The Rolling Stones

[Vyn]

I just bought the new Rolling Stones record. I'm not sure why, I've never been a fan. Prior to this purchase, I had only ever bought one new Stones record on release, and that was Black and Blue. It did not impress me.

But I heard Bite My Head Off, and Mick's vocal really emoted like he was pissed off. Maybe his Depends were sagging, but whatever it was, that song impressed me.

Not sure when it is going to arrive, but looking forward to spinning the whole thing.

[Charger]

I heard one song from the new album on radio few times...can't remember the name though...I thought it was alright...quite rocky for dudes of their age.

Never been a fan either...never owned an album and for the life of me I don't think I can name 3 songs from them!

[Zzzptm]

OK, so I gave it a listen - seems like the Stones have recently discovered glam punk!

I'll let it play as I type this up in and out of answering emails and texts. The lead track is more in the power-pop vein of the late 70s, but still glam punk-adjacent. Get Close has a Can You Hear Me Knocking vibe around it. Next track is a ballad... we had a thread about those going recently, didn't we? Well, it's got those obligatory acoustic guitars, formulaic.

Bite My Head Off is next, that's our little glam punk gem. After that is Whole Wide World and, yeah, we're back to late-70s/early-80s power pop. Think The Plimsouls (Million Miles Away) or late-period Flaming Groovies. Next track is, hold on, this one sounds old-school country - Dreamy Skies reaches back to stuff the Stones were doing in the mid-70s, it's a mellow track and I like its feel. I'm surprised that I like it, but there's a good story in the song and the acoustic slide guitar is a perfect choice for the song.

Mess It Up follows - and we're back to the power pop sound, this one with a touch of 90s vocal arrangements. Not bad, not really doing it for me, though. Live By the Sword - this track features a production credit for Don Was, expecting a clap track AND THERE IT IS, lolz, I called it from the out! Remember the B-52s doing Love Shack? This goes down a similar vein, except the Stones axemen give Was more to work with than the B-52s did. Driving Me Too Hard follows and it's taking plays out of the 90s Country playbook.

Just as I was about to say that the mix, for all its variety, works out pretty nicely, up comes Tell Me Straight, which really didn't dovetail with the last song. It's Keef doing some vocals and the track is very laid back and slow. I'm not a big fan of it, but I can tell that it would grow on me with repeated listens. I'm already warming to it more as I type this out, and I find myself liking the second slow song off the album when I usually go for the fast rockers most. It does have a certain Deep Purple with Morse feel to it, and it's nice.

Boozy, beery intro to Sweet Sounds of Heaven - are the Stones planning a tour of honky-tonks in the South and Midwest? But it flows nicely off the back of the previous track and I'm getting into this one, as well. Kinda waiting for Lady Gaga to show up on vocals, so I'll stick around with it... OK, remember Merry Clayton on Gimme Shelter? That's what Gaga is doing here, and it's chillingly good. Wow. Wow. WOW. They are winning me over. I was all set to go into how my mom always said the Stones have been dead from the neck up since 1967, but this album is giving me a lot of roadblocks to that kind of thinking. I was able to skip around on the tracks early in the mix, but these last two along with Dreamy Skies have sold me on the Rolling Octogenarians.

Then comes up Rolling Stone Blues, an old Muddy Waters tune and Jagger, Richards, and Wood make it come across like Howling Wolf meets Sonny Boy Williamson. Great work on this blues piece.

This is one solid album. Keef turned me around on his song by the time he was done with it and Jagger is still the best vocalist that sounds like Jagger. Unbelievable how good they still put power and force into their songs, but these old men have a real fire in their hearts.

[Zzzptm]

I'm actually playing the whole thing again, this time without any skipping around. It's worth it.

[Vyn]

Thanks for the run-down! I'm feeling pretty good about dropping the cash; didn't get a deluxe or colored version, just plain black vinyl, straight-up.

And yeah, Bite My Head Off could have come out in 77/78 and competed with The Clash on even footing.

[Zzzptm]

Sweet Sounds of Heaven is the best track on the album, in my view. Amazing work on that tune.

[KiloDeltaCharlie]

I've not heard anything from the new album. They sort of hit their sweet spot around 1968/69 until maybe 1973, there's quite a lot I like from that period.


EDIT: I've now heard Sweet Sound of Heaven, it's ok!

[Zzzptm]

The thing that gets me with Sweet Sound of Heaven is first Gaga's background vocals, and then at the end, it's a glam-rock finish along the lines of Slade's finer mid-70s efforts. Not saying the Stones are copycats, but rather their genius is always in what they choose to be influenced by.

[Vyn]

Worth the price.

Best collection of songs the Stones have put out in DECADES.

Edited to add a bit more:

The fact that I was holding that record in my hand, telling my wife, "look, it's the new Rolling Stones record," and realizing how many times that has been said by people all over the planet for sixty years is amazing. I mentioned before that I'm not a Stones fan, and I'm still not. But I do enjoy some of their stuff...Let It Bleed is definitive, there's simply nothing else like it. This recording sniffs around that same level of impact. They sound on top of their game, authentically energetic, unpretentious, and like they had a lot of fun putting it all together.

Mick Jagger for President!

[Zzzptm]

True on being unpretentious. The album took a few years to do as they worked on getting the right setup, and once they did, they got down to business making an amazing effort. And not once did they choose to coast along. They could have said, "We are the Rolling Stones. We could play kazoos and toy xylophones and sell millions." They did not. They made a great effort, and it shows.

On my oldies show, I like to compare bands doing the same song. Last week, I did Carol by Chuck Berry, also by the Stones. Not only did the Stones match Berry lick for lick, they added a clap track that added a cool twist to the sound.

That same energy from way back, 60 years ago, is evident on this album. It's a gem.