On an earlier post I said I try to ignore Mick's solo efforts. I'm now listening to Mick's solo CD "Goddess," which my (now former) girlfgriend gave me for Christmas a few years ago, but I never listened to much (except occasionally when she was around). What the hell was I thinking? This is actually some good shit. I like it. Am I alone? I know, I know, I'll give her a call, let's at least wait until the CD's over.

agreed. think it's his strongest work yet and holds up well against what stones are doing these days.

Lukester...also track down a copy of Jagger's Blue...found on the B of
God Gave Me Everything or Visions Of Paradice CD single



ROCKMAN

It's a great album. I absolutely love it. Totally underrated.

Rockman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Lukester...also track down a copy of Jagger's
> Blue...found on the B of
> God Gave Me Everything or Visions Of Paradice CD
> single
>
> ROCKMAN


Cool, does it have any guest artists like some of the other tracks?

You like Blue, Rockman?

Rockman, is that Keith in your signature?

Oooh yes me likey a lot...Matt Clifford-William Calhoun & doug Whimbish.





ROCKMAN

Blue is a really cool song. I love Mick's songwriting style and I love Goddess.

Josh
np: child of the moon

I forgot there was a hidden track on the CD


Like the Counting Crows Big Yellw Taxi

but on Mick's I heard this piano dabbling and what sounds like Mick's inaudible conversation.
Scared the shit of me 'til I realized the CD was still going.

Ha ha

lol its better than most stones albums....i love it ....now sparks will fly amongst the stones purist

Blue is the only good one, everything else is garbage!

Goddess is excellent. As a matter of fact, I made some friends, who care nothing for the Stones and Jagger and are into recent stuff only, listen to it, and they really liked it. With a good promotion, it could have hit hard.

To me, the oustanding tracks are the lovely, and so well sung, "Brand new set of rules",

the gorgeous and very well arranged "Don't call me up". I like the fact that, on the verses the chord progression changes while the vocal melody remains constant. I like the chello.

Although I'm not a big fan of the heavy distorted intro to God Gave me everything, Jagger's incredibly feverish and fiery vocals lift the song to great heights. Also love the idea; "I have it all and I don't care, you want it? You have it!"

The modern-sounding Gun and Lucky Day work brilliantly. The structures of both songs are a little messy and it would have been good to make them more compact, but there are a lot of very good sounding breaks, the reggae bit on Lucky Day and the drum&bass bit on Gun work fine with me.

There is something cheesy in Visions of paradise which somehow put me off, but it is a very good song, very well written, great strings, great vocals.

Hide Away is a classic and the RnB-meets-soul works just fine. The one bit that is crap is that spanish guitar, so passé - and oddly it is played by Wyclef!

Too far gone: great lyrics, great vocals, an electrified country ballad from one the masters of country rock.

Dancing in the starlight: fabulous arrangements - but something over the top in both the lyrics and the nasal vocal delivery. The nice melody makes it easy to swallow, however.

And finally, the two ones I don't like:
The title track is full of good ideas, that indian back vocal, the growl on "How much?", but the melody is just so cheap and the lyrics are terrible, and this time the song-structure really goes nowhere. The most ambitious track and this time, Jagger seems to have gone out of his depth. Sounds like a techno-space remix on Subterranean Homesick blues.

Joy is absurd and Bono's voice is too ugly anyway, poor asthmatic soul.

Blue is beter than anything else on Goddess!

It's ok. But not even close to wandering Spirit

Wandering Spirit and Goddess are so different, I find it pointless to compare them. However, there is a strong point in favour of Goddess: Spirit is a collection of great songs which would all have been truly great if played by the stones. Goddess could not have been a stones' album.
To me, Wandering is a lost opportunity due to the Glimmer Twins' war. Goddess is an achievment on its own terms.

I like a lot Joy, God Gave Me Everything, Goddess In The Doorway, Lucky Day, Everybody Gettin' High (That one could have been a fantastic Stones song, a great - really great - concert opener), Gun and, lately, Brand New Set Of Rules (way better that Streets Of Love, though the hook of the latter is more effective). I think also that the drummer, Ian Thomas, is really good. What I don't like in this record is the production: A Bigger Bang or - of course - Wandering Spirit are much better produced... I especially dislike Marti Friederiksen's production, while Chris Potter's one sounds ok to me.

"got to be worked on
don't have no bark nor bite..."

An excellent album, better than Voodoo Lounge I'd say. Sometimes I prefer it to Wandering Spirit, sometimes not but they are clearly the best two solo albums.
Personally i think the title track and Joy are two of the best numbers, along with 'God GME'

I'm sorry, I heard it and find it very boring. I was very disappointed cause I like "Wandering Spirit" which is a great album. "Primitive Cool" and "She the Boss" are also quite good.

I appreciate otenneau's review.
I also am no big fan of "Visions of Paradise". Again, it is a well ctafed song, the melodies are strong, not cheap. But there is something off putting about it. I do however like that overdub Jagger does: that weird half-percussion thing when the song picks up a bit.
"Joy" I go back and forth. I don't like the Bono thing. Too obvious. Anmd I am also very very tired of Bono.
"Dancing In the Starlight" is my fav eof the album. reminds me of Chi Lites. Just a great sappy song. Over the top and all.
"Hideaway" I loathe. When I hear it I realize it is not a shabby song; it is that awful prodcution with that bull-island kind of feel. It is like the Jimmy Buffet kind of Florida feel. Terrible.
Brand new set of Rules" I used to like a lot. Nowadays it reminds me very much of ABB. It is typical of today's Jagger who will wear his heart on his sleeve everyu once ina while. But with Jagger you always wonder is it calculated?
"Gun" I like a lot. "God gave Me Everythign" too.
"Getting High" reminds me of "Put me in the Trash" in so far as everyone will say "Oh it is the obvious Stones track". When the Stones are no more that. It is Jagger going through some motion that misfires.
"Lucky day" and that other ballad before "Rules" are allright.
"Goddess" is very good. Now that one I think sounds like it belongs on a 90's Stones album. It is the one that would gte all the writeups about a tribute to Brian etc.
Goddess is the "Other" great Jagger solo album. Both Spirit and Goddess are excellent. On "Boss" and "Cool' he was lost.

"...no longer shall you trudge 'cross my peaceful mind."

Wild Slivovitz Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> I like a lot Joy, God Gave Me Everything, Goddess
> In The Doorway, Lucky Day, Everybody Gettin' High
> (That one could have been a fantastic Stones song,
> a great - really great - concert opener), Gun and,
> lately, Brand New Set Of Rules (way better that
> Streets Of Love, though the hook of the latter is
> more effective). I think also that the drummer,
> Ian Thomas, is really good. What I don't like in
> this record is the production: A Bigger Bang or -
> of course - Wandering Spirit are much better
> produced... I especially dislike Marti
> Friederiksen's production, while Chris Potter's
> one sounds ok to me.
>

It's strange how different we are. Apart from "Lucky Day" (which is good), all the song you mentioned as great, I find awful. The ones you didn't mention, I like.
I'm not saying you are wrong, only that we have the exact opposite taste.

I like Jagger's solo efforts. Don't be too quick to criticize "well crafted" songs....they are not that easy to come by. Goddess was fine by me.

Tops Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> It's ok. But not even close to wandering Spirit


Definitely.

Anyway, here's Blue for you, the best song that's not even on the damn album:


[s63.yousendit.com]

have y'all gone stark raving mad? Dogshit in the Doorway is just that. Blue would have raised the bar a bit, but that's all. Even the already-forgotten Alfie soundtrack finds a much more enjoyable solo Jagger....

T&A Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> have y'all gone stark raving mad? Dogshit in the
> Doorway is just that. Blue would have raised the
> bar a bit, but that's all. Even the
> already-forgotten Alfie soundtrack finds a much
> more enjoyable solo Jagger....


hated goddess. What crap to follow up the excellent Wandering spirit. Very disappointing.

It was an ok album but his time would have been better spent working with the Stones on new material then we would be talking about two good cds since B2B and not just one.

All Mick's solo albums SUCK. Blue was okay. They should be erased fom history 1984 style. He should also keep his candy ass production ideas away from the Stones albums, too.

Blue is the best song. I don't really like the sound of the album Goddess. There is too much on some songs, too boombastic sort of... Just like the song Streets Of Love sounds (terrible... no real Stones guitarsound). I like the sound of Wandering Spirit more, more down to earth, really hard-hitting.
And I don't agree that Wandering would be better if it was made by the Stones-hands. I always listened to it as a Mick Jagger album, never as a "supposed to be" a Stones album.
Though, one song could be a real Stones song, rhythm wise/melody wise: Out Of Focus... it reminds me a bit of Tumbling Dice... Both great songs. But Out Of Focus is Mick Jagger, not Stones.

Wandering stands on it's own. If one would compare it to the Stones work, it would be standing side by side to Sticky Fingers, Exile, Bigger Bang, Steel Wheels, Let It Bleed, Voodoo Lounge, Goat's Head Soup, Some Girls, Emotional Rescue... well, it's just a really great album in my opinion!

Wandering next to Sticky/Exile?? What are you smoking?

Got to roll me. . . .

Hehe... I just like this album a lot!

I like Goddes. God Gave Me Everything, Gun, Joy and specially Everybody Is Getting High are great songs. The rest is ok. I love EIGH, great intro, great chorus, funny lyrics and good guitar playing. I kinda wish it was a Stones song too.

I love this album. I was so PO'd it didn't get any Grammy nods. It's fantastic. A perfect album. It should've sold many more copies. EVERYONE who has heard it that I know love it. I have so many friends who are my age (21-ish) who bought it when it came out even though they knew little from the Stones. Visions of Paradise could've been a big hit if VH1 and MTV weren't a bunch of asses and actually played his videos, or videos in general. To this day my God Gave Me Everything is also put on a playlist for parties that I go to, even other ppl's parties. It's a kickass song from a kickass album.