"I thought at least if we had some different producers, we would stand a chance of not sounding exactly the same on every track" - Mick Jagger
On this album, in contrast to Voodoo Lounge, which had seen The Stones revisit sounds from their previous two decades, they decided to utilise a few contemporary musicians and production assistants. They used tape loops, samples, drum enhancement and the like. Quite why you need drum enhancement when you have Charlie Watts is unclear. It is still a rock-ish album but these differences make it a slightly different album to listen to, as opposed to more of the same.
For some, though, it seemed The Stones couldn't win - the same style would have brought accusations of "the same old formula", whereas dabbling in contemporary sounds had people saying "why don't they just stick to what they know best?". Either way, it is a pleasurable listen, although like Voodoo Lounge and A Bigger Bang it is probably one or two tracks too long. There is a big, thumping, full bass sound to the album which is good to hear, although at times the cymbal sound is a bit tinny, notably on Low Down. It is overridden by the full bass though.
You'll never make a saint of me....
Flip The Switch is a storming, drum-driven rocker to open with, featuring a great "proper" drum intro from Charlie and a superb Keith Richards riff. It really gets the album off to a rousing start. Apparently it was The Stones' fastest-tempo song since 1965's She Said Yeah.
There are also some soulful, atmospheric and brooding numbers, like the shuffling, bassy and sensually percussive Anybody Seen My Baby?, with its Fingerprint File-style vocal, afore-mentioned great bass and killer chorus. It has a real soulfulness and noir mystery to its vibe and a slightly-muffled rap near the end. The Stones first use of rap? I think so. Correct me if I'm wrong. The song was a cover, a kd lang song.Low Down is archetypal riffy, slow burning Stones rock with another hook that reels you in on first hearing. Yes, they can trot this sort of thing out in their sleep, but they are none the worse for it. Already Over Me is one of those laid-back Jagger rock ballads he does so well. As with most of the songs on here, it has an instant refrain. It is very reminiscent of Jagger's solo material and also of Rain Fall Down that would appear on 2005's A Bigger Bang album.
A rumbling, slightly menacing, industrial number, Gunface was apparently inspired by a cheated-on husband arriving at The Stones' recording studio back in 1978 looking for Richards who was in bed with his wife. It is said they escaped, naked, out of a window and into surrounding undergrowth. Don't you just love that Stones mythology? Check the deep, rubbery bass on it to. Good track. It is actually one of the album's unsung heroes.
Keith's horn-driven reggae on You Don't Have To Mean It is as convincing a piece of upbeat white reggae as you will find. It is joyfully breezy but in that way it is a bit at odds with the rest of the album. It's just so lovable, however, isn't it? Out Of Control has a superb rock hook but also a rhythmic, contemporary tinge to the sound. All muddy and mysterious. Some great blues harmonica turns up on it too along with some funky keyboards. One of the album's best tracks here.
The addictive concert singalong number Saint Of Me with its glorious hook is just as appealing. Indeed both this and Has Anybody Seen My Baby? have a really mysterious feel to them and great vocals from Jagger. Keith is conspicuously absent from this track, though.
The U2-esque Might As Well Get Juiced is bluesy, atmospheric, intense and experimental, with all sorts of weird electronic noises utilised behind a slightly muffled, distant Jagger vocal. It is another example of the Stones trying to get all contemporary. Always Suffering is a slightly country-tinged Jagger-driven and addictive slowie that is in contrast with the up-and-at-'em feel of most of the album. I really like it, though. Too Tight is an also very likeable, upbeat and typically Stones in the nineties rocker that passed me by initially, but one I have come to appreciate more and more.
Richards' two final slow, melodic cuts are excellent too - the bluesy Thief In The Night, and the tender How Can I Stop with the slightly South African-influenced saxophone bit at the end.
It is common to criticise this, along with all the other Stones albums from Steel Wheels onwards. I don't though. I like all of them.
A non-album track from this era was Anyway You Look At It, the 'b' side of Saint Of Me. It is a slow-paced, strings and acoustic Keith Richards song, with the usual sleepy feel and croaky vocals that his songs invariably have.
