This reviewer basically says the album is only average, but look at the things that are said about Charlie...
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A smaller whisper, October 9, 2005
Reviewer: H. Forcelledo (NY, NY)
3 out of 5 stars

I had not bought a Rolling Stones record since I don't know when. What for? I had the OLD ones. They had never been able to improve on anything they had previously done.

Even their old ignored recording where leagues above anything they were putting out. I mean "Time waits for no one" , "If you can't rock me" etc can BURY anything they have done in the last 20 years.

But, I got Mick's "Goddess at the Door" as a present and I thought "well the guys may have something left. At least the masterful lyrics where back and if you see the documentary "being Mick Jagger" you wonder where Mick gets all this energy.
So based on that I went and got "A BIGGER BANG"

The first thing that struck me was the lousy cover shot and the trite title.
I mean how can the same people that came up with "Goat's Head Soup" & "Tattoo you" come up with "A Bigger Bang"?

But bypassing that and listening to the CD a few things are clear.
Charlie Watts is still the luckiest perosn alive (with the exception perhaps of Melissa Rivers) . His drumming is atrocious; he has no sense of drumming structure. One moment he is flapping in the center of the snare and the next he is so close to the rim you can tell he did hit the rim.
In "Streets of love" (which must have been a left over from "Goddess" `cause it has exactly the same structure and nostalgic feeling) good ole Charlie , uses the hi-hat as an accent as randomly as my dog chooses a place to relive himself.

It is just astonishing that this guy has not learn how to PLAY drums in 40 + years. Keith adamantly defends this lack of percussion authority with the off handed remark that Charlie is a "Jazz" drummer, yeah sure. You would have thought Ringo sat him at least once and taught him how ROCK drummer DRUMS.

As for the rest of the "lads", this is perfect musicianship. The Richards/Wood guitar exchanges are flawless , Jagger's harp will send shiver up and down your spine. Listen to "Back of my hand" and tell me that is a white British 60+ year old man doing the playing.

Jagger's voice is also surprisingly strong. When you hear how poorly Sir Paul and Rod Stewart have kept their pipes up you just wonder what the hell kind of diet Mick is on. He sings with the conviction and passion of a 20 year old and his phrasing is vintage Mick.. all those hard consonants and +sillibance at the end of a phrase! ah JOY.


I predict that "Streets of love" WILL hit the charts. The chorus by itself will have a lot of females swooning. And what can you say about this line:

"The lamps are lit, the moon is gone
I think I crossed the Rubicon"

Now the tracks:

Rough Justice:
Just a clever rocker with vintage Richards chords and Jagger's swagger (and Charlie STILL can not do a clean pick up to save his life)

"Let me down slow":
A cute chorus tries to save a totally soul less piece of pabulum, although Jagger gives it -as he does through the whole CD- his outmost whole.

It wont take long" :
Keith looking for one of his patented intro chords but it just doesn't cut it. The whole track sounds like the band was thinking about upcoming vacations in Maui. Embarrassing from beginning to end.

"Rain Fall down":
Perhaps the best song in the CD. Clever, fresh, musically and lyrically outstanding. Mick phrasing is again filled with passion and conviction. You close your eyes and can see Mr. Rubber Band dancing.

"Streets of Love" As I said this HAD to be a left over from "Goddess" , I wonder if Mick's kids also sang chorus here. This tune will stay around for a while.

"Back of my hand":
Recycled perfection ... a rehash of "You got to move" but it is a most welcomed return to basics. I WILL TAKE IT ANYTIME

"She saw me coming":
The chorus of drunken sailors does not help this trite tune YAWN!

"Biggest Mistake":
It sounds like Mick showed up by himself to this session. You will forget this song the moment it ends.

"This Place is Empty":
Keith indulging in one of his less dangerous vices. Crooning! Totally forgettable.

"Oh no not you again":
Okay here we are rocking like old times. But again, the body of work of the Stones is such that you can hear shades of something old on every new song. Mick saves the day with superb phrasing.

"Dangerous beauty" :
Almost another classic riff from Keith, but it never gets resolved. AeroSmith should get royalties for this.

"Laugh, I nearly died" :
This again sounds like one of Mick's solo effort. You WILL sit through this. The build up, the lyrics and Mick's vocals keep promising there will be a pay off. Jagger delivers in spades.
Best lyrics in the CD.

"Sweet neo-con":
Besides the political overtones there is not a thing of value on this track. But I guess the anti-Bush contingent will play the hell out of it and promises to be a possible anthem for the democrats in 2008

"Look what the cat dragged in":
Woah ... where did THIS come from?
This borrows nothing from anyone. Totally original, danceable, funky. A fun song with witty lyrics killer percussion, smoking lead guitar and excellent production. The reference to "Sergeant Pepper" is priceless. My favorite tune in the CD.

"Driving too fast":
Begins with shades of "Little T &A" and it is down hill from there

"Infamy": Keith reaching into the plagiarism bag. The tempo is all wrong on this tune. Perhaps a slower softer slide guitar could've saved it. Eric Clapton should've been consulted here, `cause HE wrote this thing!

Unfortunately there is no "classic" song in the bunch although "Look what the cat dragged breaks new musical ground. The rest is just very skilled craftsmen ( Watts not withstanding) doing what they have done for 42 years.

Funny that he lists two songs as the best song on the album ("Rain" and "look what the cat dragged in")

Plus he says that "look what the cat" is totally original and borrows nothing from anyone. Even Helen Keller could see the similarities with both "Undercover of the night" and INXS.

The critique of Charlie's drumming isnt even worthy of comment.

Wánker.

yep...Charlie can't drum....Picasso can't paint....Coltrane can't play the sax...and last but not least ol' DaVinci aint the sharpest tool in the shed....that reviewers got a strong case of ear wax

Well, just the fact that he mentions Melissa Rivers tells you something!

Ross

Charlie is minimalist drumming at its finest. Nothing especially fancy. He just gets the job done.

"You would have thought Ringo sat him at least once and taught him how ROCK drummer DRUMS."

Tells a lot about the reviewer..... Ringo is one of the poorest drummer ever .... he doesn't know how to play drums......

Is this really publist??? this guy must be crazy out of his head man what a f....

This guy sounds like he was hoping for a Jagger solo album and he's disappointed that the rest of the Stones showed up.

Just compare what he says about Jagger to what he says about the other band members (obviously his take on Charlie is not worth commenting upon). But for example, look at how he speaks about Mick and then about Keith:

On Mick:
Jagger's harp will send shiver up and down your spine.
Jagger's voice is also surprisingly strong
He sings with the conviction and passion of a 20 year old and his phrasing is vintage Mick.
Jagger gives it -as he does through the whole CD- his outmost whole.
Mick phrasing is again filled with passion and conviction.
It sounds like Mick showed up by himself to this session.
Mick saves the day with superb phrasing.
Jagger delivers in spades.

On Keith:
just a clever rocker with vintage Richards chords
Keith looking for one of his patented intro chords but it just doesn't cut it.
Keith indulging in one of his less dangerous vices.
Almost another classic riff from Keith, but it never gets resolved. AeroSmith should get royalties for this.
Begins with shades of "Little T &A" and it is down hill from there
Keith reaching into the plagiarism bag.


I love Sir Mick, but it's amazing how much disguised hatred gets thrown at the other band members by the mickophiles out there. Mick can do no wrong and the others are just in his way. Aerosmith? Keith needs to plagiarize songs? That's f-cked up thinking.

"yep...Charlie can't drum....Picasso can't paint....Coltrane can't play the sax...and last but not least ol' DaVinci aint the sharpest tool in the shed."

Well said Leonard Keringer...

Who the @#$%& is Melissa Rivers?
The stones thank this @#$%& for buying the cd, that's it.
Why doesn't he continue to listen to his old stones records.
No more words to say, especially not to Charlie's drumming, which EVERYBODY rates higher than ever.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2005-10-11 00:16 by micawber.

Wonder if he's smart enough to realize he's an s-hole???

What the FUK? I know we all live in very expressive times, but jeezus? Its time to go back in the space capsule- that means you too T&A !

"Let me down slow":
A cute chorus tries to save a totally soul less piece of pabulum"


That's what the fuc...the guy is clueless...an instant classic.

The reviewer is obviously a complete tosser!

he should be shot and then sent to the russian front!!

The guy who wrote that review should be @#$%& with a knightstick up his arse.

JumpingKentFlash

did charlie bang this dude wife?

john scialfa

That dude really should lay off the crack!

A knightstick?

What would that be exactly?

A lance?

Bizzare about his comments on Charlie?? he is the one band member that few slag off in fact I have heard quite a few times by stones haters (poor delusional bastards) that the only guy worth a damn is Charlie Watts. Anyway I think Mr Watts does a splended job in ABB,

What amazes me is that someone who is so obviously clueless about the Rolling Stones would spend so much effort reviewing A Bigger Bang. That's one of the problems I have with the customer reviews on Amazon. Everyone thinks they're an expert. People like this dude probably think that Jann Wenner is going to read their journalistic masterpiece and offer them a job as a music critic for Rolling Stone next week.

Oh, and I wonder if this guy realizes that whoever he thinks is a great drummer worships the ground that Charlie Watts walks on.