Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Stones back to their best, 9 Sep 2005
So I'm biased, A Stones devotee for 40 odd years, I was 16 when I bought my first Stones single "I wanna be your man" and have been hooked since. This album is in some way a return to the rawness of those early Stones days, each track has a certain roughness that makes it eminently listenable. It hasn't left my cd player for 4 days I keep wanting to listen again and again, it Rocks, it Burns, it Bubbles, it Grooves, it is emotive , explosive and passionate.
Favourite tracks? Most but especially The rocking opener "Rough Justice" which must be the greatest curtain opener since Jumping Jack Flash, "Rainfalldown" one of the funkiest grooves ever made by the band and destined to be a firm favourite for danceclubs. "Back of my hand" is the blues track of the year, and really a tribute to all the blues masters past, wonderful slide guitar and great harmonica intersperces Micks wailful singing. "Sweet NeoCon" is a welcome and spirited jibe at the hypcrisy of the present incumbants of the Whitehouse, The penultimate track "Driving to fast" is another heavy rocker full of energy built around a powerful rythm section of Charlie Watts Darryl Jones and the chunky guitar of Keith and Ronnie. If there is a flat moment it is Keiths two tracks not bad but not essential.
The quality of musicianship is superb throughout the album, that is the Stones though they blend together and compliment each other incredibly well, this is the Stones after 44 odd years, still making the best rock music around. Long Live The Rolling Stones. Go buy this album.
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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
oh yes it's them again, 3 Sep 2005
I was lucky enough to get this album on 2 September, before the official release date, so I can give you the honest truth: this, my friends, is indeed the Stones album we've been waiting for since ... well, since Tattoo You or perhaps even since Some Girls. But forget about comparisons and just LISTEN!Why is it that these over-60 grandpas still would get us out of our chairs? First off, it's just them & their bare essentials. Mick & Keith teamed up again as songwriters, for the first time since god knows when, and in the process they decided to just keep it down to the 4 of them, plus an occasional hand by Chuck Leavell or Don Was. What a relief to hear those Mick & Keith induced backing vox, what happiness to hear an off-booze Ron Wood playing the slide as sharply as he did back when the Faces cut "Stay With Me", what joy to hear Charlie's Metronome Monsterbeat cut right through the Two Guitar Terror of Sheik El Keith & Slide King Ronnie - and a big thumbs up to Darryl Jones for being as functional as Bill Wyman ever was. But that's not all: there's a handful of classics here that meet up with the Jumping Jacks and the Brown Sugars of this world. Streets of Love is the ballad we've been craving for, Rough Justice is a faraway tip of the hat to Rocks Off, and more than once the tunes lead you back to Exile on Main St. Keith's lead vocal songs, for one, keep it down to good hooks & catchy riffs: Happy! Jagger displays a self irony in his lyrics which is refreshing, funny and moving at times. And quite frankly, it all rocks like there's no tomorrow. Who cares about age? Who cares about fashion? When every second is drenched in the true liquor and sweat of lowdown nitty gritty rock 'n roll, played by the men who are pretty much responsible for turning rock 'n roll into rock music, all you can do is stand back in awe. And play these tunes over and over again. and replay the whole back catalogue, reviewing earlier prejudices. Keith, Mick, Ronnie and Charlie: if this is your epitaph, it is a worthy one. To paraphrase Pete Townshend: "Whatever you've done guys, you haven't grown up gracefully." But I'd rather see you having yet another go at it....
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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Grandad rock this aint... , 10 April 2006
Upon first listen to the Rolling Stone's 'A Bigger Bang' I must admit I was not very impressed. However, after a three/four listens I realised that this album does have some real punch to it, not just heavy rockers like "Rough Justice" and "She Saw Me Coming" but in the slower tracks like "Streets Of Love" and "Infamy". It's got heart and its got soul but what it hasn't got is imagination.
Previous classics like "Some Girls" and "Exile on Main Street" contained that imaginative spark that created those great songs. But that was in the 70's, why should the Stones still be able to harness that creative control this far on? Well the fact is they did it on their last release "Bridges To Babylon" in 1997. It may not have been a classic but it was a fine album none the less. I still hum 'Anybody seen my baby' and 'Saint Of Me' from time to time. It was different, which was a good move. The real test is, will you pick it back up off the shelf after a month or so of owning it? For 'A Bigger Bang' I believe the answer will be yes.
It may not be the work of genius, but lets face it they've done that bit in the 70's, but its fun and its groovy and its catchy.
Unfortunately the other thing that's slightly a miss with this album is same problem "voodoo lounge" and "steel wheels" had, the length. There are songs on this album that could have easily been cut, it would have given it more appeal and had us asking for more. However, a big plus goes to the production that managed to capture the intensity of the Stones sound.
I know every music journalist wants them to fail, "they're getting too old for this music" which is a load of B.S. It's a shame people prefer to focus on their age rather than their music. I think they'd prefer them to be playing light jazz albums and staying at home instead of touring. I say good on ya lads, keep up the good work. They may be 60 odd but they're 100 per cent better than what's on the radio.
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