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Munichhilton
I completely missed out on this release...wonder how it got past me

Keep your eye on prize
Rolling Stones live releases
Best thing in long time!

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dcba
Infamy yeah!
Never found a good live version though ><
The clostest thing to a "good one" was played at the Vilvoorde rehearsals and released on a Rattlesnake boot.

I've only heard one: The Light The Fuse version.

I am among those, who like this album and apparently more than most posters.

Do I think it is great? Answer: No, and I have for some time held as many as approximately 12 Stones albums for great.

However, I consider A BIGGER BANG, like its predeceessor BRIDGES TO BABYLON as almost semi-great. B2B is more enterprising and daring, ABB somewhat more safe, at points too safe. Those two albums clearly better than the three studio albums that followed after the Stones' last great album UNDERCOVER.

Tentatively, track for track, an evaluation that is not necessarily my final one:

"Rough Justice" ==> good
"Let Me Down Slow" ==> very good, almost great
"It Won't Take Long" ==> only OK
"Rain Fall Down" ==> very good ("quasi-psychedelic soul" )
"Streets of Love" ==> song better than this not so good version, shown live
"Back of My Hand" ==> good, but not overwhelming
"She Saw Me Coming" ==> only OK and "Stones-by-numbers"
"Biggest Mistake" ==> the third highlight of the album
"This Place Is Empty" ==> not up to good, but quite good
"Oh No, Not You Again"==> good
"Dangerous Beauty" ==> good and an important statement
"Laugh, I Nearly Died"==> for me the fourth highlight of the album
"Sweet Neo Con" ==> more interesting than better songs, adequately harsh
"Look What the Cat Dragged In" ==> good
"Driving Too Fast" ==> "Stones-by-numbers"
"Infamy" ==> more or less, an adequate minimalistic track

Would I have the album shortened? No, not at all, I am thankful for all the Stones songs, that I can receive. And if it ought to be shortened: Only after my advice. Never according to suggestions, that I read. Other posters or readers would probably not have had the tendencies of my comments either.

The last great album made by th stones

I remember the disappointment of playing it through for the first time.

I remember the enchantment of playing it through for the first time.

It was a lovely sunny afternoon and I was sitting in my backyard with my discman and feet on the table. I wore black denim jeans, white sneakers and a white t-shirt. In between songs I heard birds singing in the trees and there was a swarm of flying insects dancing in the warmth of the sun.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015-09-07 21:52 by HMS.

my fav 2 songs on the album are she saw me coming and laugh I nearly died

Feel The Fear
And Do It Anyway

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HMS
It was a lovely sunny afternoon and I was sitting in my backyard with my discman and feet on the table. I wore black denim jeans, white sneakers and a white t-shirt. In between songs I heard birds singing in the trees and there was a swarm of flying insects dancing in the warmth of the sun.

Hmmm... Are you sure your discman was turned on?

there was a swarm of flying insects dancing in the warmth of the sun.

Maybe they were groooooovin their arses ta Rain Fall Down ....



ROCKMAN

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eduardoacdc
The last great album made by the stones

Aside from a couple of average/subpar tunes (Grrr), hard to believe it's been 10 years since the Stones have released an entire album!!!!!
Thankfully we have Keith to fill the void with a stellar new solo album!

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

I like "A Bigger Bang" very much. I still think "Voodoo Lounge" is the best post-"Undercover" album overall, and "Bridges To Babylon" probably the most problematic, even though there are some great songs there too.

I feel bad that I didn't really appreciate the scale of the Katrina tragedy at the time. I remember the album was streaming just a day after the storm hit, and unfortunately I focused more on the surprise advance listen than the hurricane devastation in the news. I'm glad Keith recorded a charity single to try and help out.

1. Rough Justice - Awesome song, shoulda been a new warhorse. Lots of confident swagger, and the Stones make it sound effortless.

2. Let Me Down Slow - Good midtempo country themed song. Creative melody. I do like this song a lot.

3. It Won't Take Long - Mediocre and sort of dull, unfortunately. It's not a terrible melody, but I don't really care for this one overall.

4. Rain Fall Down - Really dig this hypnotic groove. A cool, different sound for the Stones.

5. Streets Of Love - I'm not into ballads, but I like this song a lot. Apparently I'm in the tiny minority of Rolling Stones fans that do. I accept that I'm in the minority on this one. I find "Streets Of Love" sad, sincere, and delicate. (I always imagined that the "corner store" that mends broken hearts was a liquor store.)

6. Back Of My Hand - The Rolling Stones doing the blues are ALWAYS welcome, and this is a decent enough song. It's certainly listenable, but I honestly think the Stones could do a lot better. For some reason, the performance always feels very sterile and cold to me.

7. She Saw Me Coming - Love this song! Finally another tune with swing and swagger. This has the warm spark of inspiration and fun that "Back Of My Hand" lacked. Great tune.

8. Biggest Mistake - Again, another ballad that I like. Production is uninspired, but the song itself has a very good melody and interesting, well-written lyrics with a lot of colorful character. Lots of people can relate to the feeling expressed here.

9. This Place Is Empty - I hate to say it, but I really don't like this song very much at all. It just doesn't do anything for me. There are many other Keith ballads that I'd rather listen to than this one.

10. Oh No Not You Again - Lighthearted fun, if a little forced. While I think "Rough Justice" is the superior rocker, I do really enjoy this song too.

11. Dangerous Beauty - The dated lyrics are not the greatest, but the music has a good strong groove. So it basically works out to 50/50 for me.

12. Laugh I Nearly Died - Best track on the album. When people say the Stones haven't done anything great since 1981, it's songs like these that come to mind when I imagine counterexamples. I feel bad for Stones fans that can't dig the majestic awesomeness of songs like this. Truly outstanding. A great, different sound.

13. Sweet NeoCon - The Stones follow the best song on the album with the worst song on the album! WTF? Don't get me wrong. I agree with the politics, but I think the song itself is dreadful, dull, and the topic painfully dated. IMHO you gotta come at these topics indirectly, or you end up sounding awkward and forced. The lyrics here are so on the nose it's embarrassing. But even if the lyrics had been good, I think the music itself is simply bad.

14. Look What The Cat Dragged In - Apparently lots of Stones fans hate this track for some reason. I totally love it. The Stones are finally rocking with a little abandon. There's that first riff, rat-tat-tating like a robot machine gun, then that swervy second melody slides around underneath like a drunk guy on a golf course. I like the funky groove. It has bounce, baby! This one was an instant keeper for me.

15. Driving Too Fast - Forgettable song with dull production. I prefer the rocking numbers, but there's nothing special here.

16. Infamy - Very good, simple, straightforward song. It has a lot of replayability. It would sure be great to hear a fast rocker from Keith one more time, but "Infamy" has really good production and a swinging, enjoyable groove. The two offset backing vocals is a cool touch.

"16. Infamy - Very good, simple, straightforward song. It has a lot of replayability. It would sure be great to hear a fast rocker from Keith one more time, but "Infamy" has really good production and a swinging, enjoyable groove. The two offset backing vocals is a cool touch"

And Mick's harmonica propels the song to another level!

Rough Justice ==> good

Let Me Down Slow ==> nothing special

It Won't Take Long ==> nothing special

Rain Fall Down ==> okay

Streets of Love ==> not my cup of tea, reminds me of Out of Tears

Back of My Hand ==> obligatory blues, not for real

She Saw Me Coming ==> nothing

Biggest Mistake ==> forgettable

This Place Is Empty ==> as much as I normally like Keith's mellow jazzy stuff, this one is empty.

Oh No, Not You Again ==> okayish

Dangerous Beauty ==> nothing

Laugh, I Nearly Died ==> the only decent song on the entire album

Sweet Neo Con ==> I prefer to think this never happened. One "Back To Zero" is enough, why adding more embarrassment?

Look What the Cat Dragged In ==> not my cup of tea

Driving Too Fast ==> nothing

Infamy ==> "in for me"/"infamy" yeah yeah, we get it. Please!!! terrible.

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jahisnotdead
14. Look What The Cat Dragged In - Apparently lots of Stones fans hate this track for some reason. I totally love it.

One of the best songs indeed. It is fantastic.

hahaha still dig the album,its one the best for me.

replace "Streets of Love" with "Under The Radar", take off the last four songs and you have a great album (love "Driving Too Fast", though).

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HMS

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jahisnotdead
14. Look What The Cat Dragged In - Apparently lots of Stones fans hate this track for some reason. I totally love it.

One of the best songs indeed. It is fantastic.

I think the obvious lifting of the INXS I Need You Tonight-riff is disturbing. Could have been a very good song with another riff, imo

With editing this should have been, could have been, a contender. Some great songs, and some dire tunes. That they left off both Don't wanna go home and Under the Radar yet included Look What the cat Dragged in and that equally abysmal She Saw me Coming is a complete travesty. Seriously poor judgement.

Driving too Fast should have gone as well.

And then it would have been a stone cold classic later day record by... well...ANYONE.

Rod



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2015-09-08 14:38 by bitusa2012.

I really struggle to find even in the last twenty years of career of the Stones a really bad album; as I do not think there is, currently, an inexorable decline as far as the quality of their publications in the studio. Probably their only album Dirty Work is below average. I say this without expecting it 'a new Sticky Fingers by the Stones and even a new album completely screened in the past, in fact, I think this is a prerequisite.

Specifically, A Bigger Bang for me is one of the best albums of the Stones.

It 's true, some discs as BTB or VL were albums with great moments alongside other less inspired. More generally works were suffering from a bad production by Don Was and were winked to the sounds of the period.
But if some jobs after years appear to be aged, and at times even bad, ABB for me is a great record, able to stay close to a TY or a BAB.

Listening to its today ABB still sounds enjoyable, with great riffs by Keith (Rough Justice, Dangerous Beauty, Under the Radar, and It Will not Take Long), a blues that is brilliant (Back of My Hand) and fine ballads (Laugh, I Nearly Died that seems to be out of the mind of Bryan Ferry). I will say more: of the last works of the Stones ABB appears to be the only one with its own personality, a sound modern but not '' copy '' by the rock band of the period and still a certain homogeneity which can constitute a new standard the future of the Stones discs as was BB in 1968.

ABB does not give me the impression of being a compilation-album with songs written at different times by Jagger and Richards in total solitude. Of course, Wood overdubbed his guitar parts and some low later but this is negligible when reckoning about the quality of the recordings and performances of all the Stones on the disc.
I can safely say that the work on slide by Ronnie on Let Me Down Slow is one of the most beautiful and close to Ry Cooder he has ever played, along with his work on the SM out a few months ago on Sticky Fingers Live.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2015-09-08 14:48 by pepganzo.

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HMS
It was a lovely sunny afternoon and I was sitting in my backyard with my discman and feet on the table. I wore black denim jeans, white sneakers and a white t-shirt. In between songs I heard birds singing in the trees and there was a swarm of flying insects dancing in the warmth of the sun.

...the started 'Sweet Neo Con' and all was ruined!

Were any songs from ABB played on the last tour or any tour since the ABB tour? For me, it was a one-listen CD and hasn't been played since. Shame but there we go - A Bigger Bang went off like a damp quib.

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Father Ted
Were any songs from ABB played on the last tour or any tour since the ABB tour? For me, it was a one-listen CD and hasn't been played since. Shame but there we go - A Bigger Bang went off like a damp quib.

They simply decided to do Greatest Hits and Oldies but Goldies only shows. It´s a little wonder they did Doom and Gloom at all.

At least Rough Justice, Oh No Not You Again, Rain Fall Down, Back Of My Hand, Driving Too Fast, This Place Is Empty would have been worth playing live on a regular basis on recent tours. But maybe Mick thinks audiences reacted too lame in 2005-07...

The only time they played a song from the ABB-album since 2007 was in Rome and they did the horrible Streets Of Love.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2015-09-08 15:46 by HMS.

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Father Ted
Were any songs from ABB played on the last tour or any tour since the ABB tour? For me, it was a one-listen CD and hasn't been played since. Shame but there we go - A Bigger Bang went off like a damp quib.

Streets Of Love in Rome 2014.

Remember that they extended the ABB-tour. It sort of became two tours. However, for the last leg they were probably only playing two or three ABB-songs the most in their setlists...

Next album:
- Fast Rock"n"Roll numbers
- Blues, Boogie
- Mick Taylor doing solos
- no more boring Keith Ballads
- long numbers with log instrumental - solo parts

That is the secret , to do a next real great classic album

As far as MT is concerned, he left the band 40 years ago. It is totally impossible to have him playing on a future Stones-album of new material. Nowadays noodling is more out of style than it was back then. Keith and Ronnie weave so beautifully together, why spoil this with noodling MT? Also they had not invited haughty MT to join the ZIP-Code-tour, this ought to mean something.

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frtg55
Next album:
- Fast Rock"n"Roll numbers
- Blues, Boogie
- Mick Taylor doing solos
- no more boring Keith Ballads
- long numbers with log instrumental - solo parts

That is the secret , to do a next real great classic album

This sounds like IORR, the album

I wouldn't say impossible, HMS... I could easily see MT playing a guest solo on a track or two on a future Stones album. It would certainly boost sales and be a very welcome feature for many fans. It is not necessarily likely or unlikely, but certainly a possibility.

I enjoyed Gas Light's story. I get excited about every Rolling Stones release, but beyond that initial joy, ABB never did much for me. I was mostly disappointed in the loud, uber-compressed sound of the album, i.e. the post-production. But the songs were not overly special to me. For me, the show I caught from that tour was Fenway Park, and the most hit-heavy setlist I had seen to that point. Every Stones show is a joy for me, but that one was maybe my least favorite of the 10 shows I have seen over the years.

I think the Rolling Stones do indeed have another great album left in them. That is, after we enjoy this next album from Keith. Let's all keep our fingers crossed it happens soon.

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HMS
As far as MT is concerned, he left the band 40 years ago. It is totally impossible to have him playing on a future Stones-album of new material. Nowadays noodling is more out of style than it was back then. Keith and Ronnie weave so beautifully together, why spoil this with noodling MT? Also they had not invited haughty MT to join the ZIP-Code-tour, this ought to mean something.

As much as I believe that a complete return of MT in the Stones would undesirable and not leading to a better output, it's a very silly thing to say that the MT can only "noodle". Come on, you might as well (and just as wrongly) say that Ronnie Wood only "noodles". If you're looking for noodles, go to a chinese restaurant.

Here is an example of Keith Richards solo effort "Could Have Stood You Up", *with* MT, and *without* noodling.

[www.youtube.com]