Did anyone think the Rolling Stones could make a bad album?
Could the greatest rock-n-roll band in the world -- who helped to expropriate the genre from its African-American inventors and appropriate it into late 20th century Anglo-American culture, who have been shaping it ever since, who have more money than most of the world's nations combined, whose lead singer's lips are an international icon -- make a bad album? Impossible.
And you know what? They didn't. It's no Exile on Main Street, but Bridges to Babylon will make you tap your feet, nod your head, and even throw in an occasional shake of the booty.
With the release of the new record, the formidable Jagger-Richards songwriting team adds another thirteen songs to its vast oeuvre. The lead single, "Anybody Seen My Baby?", lists k.d. lang and B. Mink as co-writers; they were included after someone noted that the melody bears a passing resemblance to lang's hit "Constant Craving."
Actually, it's a sparsely arranged tune that features Mick Jagger's throaty vocal laid over a low, sexy bassline, together with a sing-along-able chorus that rounds out a pretty good track.
As on most Stones albums, the material on Bridges to Babylon fluctuates between blues-rock and balladry. Witness the juxtaposition of a title like "Out of Control" with the typically melodramatic "Always Suffering."
No-frills rockers "Flip the Switch" and "Low Down" provide some backbone for the record, while "Gunface" and "Might As Well Get Juiced," a weird, throbbing, electric-harmonica-blues number, are a little more experimental.
Three of the songs on Bridges to Babylon, including "Anybody Seen My Baby?" are co-produced by The Dust Brothers, some of the hottest producers in the business. The entire album is, as one might expect of such a generously financed project, remarkably well put-together.
Any observer of the band's work in recent years has probably noticed the reappearance of certain rhythms and themes in their music, and Bridges to Babylon is no exception. The weepy "Already Over Me," for example, sounds a lot like "Wild Horses."
"Saint of Me," one of the most old-school-sounding songs on the record, borrows some of its beat from the classic "Sympathy for the Devil."
For some reason, the Stones are at their funkiest when dealing with pseudo-religious themes. Go figure.
In any case, the recycled music is good; unlike lesser groups that cannibalize their own work, the Stones don't destroy their old material, they freshen it up.
The band's sex appeal seems to aging pretty gracefully. Even though they're entering their 50's they manage to act like kids in a cute way, sort of like Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau in "Grumpy Old Men."
On the track "Too Tight," for example, Jagger compares an overbearing woman to a dominatrix.
Rumor has it that each time Mick is caught with his pants down, his wife receives an addition to her collection of expensive jewelry.
"You Don't Have To Mean It," one of three lead vocals for Keith Richards, is a strange little ditty done over a ska or calypso-ish beat; the lyrics feature Richards cooing to a girl in the hopes of getting some casual sex. It's actually kind of funny.
Overall, "Bridges to Babylon" is a fine listening experience and will make a notable addition to any Stones fan's collection.
The record expands upon some ideas and arrangements touched upon in their previous effort, "Voodoo Lounge," and shows that Mick, Keith, Ronnie, and Charlie are working in a sort of comfortable rut.
Considering the Stones' close ties to trends in popular music, however, the band could have made greater use of modern influences than it does.
Well-established pop giants David Bowie and U2, for example, borrowed from the techno sounds that pervade British youth culture.
While the Stones are primarily a blues-rock outfit, it is a shame that they left the vast potential supply of talented Disc jockeys, rappers, and producers largely untapped.
