The Rolling Stones’ Blue & Lonesome released

Blue & Lonesome The Rolling Stones

Released: December 2, 2016 Peak: 4 US, 11 UK, 2 CN, 11 AU Sales (in millions): 0.1 US, 0.3 UK, 1.8 world (includes US and UK) Genre: blues/rock

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Just Your Fool (Buddy Johnson) [2:16] (10/6/16, 27 AA) Commit a Crime (Howlin’ Wolf) [3:38] Blue and Lonesome (Walter Jacobs) [3:07] All of Your Love (Magic Sam) [4:46] I Gotta Go (Walter Jacobs) [3:26] Everybody Knows About My Good Thing (Miles Grayson, Lemon Horton) [4:30] Ride ‘Em on Down (Bukka White) [2:48] (11/25/16, --) Hate to See You Go (Walter Jacobs) [3:20] (10/21/16, --) Hoo Doo Blues (Otis Hicks, Jerry West) [2:36] Little Rain (Ewart G. Abner Jr., Jimmy Reed) [3:32] Just Like I Treat You (Willie Dixon) [3:24] I Can’t Quit You Baby (Willie Dixon) [5:13] Total Running Time: 42:36 The Players: Mick Jagger (vocals, harmonica) Keith Richards (guitar) Charlie Watts (drums) Ronnie Wood (guitar)

Rating: 3.852 out of 5.00 (average of 17 ratings)

About the Album: The Rolling Stones hadn’t released a studio album since 2005’s A Bigger Bang when they reconvened in the studio to record this collection of blues covers over three days in December 2015. While their early repertoire consisted of multiple covers, this was their first album focused solely on cover songs. It is the only studio album from the Stones to not receive gold or platinum certification. The eleven years since A Bigger Bang was their longest layoff, but the albums shared the same lineup and basic production team. Don Was, who’d worked with the group over the last two decades, served as the producer and contract players Darryl Jones and Chuck Leavell contributed bass and keyboards. Eric Clapton played guitar on “Everybody Knows About My Good Thing” and “I Can’t Quit You Baby.” It was the last studio album from the Rolling Stones before drummer Charlie Watts death in 2021. The lead single, Just Your Fool, was a cover of a song first recorded by jump blues bandleader and pianist Buddy Johnson in 1953. The song reached #6 on the R&B charts in 1954. Blues singer and harp player Little Walter recorded the song in 1960. Three songs on Blue and Lonesome, including the title track, were written by him. The song marked the first time since 1986’s Dirty Work that the Stones released a lead single that wasn’t written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Alexis Petridis of The Guardian said the Stones are “more alive than they’ve sounded for years.” WK The album won a Grammy Award for Best Traditional Blues Album of the Year, making the group’s third win overall and first since 1985.

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for The Rolling Stones WK Wikipedia Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 10/24/2021.

The Rolling Stones’ Bridges to Babylon released

Bridges to Babylon The Rolling Stones

Released: September 23, 1997 Peak: 3 US, 6 UK, 2 CN, 19 AU Sales (in millions): 1.0 US, 0.1 UK, 4.5 world (includes US and UK) Genre: classic rock veteran

Tracks: Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Flip the Switch [3:28] (11/22/97, 14 AR, 26 CN) Anybody Seen My Baby? (Jagger/ Lang/ Mink/ Richards) [4:31] (9/20/97, 45 RR, 2 AA, 3 AR, 22 UK, 1 CN, 58 AU) Low Down [4:26] Already Over Me [5:24] Gunface [5:02] You Don't Have to Mean It [3:44] Out of Control [5:02] (8/17/98, 51 UK) Saint of Me [5:15] (11/1/97, 94 US, 7 AA, 13 AR, 26 UK, 24 CN, 100 AU) Might As Well Get Juiced [5:23] Always Suffering [4:43] Too Tight [3:33] Thief in the Night (DeBeauport/ Jagger/ Richards) [5:15] How Can I Stop [5:53] Songs written by Jagger/ Richards unless indicated otherwise. Total Running Time: 61:20 The Players: Mick Jagger (vocals, guitar, percussion) Keith Richards (guitar, vocals, bass) Ronnie Wood (guitar, backing vocals) Charlie Watts (drums)

Rating: 3.413 out of 5.00 (average of 23 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “It’s no use comparing Stones albums to Exile on Main Street anymore; the world’s greatest rock & roll band clearly substitutes finances for passion these days. But compared to, say, Soul Asylum or the Black Crowes, the band still produces worthwhile records.” AZ “Voodoo Lounge confirmed that the Stones could age gracefully, but it never sounded modern; it sounded classicist.” AMG “Bridges to Babylon finds the Rolling Stones swaggering towards the millenium with a record that confidently asserts that rock & roll is far from a young person’s game. Don Was returns behind the boards, and joining him at Mick Jagger's behest are uber-technophiles The Dust Brothers. Rather than leaping headlong onto an ill-fitting bandwagon, The Stones wisely gild their rock & roll lily with subtle electronic nuances.” CD Additional collaborators like “Beck, the Beastie Boys, and Danny Saber (of Black Grape)…give the veteran group an edge on their explorations of drum loops and samples.” AMG “Of course, the Stones are the Stones, and no production is going to erase that, but the group is smart enough – or Keith Richards is stubborn enough – to work within their limitations…As a result, Bridges to Babylon sounds like the Stones without sounding tired. The band is tight and energetic, and there’s just enough flair” in the “noirish mood” CD of “the sultry Anybody Seen My Baby?, the menacing Gunface, and the low-key, sleazy Might as Well Get Juiced, to make them sound contemporary.” AMG The latter features “swooshing laser sounds” CD while “Anybody Seen My Baby?” includes a sampled rap, both of which offer “present-day window dressing for a legacy deeply rooted in rhythm and blues.” CD “Anybody Seen My Baby?” was released as the lead off single and received a nomination for a Grammy for Best Pop Performance By a Duo or Group with Vocal. The album was nominated for a Grammy for Best Rock Album. “But the real key to the success of Bridges to Babylon is the solid, craftsman-like songwriting. While there aren’t any stunners on the album, nothing is bad.” AMG “The Stones stop long enough to cleverly acknowledge their past by dropping a harp playing the main riff of ‘Papa Was a Rolling Stone’ into the mid-tempo Out of Control.” CD Rockers like that, Flip the Switch and Low Down, along with “the closing Keith Richards suite all give Bridges the edge over the Stones’ spotty previous Voodoo Lounge.” CD Richards’ winners include “and the slow-burning How Can I Stop.” AZ He “remains the soul of the Stones. His riffing and his endearing rasp continue to stand out.” CD “His crooning” CD on “the reggae workout You Don’t Have to Mean It” AZ and “the emotive one-two punch of Thief in the Night” CD and “the slow-burning How Can I Stop” AZ “shows Keef to be a closet romantic camouflaged by a bad-ass strut.” CD There are also ballads like Already Over Me and “Saint of Me to revel in their bad-boy persona.” CD They “cap off another fine latter-day Stones record.” AMG “The Stones don’t deserve our indifference just yet.” AZ

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for The Rolling Stones AMG All Music Guide review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine AZ Amazon.com review by Steve Knopper CD CdUniverse.com review WK Wikipedia Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 3/23/2008; last updated 10/25/2021.

The Rolling Stones’ Voodoo Lounge released

Voodoo Lounge The Rolling Stones

Released: July 19, 1994 Peak: 2 US, 11 UK, 12 CN, 11 AU Sales (in millions): 2.0 US, 0.1 UK, 6.0 world (includes US and UK) Genre: classic rock veteran

Tracks: Song Title [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to singles charts. Love Is Strong [3:46] (7/5/94, 91 US, 2 AR, 14 UK, 2 CN, 47 AU) You Got Me Rocking [3:34] (7/23/94, 2 AR, 23 UK, 29 CN, 64 AU) Sparks Will Fly [3:14] (1/7/95, 30 AR, 57 CN) The Worst [2:24] New Faces [2:50] Moon Is Up [3:41] Out of Tears [5:25] (10/7/94, 60 US, 48 CB, 37 RR, 31 AC, 14 AR, 36 US, 3 CN, 43 AU) I Go Wild [4:19] (4/1/95, 20 AR, 29 UK, 45 CN, 57 AU) Brand New Car [4:13] Sweethearts Together [4:46] Suck on the Jugular [4:26] Blinded by Rainbows [4:32] Baby Break It Down [4:07] Thru and Thru [5:59] Mean Disposition [4:09] All songs written by Mick Jaggers and Keith Richards. Total Running Time: 62:08 The Players: Mick Jagger (vocals, guitar, percussion) Keith Richards (guitar, vocals, bass) Ronnie Wood (guitar, backing vocals) Charlie Watts (drums)

Rating: 3.591 out of 5.00 (average of 23 ratings) Quotable: Voodoo Lounge exults in the Stones’ reason for being: transcendent, fundamental rock & roll.” – Paul Corio, Rolling Stone Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About the Album: “Voodoo Lounge is a remarkable experience, the most visceral, daring Rolling Stones album since...who knows when.” CD “It’s a gas gas gas to hear the truth, the guts of rock and roll peek through the curtains of time.” CD 1989’s Steel Wheels, “which vaulted stylistic barriers, was in fact the riskier bid. But Voodoo Lounge exults in the Stones’ reason for being: transcendent, fundamental rock & roll.” RS For their first studio album in five years, the Stones “strip their sound back to its spare, hard-rocking basics…turning out a set of songs that are pretty traditionalist.” AMG “They revive some of the English folk and acoustic country-blues that was on Beggars Banquet” AMG although “there are no new twists or turns in either the rockers or ballads (apart maybe from the quiet menace of Thru and Thru, later used to great effect on The Sopranos).” AMG These are “songs that may not be classics, but are first-rate examples of the value of craft.” AMG Part of the sound can be attributed to Don Was, “a neo-classic rock producer… helming the boards with the Glimmer Twins.” AMG “Without seeking to alter their basic approach, [he] has given this classic band a contemporary perspective.” CD “Because [he] insisted Mick have actual lyrics ready for the basic tracks, it obliged the Stones to return to the kind of live, spontaneous rhythm section feel that made even their most humble throwaways just jump out and bite you on the ass.” CD “The departure of bassist Bill Wyman has forced the Stones to dig deep, and the arrival of Darryl Jones has given drummer Charlie Watts, if not a new lease on life, a different point of view. Watts and Wyman were like the Benny Benjamin and James Jamerson of rock ’n’ roll, and without his trusted rhythm mate, the drummer has to listen like his life depended on it.” CD “This is the Stones…playing as a band. The Richards/Ron Wood guitar interplay is peerless, Charlie Watts swings easier than any other rock drummer, and the leanly muscled material flexes deep attitude.” RS “There’s an edge and a sense of danger to Voodoo Lounge that is palpable from the reassuring crunch of Richards and Wood on the opening Love Is Strong, through the honky tonk bump of Baby Break It Down and the blue suede groove of Mean Disposition.” CD “It’s on formula pieces (You Got Me Rocking, Brand New Car), rather than on experiments like Blinded by Rainbows, that the boys kick fiercest, realizing an essential truth: Rock & roll – like its revered forebears, blues and country – soars higher off blessed authenticity than off original expression.” RS The hour-run time is “an ironically bloated length for an album whose greatest strengths are its lean, concentrated classic sound and songcraft.” AMG Had this been released “even five years earlier, this would be a near-triumph of classicist rock, but since Voodoo Lounge came out in the CD age, it’s padded out to 15 tracks, five of which could have been chopped to make the album much stronger.” AMG

Resources and Related Links: DMDB encyclopedia entry for The Rolling Stones AMG All Music Guide review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine CD CdUniverse.com review RS Rolling Stone review by Paul Corio WK Wikipedia Other Related DMDB Pages: First posted 3/23/2008; last updated 10/25/2021.

 

Bonnie Raitt’s Nick of Time wins Grammy for Album of the Year

Nick of Time Bonnie Raitt

Released: March 21, 1989 Charted: April 15, 1989 Peak: 13 US, 51 UK, -- CN, 58 AU, 4 DF Sales (in millions): 5.6 US, -- UK, 5.9 world (includes US and UK) Genre: blues-rock

Tracks: Song Title (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts. Nick of Time (9/16/89, 92 BB, 10 AC, 82 UK, 1 DF) Thing Called Love (3/18/89, 11 AR, 15 DF) Love Letter (6/24/89, 49 AR, 35 AC, 73 CN, 16 DF) Cry on My Shoulder (37 DF) Real Man (19 DF) Nobody’s Girl (34 DF) Have a Heart (2/3/90, 49 BB, 3 AC, 16 CN, 19 DF)) Too Soon to Tell (38 DF) I Will Not Be Denied (37 DF) I Ain’t Gonna Let You Break My Heart Again The Road’s My Middle Name (32 DF) Total Running Time: 42:31

Rating: 4.113 out of 5.00 (average of 20 ratings) Awards: (Click on award to learn more).

About Bonnie Raitt Blues-rock singer, songwriter, and guitarist Bonnie Raitt was born in 1949 in Burbank, California. She got her start playing with Mississippi Fred McDowell at the Philadelphia Folk Festival and as an opening act for John Hammond at the Gaslight Café in New York. Word spread about her performance after she was seen by a reporter from Newsweek. She signed a record deal with Warner Bros. and released her debut album in 1971. Raitt established herself as “an exquisite interpretive singer and formidable guitarist who’d long ago honed her bluesy chops.” AZ She became “a reliable cult artist, delivering a string of solid records that were moderate successes and usually musically satisfying.” AM They were “generally superb, commercially underachieving recordings.” AZ No Overnight Sensation However, in the mid-‘80s her career “looked to be heading for the graveyard.” RD when her ninth album, Nine Lives, failed to reach the top 100 on the Billboard album chart and Warner Bros. dropped her. She signed with Capitol Records and made one of the greatest comebacks in music history. Tenth album Nick of Time, was “the watershed moment in Bonnie Raitt’s recording career, the sound of a survivor finding new focus and purpose in her art after nearly 20 years.” AZ She combined her “usual gourmet spread of smart cover choices with her own candid songs.” AZ They “resonated with her persona as a tough, smart, but ultimately tender woman.” AZ Don Was Most telling, however, was her decision to collaborate with producer Don Was. “The pairing seemed a little odd, since he was primarily known for the weird hipster funk of Was (Not Was) and the B-52’s’ quirky eponymous debut, but the match turned out to be inspired. Was used Raitt’s classic early-‘70s records as a blueprint, choosing to update the sound with a smooth, professional production and a batch of excellent contemporary songs.” AM “In this context, Raitt flourishes; she never rocks too hard, but there is grit to her singing and playing, even when the surfaces are clean and inviting.” AM It “catapulted a feisty rock tomboy into a new station that made her as admired by female fans as the stage door johnnies who’d long loved her rock technique.” AZ Grammy Surprise Raitt shocked the music industry when Nick of Time won the Grammy for Album of the Year in February 1990. She also picked up Grammys for Best Female Rock Vocal Performance (for the album) and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance (for the title cut). That propelled the album up the charts, where it reached #1 more than a year after its release and went on to sell more than 5 million copies. It was a great comeback album that made for a great story, but the record never would have been a blockbuster success if it wasn’t for the music, which is among the finest Raitt ever made. She must have realized this, since Nick of Time served as the blueprint for the majority of her ‘90s albums.” AM “Nick of Time” “She knocked one over the fence with the opening track,” AZ, “the album’s title track” RD “which smoothly sets heartache to a toe-tapping beat.” RD It is “a moving confession of a boomer’s anxieties about age, death, and the impermanence of love.” AZ Other Songs “While she only has two original songs here, Nick of Time plays like autobiography, which is a testament to the power of the songs, performances, and productions.” AM Her cover of John Hiatt’s Thing Called Love is “a rowdy tune that would fit easily on modern ‘new country radio.” RD “Raitt honky-tonks her way through the powerful Love Letter,” RD one of two songs originally written and performed by Bonnie Hayes. The other was Have a Heart. All three songs reached one or more Billboard charts.

Resources: AM AllMusic.com review by Stephen Thomas Erlewine AZ Amazon review by Sam Sutherland RD Robert Dimery (2006). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. Quintet Publishing Limited: New York, NY. Page 627. Related DMDB Links: Last updated 12/3/2024.

The B-52’s “Love Shack” charted

Love Shack The B-52’s

Writer(s): Kate Pierson, Fred Schneider, Keith Strickland, Cindy Wilson (see lyrics here) Released: June 20, 1989 First Charted: August 26, 1989 Peak: 3 US, 4 CB, 6 GR, 5 RR, 14 MR, 2 UK, 5 CN, 19 AU, 3 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 0.5 US, 0.6 UK, 1.24 world (includes US + UK) Airplay/Streaming (in millions): 1.0 radio, 87.05 video, 244.05 streaming

Awards: Click on award for more details.

About the Song: The B-52’s arrived on the scene a decade earlier with their debut album and became a definitive band of the new wave/post-punk era. They had a cult following primarily comprised of the gay community and college radio listeners. However, their relevance declined and in 1985, they considered calling it quits after guitarist Ricky Wilson died of AIDS. Instead, they soldiered on with drummer Keith Strickland recording guitar parts in Wilson’s style. SF In 1989, they came back on the scene in a big way. The band wanted Nile Rodgers (best known for his band Chic) to produce their Cosmic Thing album, but he wasn’t available. They turned to Don Was who had his own group Was (Not Was), but had also worked with Bob Dylan, Elton John, and the Rolling Stones. Kate Pierson, one of the singers in the band, credits Was for making the song a hit. The band used to perform songs live before recording them, but Was helped them structure “Love Shack” and record it in the studio. SF “The gorgeously infectious ‘Love Shack’” TB didn’t just put the “perennially eccentric B-52’s” TB back on the radar, but gave them their first taste of mainstream success and became their signature song. It topped the charts in Australia, Ireland, and New Zealand and hit the top 5 in the U.S., UK, and Canada. WK The band was inspired by the club in the movie The Color Purple, as well as Hawaiian Ha-Le, a real club outside Athens, Georgia where the band hung out. The club drew a wide variety of hippies, scenesters, and University of Georgia students. Cindy Wilson, another of the band’s singers, described the club as “a really cool place – a run-down love shack kind of thing…It was a really interesting place.” SF The concept for the song was that the Love Shack was “a place where people of all stripes come together for a groovy time.” SF The song was additionally inspired by a tin-roofed cabin – also in the Athens, Georgia area – where Pierson lived in the ‘70s. The band conceived their 1979 hit “Rock Lobster,” probably their best-known song prior to “Love Shack,” at the cabin. Wilson’s memorable line about “tin roof rusted” was actually an outtake from a jamming session. WK The line has been famously misinterpreted as “Hennn-ry, busted.” SF Wilson has said she was thinking of the rusty roof from the Hawaiian Ha-Le club. SF Resources: DMDB Encyclopedia entry for The B-52’s BC Brad Carl (2015). 50 Songs from the 70s and 80s That Still Hold Up. Pages 30-31. SF Songfacts TB Thunder Bay Press (2006). Singles: Six Decades of Hot Hits & Classic Cuts. Outline Press Ltd.: San Diego, CA. Page 238. WK Wikipedia First posted 11/16/2019; last updated 5/2/2024.