Post by jptheprofessor on Feb 16, 2006 20:39:24 GMT -5
THE ROLLING STONES – A BIGGER BANG (EMI) After the now customary wave of old geezer jokes surrounding another new Rolling Stones studio album has died down, the bottom line after listening to A Bigger Bang is very simple: these old fogies still know how to rock! After trying to reinvent and update themselves on their past few studio albums (especially Bridges to Babylon), the Stones get back to what made them great to begin with on A Bigger Bang, rocking harder than they have in years. The Rolling Stones strip away the clutter and get back to the basics, having fun and delivering bold and boisterous rock and roll. Half of the album’s sixteen tunes find this recharged band firing hard; the strong opener “Rough Justice” sets the tone, and the Stones deliver with equal fury on “Let Me Down Slow,” “It Won’t Take Long,” “She Saw Me Coming,” “Oh No Not You Again,” “Dangerous Beauty,” “Look What the Cat Dragged In” and “Driving Too Fast.” The Stones do mix in a few other flavors along the way; reprising “Emotional Rescue”/”Undercover of the Night” disco/funk on “Rain Fall Down,” venturing old-school bluesy on “Back Of My Hand,” laying down slinky soul on “Laugh I Nearly Died” and blending delta blues with a disco beat on the album closer “Infamy.” The group slows it down twice on the album, on the tender “Streets Of Love” and on the Keith Richards-crooned “This Place Is Empty.” Even the lyrics are bolder on this album, with Mick Jagger sassing out more vinegar and wit, and even some anti-Bush administration political rhetoric on the controversial “Sweet Neo Con.” As a band, the Rolling Stones sound looser and more at ease as they throw caution to the wind; Keith Richards’ and Ronnie Wood’s guitar tones are dirty and greasy, and Charlie Watts’ drumming is rigid and forceful. Don Was and The Glimmer Twins’ production is basic, stripped down and raw, giving the Rolling Stones more overall sharpness and edge than we have heard from them in years. Fans who have been waiting for this legendary band to live up to the promise of a bonafide comeback album need wait no longer. The Rolling Stones return to their bare essence on A Bigger Bang, delivering the most bang of any Stones album since Some Girls, and rocking harder than any group of sixty-somethings has a right to.