Amph What Album Did You Just Hear?

^
Should have gave it a 5/5 just for the album cover and costume design lmao.

I just listened to Let It Bleed, one of the Stones best records, although Beggar's Banquet might be my desert island pick from them. Both are front to backers.

 

Big Pun - Capital Punishment

I’ve kinda stumbled down a rap/hip-hop rabbit hole. I’ve got so many blind spots in that genre. This is one of the best albums I’ve ever heard. In any genre. Period.

 

The one album where they tried to look like Kiss...unmasked.

5 out of 5 on that, agreed.

Yeah, Let It Bleed is pretty seminal and in my top ten of theirs.

But, Sticky Fingers > Beggars.

 

Yeah, Let It Bleed & Beggars Banquet are both phenomenal. but Sticky Fingers is really their masterpiece in my opinion. Every single song on it is just incredible. The weakest song on it is I've Got the Blues and most full-on blues bands would kill to have a song that good on an album and the Stones aren't even a blues band.

Your review of Goat's Head Soup has made me realize that I've never heard that one start to finish and I really should.

 

You should.

 

The Rolling Stones: Steel Wheels (1989)

It was widely open to speculation as to whether Dirty Work would be the last outing from The Rolling Stones as the fissure between Jagger and Richards, after 1986, was at its widest. Not only had Mick Jagger embarked on a second solo album, Primative Cool, but Keith Richards (rather begrudgingly, and somewhat by chance) debuted his solo album, Talk Is Cheap. Now, as a man who is in team 'Keef', I can do nothing but sing the praises of Talk Is Cheap and, eventually, you can absolutely expect a review of the album, along with the other two solo albums of the immortal trilogy.

As for Primitive Cool, I was unable to find a vinyl copy in Mum's collection but if a man in his forties is describing his own work as "cool", and the fact that not even Mum has the vinyl in her collection alongside the likes of Talking Heads, Elton John, Billy Joel, Lou Reed, Steely Dan, and Roxy Music, it can't be a good sign. In truth, I only know one song off this album given its inclusion on the Mick Jagger Best Of compilation and, it's ok. But, as you'd expect, Mick Jagger solo is the sound of a man struggling to keep up with the shifting dynamics and popularity in music. Rather tenuously (at best), he was attempting to compete with Prince and Michael Jackson with very mixed results. Jagger's first two solo albums certainly had their followers and were by no means disasters. Instead, they were just flat:


(Courtesy of Ultimate Classic Rock: https://ultimateclassicrock.com/mick-jagger-primitive-cool-album/)

Keith Richards solo, conversely, is far less the result of calculation and planning. Talk Is Cheap is, instead, the result of chance encounters and jams where Richards, following much reluctance, took the role of lead singer and guitarist in what would become his second band, The Xpensive Winos:


(Courtest of L.A Times: https://www.latimes.com/entertainme...rds-solo-album-talk-cheap-20190322-story.html)



I'm not going to go too deeply into this because I definitely want to explore this record in great detail at some point. But I love Talk Is Cheap. In short, Talk Is Cheap, compared to She's The Boss and Primitive Cool feels more spontaneous and effortless. It's looser than anything Jagger has done outside of The Rolling Stones (don't worry, we'll get to Superheavy eventually - it ain't good). As much as I enjoy Jagger and Bowie's duet of the cover 'Dancing In The Street', there is something heavily date stamped about it whether it be the neon soaked video, the sickly sweet 80s production, or just the overall execution of it. None of those issues are present in Richards' solo, unlike Jagger solo or some of the worst Rolling Stones cuts during the 1980s. I think this is attributable to the fact that Keith was still very much in touch, and in love, with his influences. He wasn't looking for the next big thing. He knew what worked for him and kept to it. In 1987, during his time away from The Rolling Stones, Keith would have both the honour, and the humiliation, of working with his hero - Chuck Berry:



Don't go too hard on Chuck here, he's probably still recovering from his duet with Yoko Ono that was rudely interrupted by John Lennon. But, I think the gap between 1986 and 1989, for Richards, was as much as a creative breather as it was cathartic. Talk Is Cheap is not without its Lennon/McCartney-esque solo jabs toward his bandmate:


(Courtesy of Ultimate Classic Rock: https://ultimateclassicrock.com/rolling-stones-mixed-emotions/)

I'll end the Talk Is Cheap chat here because I could go on, and I will down the track. But, I absolutely recommend the album.

The lead-up to Steel Wheels was eventually paved with mutual enthusiasm and a rekindling of friendship. Shortly before the album's release, The Rolling Stones would be inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame by fellow alumni, Pete Townshend:



The Glimmer Twins, meanwhile, would settle their differences in neutral territory which would lead to a burst of renewed creativity:


(Courtesy of Ultimate Classic Rock: https://ultimateclassicrock.com/rolling-stones-steel-wheels/)

There's a very cute story surrounding Keith's disdain of discos in the album's lead single, 'Mixed Emotions':

Button your lip baby
Button your coat
Let's go out dancing
Go for the throat
Let's bury the hatchet
Wipe out the past
Make love together
Stay on the path

Essentially, 'Mixed Emotions' documents the reunion of Jagger/Richards in much the same way 'One Hit To The Body' is a blow-by-blow portrayal of how the partnership nearly ended for good. The reference to "coat" and "dancing" is actually a reference to the pair attending discos and spending time together when rekindling their friendship in 1989. The song wasn't a massive hit for the band, but I really love it because it's delivered with such sincerity given how it informed by real life events. It's the band channeling Nicks/Buckingham both sonically and lyrically. In fact, Steel Wheels feels like The Rolling Stones doing their take on Fleetwood Mac because the relationships depicted on this album very much are themselves (saved at time stamp):



Even the video to another of the album's singles, 'Almost Hear You Sigh', is VERY Fleetwood Mac (this video also happens to be my favourite Rolling Stones video):



A much more tender and downbeat companion to the raucous 'Mixed Emotions', 'Almost Hear You Sigh' very much continues the theme established in the album's lead single:

What'll I do without ya?
They say that life goes on
I'm feeling sorry for myself
I can't believe you're gone
And you acted much too calm
You turned on all the charm
You had a cold look in your eyes
And I feel your tongue on mine
Mhmm, silky smooth like wine
I'm living with these memories
That's all that's left of you and me

I love Steel Wheels because it is such an optimistic sequel record to Dirty Work because it is the sound of a friendship repairing, while its predecessor was diametrically the opposite. But, it's not only a love letter between Jagger and Richards, but also one to the fans. But, it's a love letter to the fans without being a blatant apology. Really, the thanks to the fans is really to be found in the tone more than the lyrics. There's no obvious return-to-roots arrangements on this record. It's more to do with the feel. There's a warmth to this album that is unique to Steel Wheels because, out of anything in their discography, it's the least sexualised or vulgar in its subject matter. Frankly, it's very much a PG-rated Rolling Stones album, but it is by far one of the most mature and welcoming.

But, the album isn't slow or downbeat in any way. It's optimistic and warm, rather than cool, pouty, and swaggering. Steel Wheels opens with a very upbeat number, 'Sad Sad Sad', complete with glam-like handclaps and horns. While identifiably a Rolling Stones album, Steel Wheels takes risks in areas but within limits that are logical to the strengths of the band. 'Terrifying' is Prince-like funk number that is injected with Stones sensibilities which takes inspiration from The Revolution rather than The Rolling Stones trying to sound like The Revolution.

'Continental Drift' is a raga-infused eastern number rich with Hindu backing vocals, atmosphere while, as discussed, 'Almost Hear You Sigh' is 80s sentimentality in the style of Fleetwood Mac (ala Seven Wonders-esque). 'Rock and a Hard Place', meanwhile, is a song that is tragically overlooked on the band's setlist to this day and seems to have its presence limited to that era of the band. As with many of the tracks on the album, it features soul backing vocalists and has a rich full-band tone with some visceral energy behind Richards and Wood's guitar work.

For me, among the many highlights on this album is the crowning jewell closer, 'Slipping Away, sung by Keith Richards:

Guess it's just another dream that's slipping away
Each time that I fall asleep it seems I'm drifting away

Just as you have touched my heart
Babe, I wake and we're apart
Yeah, and it's slipping away

Here comes just another day that's drifting away
Every time I draw a breath it's dying away

Again, the theme of realisation is a key theme to this record and I think the closing track nails it brilliantly. Once again, very much in the style of an 80s-era Fleetwood Mac ballad, 'Slipping Away' closes the album both gently and optimistically than the defeated tone of 'Sleep Tonight' from Dirty Work. Dirty Work brilliantly both mirrors and contrasts its predecessor in this way and 'Slipping Away' is the perfect way to end this album.

If I had to criticise Steel Wheels, I suppose the production is a little too steeped in a late-80s aesthetic, while omitting 'Break the Spell' would tightened the tracklist and flow of the album. But, I really cannot complain about this album. Steel Wheels is a masterclass on how to stage a comeback.

Overlooked and thoroughly recommended.

5 out of 5

 

The Rolling Stones: Voodoo Lounge (1994)

A new decade, and yet even more change for the quintet who would be pared down to a four piece by the time recording for Voodoo Lounge would come about. Bill Wyman, the band's original bass player, announced his departure from the band in the early 1990s citing a desire for change and, overall, that thirty years as a Rolling Stone left him content:



The band, at the time, were divided on his decision to leave the group given that they had reclaimed a solid footing by the end of the 1980s. Just as the Glimmer Twins had resolved their dramas, recorded a well-received Stones record, and undertook their biggest ever tour, the band's high spirits would take a hit. Not to mention that Bill had made his decision around the time the band would sign onto Virgin Records:


(Courtesy of Far Out Magazine: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-reason-bill-wyman-left-the-rolling-stones/)

So, who to replace him? Nobody. Technically. No, Mick didn't end up being the band's bass player. But, officially speaking, Bill Wyman is the only bass player to have ever been in The Rolling Stones. Rather than recruit a full time member, the band instead opted to work with Darryl Jones as a session musician for their recordings, commencing with Voodoo Lounge, and simply bring him on the road as a shadow member of the band when, in reality, he's just part of the backing band. While the band spent some time deciding who should resume bass duties, other than Mick, the decision ultimately came down to Charlie Watts who felt that Darryl was the best fit for the rhythm section of The Stones:



Darryl Jones is definitely a logical fit for the band who, at the time, was known for his work with Miles Davis, Eric Clapton, and Sting. He had even had his own jazz funk album in the 1980s. So, the fit made sense to Charlie and, additionally, to Keith.

Before any of that happened, however, the band took some much needed rest from touring where Mick would record his third solo album, the Rick Rubin produced Wandering Spirit. I own this album and, it's ok. Not great but I do love the dance track 'Sweet Thing'. To his credit, and Rick's, Mick avoids the urge to compete with contemporary artists. Of the first three solo albums, it is Mick's strongest because it's less chart topping and more about song craft. But, the making of the album wasn't without its dramas as Jagger would experience creative clashes with Rubin. But, the more interesting aspect of this era is the album that wasn't released. Yes, there is an unreleased Mick Jagger blues album from the early 1990s that, to this day, hasn't been released (with the exception of one track which appeared on his Best Of compilation):


(Courtesy of Ultimate Classic Rock: https://ultimateclassicrock.com/mick-jagger-wandering-spirit/)

As for that track from the vault, 'Checking Up On My Baby'? Excellent. Meanwhile, the immortal riff master would release his follow-up to Talk is Cheap, 1992's Main Offender. While well received at the time, it didn't sell as many copies of Talk Is Cheap and I suspect this is due to the stylistic difference between the two records. Where Talk Is Cheap is a rock and roll record, Main Offender seems more contemplative and varied in tone. For me, I juggle between which of the two I prefer and it seems to come down to mood. But, it's still a banger. 1992 would also mark the year where TWO immortals would come face to face from opposite sides of the pond (saved at Time Stamp - no, subtitles cannot help you):



But, onto the album, Voodoo Lounge. For many fans, Voodoo Lounge is considered to be the true comeback for The Rolling Stones. For me, I can't help it feel a little underwhelmed with the follow-up to the stellar Steel Wheels as this one seems to play it a little too safe. In fact, it's the one time that the band created a damage control album when there was no need. Sadly, the album doesn't live up to the promise of its title or front cover. I think the events surrounding the album are far more interesting than the final product. As you all know, I am a member of Team Keef. However, on this one occasion, I have to side with Mick on this one because I think there is a lost opportunity for something that could have been far more varied given the fact that producer, Don Was, pushed them in a far safer direction than Jagger had envisaged for the album. It was a decision that would amount to a mistake, according to Jagger when speaking to Rolling Stone founder, Jann Wenner:


(Courtesy of Rolling Stone: https://www.rollingstone.com/feature/mick-jagger-remembers-92946/)

I am 100% with Mick on this one. There is just something dry and vanilla about this record given how Exile On Mainstreet was used as a reference point for many of the album's creative decisions. Sadly, I think the album was doomed from the start as, according to Jagger, the band "intellectually" planned the album ahead of improvisation (saved at time stamp):



It pains me to say it, but Voodoo Lounge is the sound of The Rolling Stones when maybe Keith wins one too many arguments. Again, it feels almost like an apology record to assure fans that the band of old is still in there when Steel Wheels did a fine job of being both current and faithful to the techniques of the band. It's especially telling when the band launched the album with a Windows 3.1 CD-ROM interactive experience to help promote the album:



Voodoo Lounge isn't awful, the results are just disappointing as compared to what might have been. Keeping in mind, also, that the album does feature some of my favourite ever tracks. One of which, to this day, is a setlist staple - the stomping 'You Got Me Rocking'. A tough, pounding rock number that is up there with their very best songs of the 1960s.

I was a butcher cutting up meat
My hands were bloody, I'm dying on my feet
I was a surgeon 'till I start to shake
I was a-falling 'till you put on the brakes
Hey, hey, you got me rocking now
Hey, hey, you got me rocking now
Hey, hey, you got me rocking now
I was a pitcher down in a slump
I was a fighter taken for a sucker punch
Feeling bad, guess I lost my spring
I was the boxer who can't get in the ring

The song also features some of Watts' hardest backbeats along with some of the best groove that Darryl Jones would offer to the band. In fact, Darryl Jones is front and centre from the very beginning on the album. His bass is very prominent on album opener, 'Love Is Strong'. A bluesy, sexy, and groovy mid-tempo track with Mick giving his best performance on the harmonica. It sets the mood very well for what could be been the sleazy groove-oriented album that Jagger wanted for Voodoo Lounge.

'Sparks Will Fly', meanwhile, is a fast paced Jerry Lee Lewis rock and roll number and features some of Watts' snappiest drumming. It's also no mistake that the sound of the track is Lewis-esque given the events which inspired the track. While recording the album in Ireland, Jerry Lee Lewis was also in Ireland and desired a jam session with Mr. Richards, only for Keith to not take kindly to Lewis' sense of humour, according to Ronnie Wood:


(Courtesy of Rolling Stone: https://www.rollingstone.com/music/...kets-on-the-rolling-stones-latest-tour-80263/)

Voodoo Lounge is also the home of one of my favourite ever Keith Richards songs, 'Thru and Thru' - a sentimental ballad where he eschews the snark and cynicism in favourite of a rare show of heart on sleeve:

Any minute, any hour
I'm waiting on a call from you
You know this heart is constant
I'm your lover, baby, through and through
Lover, baby, through and through
Only found out yesterday
I heard it on the news
Miami heard what it pissed me off
And now I got them ******* blues
Oh, those awesome blues
Yeah, I said them ******* blues
But, baby
Any minute, any hour
I'm waiting on a call from you
You know tah this heart is constant, babe
I'm your lover, baby, through and through
Through and through

'Blinded by Raindows', meanwhile, is the band's most direct political songs about the seduction of idealism that is somehow lost in the quest of good intentions during wartime:

Yeah you're blinded by rainbows
Watching the wind blow
Blinded by rainbows
Do you dream at night
Do you sleep at night
I doubt it
Did you ever feel the blast
As a Semtex bomb goes off
Do you ever hear the screams
As the limbs are all torn off
Did you ever kiss the child
Who just saw his father shot
Do you ever shed a tear
As the war drags on and on

It would certainly be a downer in a live setting, but it's a hell of a song where Jagger plays accuser rather than Jesus Christ (take notes, Bono). I also think the album closes on a very strong note, 'Mean Disposition' - a no frills rock number which, once again, is in the style of Jerry Lee Lewis. Just a fun, short, and snappy rock number.

But, Voodoo Lounge, spanning fifteen songs at just over an hour, is rife with filler. "Sweethearts Together", "Moon Is Up", "New Faces", and "Baby Break It Down" are among the most forgettable in the band's discography. This is due to the fact that they seem ill-suited to the album 'Sweethearts', ho-hum 'Baby Break It Down', swagger without the thrill dad-rock 'Brand New Car', the boring 'New Faces', or just downright bad 'Moon Is Up'. As nice as a track like the 90s-era McCartney-esque 'Out Of Tears' is (which it is), it just feel out of place and tone deaf to the album which surrounds it. If the album were to be fixed with the selection of songs, the most effective way to do so would be to pare down its length by around four or five songs.

Notwithstanding the double album, Exile On Main Street, Voodoo Lounge was the band's longest album at that point by quite a stretch. By the time you get to the end of the album closer, 'Mean Disposition', the experience feels bloated and formless. Voodoo Lounge feels less of an album and more of kitchen sink approach to cramming material onto a disc. Of course, the band couldn't have been expected to dabble with the flavours of early 1990s alt-rock. Nirvana, Soundgarden, or Pearl Jam were never going to be a good creative reference for the band, and kudos for them in avoiding it.

But, there was also a lot of funk and groove at the time. 'Suck on the Jugular' shows how Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Living Colour, or De La Soul could have served as a worthy roadmap for the record. Instead, Voodoo Lounge just seems to be a great exercise in untapped potential. While not without its highlights, Voodoo Lounge marks the beginnings of an album more than being a realised vision. The highlights on this album are worthy of defining their discography on a setlist or best of compilation, but they are poorly serviced by the middling material between the killer moments that the album has to offer.

A fine album but, rather frustratingly, not exceptional. By design, sadly.

3.5 out of 5

 

Temple of Low Men Crowded House 1987
Kind of a low key follow up to their upbeat debut album but perhaps even better. Definitely darker, Better Be Home Soon was the single and it's basically about a breakup. Check out When You Come if interested, perhaps Neil Finn's greatest song.

 

Neil Finn is my favourite songwriter, so this one speaks to me.

Fun fact: Bruce Springsteen loved this album so much that he took it to a local radio station and demanded that they play it.

 

Nice! I also love Together Alone, and Try Whistling This. And Time and Tide from Split Enz. I didn't know that about Bruce; very cool.

 

Sometimes I feel like a voice in the wilderness about Neil Finn, nice to meet a fan. I saw them at the Beacon Theater in NYC in 1991. Paradise Wherever You Are is another favorite.

 

I'd say it's more of an American thing.

As an Australian, you're never alone as a Finn fan. I even, apparently, went to the same school as his sons shortly after they had moved back to New Zealand following the first dissolution of Crowded House.

 

Most people here know Don't Dream It's Over and Something So Strong; and that's it. to be fair that was their only big US hits.
That line in when you come "float in darkness, smashing my hull send me to the bottom of the sea" line is just brilliant.

 

Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (1990) – Ma Rainey

Ma Rainey is one of those foundational figures of African American music who managed to have a tremendous impact despite having a relatively small amount of actual recorded output with a recording career that lasted from 1923 to 1928. She’s often called “Mother of the Blues” because she claimed to have coined the term “the blues” in reference to her songs and the 14 recordings on this CD are almost all “blues” songs in the most archetypal sense, songs about cheating men, miserable women, alcohol abuse and, occasionally, outright murder & suicide. And yet, as we all know about the blues, there’s a cathartic, dramatic satisfaction to these songs and Rainey sings even the darkest tales with an exuberant, bellowing voice that gives these recordings real vibrancy. As with most recordings from the 1920s, it’s a shame the sound quality isn’t better; there’s a lot of scratch and hiss on even the best of these recordings and a couple of them are bad enough that I probably wouldn’t have bothered putting them on this compilation. But most of the recordings are good enough that the music comes across, both the iconic, bluesy melodies and the instrumental flourishes. On some of these, Rainey is accompanied by a full band while on others, she’s backed by just one or two instruments, but the instrumentalists are kind of a “who’s who” of 1920s jazz with Coleman Hawkins showing up on two tracks and Tampa Red doing some of his fantastic slide guitar playing on two tracks where he’s the only instrumentalist. Jimmy Blythe contributes really fantastic piano playing as the only backing musician on Don’t Fish In My Sea. The melodies are catchy and every time I listened to this CD I found myself humming and singing these songs for the next couple of days. Standouts include Shave ‘Em Dry Blues (in a version that’s much cleaner than the more famous version by Lucille Bogan), Stack o’ Lee Blues, Booze & Blues, Blues Oh Blues & Yonder Come the Blues. I did mention this was a blues album, didn’t I? One never knows about revisiting music from this period, nearly a century ago now. Sometimes the sound quality keeps the music from getting through to the listener which is unfortunate since that’s not the fault of the music itself. But with these recordings, I felt the energy, the verve and the drama despite the technological difficulties. The blues endure even from 100 years ago, at least when Ma Rainey was the one singing them. 4 stars.

tl;dr – compilation of songs by the “Mother of the Blues” definitely struggles with sound quality, but the strength of the songs and the performances endure and overcome. 4 stars.

 

The Rolling Stones: Bridges to Babylon (1997)

Unlike the gap between the band's previous two albums, the band took no time to go their separate ways with side-projects. Neither Jagger nor Richards would follow-up on their solo careers between 1994 and 1997. Instead, The Rolling Stones embarked on what was then their biggest ever tour with the cinematic scale to match. The Voodoo Lounge tour took the concept of a live performance to absurdist new heights in terms of production scale, budget, and grossing sales figures. Just look at the stage:



Keeping in mind, this is also around the time that U2 would be bringing their explosive flavour of live shows to the world with their respective promotion of the albums Achtung baby and Zooropa, both albums known for being attached to over-the-top production when it came to the tour. Then, of course, The Rolling Stones even went so far as a touring act to even financially outdo the seemingly uncompromisable Michael Jackson. The band were riding high off the momentum and did not intend to let up on the momentum. Keeping in mind, the gap between Voodoo Lounge and Bridges to Babylon would be two years less than the gap between Steel Wheels and Voodoo Lounge. So, the band worked very hard in the 1990s as both a touring and recording act. If not for Mick and Keith's solo records, I say there would have been a third, or possibly fourth, Rolling Stones album in the 1990s. Instead, we only have two.

The closest either Jagger or Richards came to anything resembling a side-project was Mick's appearance in a film titled Bent. Directed by Sean Mathias and starring a young Clive Owen, Bent was a portrayal of homosexuals living in Nazi Germany. Jagger's role was very brief as a cabaret singer named Greta:



That's about it. Otherwise, it was business as usual for The Rolling Stones. Somewhat dissatisfied with the final results on Voodoo Lounge, Mick wanted to push the band forward into the 1990s rather than attempt to recapture the lightning in a bottle that was heard on albums like Sticky Fingers or Exile On Main Street (saved at time stamp):



The goal, similar to his intentions in the mid-1980s, was to broaden the appeal of the band to a younger audience. As you can imaging, this was at odds with the the Keef contingent of the band where Bridges to Babylon would be produced not by one, two, or three producers, BUT FIVE PRODUCERS. Two of which had their contributions cut from the album totally:


(Courtesy of Louder Than War: https://louderthanwar.com/rolling-stones-bridges-babylon-turns-21/)

So, with Jagger and Richards not being in the same room as one another during the recording of Bridges To Babylon, nor was either band member dealing with the same producer, the band were effectively making two albums that would eventually be fused into one product. Sounds messy, doesn't it? Despite some obvious creative tensions, unlike the 1980s, the pair just consciously decided to make it work rather than attempt to broker a truce:


(Courtesy of Ultimate Classic Rock: https://ultimateclassicrock.com/rolling-stones-bridges-to-babylon-album/)

The results? Surprisingly excellent. I love this album and it works far better than it deserves to. The best way to think of Bridges to Babylon is to imagine how it would sound with Beck calling the shots where the results would be a melting pot of traditional rock, soul, funk, trip-hop, techno, and country. Out of any album in the band's discography, this is the one where you would expect them to stumble the most. But, they don't. I think this is credited to the configuration of the album's track list and overall pacing.

Bridges To Babylon picks up directly from where Voodoo Lounge finishes off with a Chuck Berry/Jerry Lee Lewis-esque rocker with horns and backing vocals. There's no techno, sampling, loops, or even funk on this track. It's just the sound of the band rocking out and luring in the listener. That's until you get to the downtempo hip-hop infused second track, 'Anybody Seen My Baby?'. No, it wasn't co-written by K.D Lang. Instead, according to Keith Richards in his autobiography, the band decided to give Lang a songwriting credit in fear of legal litigation due to the similarity of the melody in the song's chorus, and that of the Lang hit, 'Constant Craving'. Apparently, the daughter of Richards and a friend had been listening to the Stones track and started singing the Lang song, 'Constant Craving' over the top of it.

The song itself is modern Stones with a haunting tone which builds up to a hip-hop interlude. The video is also known for featuring a very young Angelina Jolie:



Jagger was also said to have a less than professional interest in the young actress by leaving her repeat voice messages, begging for a date:


(Courtesy of Vogue: https://www.vogue.co.uk/article/mick-jagger-linked-to-angelina-jolie)

Hip-hop is a very noticeable motif running through the record, namely on the attitude laden, bad mood swagger of 'Gunface', Jagger sings:

Gonna go downtown
Gonna get my gun
Gonna dress real sharp
Gonna beat my drum
I ain't gonna lie
Gonna walk so slow
Gonna talk just right
And my diamond ring
Gonna shine so bright
I ain't gonna lie
I've got a debt to repay
I ain't gonna cry
I put a gun in your face
You'll pay with your life

I even found myself enjoying the techno-induced 'Might as Well Get Juiced' which features a slow, hypnotic drugged out type of sound that is unique to the club scene of the late 1990s. Unlike the flawed attempts at hip-hop on Undercover's 'Too Much Blood', Mick actually demonstrates some good flow on these songs by balancing rap with his signature singing style, and a semi-spoken word delivery.

Among the eclectic mix of styles is, of course, a mix of funk rock swaggers like that heard on 'Low Down' where Jagger sings:

Won't you give me the low down
Just as quick as you can
Baby, I've been out of touch
Just give me the scam
Don't give me the sports page, baby
No political news
Don't you give me the gossip
Just give me the truth
Just between me and you

It's sleazy and fun in precisely the way that even the strongest tracks off Voodoo Lounge failed to be. On 'Low Down', the band sound loose and improvised. The same can be said for the modern funk sound of 'Saint of Me' which combines a fun hard rocking riff with thick bass and dance beats. Not to mention that the track has a brilliantly shot video:



The album also features some slowdowns, most notably on the Southern tinges acoustic number, 'Already Over Me' with Ronnie Wood playing a sensual baritone guitar riff after the track's first minute which adds to the moody country twang of the song. But, perhaps the most noteworthy departure on this record is the fact that Keith Richards sings three songs on this album. Up to this point, the most songs to feature a Richards lead vocal on a Rolling Stones record would be no more than two tracks. On Bridges to Babylon, it's three. Initially, this was to the distaste of Mick Jagger and even took steps to veto the move. But, producer Don Was successfully convinced Jagger that it was in fact only two songs...technically.

The closing two tracks are both sung by Richards but they play out like a medley where the tracks are joined. Don's defence? They're one track split into two acts. On this, Jagger backed down. How are the closing two songs? Excellent. Both are soul and Motown style ballads, most notably the penultimate 'Thief In the Night' which is a cheeky and playful number where Richards shows his flirty side. The third Richards track, 'You Don't Have To Mean It' (track 6) is a reggae number and, to be honest, is easily the lesser of the three Richards songs. Mainly because reggae just isn't my thing, but it does suit the varied tone of the album.

The album also balances out nicely with familiar Stones fare including the straight ahead punchy rockers like 'Too Tight', and the groove-induced 'Out of Control' which occasionally features on their set lists today, and is nicely paced. 'Always Suffering' is what a country song would sound like if they recorded it in the style of a Goats' Head Soup era track.

I love this album as it's everything Voodoo Lounge ought to have been. I may even go as far as putting among my top five Stones albums of all time. Many critics hold the view that the album is dated, but that's not how I hear it. It's the sound of a band reenergised, inspired, and lively with a rich production that more than holds up today. Along with Goats Head Soup, I think people need to rethink and revisit Bridges to Babylon.

Love it.

5 out of 5

 

Complete Recorded Works in Chronological Order Volume 4 (C. November 1926 to C. December 1927) (1997) – Ma Rainey

Due to the (incredibly cursory) research I did before starting this small Ma Rainey project, I deduced that this was the other album I wanted to track down and listen to after the fantastic 1990 compilation CD Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom. Maybe I should have just stopped with that one because this one was a disappointment. The sound quality is about the same as on Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom; on a few tracks it’s a bit better, on a few a bit worse, but overall they shake out okay in that regard.

But, as you can tell by the title, this is the fourth CD in a five-CD set put out in the mid to late nineties intended to release everything Rainey ever recorded. These kind of projects are doubtless invaluable to music historians and artist completists. But to the rest of us, they have some foundational problems. Number one, there’s just no curation at all; whereas the people putting together Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom carefully picked out 14 of her best songs, the people who put this CD out just had to say, “Okay, these are the next 22 songs she recorded, so I guess that’s the album.” So, you’re just going to, law of averages here, get some stuff that ain’t that good and you’re also forced into putting songs on the CD even if the remaining recordings of them are in really bad shape. Finally, did you notice that I said “22 songs?” Because when you’re doing the complete recordings, you just kinda stuff every CD pretty full. Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom clocked in at 14 songs and right around 45 minutes; this one is 22 songs and over 65 minutes. And I guess that makes a difference to me because I did just kind of get tired of this one. It’s over twenty minutes longer than Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom and everybody knows I love an album that just gets in, gets down to business and gets out in under 45 minutes. It’s hard for a 45 minute album to be boring or feel too long; it’s pretty easy to get bored with a 66 minute album, especially when all the songs have very much the same feel. Well, pick up the 1990 CD compilation Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom; it’s a kicker, start to finish. This one has a few of the same songs on it and some of the new songs here are good, but it’s, taken overall, much more mediocre as a listening experience. 2 ½ stars.

tl;dr – for music historians and Rainey completists only, this release includes mediocre songs and runs too long for anyone else to be enthusiastic about it. 2 ½ stars.

 

I kind of feel the same way about Robert Johnson - The Complete Recordings

At first, I thought it was kind of cool with the scratchy, "sounds like it was recorded right from a 78" sound. But when 12 of the 20 songs on the first CD and 12 of the 21 songs on the second CD were just alternate takes of each other, it seemed tiring to get through and added to the "sameness" of this compilation. But it was also fascinating to listen to just a man and his guitar.

 

I definitely thought about the Robert Johnson Complete Recordings while listening to the Ma Rainey album. The Robert Johnson collection works better for me. I do think he's a better performer and even the alternate takes don't bother me in that case. I think he's just more compelling, but, yeah, you do run into some of the same issues.

I really love The Complete Blind Willie Johnson; he was a gospel blues singer from the same period. That compilation is about an hour-and-a-half, I think, and there are no alternate takes or repeated songs on that one. He's a really compelling singer as well; just got a stupendous growl and he's a great slide guitar player.

On the whole, I respect efforts to reissue the complete recordings of artists who have been only sporadically collected and released haphazardly over the years. I do think it is important for historians. The Document label, who did the Rainey collection, have released complete recordings on a ton of artists of the twenties and thirties and I respect it, even if I don't necessarily want to listen to them.

 

Roger Waters - Dark Side of the Moon Redux

I'm not quite sure what I think of this.
While I've never really thought of DSOM as a "masterpiece" like so many seem to (and I absolutely hate Great Gig in the Sky), it does add some layers to the original songs. And I don't actually mind too much this version of GGitS.
But Waters almost seems to be more of a beat poet than a singer on this. The whole thing is a little "talky" for my taste. And don't go looking for any guitars here, you'll be hard pressed to find them.
While I'm glad I did give this a listen, and it does bring more to the table than just a rehash of DSOM, I don't think this will get many (or any?) re-listens in the future.

 

Love Yourself: Her

By BTS

This album was the first in the Love Yourself series of albums, coming right after the very angst heavy Most Beautiful Moment in Life series. This is a pretty different one to those. It's a changeup from teen angst to young adult exuberance.

The run of songs from Best of Me to Dimple to Pied Piper is one of my favorites ever.

And somehow this album also has Mic Drop on it, which was a major return to their original hip hop form as seen in earlier albums.

 

The Rolling Stones: A Bigger Bang (2005)

Notwithstanding their fortieth anniversary 'Best Of' compilation, Forty Licks, the band's 2005 album is my introduction to The Rolling Stones. This album is the first album of theirs I would ever own, and thus where the obsession with the immortals began. I have a lot of fond memories of this record and it was an absolute blast playing it again for this review. A Bigger Bang is a lively, intimate, almost no-frills rock and roll record (but, with some subtle touches of funk, country, and pop). But, for the first time since around the time of possibly Tattoo You, A Bigger Bang is the sound of a band reenergised, refocused, and completely in sync.

A lot of this can be credited to the latter career success, and renewed friendship, that the band enjoyed in the 1990s. The Bridges To Babylon tour was their biggest ever at the time, and among the band's best. The album, of course, was a hit. But, 1997's Bridges To Babylon would be their last album of new material right up until 2005. It was, rather sadly, the beginning of a trend where fans would be waiting a very long time between albums for new material. It pains me to say it, but the gaps from 2005, and onwards, between albums would see the band become a legacy act where the release of new material would be far and few between. A shame because A Bigger Bang absolutely lives up to namesake.

Following the success of Bridges to Babylon, the band would take some time off to release a career spanning fortieth anniversary compilation titled, Forty Licks, which would feature three brand new recordings. The three songs, you ask? Skippable. In 2001, Mick would release a fourth solo album, Goddess In The Doorway - a star studded, contemporary pop rock record featuring contributions from Bono, Joe Perry, Lenny Kravitz, Wyclef Jean, Pete Townshend, , with a co-writing credit on the opening track from Rob Thomas.



It's essentially Mick Jagger's attempt at creating his own version of Santana's Supernatural. As cynically assembled as this album is, due to its celebrity power, I actually don't mind it and consider it to be Jagger's best. Jagger, much like when he is with the Stones, is at his best when he is at his most collaborative. More than any other album in his solo discography, Goddess In The Doorway is rich with diverse sounds, and well-paced.



Not all were sold, however - note, i've had to make redactions given certain...strong feelings from a certain riff master:


(Courtesy of Far Out Magazine: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/keith-richards-thoughts-mick-jagger-solo/)

But, it would't be Mick jagger if he only chose to push Keef's buttons once. Mick would also enjoy another personal endeavour in 2002 - one of a more royal variety:



In an absolute one-off, it would seem that Keef's opinion of his soul brother's Knighthood was shared by none other than that of Queen Elizabeth II, where it was widely speculated that the Knighthood was driven less by Mick's service to England, and more to the political agenda of Tony Blair and...the partying sensibilities of Princess Margaret:


(Courtesy of Far Out Magazine: https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/mick-jagger-rolling-stones-knighthood-queen-elizabeth-refusal/)

On a far less funnier note and, thankfully, with a positive resolution, Charlie Watts would be diagnosed with throat cancer in 2004, but would go on to make a full recovery:


(Courtesy of The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2004/aug/16/arts.artsnews1)

But, any of the negativity of the early 2000s would be fast forgotten as Mick would call upon Keith in around 2004 to set up sessions for the band's next studio record. In contrast to the split band setup during the making of Bridges To Babylon, Mick suggested moving the band into a considerably smaller studio space. In the beginning, it was only Mick and Keith attending the recording sessions to flesh out new song ideas in a space that would be beneficial to collaboration (saved at time stamp):



Charlie and Ronnie, once Mick and Keith had explored the creative elements of the album, would then reform the full four piece to actually make the album:


(Courtesy of Ultimate Classic Rock: https://ultimateclassicrock.com/rolling-stones-bigger-bang/)

In essence, A Bigger Bang is everything that Voodoo Lounge struggled to become. Unlike their 1994 album, A Bigger Bang is the stripped back and raw Rolling Stones they envisaged but with a greater sense of spontaneity, energy, and stomp to the sound. The album feels much more compatible with their live sound as, despite my love of Bridges To Babylon, it eschews the use of loops, rapping, trip-hop, or electronica. A Bigger Bang is a band album because it was both written and recorded that way (saved at time stamp):



Beginning with 'Rough Justice', A Bigger Bang presents itself as a no-rills hard rock album with Watts' hardest hitting beats to date. Excellent opening track, even if Jagger's lyrics are...distracting for a man who was in his sixties:

So put your lips to my hips, baby
Tell me what's on your mind
I know you've still got the animal attraction for me
It's been a long, long time, c'mon
It's rough justice, oh yeah
We never gonna dust it
It's rough justice
But you know I'll never break your heart, c'mon


'It Won't Take Long", "Dangerous Beauty", "Look What the Cat Dragged In", "Driving Too Fast" continue both the hard rocking tone, and theme, of the opening track. On 'It Won't Take Long', Jagger warns:

Baby it won't take long to forget you
Time it passes fast
It'll all be over in a minute
You'll be in the past
You can lose the love of a lifetime
In a single roll
You can gain a fortune in an instant
Or you can lose your soul

On 'Dangerous Beauty':

In your high school photo
You looked so young and naïve
Now I heard you got a nickname
The lady of the leash
Well I find you on a midnight shift
I bet you had your fair share of stiffs
There were onerous odors
I've got to admit
Cause you're a dangerous, dangerous
A dangerous beauty
So painfully plain to us
You're doing your duty

'Look what the cat dragged in':

I won't interrogate you and I never will berate you
But your light's on
From where you've been
Lost weekend
What's that look on your face
It must have been the walk of shame
Your eyes are all red, get ready for bed
Your hair's all over the place
And look what the cat dragged in
Don't you call me a friend
Get out of my house with your dirty old mouth
Take yourself out again

But, rest assured, The Rolling Stones don't spend the entire sixty-four minutes 'banging'. There's also quite a few slowdowns, whether it be the acoustic and sentimental 'Streets of Love', and the affection of the Richards sung, 'This Place Is Empty' - another favourite ballad of mine from Keef:

Walk right in, sit on down
And make yourself at home
Come on baby, you're just like me
And you hate to be alone
It's funny how things go around
It's crazy but it's true
This place is empty, oh so empty
It's empty without you

There's even regret, on the mid-tempo, 'Biggest Mistake', while Jagger launches an unhinged assault against George Bush Jr. on the funk infused, 'Neo Con':

You call yourself a Christian
I think that you're a hypocrite
You say you are a patriot
I think that you're a crock of ****
And listen now, the gasoline
I drink it every day
But it's getting very pricey
And who is going to pay

Then, the album offers just straight up blues on 'Back of My Hand' - no funk, no country, no gospel, no psychedelia. Just blues. The most experimental that A Bigger Bang gets is on the heavy funk of 'Rain Fall Down', a throwback to their 1978 hit, 'Miss You' rich with bass, thin dance floor guitar riffs, and soulful backing vocals. But, that's as adventurous and as abstract as A Bigger Bang is willing to go - and that's ok. I think this makes for a far more focused record than Voodoo Lounge attempted to be because while, on the one hand, it offered some seminal rock numbers, some of the band's attempts to balance the record out with more acoustic and folkier songs didn't marry up with everything else happening on the record. Instead, A Bigger Bang offers a tougher and more consistent swagger. It's everything the band promised on Voodoo Lounge, and actually delivers.

A Bigger Bang is my first love with The Rolling Stones, and after revisiting the album today, it's obvious why.

It holds up.

5 out of 5

 

One hundred percent agree on A Bigger Bang. It's a phenomenal record. It wasn't my introduction to the Stones, but I remember going in with fairly low expectations; it could easily have just been a late-career dud. A lot of bands have those. I also hadn't paid much attention to anything post-seventies really, except for the singles, so my vision of the band was that they had certainly lost a few steps in the eighties and nineties. Your reviews have convinced me that this impression was incorrect in some ways or at least just not well informed. Regardless, I was blown away by A Bigger Bang. It really does rock incredibly hard, but it also does get at some deeper emotions like you say. My favorites on the record are Biggest Mistake, Look What the Cat Dragged In, Rain Fall Down and This Place is Empty.

This Place is Empty definitely reminded me a lot of Losing My Touch which was the new song that was actually good on Forty Licks. I wasn't really a fan of Don't Stop which is, you know, those same chords again. It felt like a rip-off of Start Me Up and I kind of got tired of Start Me Up as it was because every time I would hear it start on the radio, I would think, for just a split second, that it was Brown Sugar and get really excited and then it would be Start Me Up instead and that would have been okay if I hadn't just been primed to hear Brown Sugar.

Forty Licks is a great compilation. It's main problem is that it's just so incomplete, even with forty songs on it and that just speaks to how incredibly deep their catalogue of great songs is. But it's a great listening experience.

 

Any of those songs would play well live, it's a shame the band don't revisit this record a little more when they play live. But, they only get around to 20-25 songs, so it's easy to overlook.

This Place Is Empty is easily an album highlight, and I think a better song than Losing My Touch. I'm glad an album didn't surface from the Licks sessions as none of those songs really did anything for me.

Absolutely fine with this, it just made their discography all the more surprising, and easy to obsess over.

 

Today is the 7th anniversary of the BTS album



Wings

It's my favorite BTS album, being a concept album that intertwines BTS' own sorta... Cinematic universe? Yes sorta, with the story of Herman Hesse's novel Damian.

It's brilliant.

Maybe I'll do a song by song review soon.

Suffice it to say, it's an A+