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Hairball
If you listen the entire album backwards there's a vast improvement.
Even Streets of Love becomes somewhat interesting, sounding like a demonic chant.
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Hairball
If you listen the entire album backwards there's a vast improvement.
Even Streets of Love becomes somewhat interesting, sounding like a demonic chant.
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micawber
Best song on ABB is "Let Me Down Slow" imo.
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micawber
Best song on ABB is "Let Me Down Slow" imo.
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Hairball
If you listen the entire album backwards there's a vast improvement.
Even Streets of Love becomes somewhat interesting, sounding like a demonic chant.
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micawber
Best song on ABB is "Let Me Down Slow" imo.
I like that one a lot too. Still, to me Rough Justice is by far the best track.
As for the album, to me it's great, just too long, I could do without those crossed out:
Rough Justice
Let Me Down Slow
It Won't Take LongRain Fall DownStreets of Love
Back of My Hand
She Saw Me Coming
Biggest Mistake
This Place Is Empty
Oh no, Not You AgainDangerous Beauty
Laugh, I Nearly Died
Sweet Neo ConLook What the Cat Dragged In
Driving Too Fast
Infamy
** Sweet Neo Con and Driving Too Fast are borderline, I wouldn't be too upset if those were also removed as well.
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Palace Revolution 2000
Another thing about ABB is - there are not enough acoustic guitars on the album.
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retired_dog
Voodoo is not the album it could have been. It suffers severely from the fact that both songwriters used their best material for their then recent solo albums, Main Offender and Wandering Spirit.
For saving ABB, in my fantasy world a much more radical approach than what is proposed here by other posters is required:
Cut it down to a single album, include Under The Radar, Blue and replace Streets Of Love with Old Habits Die Hard to have a decent ballad. And turn the demo-like sounding, one-dimensional Back Of My Hand into something more interesting by adding the electric coda from the live version.
I have always thought the only way to save ABB would be to make it a 7" ; Under The Radar being on the A-side and some kind of outtake being side B. Or perhaps a 12" 45RPM with 4 songs, if being more diplomatic.
But; I like your idea, at least if they didn't brickwall the sound as they did.
By including Blue and Old Habits Die Hard.....perfect 45 RPM, I do think that would be the most perfect option. But what could be the 4th song? Hmmmmmm.....I know; Careless Ethiopians !
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retired_dog
Your approach is even more radical than mine... That's probably because you may be a bit (a lot?) younger than me - as we all know, old white men tend to be more ahem/hustle... conservative, what in this case means that I tried to save the album while you prefer to destroy it entirely and build something entirely new from its ruins/ashes.
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retired_dog
And for everyone who likes the album as it is - I totally respect your opinions [....] I feel that certain recent albums or better certain tracks on "modern era" Stones albums are not exactly "Stones-worthy" to say it mildly[...]
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IrelandCalling4
I have always loved it, and 14 years later still listen to it. Too long, of course, and the three I leave from my ipod "A Better Bang" are NeoCon, Driving too Fast, and Infamy.
ABB contains some excellent tracks - Laugh, I Nearly Died, Biggest Mistake, It Won't Take Long (took me a long time to appreciate this one; was always a skipper, then one day it simply made perfect sense), Rain Fall Down, This Place is Empty, Dangerous Beauty, Rough Justice..
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Rockman
And it won't take long to forget you
...…………
Love the sheeeeeer brutality of the lyrics and drive of thee guitars… YEAH …..
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buttons67
a bigger bang wasnt the only thing from 1997.
we had 4 songs in 2002, and weve been drip fed songs through the last 3 decades that didnt appear on albums officially.
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VoodooLounge13
I'd been looking for this post myself! Thanks for resurrecting it franzk!! So no two of us will agree on what should or shouldn't have made the album, and to go along with the debate on the HD thread about wanting more songs, what is great to one is crap to another and vice versa. For instance, I think Driving Too Fast is one of the best songs on the album, and Infamy was fantastic live, though the studio album does seem to lack some of the live version's energy.
If I had to carve out some, I'd remove:
Sweet Neo Con (MJ's worst political song)
Streets of Love
and I'd relegate Look What The Cat Dragged In to the Japanese bonus track.
Otherwise, it's not that bad of an album, though it was the first time I listened to it the other day in years. It's actually a great drum album and Charlie is prominently heard on it, which I think is great!!
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franzk
Before we get the new album I decided to refresh A Bigger Bang which I haven't listened for a while. My impression is that it aged suprisingly well. Great energy, a lot of great songs (wish they had played Let Me Down Slow and Biggest Mistake live), a lot of great vibe altough the production is pretty "dry" and instrumentation quite basic.
The only thing is that to me A Bigger Bang should've ended with Laugh I Nearly Die. All tracks after that sound like fillers. Alternatively it could be listed as:
Rough Justice
Let Me Down Slow
It Won't Take Long
Rain Fall Down
Streets Of Love
Back Of My Hand
She Saw Me Coming
Biggest Mistake
This Place Is Empty
Oh No, Not You Again
Dangerous Beauty
Laugh, I Nearly Died
BONUS TRACKS
Sweet Neo Con
Look What The Cat Dragged In
Driving Too Fast
Infamy