This CD has been pilloried by some IORR members, and I don't understand why.

I've got it playing right now, and the first three songs are powerful -- they jump out at you.

Is that what bothers some people? It is LOUD, yes. For better or worse, that's how modern recordings are produced, so there it is. These are designed to be heard in car players and portable players, not on a standard home stereo system.

For the conservatives, this is anathema, but that's just the way it is. Did you expect the Stones to somehow turn back the clock? That's not the way they operate. You folks should know better.

The majority of the forum members, AFAIK, actually like this album. Did it sell well? I don't care. Do I still listen to it? Yes.

I like it a lot, too.

i like the production. its raw and rocking!
but i still think they should have cut it down to 9 or 10 songs. its too long and therefore it has some mediocre songs (and not to forget the terryfing SNC) on it.

like this it would have been a great and not only a good album (for me):

rough justice
let me down slow
it wont take long
rain fall down
back of my hand
this place is empty
oh no not you again
laugh i nearly...
infamy

ABB is excellent.

If ABB had been the debut release of a young 20 something band it would have been hailed as the next big thing, Grammy Award, etc..

Quite agree. That's exactly what I always say too ;^)

I like the album a lot [though as mentioned above...I don't believe the Stones are well served by typical modern producton and mastering techniques.]

YEAH it's a THANG.....

If Won't Take don't buckle ya
then make plans for da retirement village...It'll singe ya.....



ROCKMAN

It's a f*cking beast of an album with some killer songs (though I, too, believe they should have trimmed it down to around 12-13 songs - and given out the rest as b-sides)

Oh, and it did not do too badly in the today's market place either ;-)

Most of ABB is rubbish..,pure and simple. They haven't made a really good album since Tatoo You, a great one since Some Girls

luxury man Wrote:
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> Most of ABB is rubbish..,pure and simple. They
> haven't made a really good album since Tatoo You,
> a great one since Some Girls


Are simple things always rubbish? A Ford-car isn't that styled and expensively constructed as a Daimler is...but is a Ford rubbish then? No, it also gets you from A to B.
So it is with A Bigger Bang. Maybe there aren't complex songs like Can't You Hear Me Knocking on Sticky Fingers or so but there are a lot of really great songs. Remember Rough Justice...it sounded perfectly placed in 2006, when they played it between Miss You and Start Me Up...just like an old classic.
BTW, is Start Me Up not pure and simple? Or Satisfaction? Or Brown Sugar? Or...

The organic sound is refreshing in this time of electronic music and overproduced popmusic. And it is mostly just Mick and Keith alone, so sort of back to the days of their youth. from that perspective it interests me. but I have to admit that I do not play it that much compared to my favorite albums.
I read somewhere that Mick sat on the drums while Charlie was absent.And Mick plays slide too so hats of too Mick. But in the end the album lacks really good songs, it is all a bit mediocre material. But with the Stones that still makes for a fine album.
We must hold the Stones too very high standards lol keeps them on their toes.

Will always be in my heart cuz it was the first stones album I bought the very same day it was released. When B2b came out I was 12..Me and my friend immediately loved ABB, it was first choice for our parties!
Now, 2 years and so later, still love it. Rough Justice, Rain fall down, back of my hand, this place is empty are classics.

deadegad Wrote:
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> ABB is excellent.
>
> If ABB had been the debut release of a young 20
> something band it would have been hailed as the
> next big thing, Grammy Award, etc..

I totally agree with yuo

ciao

bardo

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
..five strings, three notes, two fingers, one @#$%&..

take a look at my RS tribute band:
[www.stickyfingers.it]

[www.facebook.com]

...it's ok, but I haven't played it in almost a year.....too much other good stuff to listen to

Like many, my ideal BB would be about 10 songs and 40 odd minutes so if it were the length of a 70s album it would rank as one of their best for me.

What's interesting though is that people always pick a differnt mix for their 10 songs so it's as well we've got the 16 really. (Under the Radar should really have been included in the main CD too.) For example, I like Sweet Neocon while thinking Keith's two are his weakest ever songs, (other than the aptly titled Losing My Touch), and I wouldn't include either of them but that's just me.

Yes, overall I think it's a very good album.

farawayeyes2 Wrote:
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> Will always be in my heart cuz it was the first
> stones album I bought the very same day it was
> released. When B2b came out I was 12..Me and my
> friend immediately loved ABB, it was first choice
> for our parties!
> Now, 2 years and so later, still love it. Rough
> Justice, Rain fall down, back of my hand, this
> place is empty are classics.

My first buy was Undercover, still an underrated album but for me a favourite. It has a lot in common with ABB actually if you look at the type of songs on both albums

Jochem Wrote:
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> My first buy was Undercover, still an underrated
> album but for me a favourite. It has a lot in
> common with ABB actually if you look at the type
> of songs on both albums


The best songs on Undercover (the title track, She Was Hot, Too Much Blood) are way better than the better songs on ABB. The problem with ABB are the songs, generic material with awful lyrics. When I hear Undecover, I think in an album with a year of work, great guitar work, amazing bass lines, great lyrics and a whole band playing. When I hear ABB, I think in a demo album, almost a Mick solo record, generic guitar playing (I can't say who's playing what on almost every song), a non existant bass (thanks to the protools you hear it boombing but that's computer work) and a quick product to tour.
Still, about half of the album is almost decent.

In the post-TATTOO YOU period, generally thought of as the point where they lost something creatively, I would rank Stones discs and solo Glimmer Twins as follows:

1. VOODOO LOUNGE
2. BRIDGES TO BABYLON
3. WANDERING SPIRIT
4. MAIN OFFENDER
5. TALK IS CHEAP
6. PRIMITIVE COOL
7. UNDERCOVER
8. DIRTY WORK
9. STEEL WHEELS
10.A BIGGER BANG
11.SHE'S THE BOSS

"A Bigger Bang" is their best album since "Tattoo You", in my opinion.

I don't get why so many people around here dislike it. I think it's a great rock and roll album. Much more agressive and high-energy than their last albums and I love its production and loud sound. It's much more "in-your-face" and I dig that.

deadegad Wrote:
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> ABB is excellent.
>
> If ABB had been the debut release of a young 20
> something band it would have been hailed as the
> next big thing, Grammy Award, etc..


Yup. I agree.

JumpingKentFlash

How on earth can Dirty Work EVER be higher in a rating than ABB????

Baffles me......

I think there are some real gems on this album and agree that if had been released years ago, it would've been more popular...just like some of their other more recent work (and Mick's solo stuff)

ablett Wrote:
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> How on earth can Dirty Work EVER be higher in a
> rating than ABB????
>
> Baffles me......


Quick answer: One Hit To The Body

Nothing on ABB comes close to that awesome track.

I agree. One Hit is an awesome tune, but as a whole ABB is much better.

Well let's see...

DIRTY WORK gets a solid 75% from me.

1.One Hit to the Body [great guitars, awful drums, disappointing vocals]
2.Fight [worst song on the album; guitar solo repeated from Too Tough]
3.Harlem Shuffle [always loved the studio version; live versions sucked]
4.Hold Back [great instrumental break at the end; otherwise horrible]
5.Too Rude [classic]
6.Winning Ugly [better than I used to think]
7.Back to Zero [better than I used to think; great bridge]
8.Dirty Work [one of the highlights]
9.Had It With You [classic]
10.Sleep Tonight [classic]

A BIGGER BANG gets a solid 70% from me
1.Rough Justice [embarrassing lyrics, musically lacking spark]
2.Let Me Down Slow [great chorus, some good lines, decent vocal]
3.It Won't Take Long [great lyrics, musically lacking spark]
4.Rain Fall Down [good groove and lyrics; a highlight]
5.Streets of Love [some good lines can't redeem this piece of schlock]
6.Back of My Hand [decent blues but overrated]
7.She Saw Me Coming [above average]
8.Biggest Mistake [classic]
9.This Place is Empty [some good lines can't elevate this enough]
10.ONNYA [retread of When the Whip Comes Down w/embarrassing lyrics]
11.Dangerous Beauty [classic]
12.Laugh I Nearly Died [classic]
13.Sweet Neo Con [good groove marred by embarrassing lyrics]
14.Look What the Cat Dragged In [above average]
15.Driving Too Fast [better than many, but not quite up to par]
16.Infamy [struggling to be above average]
17.Don't Wanna Go Home [see Driving Too Fast]
18.Under the Radar [classic]

I think the weak part of DW is the middle, the trio Too Rude/Winning Ugly/Back To Zero is weak, I would replace Too Rude with Baby You're Too Much, Winning Ugly with Strictly Memphis and Back To Zero with What I'm Gonna Do With Your Love. That's a great record.

One Hit is not a great track! It's stodgy, hardly swings and Jagger just shouts....

Yeah, but it gets by on some good and nasty guitar playing ;^)

ABB is a better album than Dirty Work..we sure could like one or the other more for many reasons, but to be objective is better ABB..

Rocky Dijon Wrote:
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> Well let's see...
>
> DIRTY WORK gets a solid 75% from me.
> 2.Fight [worst song on the album; guitar solo repeated from Too Tough]

I think thats the best song on the album - great nasty guitar work by Keith - and it's always been my fave.

Agree with the rest though.

Peace

I have always liked A Bigger Bang too and would rate it as their best since TATOO YOU. NO MATTER WHAT SOMEONE IS GONNA BITCH. If you dig it like I do, then play it. If not pawn it off or let it collect dust.