“It’s in the contract, you know,” says Ronnie Wood, trying to lock his features into a suitably stern Rolling Stones scowl. “You can’t be seen smiling, unless another member of the band is present.” Whereupon the baleful glare breaks ranks and Ron Wood’s mug lights up with his well-known loony-tunes grin.

The flip attitude displayed by the group’s newest member toward the sacred Rolling Stones image is just one indication that Wood isn’t about to blend quietly into the Stones fabric as an anonymous ex-Face in the new crowd. A year-and-a-half after his first spin with the Stones, Woody is making his presence felt, musically and otherwise .