“...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.