Rough justice - A cool hard opening with Jagger singing about the things he does best. A great rocking track!

Let me down slow - The Stones goes a bit more pop with acoustic guitars buired in the mix.
the refrain is a nice throwback to some of the 60´s stuff. This is perhaps my favourite track on the whole album!
Nice guitarparts as well as the ending of the song draws near.

It won´t take long - Typical midtempo Stones-rocker. Good solo but the rest of the song is nothing spectacular.
The´ve done better songs in this style IMO.

Rain fall down - Time for a funknumber. The refrain is rather nice! With good harmonyvocals throughout.
This might be one of the tracks that grows on you. I´d rather have a bit more soundeffects on Jaggers vocals in this song
but that doesn´t happen until the end.

Streets of love - A typical ballad that could be from Jaggers soloalbums, but a pritty good one.
Not the best ballad on the album though.

Back of my hand - A supercool blues song that recalls the 68-72 era. Very nice slide guitarplaying from
Mick and Keith.

She saw me coming - Nice guitarplaying but the song isn´t that special.

Biggest mistake - Mid-tempo pop with acoustic guitars and lost of melody. The refrain can be sung after first listen.
A nice one!

This place is empty - Keith sings this very nice blues/jazz song. His best ballad since The Worst.
I like that the piano is in the foregrund this time.

Oh not you again - A fast hard rocker. Great song with a nice refrain. Taks you back to "some girls" era Stones.

Dangerous beauty - No other band in the world sounds like this! This is so much typical Stones. But is it good?
Can´t really decide yet. It might grow on me in time.So far it´s only okey.
Nice guitarsolo that somehow sounds a bit like 1971.

Laugh I nearly died - A superballad, the best on the record.
The song, the sound and Jaggers vocals is a bit like the slower stuff on "Goats head soup".
This is another of my absolute favourite songs of the album.
But is it really Charlie playing the drums? Could be Mick doing a "Charlie Watts" style of playing

Sweet neon con - The lyrics aside, it´s a ok song with interesting guitarsounds in the second verse.
Not one of my favourites though.

Look what the cat dragged in - Rock-disco-funk. Amazing rythmg and lead guitarparts and the band sounds as dirty and kinky as only
Jagger and the boys can do. There´s a reference to "Sgt Pepper " in the lyrics as well. The ending should have gone on longer with all the percussion!

Driving too fast - A fast "car" song that would´t have sounded out of place on Voodoo Lounge.But that albums "Brand new car" is more interesting as a song
IMO. But maybe it takes a while for this car to heat up on ya?

Infamy - One of the worst song on the album I have to say. Keith has done much better work than this. When will he give us a hard rocker
like Before they make me run, Happy or even Take it so hard again? With about a bit of melody? This is just plain boring and a
bad way to end a great album.

OVERALL: Maybe they should have left 3-4 songs in the can, then we would have a really fantastic
record, but some of the songs just aren´t that good or interesting.
But the album is much better than the last album, and maybe in time even be seen as the best Stones album since Tattoo you.
It´s certanly up there with Steel Wheels and Voodoo Longe.
GRADE: 7/10






Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2005-08-30 02:31 by Jimmie.

interesting observations, Jimmie. Thanks for sharing.

A minor point, but Ronnie doesn't play on BOMH.

Thanks for the info. It´s been changed.

now if I could just convince you that SSMC is the best song on the album.....

SSMC is the best song in 27 years

it's a strong cd.....not the best i've heard and far from the worst....i actually like the fact that i think quite a few songs on it will lend themselves to being played live rather well, if not total kickass..i heard some that coud've been left for future projects but overall i'm pleased with it more than anything in the 80's and 90's as far as new material goes...not as commercial as some girls but just/more as punkish i think which i'm very appreciative of this time out

uz2bstoned Wrote:
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> SSMC is the best song in 27 years


Oh yes, it's even the best song in their whole career. Come on! Let's be serious, it's a good one, even a great one, but the best in 27 years? I have my doubts. Could well be that once the dust and new album hysteria has settled you hardly listen to it at all. Only time will tell.

Jimmie Wrote:
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> Dangerous beauty - No other band in the world
> sounds like this! This is so much typical Stones.
> But is it good?


can I make up your mind for you?

Its superb

If that song doesnt make you dance, sing or play some air guitar, you need your pulse checked

SSMC may be their best in 22 years - I really think this has "classic" written all over it. Might be the most Stonesy sounding tune since Pain of Love - it's got that swagger that's been sorely lacking....

I've only heard small bits of each song but it sounds like a great work from The Rolling Stones. People will be talking about this album for years to come. My least favorite tracks from what I've heard:

Big Mistake

This Place Is Empty

Dangerous Beauty

And btw, that chorus on Streets Of Love is a classic all the way. Pure pop music, but it's GREAT pop music.

I ain't stupid, I'm just guitarded.

I have listened to the "Bang" a couple of times now!

The first time was just unbeleviable how quick time went, I mean 65 mins of music just passed like 65 seconds.

Second time around some songs stuck out more than others

Third time around there were some changes in those songs.

Fourth time around I just had to say thanx guys, this one is even better than the latest ones. More crisp, more guitars, harp bringing us back to the late 60's and early 70's. Even the funky "Rain fall down" is getting there!

IMO just another great delivery, which will grow to be the best one in ages!



Been Stoned since 1964 and still am!

My favorites:

Rough justice
Back of my hand (a wonderful blues)
She saw me coming (makes me think of "hey negrita")
Oh not you again (it's a killer. Could have been on some girls)
Driving too fast
Infamy (a very very good surprise)

Good Songs:

It won´t take long
Biggest mistake
This place is empty
Look what the cat dragged in
Laugh I nearly died
Let me down slow
Dangerous beauty

Songs that should not be on this album (13 tracks is enough) but rather on the next Jagger's solo album:

Rain fall down
Streets of love
Sweet neon con

A Bigger Bang is a lot better than bridges to babylon and maybe even better than voodoo lounge. It deserves a 7,5/10.

The more I listen to ABB the more I love it.
But most of us have been listening to ABB in low quality samples. Don't you think that our opinion on particular songs will change when we get the CD?

I think you're right KillRill

I ain't stupid, I'm just guitarded.

Notice how everyone has a different favorite song? I think only Sweet Neocon has not been someones fave cut. Must be a good album then!

My favorites:

Rough Justice (great rocker)
Let Me Down Slow (again Mick's singing!)
Rain Fall Down (great dance)
This Place Is Empty (finally a pianobased song)
She Saw Me Coming (great rhythm)
Biggest Mistake (great melody and playing, classic Stones country)
Oh No Not You Again (hard rocking, but no interesting soloing of Keith)
Laugh I Nearly Died (great atmosphere and the best singing of Mick)
Look What The Cat Dragged In (great singing, great melodies, superb guitarplaying by Ronnie and great drums/percussion and for me the best song of the album!!)
Driving Too Fast (hard rocking)
Infamy (great singing by Keith, but I still don't prefer the harp in it.. it sounds strange... this song should have horns instead, live they do play horns on it!)

So those songs are my favorites up till now. Time will tell of course!


First I liked Back Of My Hand a lot, but after a lot of listening it gets boring to me, allthough I really like Mick's slide part. I like The Storm a lot better, or Jump On Top Of Me. Anyway, the live version of Back Of My Hand works better for me... with Charlie coming in eventually, giving that great beat. More interesting.

Infamy I like, but I still don't prefer the harp in it.. it sounds strange... this song should have horns instead (live they do play horns on it!)

Sweet Neo Con does nothing special for me... it gets boring, nothing really happens. I like the rhythm/beat though.

I have to wait untill I get the original album from the stores for the best quality, but with what I have now (from the AOL site) I think the mix is a bit messy to me. But again, time will tell maybe!

Rough Justice - fantastic!
Let Me Down Slow - Good Album Track, Great Vocals.
She Saw Me Coming - is an instant classic, play this one live please!
It Wont Take Long - same as above.
Rain Fall Down - Good Dancey Track, nothing too special.
Streets of Love - I actually like SOL, good vocals, very catchy.
Back Of My Hand - One of the greatest blues songs they've done ever!
Biggest Mistake - Good Country-ish Vocal, nice.
This Place Is Empty - Nice Keef Ballad, I'm a big fan of Keef'f songs anyway.
Oh No Not You Again - Great Some Girls Era Feel Rocker.
Dangerous Beauty - Good, nothing special, maybe it'll take afew listens.
Laugh I nearly Died - Yeah! Great!
Sweet Neo Con - Dissapointing too say the least, but not awful.
Look What the Cat Dragged In - Fantastic!
Driving Too Fast - Another cool rocker!
Infamy - Another Keef Classic!

Fantastic Album!

A very compelling listen.

It would be cool to have an on-a-soundstage televised live show (no inflatabele HTW dolls, giant screens, fireworks, etc.) of them doing just this album and nothing else.

dreams.....

Sweet Neo Con boring?, are you american right?, i mean, its great, Mick seems to be very angry on the song, his voice and guitarrs are dirty i love this song!

The first time I heard sweet neo-con I didn;t think it was anything special but after afew more listens its really grew on me.

Keith_1986 Wrote:
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> Back Of My Hand - One of the greatest blues songs
> they've done ever!

Maybe. I love the gruff rythm riff spellt out by Keith. Does anyone notice that his guitar sound and some of the rythmic figures are actually quite alike to the ones on "Stop Breaking Down"? Or am I just hallucinating?

Keith_1986 Wrote:
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> The first time I heard sweet neo-con I didn;t
> think it was anything special but after afew more
> listens its really grew on me.


Totally agree with you and Sender - wasn't too keen on this song based on the low-fi recording I'd heard - but this song definitely ranks in the upper half of the better songs on the album. The lyrics actually work quite well within the context of the music and it's theme....nice job, Mickey!

SeNdEr Wrote:
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> Sweet Neo Con boring?, are you american right?, i
> mean, its great, Mick seems to be very angry on
> the song, his voice and guitarrs are dirty i love
> this song!


The lyrics are great....i totally support what Mick is singing about, but the song is the WORST on the record.

StonesTod Wrote:
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> SSMC may be their best in 22 years - I really
> think this has "classic" written all over it.
> Might be the most Stonesy sounding tune since Pain
> of Love - it's got that swagger that's been sorely
> lacking....

Hey ST, Really? classic? Pretty strong words from someone like yourself?

hope your right...

Mick on Sweet Neo Con seem to be very angry!!!, you hear it on his voice, its great, it talks about the white house and Bush, thats clear

crossfire Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> StonesTod Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> >
> Hey ST, Really? classic? Pretty strong words from
> someone like yourself?
>
> hope your right...
>


I don't throw these plaudits around casually. SSMC is SMU-like in its immediacy. It's got all the ingrediants. And, unlike other numbers on the disc - there's no downer solo (the Stones almost always do better without the obligatory solo - that's not their forte) to drag the song down. And, I think this is Jagger's best vocal since Pain of Love...I think the man needs to hit the bottle a couple of times before hitting the mic....too many of his vocals on the album suffer from "catastrophic sobriety."

"catastrophic sobriety." ? That was hilarious! Hope you don't mind if I borrow the phrase for future use?

be my guest. just wondered if you understand what I mean by it, though....I mean - can you imagine Mick singing that way on SOL with about four shots in him?



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2005-08-30 20:53 by T&A.

I would say drop

Rain fall down
Laugh...
Sweet Neo

and it would be incredible. With those on it, it is just great. Not sure if it beats B2B yet though.

T&A Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> be my guest. just wondered if you understand what
> I mean by it, though....I mean - can you imagine
> Mick singing that way on SOL with about four shots
> in him?
>
>
>
> Edited 1 times. Last edit at 08/30/05 20:53 by
> T&A.

Yeah, I hear ya, point taken. I won't start that SOL thing up again!