream'.

Groovin' is not entirely made up of covers, however, and Wyman himself contributes a handful of derivative sounding originals including the boogified 'Rough Cut Diamond', rockabilly-inflected 'Tomorrow Night' and the countryish 'Streamline Woman'.

While it's hard to fault the performances or the musicianship here, you get the impression that Groovin' is the sound of a band more interested in pleasing themselves than in winning audiences.