Quote
Hairball

Quote
KRiffhard

Quote
z
Daily Mail

"They were experimenting in the studio earlier this year, and everything just gelled. They ended up with around 15 tracks which they have cut down to album-length, and when the label execs heard it they were thrilled"

Quite different than what georgelicks said just last week:

"The band is still working on the album, at least 12 new songs were recorded during the past 18 months but it looks as some of the material lacks 'focus on it',
people at Universal talked about some good stuff and some uneven songs. There's no pressure at all to get the thing ready and done yet, maybe we can get a new single released
during the early fall, that's the rumour in Universal. Today, June 23, chances for the album released this year is 70/30 NO, it was 50/50 in April so we can do the maths..."

I put more weight in what georgelicks has to say than whatever the Daily Mail has to say which is usually 10% fact and 90% fantasy.
The only sentence that might be true in from the Daily Mail is "They were experimenting in the studio earlier this year", but with their track record you have to even question that.

Quote
KRiffhard

Quote
Hairball

Quote
KRiffhard

Quote
z
Daily Mail

"They were experimenting in the studio earlier this year, and everything just gelled. They ended up with around 15 tracks which they have cut down to album-length, and when the label execs heard it they were thrilled"

Quite different than what georgelicks said just last week:

"The band is still working on the album, at least 12 new songs were recorded during the past 18 months but it looks as some of the material lacks 'focus on it',
people at Universal talked about some good stuff and some uneven songs. There's no pressure at all to get the thing ready and done yet, maybe we can get a new single released
during the early fall, that's the rumour in Universal. Today, June 23, chances for the album released this year is 70/30 NO, it was 50/50 in April so we can do the maths..."

I put more weight in what georgelicks has to say than whatever the Daily Mail has to say which is usually 10% fact and 90% fantasy.
The only sentence that might be true in from the Daily Mail is "They were experimenting in the studio earlier this year", but with their track record you have to even question that.

I hope it's true that "people at Universal" are 'thrilled' about new songs!

Quote
Shott
Crosseyed Heart is the most unified, imaginative, and emotionally compelling record since Exile. Best song is Nothing on me.

Quote
Hairball

Quote
KRiffhard

Quote
Hairball

Quote
KRiffhard

Quote
z
Daily Mail

"They were experimenting in the studio earlier this year, and everything just gelled. They ended up with around 15 tracks which they have cut down to album-length, and when the label execs heard it they were thrilled"

Quite different than what georgelicks said just last week:

"The band is still working on the album, at least 12 new songs were recorded during the past 18 months but it looks as some of the material lacks 'focus on it',
people at Universal talked about some good stuff and some uneven songs. There's no pressure at all to get the thing ready and done yet, maybe we can get a new single released
during the early fall, that's the rumour in Universal. Today, June 23, chances for the album released this year is 70/30 NO, it was 50/50 in April so we can do the maths..."

I put more weight in what georgelicks has to say than whatever the Daily Mail has to say which is usually 10% fact and 90% fantasy.
The only sentence that might be true in from the Daily Mail is "They were experimenting in the studio earlier this year", but with their track record you have to even question that.

I hope it's true that "people at Universal" are 'thrilled' about new songs!

Same here KRiffhard, I was just pointing out all the different rumours swirling about, and how they can differ from one source to the next.

Quote
stone4ever
It can only be jealousy because its an astounding comeback from the great man, when everyone said he was washed up and couldn't play or write anymore.
Never underestimate Keith, just you wait for this new studio album, its going to be amazing , i just know it.

Quote
LongBeachArena72
Don't feel like re-litigating the past--that was a lot of fun the 1st time around when X-eyed Heart came out--so will try to stay at least a bit on topic.

While its essential charms continue to elude, even mystify me, I can see that there are certain elements of production, of instrumentation, of sound that might translate well to the Supposed Album. I love especially the acoustic guitars on X-eyed; they have such texture. There's a feeling of laid-back space, of territory for the music to play in. The Stones could do much worse than incorporate those elements into the Supposed Album.

I realized in my most recent tour of Keith's record over the past 24 hrs that my major problem with it is that it never quite ... gets there. It's melodies, for example, don't resolve into anything memorable. The grooves begin to tease the mind as if something is going to happen, to turn, to catch you up, but the hooks now elude Keith in the twilight of his years. "Just a Gift," for example, meanders, flirts with something, and only catches any kind of fire once Keith shuts up and the 'thats alright/that's alright' outro kicks in, which is lovely.

(By contrast, Mick's latter-day melodies tend to over-resolve, often in trite or too simple ways. It's almost like as songwriters they have the opposite problems!)

But, again, it seems that X-eyed does offer a way forward for the band. While the prospect of a multimillionaire white boy channeling the music of long-dead black men (most of whom died much younger than he is today, true victims of lives that were 'hard') from the immaculately kept emerald green lawns of his Connecticut estate might seem ridiculous ... still, this is the band's demo now, and it is what made Blue & Lonesome the (relative success it was: the latte-sipping NPR/CBS Sunday Morning crowd. They'll lap up any new Stones record so long as it's marketed as an authentic throwback to their legacy, a credible "branded" roar from these lions in winter.

Quote
georgelicks

Quote
Hairball

Quote
KRiffhard

Quote
z
Daily Mail

"They were experimenting in the studio earlier this year, and everything just gelled. They ended up with around 15 tracks which they have cut down to album-length, and when the label execs heard it they were thrilled"

Quite different than what georgelicks said just last week:

"The band is still working on the album, at least 12 new songs were recorded during the past 18 months but it looks as some of the material lacks 'focus on it',
people at Universal talked about some good stuff and some uneven songs. There's no pressure at all to get the thing ready and done yet, maybe we can get a new single released
during the early fall, that's the rumour in Universal. Today, June 23, chances for the album released this year is 70/30 NO, it was 50/50 in April so we can do the maths..."

I put more weight in what georgelicks has to say than whatever the Daily Mail has to say which is usually 10% fact and 90% fantasy.
The only sentence that might be true in from the Daily Mail is "They were experimenting in the studio earlier this year", but with their track record you have to even question that.

Key people at Universal was surprised with the new stuff, some great songs, classic Stones and all that but also some rare stuff, not typical Rolling Stones material, rare, experimental songs. "Weird beats" was the word.
From inside information, we can expect an updated "Bridges To Babylon" type record.

Quote
Deathgod
Just heard from a mate that new LIVE comp album before Xmas and new album next year

Quote
MisterDDDD

Quote
stone4ever
It can only be jealousy because its an astounding comeback from the great man, when everyone said he was washed up and couldn't play or write anymore.
Never underestimate Keith, just you wait for this new studio album, its going to be amazing , i just know it.

Misspelled "almost no one".

Quote
georgelicks

Quote
Hairball

Quote
KRiffhard

Quote
z
Daily Mail

"They were experimenting in the studio earlier this year, and everything just gelled. They ended up with around 15 tracks which they have cut down to album-length, and when the label execs heard it they were thrilled"

Quite different than what georgelicks said just last week:

"The band is still working on the album, at least 12 new songs were recorded during the past 18 months but it looks as some of the material lacks 'focus on it',
people at Universal talked about some good stuff and some uneven songs. There's no pressure at all to get the thing ready and done yet, maybe we can get a new single released
during the early fall, that's the rumour in Universal. Today, June 23, chances for the album released this year is 70/30 NO, it was 50/50 in April so we can do the maths..."

I put more weight in what georgelicks has to say than whatever the Daily Mail has to say which is usually 10% fact and 90% fantasy.
The only sentence that might be true in from the Daily Mail is "They were experimenting in the studio earlier this year", but with their track record you have to even question that.

Key people at Universal was surprised with the new stuff, some great songs, classic Stones and all that but also some rare stuff, not typical Rolling Stones material, rare, experimental songs. "Weird beats" was the word.
From inside information, we can expect an updated "Bridges To Babylon" type record.

Quote
stone4ever

Quote
MisterDDDD

Quote
stone4ever
It can only be jealousy because its an astounding comeback from the great man, when everyone said he was washed up and couldn't play or write anymore.
Never underestimate Keith, just you wait for this new studio album, its going to be amazing , i just know it.

Misspelled "almost no one".

Almost no one thought he was washed up ? almost everyone who posts on here at the time thought keith was washed up as an artist and as a player.
What are you saying exactly ??

I wonder what happened to a lot of good posters from a while ago, most of the people who were positive about Crosseyed Heart either left, got bored with the negativity, changed their mind about the album, or maybe, like me, they got tired of people like you.

Quote
MisterDDDD

Quote
stone4ever

Quote
MisterDDDD

Quote
stone4ever
It can only be jealousy because its an astounding comeback from the great man, when everyone said he was washed up and couldn't play or write anymore.
Never underestimate Keith, just you wait for this new studio album, its going to be amazing , i just know it.

Misspelled "almost no one".

Almost no one thought he was washed up ? almost everyone who posts on here at the time thought keith was washed up as an artist and as a player.
What are you saying exactly ??

I wonder what happened to a lot of good posters from a while ago, most of the people who were positive about Crosseyed Heart either left, got bored with the negativity, changed their mind about the album, or maybe, like me, they got tired of people like you.

Pull some of the "a lot" quotes of posters saying he was "washed up".. and couldn't play etc.. You won't. Sure, a few posters as negative on Keith as you are on Mick, but basically most here are fans who know better. Show me quotes from more than three posters to prove your point. You won't. Because they don't
exist. Sorry if someone pointing out reality undermines your negative outlook.

Quote
georgelicks

Quote
Hairball

Quote
KRiffhard

Quote
z
Daily Mail

"They were experimenting in the studio earlier this year, and everything just gelled. They ended up with around 15 tracks which they have cut down to album-length, and when the label execs heard it they were thrilled"

Quite different than what georgelicks said just last week:

"The band is still working on the album, at least 12 new songs were recorded during the past 18 months but it looks as some of the material lacks 'focus on it',
people at Universal talked about some good stuff and some uneven songs. There's no pressure at all to get the thing ready and done yet, maybe we can get a new single released
during the early fall, that's the rumour in Universal. Today, June 23, chances for the album released this year is 70/30 NO, it was 50/50 in April so we can do the maths..."

I put more weight in what georgelicks has to say than whatever the Daily Mail has to say which is usually 10% fact and 90% fantasy.
The only sentence that might be true in from the Daily Mail is "They were experimenting in the studio earlier this year", but with their track record you have to even question that.

Key people at Universal was surprised with the new stuff, some great songs, classic Stones and all that but also some rare stuff, not typical Rolling Stones material, rare, experimental songs. "Weird beats" was the word.
From inside information, we can expect an updated "Bridges To Babylon" type record.

Quote
stone4ever

Quote
Shott
Crosseyed Heart is the most unified, imaginative, and emotionally compelling record since Exile. Best song is Nothing on me.

Thank God someone hears CH the way i do.
I just can't believe all this talk of snooze fest etc.
There are nearly 300 pages somewhere on this forum where people were so buzzed by keith's album. Critics, fans even my wife and sons loved it.
I can't believe the way people talk about CH on here. It can only be jealousy because its an astounding comeback from the great man, when everyone said he was washed up and couldn't play or write anymore.
Never underestimate Keith, just you wait for this new studio album, its going to be amazing , i just know it.

Quote
stone4ever
Longbeach said

I realized in my most recent tour of Keith's record over the past 24 hrs that my major problem with it is that it never quite ... gets there. It's melodies, for example, don't resolve into anything memorable. The grooves begin to tease the mind as if something is going to happen, to turn, to catch you up, but the hooks now elude Keith in the twilight of his years. "Just a Gift," for example, meanders, flirts with something, and only catches any kind of fire once Keith shuts up and the 'that's alright/that's alright' outro kicks in, which is lovely.

I know exactly what you mean by this longbeach, and it's something i noticed straight away on my first listen of CH.
What fascinates me is somehow Keith throws away the manual, he defies logic, he manages to disregard certain rules of writing and pulls it off.
He sort of charms his way though songs, these gaps he makes, slight delays and then vocally over emphasizing to disguise missing melodies, it begins to turn out for the better the more you listen, you come to realize the melodies aren't needed.
He doesn't come in when you expect and because he pulls back when you expect more and visa versa is absolute genius, because in the long run instead of the songs becoming predictable and boring they start to make their own timeless quirky sort of sense. I can't say if its laziness from Keith or pure inspiration, i understand that its not for everyone's ears, like some people watching a movie need the film to pan out in a formula that they understand, they don't like to feel awkward or shut out by the movie. All i can say is that for the connoisseur Crosseyed Heart keeps getting fresher over time, the same way that Exile did.
Basically the songs don't become boring , they just get better.
Its Jazz.

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Rocky Dijon
It was Norah Jones, not Alicia Keys.

Nice write-up, Hairball. Although for me, it is the least of Keith's three albums.

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Hairball
Regarding Crosseyed Heart, my impression is that it wasn't rocket science, it was put together at his own pace, and it was more of a labor of love than anything else. He tips his hat to several different genres - from acoustic blues, electric blues, reggae, soul, stax, and throws in a blasting tribute to Tom Waits amidst it all without trying to reinvent the wheel. He could have taken the really easy/lazy approach and had special a guest on every song - the same way that some legends have - but instead keeps it minimally produced with one only special guest duet with Norah Jones on the superior Illusion. No need to defend it as everyone has their own tastes, but for me it's a great listening experience that says "STONES" all over it. Easily the best "Stones" album since Tattoo You, and even better than his other solo albums imo. Hope there is some carry over to the new album (as it did production wise with the B&L covers), but with georgelicks saying something about Bridges to Babylon, I fear it will be so far removed from the classiness of Crosseyed Heart that it will sound like another failed attempt at being contemporary.

Quote
LongBeachArena72

Quote
stone4ever
Longbeach said

I realized in my most recent tour of Keith's record over the past 24 hrs that my major problem with it is that it never quite ... gets there. It's melodies, for example, don't resolve into anything memorable. The grooves begin to tease the mind as if something is going to happen, to turn, to catch you up, but the hooks now elude Keith in the twilight of his years. "Just a Gift," for example, meanders, flirts with something, and only catches any kind of fire once Keith shuts up and the 'that's alright/that's alright' outro kicks in, which is lovely.

I know exactly what you mean by this longbeach, and it's something i noticed straight away on my first listen of CH.
What fascinates me is somehow Keith throws away the manual, he defies logic, he manages to disregard certain rules of writing and pulls it off.
He sort of charms his way though songs, these gaps he makes, slight delays and then vocally over emphasizing to disguise missing melodies, it begins to turn out for the better the more you listen, you come to realize the melodies aren't needed.
He doesn't come in when you expect and because he pulls back when you expect more and visa versa is absolute genius, because in the long run instead of the songs becoming predictable and boring they start to make their own timeless quirky sort of sense. I can't say if its laziness from Keith or pure inspiration, i understand that its not for everyone's ears, like some people watching a movie need the film to pan out in a formula that they understand, they don't like to feel awkward or shut out by the movie. All i can say is that for the connoisseur Crosseyed Heart keeps getting fresher over time, the same way that Exile did.
Basically the songs don't become boring , they just get better.
Its Jazz.

I couldn't disagree more ... but I understand where you're coming from, riffie, and, as always, I'm happy for you for the enjoyment you derive from this record and from Keith in general. I get the feeling that Keith means a lot more to you than just the grooves on a record, and that's cool. I don't have that connection to him and so only can listen to him and try to feel/understand based on what I hear.

The jazz I love is improvisatory, and I like to hear it live. As I understand it, Keith's record was cobbled together on tape over a decade ... and he just doesn't have the chops anymore to even play it all the way through through, to say nothing of trying to improvise and explore its themes more fully in a live setting. So, another area we'll have to agree to disagree!

Quote
Hairball
Regarding Crosseyed Heart, my impression is that it wasn't rocket science, it was put together at his own pace, and it was more of a labor of love than anything else. He tips his hat to several different genres - from acoustic blues, electric blues, reggae, soul, stax, and throws in a blasting tribute to Tom Waits amidst it all without trying to reinvent the wheel. He could have taken the really easy/lazy approach and had special a guest on every song - the same way that some legends have - but instead keeps it minimally produced with one only special guest duet with Norah Jones on the superior Illusion. No need to defend it as everyone has their own tastes, but for me it's a great listening experience that says "STONES" all over it. Easily the best "Stones" album since Tattoo You, and even better than his other solo albums imo. Hope there is some carry over to the new album (as it did production wise with the B&L covers), but with georgelicks saying something about Bridges to Babylon, I fear it will be so far removed from the classiness of Crosseyed Heart that it will sound like another failed attempt at being contemporary.