Is it Exile on Main St? No! It is not Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed or Sticky Fingers? NO!

Can you draw a comparision? Perhap's. Although I would say no. As it contains only 3 of the origial member's compared to Bridges.

It is a different era, different circumstrances, different personel.

So How do you rate this in the canon of Stones Music?


Keith on Vodoo said he forsaw 'another golden era coming'. I think this album began the golden era continuing all the way up till the latest release of Shine a Light. The B2B Tour was amazing. So was the 40 Licks Tour, with the diversity of setlists & ABB as well.

But my main focus here is the actual album.

I do believe it is stronger and more original than anything they have done in 20 yrs. ( I.m.h.o. )

The licks & riffs are crisp, adventerous delving into a whole new sound and texture. I belive all the songs are incredible, tight and fresh.

They played so many songs from this album live, which I beleive shows how they felt about the material.

Were they sitting one on one writing these songs?, Not per say. But Keith took the reigns w/ Was for overseeing the entire development of the tracks and production to ensure a seemless sound.

I would have to rate this a classic for the Stones.

Just listening you can hear the songwriting was top-notch.

The other thing I would like to add is I really love the artwork, with the special slip cover going around the cd. The lryic's are great! And we Get 3 Keef songs. 2 of which are forever classic's. T.I.T.N & H.C.I.S?

10!

It never grow's old to me.

"Well my heavy throbbers itchin' just to lay a solid rhythm down"

It's an experimental album for me. Good try. "Always Suffering", "Too Tight" and "Saint Of Me", oh don't forget "Already Over Me" are strong. The rest is weird, but also good...

If it was released not as an regular album but underground bootleged session, it would be the most wanted Stones bootleg ever. IMHO. Sounds good :-)

And a funny thing, long time ago my friend (in love with hip-hop) lost his iPod. Luckily for him, I found it. And played with it a while (I was going to buy myself one, too)... Then suddenly realised he's got about 20 polish crap rap albums and... Bridges to Babylon.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-05-29 23:40 by Amused.

I totally agree with you about this one!!!

I love this album, especially the tracks that Don Was produced, they sound so raw and funky. When I first bought the album I was a bit unsure about it, but it soon became one of my favorite Stones albums.

I used to play it a lot in the Video store that I managed for a while, and so many people would ask about it in a positive way. It always seemed to attract peoples attention.

If you are going to revisit the record, pay attention to Low Down. It is the forgotten gem on the record.

One song everyone seems to like except me is Saint OF Me. I have never cared for it.

cbtaco19, lyrics?

Saint Paul the persecutor
Was a cruel and sinful man
Jesus hit him with a blinding light
And then his life began
I said yeah
I said yeah

Augustin knew temptation
He loved women, wine and song
And all the special pleasures
Of doing something wrong
I said yeah
I said yeah

I said yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah
You'll never make a saint of me
Oh yeah, oh yeah
You'll never make a saint of me

Almost classic Stones!

Hate to spoil the party here, but I remember Bridges to Babylon came out the same day as Dylan's Time Out Of Mind. I loved Anybody Seen My Baby and thought Bridges would be great .... I wound up listening to it with a feeling that I was listening to a half-baked Jagger solo album with some mediocre Keith tracks thrown in. The experimentation sounded like very expensive studio gloss thrown in to mask the fact that almost all the songs were plain weak. It's not one I ever listen to.

Then I played Time Out Of Mind and that was a masterpiece which highlighted just how lame the new Stones offering actually was.

Sorry. Always got to be one killjoy, right?

With only 10 songs it would have been one of the S Stones big five best albums

What surprised me is how well SOME of the songs transferred to the stage. Out Of Control which is so so on the album turned into a real jam. Switch rocked. I even liked the one time they tried Lowdown and Gunface. But Anybody seen my Baby never seemed to come off live but then I didnt care for the song anyway.

Well,it's realy a shame but "Gunface" was never played live!

It´s just OK in my book. The songs worked better live. Out of control is nothing special on the album, but it was great live and on No security.

Excellent LP, brimming with ideas and experimentation. It’s the last release where they were really trying and pushing boundaries. They sounded quite modern and contemporary. It’s a record very much in tune with other releases of that time.

Saint Of Me, Out Of Control and How Can I Stop? Are wonderful songs - up there with some of the supposed classics IMO.

Quote
Big Al
They sounded quite modern and contemporary. It’s a record very much in tune with other releases of that time.

Maybe this is the reason I don´t like it really.

Personally, I thought it was a great album, although Q magazine were a bit more reserved:

Andrew Smith of the Sunday Times thought the album was nothing less than a classic:

Quote
jigsawp
Well,it's realy a shame but "Gunface" was never played live!

You're right of course. I was thinking of "Juiced" at MSG. Wou've liked to hear then try it ,though!

I've always like Bridges To Babylon. It sounds great. It has a similar sonic element to it that Let It Bleed has - a crispness yet still heavy (Emotional Rescue has a similar sound as well). It makes Voodoo Lounge sound tired and long. For some reason, when compared to each other for me, Voodoo sounds terrible. The sound that is. Songwise I like most of Voodoo but some of it is a bit too slow. Bridges seems to have cleared that up in some places. I love this album and it's in their top 10 for sure with me.

Flip The Switch - fantastic song. Rip-roaring Stones - this song MOVES. I wish it would have stayed in the setlists for Licks and Bang.

Anybody Seen My Baby? - I love this tune. Very polished, it reminds me of being in a city at night with shiny leather on for some reason.

Low Down - The return of Keith playing with that open-G A key lumbering riff. This is similar to Love Is Strong only it moves, it's a more tight chunk than LIS and has possibly a more inventive chorus (LIS sounds like THE STONES). Wish I could have heard this live.

Already Over Me - How come this wasn't released as a single? One of their better ballads over the years but also, maybe, a little over the top with Mick's lyrics. Musically it's a masterpiece I think.

Gunface - This could have been left off or issued as a B-side.

You Don't Have to Mean It - This is the pure genius of Keith Richards. Brilliant song, excellent feel, it swings, it croons, it sings. I love this tune. How could someone not like this song?

Out of Control - Very cool. The slinky Stones are back. And that version on No Security is even better. I also liked the edit version. This is, to me, a good kicking song that has the essence of say Time Waits For No One or Can You Hear The Music or even Worried About You or Slave - it just kind of goes off into this weird atmosphere.

Saint of Me - This one seems a bit overdone but it kicks.

Might as Well Get Juiced - I like the idea but this could have been left off.

Always Suffering - Maybe if Mick had better lyrics this one would be good. Great guitar licks by Keith in this one. Otherwise it's just filler.

Too Tight - For some reason I like this one. It also reminds me of something from Undercover for some reason. The guitar solo in this one is bland and pedestrian (as one music review put it) otherwise this is one of the more tuneful tunes of the album that also kicks.

Thief in the Night - This is incredible. Great reggae licks thrown in to another slinky groove that steams, hisses and smokes its way through a foggy night. I've always loved this track and on No Security it's fantastic. Great guitar lines in it, beautiful harmonies. How could this one be topped?

How Can I Stop - It only makes sense that it's THIS one that tops Thief. Goddamn. This might be the best song in quite sometime. I love Keith's soft side, as this album shows, and this is just an excellent song.

B-side Anyway You Look At It - A pretty guitar song but a bit sappy maybe?

One of my all-time if not least favorites. Doesn't even come close to Voodoo Lounge or Bigger Bang.

Great album. Such an rough and angry collection of songs. Out of Control is EXACTLY what the modern-day Stones should be writing and recording. Saint of Me also is a great template for them to go by. Love the sound...I can never describe what it is about B2B that sounds just so great. It's crisp...very fresh and very easy on the ears to delvier good rock and roll.

Flip The Switch doesn't it do it for me...weak lyrics for the most part. A bit of a wasted riff because of it. Anybody Seen My Baby..no thanks. The first of Mick trying to be too hip for the Stones. This song eventually gave us Key To My Love and then Rain Fall Down.

Gunface, as much as many people hate it--I love. Smart song. Something about the combination of those notes that seem very right. I don't know what sound Mick was trying to emulate there but it sounded VERY modern and very un-Stones like--yet it sounded VERY Stonesy. The outro with the piercing slide by Ronnie almost tells you "See...I TOLD you this is a good song!" But it ends just as you're really getting into it.

The two ending Keith ballads...I mean come on. Can it get any better than that? Out of all of Keith's ballads/after hours songs...these two should have been the only ones made. "This Place Is Empty" is a stepbrother to these songs. Close but no cigar. The outro to "How Can I Stop" exquisite. THIS is how they should let Charlie shine.

There was something great about this album. Strong album, in my eyes. ABB was too shiny and polished (some good songs though). The sound on B2B had a personality of its own.

Soundwise this is a great album... The same league as Tattoo, It's Only R'n'R, Black And Blue... great studio recordings. Only miss Bill Wyman's bass!

B2B is one of those I keep spinning. It is so great.

Not sure if anyone else feels this way but personally I find that if you view the last three albums (especially Bridges) as collections of songs instead of albums with good continuity you will enjoy them more. My theory is that they have thought for the last three albums that it might be the last one so they try to cover all the bases. Do a fast rocker, a slow ballad, a countryish song, a bluesy song etc..

The last three albums seem to jump all over the place instead of having the continuity of an older album. That's not to say they aren't good they are just different. I think BTB has a bunch of underrated gems including Too Tight, Always Suffering and Already Over Me.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-05-31 04:10 by FrankM.

OUt of control. The best stones song since start me up came out.superb. and even better live, i just wished they play it more.

The 1997' Stones were the coolest since 1983 to date. The album was good, not great but they were on fire that year.

I think with age, experience and experiences that doing different styles, genres, what have yous, of music, songs, is a must after 40 years (or however long, a long time). Goats Head Soup doesn't really have any FAST songs on it but Silver Train does thump - but nothing like Flip The Switch or Rip This Joint or Bitch or Jumpin' Jack Flash or Lies etc...I would consider Goats Head Soup a somewhat slow album, a mellow album, as is IORR in a hazy way.

I think it goes beyond the styles too, on Bridges - it's such different THINGS going on within the tunes as well. Voodoo is almost one dimensional, (Moon Is Up, Brand New Car and Suck On The Jugular possibly being the good monkey wrenches) where as Bridges or even Undercover and maybe Emotional Rescue have such different sounds and things and speeds and genres going on to make them, the albums, a bit different.

Some Girls too, that has lots of different styles going on.

They all do to some extent but overall vibe wise those albums, Soup, Roll, Blue - they have a similar vibe running throughout the whole album. Bridges and the like seem to be a bit off that path. If that makes sense. That's how I hear it anyway.