Reconsider Baby!

First, I'll let you know I think "Steel Wheels" was marred by digital sound (the fine bass playing sounds thin and Charlie's drum kit sound is pure 80s)and overly slick production, but has its merits and a few very strong songs. "Voodoo Lounge" (skipping over the decent Gulf-War single 'Highwire' and the unrepresentative live "Flashpoint") with then-new producer, was better: organic production, a great band equipped with many great songs, several of them bunched near the end of a long set ('Sweethearts Together,' 'Baby Break It Down,' 'Thru & Thru' and 'Blinded By Rainbows'), performed with conviction. It was marred by a poor first single ('Love Is Strong,' a funky rocker with underwritten, cliched lyrics). It was followed by the excellent live/studio "Stripped" (a tour album rather than a live album), also given a back-to-basics production (several great outtakes were issued through 1998).

Released in the Autumn of 1997, "Bridges To Babylon" was (perhaps thanks mostly to Mick Jagger and Charlie Watts)very different from "Voodoo Lounge" and far more adventurous than any Stones album since, perhaps, "Satanic Majesties." With a variety of guest bassists (Daryl Jones is barely present) and co-producers (overseen by Was and the Stones)BTB scores on a number of fronts, including adapting electronica and programming to the band's own musical presence and identity, which is never overwhelemed by the involvement of folks like the Dust Brothers. Seven years later (with the Stones, following delays caused by Charlie Watts' throat cancer and Ron Wood's addiction treatment, finally working on a full new studio album)it doesn't sound dated the way, say, Bowie's albums of the 90s do. Once again, "Anybody Seen My Baby," is a funky track but a failed single, thanks in part to unconcious plagiarism of its chorus. The more stripped down rockers ("Too Tight," "Lowdown," "Flip The Switch") carry awesome, swinging authority and meticulous crafstmanship, while "Gunface," and "Might As Well Get Juiced," take scorching slide and electric guitars and blues themes into the 21st century. The ballad "Already Over Me," with a superb Jagger vocal, may not be a potent as "Blinded by Rainbows" lyrically or melodically, but "Thief In The Night" and the finale "How Can I Stop," (both sung by Keith)are powerful and fresh, with the long jazzy coda to HCIS (featuring Wayne Shorter) unlike anything the Stones have tried before. So, in 2004, after not hearing it in 2 years, I am quite pleased to report the prognosis for the 2005 Rolling Stones looks very good indeed.

Underrated

The Rolling Stones' last studio album (so far), and its first single, "Anybody Seen My Baby?", created quite a fuss when it came out back in 1997. But it's been sort of forgotten since then, and that's a bit of a shame, because "Bridges To Babylon" is actually a tight, energetic rock n' roll record with several really good moments along the way.



Both the album and the single went to #3 in the US, and the sultry "Anybody Seen My Baby?" is probably the best song here, but it's far from being the only good one.

"Too Tight" and "Low Down" are solid, swaggering blues-rock. The tough hard rock song "Flip The Switch" is one of the Stones' fastest ever tracks, 160+ beats per minute, and Charlie Watts powers along like a train.

The slow rock ballad "Already Over Me" is moody and highly effective, sporting excellent lyrics and a superb, lean arrangement.

And then there's the swinging reggae "You Don't Have To Mean It", sung by Keith Richards, the neo-funk of "Saint Of Me", and the soulful ballads "Always Suffering" and "Like A Thief In The Night".



"Bridges To Babylon" is better than anything the Rolling Stones put out in the 80s (with the exception of "Steel Wheels"). Classic Stones without sounding tired. Great production, great musicianship, and three lead vocals by Keith Richards! What more can you ask for?

Very modern album for the Stones

The Rolling Stones opted for a more modern sound on Bridges to Babylon. The music just kicks hard on songs like Flip the Switch, You Don't Have to Mean It, Saint Of Me and others. However, I still love Anybody Seen My Baby. where it interpolates k.d. lang's Constant Craving on the bridgy chorus. It's like the Stones' closest attempt to hip-hop because the beats could even be on a Puffy album. The Stones even throw in a few techno touches on some songs. Perhaps their most aggressive '90s song on here is Gunface, where Mick Jagger dangerously confronts the women who betrayed him. They have the guitars all charged up here! The worst songs on here--the three Keith Richards sung songs. Two of them sound so boring, and one sounds as if Keith was drunk singing it. Keith's an okay singer, but he should leave the lead singing to Mick instead. They sound like leftovers from the '94 album, but don't work in a 1997 context. This has to be the Stones' most modern to keep up with the times and the music and songwriting are sonically strong.