I always liked ABB - I was certainly influenced by Gazza's review after his preview session. I still listen to this record. I would take a new record as good as this one any day.

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Shawn20
I always liked ABB - I was certainly influenced by Gazza's review after his preview session. I still listen to this record. I would take a new record as good as this one any day.

yeah - gazza had me going for a bit - but then i listened to it - that was my biggest mistake....

Great record!!!

X



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2018-08-11 22:00 by UrbanSteel.

OURGH !!!!!!! what ??????

BIGGEST SHIT yes

"we know it's a bit late but we hope you don't mind if we stay"

What does it mean that "bigger bang is not a band album"?

It is what it is.

Who knows how Soup would have sounded if Keith had been in "let-it-bleed-shape"? Better? Worse?

Tattoo You is the farthest you can get from the idea of a "band album", and for sure that's a great one. Steel Wheels and Rescue both were in large parts "band albums". None of them rate with the best.

In fact the essence of Bang is all in Place is Empty. For sure Ronnie could have played the slide, or Chuck the keyes, or DJ the bass, but it would not have been the same.

As Ronnie put it, it was about Keith and Mick.


C

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skipstone
The trog says, "MY FAVE TRACKS ARE" and then goes on to list the track list of the album.

Very troggy.

So far it's their only album of the Twenty hundreds. And stevecardi, we're in the early Twenties, not the late Twenties. That would be more along the line of 2090 or 2099.

Haha, I was trying to imply the years 2002-2009. I never seem to get the right words out on online forums! I'm sticking with my belief that ABB is one of their best albums, but then again, I'll take Undercover and Steel Wheels over Voodoo Lounge any day, so what the hell do I know?

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tumblingdice


Don't worry tumblingdice, in another 10-15 years, the same people that view ABB as a piece of sh!t now will be saying what a great album it is while they await the latest release from the 2 members that are still trying to keep the brand going aka The Who! LOL

Funny how Exile was also considered crap when it first came out, and in a couple of years, it became the best album in the Stones catalouge. Not that I'm comparing ABB to Exile, though



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009-12-09 22:04 by stevecardi.

I probably have nothing new to add here, but I am bored so my two cents: I remember not being terribly excited about the album when it was getting ready to come out, mainly because I never thought much of Bridges and considered the new songs on 40 Licks to be pretty mediocre. About a week before the album dropped, I heard 'Rough Justice' on the radio and started to change my mind because I liked what I heard.

I really liked the record in the beginning - it reminded me a lot (and still does) of an early 80's Stones record along the lines of Emotional Rescue or Undercover. Mostly I was just happy that the album seemed to have the FOCUS that Bridges lacked - the songs seemed to fit together, as did the production of the songs.

4 years on looking back, I am probably not as excited about the album. It still has very good moments, but even those feel like by the numbers Stones (Rough Justice, Let Me Down Slow, etc.) - they have the elements of Stones classics, just not the substance to be classics. Some songs like 'Biggest Mistake' would be fine on a Jagger solo album, while songs like 'Streets of Love' wouldn't be fine on ANY album, far as I am concerned. Also, I thought there was one too many generic 'rockers' like It won't Be Long, Dangerous Beauty, Driving Too Fast, etc.

Oddly enough, and I may be the only person to say this, but I think the 2 tracks I listen the most these days are Keith's numbers. "This Place Is Empty" is a charming, genuinely affecting little ballad with a nice arrangement. "Infamy" - like 'Thru and Thru' - is interesting because it really doesn't sound like any other Stones song. It's got a cool beat and a hypnotic guitar line, and while it's not really an example of great songwriting, there's just something about it that makes me turn it up when it comes on.

That said, I still dig Rough Justice, Let Me Down Slow, Oh No Not You Again, Laugh I Nearly Died, and Look What the Cat Dragged In. That last one especially reminds of something they might have done in the Undercover-era.

Not a good album.

Their worst ever imo.

Drum and vocal heavy. Most songs lead by the drums and the guitars slot in behind - rather like their latter day live performances.

Weak on guitars and guitar chemistry/band chemistry. Chemistry full. A Jagger-Was designer job. Cut and paste.

Haven't played it since 2005. Would rather play Godess.

Two weakest Keith songs ever.

Produced to promote a tour (and to honour a record contract), which I'm ceratin they named before the album.

Sweet NeoCon is actualy my favourite cos it has a live, lurchy vibe to it + 'nasty' and fairly spontaneous vocals at the end + harmonica. i.e. some surprise elements.

Other 'positives' - Jagger's bass playing (the feel/tone) - a Wyman approach - and the slower 'country numbers' with a more natural flow - Biggest Mistake and Let Me Down Slow.

ps I havn't heard Under The Radar - but was damned if I was going to fork out again after just a month for a 'special edition' just to get a couple of extra tracks.

Schiesters. Really.

I don't think it's their worst. That would be Their Satanic Majesties Request followed by Dirty Work followed by Between The Buttons ha ha...

Some people hate Emotional Rescue and Steel Wheels.

I think Bang sounds better and has better songs than Steel Wheels, as well as ER and Dirty Work. But is it great? Well, it's their greatest album of the Twenties! But, ha ha, if they put one out next year, we might have a 50-50 chance of Bang being their second greatest album of the Twenties...

Damn that sounds hilarious.

It would help if they did more albums. Undercover was the last album of their roll, it seems, even though Black And Blue started the multi-year gaps between albums if you think about it. It's only gotten worse since Undercover. 3 to DW and 3 to SW and then 5 to VL, 3 to Voodoo and then...what...EIGHT years until the next one.

Yeah, they're not a nostalgic touring act huh. "Here's ONE song from our new album..."

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skipstone
I don't think it's their worst. That would be Their Satanic Majesties Request followed by Dirty Work followed by Between The Buttons ha ha...

Nah .... those albums all have a real band getting it on together - they have LIFE - they are fully engaged

Gomper is creatively, imaginatively and texturally streets ahead of a programmed ballad such as SOL.


Yup, they take 8 years to produce a new album and then release a second version of it shortly after the first version is released so that you have to buy the 90% of it twice.

What do they take us for? SUCKERS.

Schiesters.



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 2009-12-10 00:58 by Deluxtone.

Terrible album in my opinion. I'm not one of those people who dimisses The Stones for being old, and I fully support them continuing the band, but their last two albums have definitely been below par.

Rough Justice is good and I like some of Keith's tunes (his voice just brings a smile to my face) but overall it sounds like a sterotype of The Stones, all big riffs and bravado, with no real substance. That said, it's better than no Stones, and there were some good gigs on the tour.

Another thing - a lot of people call this a cut and paste job or "not a band album". Okay, if you choose one perspective that could be considered true. But somebody else pointed out that this was very much the most convenient way to record under certain circumstances (Mick and Keith working out the demos while Charlie was receiving cancer treatment, etc.)

That's like saying "Happy" is not a "band song" because it's mostly Keith, Jimmy Miller, and Bobby Keys doing the work. Again, that's one where they just worked it out under the circumstances.

Moreover, I feel kind of like this was more of a 'band album' personnel-wise than they had recorded in years. You don't have all of the guest back-up singers like Lisa and Bernard, percussionists like Lenny Castro, or guitarists like Waddy Watchell that were all over BL, B2B, and Stripped. It was, for the most part, the same line-up you'd find on the b-stage performances: the 4 core Stones, with Chuck and Darryl (though I know Blondie and company probably do show up on at least a couple of tracks).

...it has it's moments.

rugg justice live at superbowl a mega historical moment. lean mean and perfect...nailed the @#$%&...super duper....hot shit...then they dropped it frm tour....duhhh??

ABB sucks bigtime!
exeptions: back off my hand and wont take long. both great tunes!

beginning of ruff justice snap yo head around...r u tuff enuff? whoooo

IF one survives the first second or two...whap...u gonna get hit again.

and it keeps on coming...super chaahgged...
let me down slow woulda shudda been pop rock hit of the decade...really really GREAT elemets...weaving etc....even if overdubbed. and it was from what i hear...
then such a casually stupid easy bad rhyme line in there and im embarrassed for loving it...i mean...these guys are smarter than that...sumtimes they don't give much a shit on certain ones on this one it's true.

RJ ruff raw crunch slide is perfect...charlie is right there..oh man. wat do peeps want? Darryl is, well...forget darryl...the mixer did and i keep trying to...

overall it's not grand but it stings pretty good and i like it bigtime...more!!

Non of the stones cds sucks its what ever shit you are going through,BIGGER BANG IS BRILLIANT CD IF YOU GIVE IT CHANCE TO LISTEN TOO,I LISTEN TO AS NEW CD BY STONES NOT TO COMPARE WITH EXILE OR STICKY FINGER OR LET IT BLEED,STONES ARE WHAT THEY ARE TODAY,THIS IS NOT 1964 OR 1969,GROW UP. BIGGER BANG IS BRILLIANT CD,PLAY IT LOUD AND ENJOY THE MUSIC.YEA,YEA YEA.

..there were a couple of nice moments on the record...but overall.....ehhh.

......I am looking forward to the next one with a kick ass producer..a lot more Keith, some rockabilly/country Mick and contributions from the others.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009-12-10 15:45 by Rip This.

This album sounds fresh because it is not verproduced as previous works. I like it, but composition is weak, and there are no potential "classics". Anyway, it has the same benefit as exile: NO PRODUCTION

ABB is a great album. I just love I NEARRLY DIED.

X



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2018-08-11 21:58 by UrbanSteel.

i believe that a bigger bang was a very good album, and i believe that the stones
have problems with music press; if you consider the last 2 albums of u2 and springsteen, who always have very good reviews in the magazines (and they are the stones'strongest competitors as live acts), you will see that they are not great album ( the last u2 album is really bad), but everybody talks very well about them.
it seems that there are pre-written reviews, and the stones album are really understimated

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andrea66
i believe that a bigger bang was a very good album, and i believe that the stones
have problems with music press; it seems that there are pre-written reviews, and the stones album are really understimated

This is not my observation. For much to my surprise as far as I remember - from TATTOO YOU on - the Stones albums have generally got very tender treatment from the press. Always "the best since Exile" blah blah... At least as far the media in question is a bit bigger one (that is, is in hands of, and directed to, middle-age people).

But what is difficult is to get honest, quality, objective reviews. The babyboomers praise every album for the simple reason for being a new Rolling Stones album, a voice from the Golden Age of Rock, no matter what it contains (and usually they do contain that safe and sure conservative Stones music). The younger reviewers loath the albums for the very same reason for being totally 'irrelevant'... So it goes. I don't respect the rock press very much nowadays (if I ever did).

- Doxa

ABB is my least favourite Rolling Stones studio album,...by far. There are hardly any song there which makes me want to listen to it. Unlike other somewhat letdowns of Rolling Stones albums...for instance Their Satanic Majesties Request, Steel Wheels....or Metamorphisis, all of which has some nuggets here and there; saves the albums from collecting dust

When I got ABB, on the day of it's release - I thought it would grow on me....there were some energy here and there - but it SHRUNK and SHRUNK...for every listen

It's all about personal opinion though...no disrespect to those who likes ABB



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2009-12-10 16:35 by Erik_Snow.

I like your list however the defining album for the Stones in the 60's and their career is by far - Aftermath.

Stones albums that aren't band efforts.

At some point the entire band is on songs for A Bigger Bang. That's the same for every album. But not every album has songs without the full band. That being said...it could be its own thread. The full band is not on every song on Sticky Fingers or Dirty Work or Let It Bleed for that matter - or Exile.

So that's POINTLESS to bring up.

I WISH I COULD FIND SOMETHING THAT IS THE OPPOSITE OF ALL CAPITAL LETTERS THAT WOULD IMPLY WHISPERING...........

But really, according to kish EVERY song on A Bigger Bang is EXCELLENT.

I find that very difficult to believe, take seriously or even argue.

X



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2018-08-11 21:56 by UrbanSteel.