It’s now official — September is my lucky month. Last year
\naround this time, I discovered my top two albums of 2004 within a
\nfew days of each other. This year, it’s the Stones who take that
\nhonor.<\/p>\n
Until a few months ago, the Stones were not a major component of
\nthe Clutterbuck Memorial Archives (started in honor of our dearly
\ndeparted fearless leader, Christopher “Pierce” Thelen).
\n40 Licks<\/i> was lying around somewhere, and that was about it.
\nHowever, once again, it’s been proven out that I missed the train.
\nA few friends donated some albums, which included
\nLet It Bleed<\/i>,
\nBeggars Banquet<\/i>,
\nHer Satanic Majesties Request<\/i> and
\nExile On Main Street<\/i>. It only took a few spins of each for
\nme to realize I had been depriving myself of some kick-ass
\nmusic.<\/p>\n
As fate would have it, just as the Stones were starting to grow
\non me, they released their first album of original material in
\nseven years. Now, going into this particular listen, it’s important
\nto keep in mind that the classics later Stones records are always
\ncompared to hasn’t sunk in for me yet. At this point in time,
\nLet It Bleed<\/i> and
\nA Bigger Bang<\/i> are on the same playing field for me, and this
\nrecord manages to top my list for best record of the year so
\nfar.<\/p>\n
Whether or not one is a Rolling Stones fan doesn’t matter when
\nit comes to defining their sound; it’s instantly recognizable.
\nHonestly, there haven’t been many bands to blend blues and rock to
\nform their own distinctive brand of music. From the first ticks of
\n“Rough Justice” to the final licks of “Infamy,” this is a Rolling
\nStones record throughout. Mick and Co. aren’t trying to be someone
\nelse, or add bells and whistles to their stripped-down sound. This
\nis a return-to-roots record, and damn if it doesn’t succeed at
\nit.<\/p>\n
Seeing as how this disc clocks in at roughly 65 minutes, there
\nis the natural assumption some filler is to be found. While
\nA Bigger Bang<\/i> doesn’t break that rule, the filler isn’t as
\ndisposable as it could have been. The closest things get to being
\nuseless is the final track, “Infamy.” While the shoebox guitar
\nsound is catchy, the vocals are a step down from the rest of the
\nalbum, seeing as how it isn’t Jagger or Richards singing (I think
\nit’s Charlie Watts). “Let Me Down Slow” finds the band entering
\nmore of a pop territory, and could have stood for a stronger
\nrefrain.<\/p>\n
Picking out the best moments is difficult. If you can get past
\nthe eery Air Supply-sounding opening to “Streets Of Love,” there’s
\nan outstanding Stones ballad to be found. It displays a restraint
\nand “gentleness” the average person wouldn’t probably expect from
\nthis band. The opening track, “Rough Justice,” is one of the better
\nrock songs I have heard in a long time; the opening riff tears into
\nyou, and Mick comes along to deliver some suitable raunchy
\nStones-ish lyrics (i.e. “Once upon a time, I was your little
\nrooster \/ But am I just one of your cocks”).<\/p>\n
“Rain Falls Down” is a sequel of sorts to “Miss You,” perfectly
\nsuited for dancing with an extremely funky beat and spry bass line.
\n“Back Of My Hand” is straight up blues, harmonica and all.
\nActually, the guitar sound for this particular song reminded me
\nstrongly of “In My Time Of Dying” off Led Zeppelin’s
\nPhysical Graffiti<\/i>. While I don’t agree with its sentiments,
\nthe anti-Bush tirade “Sweet Neo-Con,” actually raises some valid
\npoints (although the band denied it was about the president).
\nFinally, “This Place Is Empty” gives Keith Richards a chance to
\nstretch out the ol’ vocal cords, and his delivery is perfect for
\nthis song. You can hear the world-weariness oozing out of every
\nintonation, as the song’s protagonist sits alone in a bar.<\/p>\n
Who would have thought that a band comprised of 60-year-olds was
\ncapable of rocking this hard? I for one didn’t think Mick and Co.
\nhad it in them, but boy did they prove me wrong. This album
\nsucceeds in striking a chord with their previous works; the first
\nlisten made more of an impact on me than my first listen of
\nExile On Main Street<\/i>. Maybe it took old age for The Rolling
\nStones to realize what kind of band they exactly are and that it’s
\nnot worth changing just for the sake of change. Too many bands
\nchange, adapt and mess around with a style in order to gain sales
\nor appeal to different age groups. The Stones on
\nA Bigger Bang<\/i> merely get back in touch with what made them
\nthe “Greatest Rock & Roll Band on Earth.” That’s all they
\nneeded to do.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":44,"featured_media":27181,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"artist":[5665],"rating":[5646],"class_list":["post-38527","review","type-review","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","artist-the-rolling-stones","rating-rating-a"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38527","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/review"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/44"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38527"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/review\/38527\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/27181"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38527"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"artist","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/artist?post=38527"},{"taxonomy":"rating","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyvault.adishjain.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rating?post=38527"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}