Released 1997
Virgin Records

Track Listing:

Flip the Switch
Anybody Seen My Baby?
Low Down
Already Over Me
Gunface
You Don't Have to Mean it
Out of Control
Saint of Me
Might As Well Get Juiced
Always Suffering
Too Tight
Thief in the Night
How Can I Stop

Review:

- 4 (out of five)

The new disc ROCKS! Here's the review of it I wrote for my college's newspaper, The College Voice:

I had a friend over to my room, and I put the new Stones disc on without telling him who it was. He said, "I kind of like this. Who is it?" I told him it was the new Rolling Stones disc. "Geez, there must be something wrong," he replied, "because I could find myself listening to it on my own."

Who would ever have thought that people our age listen to - GASP - a band my mother listened to? Well, I think it's all right. In fact, it's a great thing, because over the past 30+ years, they've put out consistently better music than anybody in the business. Why is it so good? Because they take risks and experiment.

In the 60's, they took the blues, adapted it for rock and roll audiences, and did it better than anyone. In the 70's, they brought in country, gospel, and even a little disco and punk, and made better music than anyone around. In the 80's and 90's, they seemed content to mine the same blues-rock territory. The music was good, but nothing terribly new. On their new disc, Bridges to Babylon, they tap into the current r&b, hip-hop and rock veins, and produce an amazingly diverse and risk-taking album that sounds great. All of the new sounds and techniques the Stones incorporate into Bridges to Babylon never obscures the fact that this is a Rolling Stones album, and it rocks.

The Stones trace the path of relationships over some of the songs on Bridges to Babylon. "Anybody Seen My Baby?" the first single from the album, is the hopeless call of someone who has lost love. The song begins as Mick sets the scene in a hushed growl over a slinky bassline. The production by the Dust Brothers (Beck, the Beastie Boys) is lavish, as the choruses have about four voices backing Mick up as he pleads "Has anybody seen my baby?/Has anybody seen her around?" The Brothers also add their hip-hop sensibilities as they loop Charlie Watts' ever-reliable drums and add a sample of rapper Biz Markie in the solo. The idea might sound scary to Stones fans, but it works, and the song is great.

"Already Over Me" covers the tough realization that former love have moved on. Mick hits the emotional nail on the head as he sings, "I'm kneeling in a corner/Praying to your shrine/Are you already over me/Are you already sick of me/What a fool I've been." This sounds like a hit to me. The lyrics are powerful and the arrangement is simply beautiful, with Mick's surprisingly good vocals set over a somber organ and acoustic guitar.

"Gunface" is the revenge part of a nasty breakup. Produced by Danny Saber (Black Grape, U2), the Stones sound is augmented by a loud, raging guitar, drenched in feedback for the chorus, and it makes for a powerful effect. Mick growls, "I taught her all she knows/I taught her how to lie/I taught her everything/I'm gonna teach her how to cry."

Keith's "Thief in the Night" describes her moving on, and the ensuing jealousy. In his emotive rasp, Keith sings "I know where your place is/And it ain't with him."

The best song on the disc is the Dust Brothers-produced "Saint of Me," which is slated to be the next single. I consider it a neo-gospel song because of the heavy use of religious sounding organs and a choir to back Mick's vocals up. The song feels uplifting thanks to the combination of the organ, a very light and pleasant bassline (provided by Me'Shell Ndegéocello) and lightly looped drums. What's most remarkable here, though, are the lyrics. These are simply the best ones Mick has written since the early seventies. He proudly sings "I do believe in miracles/And I want to save my soul/And I know that I'm a sinner/I'm gonna die here in the cold/Oh yeah, you'll never make a saint of me." This is a good statement of where the Stones are today. They're constantly being criticized and told to change their ways, but like Popeye, they are what they are, and they're okay with that.

The rest of the album is filled with quality Stones songs. "Flip the Switch" and "Too Tight" are propulsive, melodic rockers that will get your pulse up. "Out of Control" features a funky bassline by Saber and a wicked harmonica solo by Mick. The one-two punch of the slow ballads "Thief in the Night" and "How Can I Stop" is the perfect way to end the album. They slow down the mood and are musically simple in comparison to the Dust Brothers-produced songs. They are soulful, guitar based r&b ballads, featuring Keith Richards on vocals. His voice isn't strong, but what it lacks in strength, it makes up for in emotion. It's hard not to be moved as he seemingly struggles to get the lines out.

It's the return of the Stones to great form, a definite must for Stones fans.