“...While
the whole world was wandering, we walked a steady line...”
“Always
Suffering”
The
Rolling Stones didn’t invent rock & roll - it just seems that way.
Over
the years, they’ve demonstrated the unique ability of first defining a
genre and then transcending it. Albums such as Exile on Main St., Sticky
Fingers and Goat’s Head Soup were regarded as being both ahead of their
times and timeless, either way they became the barometer by which all blues-based
rock bands are now measured. Through the years, the Stones have embodied
the essence of rock star cool, their larger than life aura confirming their
title as “The World’s Greatest Rock & Roll Band.”
Three
decades ago, they burst on the scene like a supernova, seducing the world
while singing about sex and drugs and having “Sympathy For The Devil”,
a far cry from what any of their contemporaries were doing. While the Beatles
were singing about “holding hands,” The Stones cut right to the chase and
said “let’s spend the night together.” In 1971, Time magazine tried to
warn the public about the Stones by writing, “Rarely has rock music invoked
such an invitation to hell,” but it was too late: millions had already
followed the band in their descent down the path, with millions more right
behind them. And thirtysomething years later, our fascination with the
Stones has yet to cool down.
The
new Bridges to Babylon will serve only to fan those flames.
“...Tell
me how I’ve changed...”
“Out
of Control”
Bridges
to Babylon may be the follow-up to the 1995 acoustic album, Stripped, but
according to the band and the producer Don Was, the record pick’s up where
1994’s Grammy Award-winning Voodoo Lounge left off.
Says
superstar frontman Mick Jagger, “We wanted to experiment and have a different
sounding record - one that would take The Rolling Stones in a new direction,
yet still have the traditional stuff as well. To be honest, I say these
are the best songs we’ve written in years.” Voodoo Lounge was a progression
from (1989 release) Steel Wheels and this is a progression from that,”
says legendary guitarist Keith Richards. “We’re pushing boundaries again.
We wanted something provocative. We didn’t want a competent Stones record
- we wanted a record that people would either love or hate.”
What’s
not to love? Mick Jagger’s voice has never sounded so salacious, Keith
Richards’ and Ron Woods’ balled-up fists of blues riffage are dead-on throughout,
and the rhythm section, anchored by the propulsive drumming of Charlie
Watts, makes this an album that preserves tradition while steamrolling
forward. “Voodoo Lounge showed the band reclaiming their sound and really
catching up with their legacy,” says Don Was. “This time, I think there
was a definite sense that they didn’t want to repeat themselves - they
wanted to try new things. As a band, they’ve played better on this than
they ever did before. The album has an adventurous spirit and a lot of
diversity. Every song sort of has its own little world.”
Don
Was handled the majority of Bridges’ production chores, working on ten
of the album’s thirteen tracks, including the album’s first single, “Anybody
Seen My Baby?” one that he co-produced with the Dust (Beck, Beastie Boys)
Brothers. The Dust Brothers produced “Saint of Me” and “Might As Well Get
Juiced,” and Danny (U2, Garbage) Saber produced “Gunface”. “You can do
a song a lot of different ways,” explains Jagger, “But everything starts
with the groove. The Dust Brothers added a slightly different rhythmic
edge and that was really important to us. Plus they dropped a few quirky
little bits of “fairy dust” here and there that perhaps you wouldn’t normally
think of. Danny Saber is a little more of a straight-ahead guy, but he’s
also very strong rhythmically and not afraid to try new textures and so
on. With Don, we worked on getting all sorts of different sounds. He’s
also got a great ability to organize.”
In
other words, laughs Ron Woods, “Don was the referee.”
And
according to drummer Charlie Watts, the fact that there were several cooks
in the kitchen never served to be a problem. “In one day I worked on three
different songs with three different producers in three different rooms,”
he says, “And it was a lot of fun.”
The
album was recorded entirely in Los Angeles, “as opposed to being on some
beautiful little tropical island,” laughs Richards. “But it was a joy to
record in a big city.”
As
for why they picked L.A., Jagger smiles and says, “There aren’t as many
distractions in L.A. as there are in someplace like New York. And since
it’s not a 24-hour a day town, everything sort of closes early which enabled
us to just get on with it.”
“We’re
usually totally isolated from the world with no one to bounce ideas off
of,” says Richards. “This time we were able to let the musical ideas percolate
and try whatever we wanted. If we needed horns, they’d be there in half
an hour. Plus we had loads of guys come by and that gave us a chance to
expand musically as well.”
Guest
musicians on the album include Me’Shell Ndegeocello, Bernard Fowler, Jim
Keltner, Darryl Jones, Blondie Chaplin, Waddy Watchel, Wayne Shorter, Kenny
Aronoff, Benmont Tench, and Billy Preston. Laughs Don, “Everyone wanted
to play bass. Ronnie and Keith are both great bassists, and of course there
was Darryl Jones and Me’Shell. Plus, Danny Saber plays and I’m a bass player
too. It was a little out of control.”
“...I
sung that song, I wrote that fucking book...”
“Too
Tight”
Bridges
is a dynamic album built on gritty guitars and gorgeous choruses. It hits
the ground running with “Flip the Switch,” a scorching full-throttle rocker
driven by Watts and guest pecussionist Jim Keltner (“The momentum of Charlie
and Keltner was like a train,” laughs Wood. “We all just jumped on”), then
takes flight with “Anybody Seen My Baby?”, an achingly bittersweet ballad
full of melancholy an regret. The song showcases the expressive range of
Jagger, who whispers “She confessed her love to me/Then she vanished on
the breeze,” before belting the soaring choral hook.
“I
though Mick really captured the feeling of the moment on that song in particular,”
says Was. “He was really conscientious about his work on this record and
paid attention to every line. And since he likes to act and I like to direct,
we took those roles and treated the vocals as if we were making a film.
We talked about the motivation of the characters and trying to get inside
each situation.” “It was quite fun,” says Jagger. “We were trying to visualize
each song and it made for an interesting experience.” Adds Was, “He was
very serious about being a good artist and I think it shows through. His
vocals are fantastic.”
“...How
could I stop once I start...”
“How
Can I Stop”
The
album’s sound ranges from classic, rough and tumble Stones rock & roll
(“Too Tight,” “Lowdown”) to reggae (“You Don’t Have To Mean It”), dark
blues (“Might As Well get Juiced”) and a country ballad (“Always Suffering”).
In between breathes the Temptations-like verse / angst-ridden chorus of
“Out Of Control,” the gospel-ish “Saint Of Me,” Bernard Fowler and Blondie
Chaplin’s strong backing vocals on the moody “Thief In The Night” and the
crying pedal steel of Ron Wood on “Already Over Me.”
“Ronnie
is a really versatile and creative musician,” says Was. “He brings so much
color to the record just in terms of picking up the mood of a song and
then finding a texture from the various instruments that he’s proficient
on. He played some beautiful dobro stuff and this kind of moody David Lynch-like
guitar line on the chorus to ‘Already Over Me.”
The
album closes with the Motown-ish “How Can I Stop,” a stunning piece written
by Keith Richards that features the stellar sax play of jazz great Wayne
Shorter.
“This
was the last thing recorded for the album,” says Was. “There was a car
waiting for Charlie outside the studio and it took him right to the airport
immediately after we finished that take. Charlie did this really intense
flourish with Wayne at the end that was almost like his farewell to the
record. Then he got up and left and went back to England. It was maybe
5:30 in the morning and it was a really poignant moment that got captured.
As for the song itself, it’s the most radical thing on the album - Keith
really wrote a sophisticated piece of music.”
“To
me, Keith is the paradigm, the connection between emotion and art. He’s
a musician that all musicians should aspire to emulate,” says Was. “He’s
a guy who understands how to just play in the moment and not be so self-conscious.
He knows how to get in touch with the feeling of a song and to translate
that into music in a very spontaneous way. That’s what he did here. He’s
like a great jazz musician, really.”
Bridges
to Babylon is everything a Rolling Stones album should be, full of rhythmic
and textural surprises with catchy melodies that stick after a single listen.
Says Jagger, “Sometimes you hear a good song on the radio, so you go out
and buy that album. Then you get home and you find there’s only one other
good song on there, so you never play that record again. But if you’ve
made a record that people will want to listen to all the way through over
and over again, well, then you’ve really got something special. I hope
this album has achieved that.” “The key to making a good album is to go
in with four or five good ideas and see what else comes out of that,” says
Richards. “I’m not interested in making pop records and having major hits,
I’m just trying to put a body of work together. The main thing is to have
fun - anyone can do it. You can do it.”
“...I
thought you’d get the best of me...”
“Already
Over Me”
When
Rolling Stone magazine recently printed their “Definitive List Of The 200
Essntial Cd’s Of The Rock & Roll Era,” they wrote, “... the incontestable
fact is that all the Rolling Stones’ early albums are essential to any
basic knowledge of rock & roll”...and they were absolutely right. However,
your collection isn’t complete yet.
You’re
missing one incredibly vital album. Bridges To Babylon.
