A Bigger Bang
The Rolling Stones (Virgin Records)

No, Jagger can't chicken-strut forever, and Richards has skimmed death's surface a few times already. They're old, but they're not dead, yet. For 40 plus years, the Rolling Stones have strutted their way across rock 'n' roll's youthful terrain. Now A Bigger Bang, the band's first studio album since 1997's Bridges to Babylon, hammers home the fact that The Rolling Stones still have "it" -- and they're willing to grow. The famously sparring duo of Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards set aside their differences after drummer Charlie Watts developed throat cancer. With producer Don Was at the helm and longtime guitarist Ron Wood in the studio, Jagger and Richards scribed an array of their classically R&B-tinged rock tunes, plus some uncharacteristically confessional songs. Sweet Neo Con, a critical rant for this generally apolitical band, finds Jagger jabbing at President George Bush harder than Green Day: "You call yourself a Christian/ I think that you're a hypocrite/ You say you're a patriot/ I think you're a crock of ..." On Biggest Mistake, the 62-year-old singer showcases a refreshing vulnerability, considering his famed take-no-prisoners sexuality (i.e. 1971's Brown Sugar and 1966's Under My Thumb). Here, Jagger has made "the biggest mistake of my life" by walking out of a relationship because of succumbing to past "rebel" ways. "I acted impatient, acted unkind/ I took her for granted," he sings. Jagger even admits, after realizing his wrongdoing, that he's "becoming a grouch," drinking on the couch and watching TV. This from the man who once crooned "I only get my rocks off while I'm sleeping." Similarly, Laugh, I Nearly Died grooves on Richards's bluesy momentum and Jagger's falsetto pleading and wailing groans -- a lost soul looking for love and wandering the world. Richards also rips open his soft side on This Place Is Empty, a slow piano-sprinkled number sweetly darkened by his deep, underrated drawl. But the Stones wouldn't be the Stones without reminding us of their boot-stomping heyday. Big swivelling riffs in Look What the Cat Dragged In and Driving Too Fast recall the band's penchant for sweaty guitar assaults. Jagger even contributes stellar slide guitar on the simple swagger of Back of My Hand. No, Jagger can't chicken-strut forever, and Richards has skimmed death's surface a few times already. But for now, time is still on the Stones' side. Yes it is. -Reviewer Solfeg Shou

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THE WORLD OF MUSIC: CHOICE OF THE MONTH 

Neil Young
Prairie Wind (Reprise)

Neil Young's Prairie Wind is a gentle-sounding, acoustic-based album that packs an emotional wallop. It rightfully is being cast as the third in a trilogy of albums that started with Harvest in 1972 and continued with 1992's Harvest Moon. The spectre of death hangs over Prairie Wind, influenced no doubt by the diagnosis Young received around the time of its recording that he had a potentially deadly brain aneurysm. Luckily for music fans, Young survived and now the album takes on more of a tale of survival than loss. Really, Young does just about everything right on Prairie Wind. The lyrics are simple and heartfelt. The music is melodic and emotional. Together, they are classic Young and are likely to make Prairie Wind one of his most loved albums. Just as the title suggests, Prairie Wind has an open, airy feel about it. The other musicians -- Spooner Oldham on organ, Ben Keith on pedal steel guitar and Chad Cromwell on drums -- provide a strong, familiar backbone. Many of the songs seem like farewell notes -- to loved ones, his father and even his guitar. It wouldn't be much of a stretch to interpret Here For You as being sung from the perspective of someone who's already passed on. "Just close your eyes and I'll be there," Young sings. On Far From Home, Young makes a rollicking request to be buried on the prairie, not far from home, where the buffalo used to roam. The final tune, When God Made Me, is more a hymn than a rock song. With the Fisk University Jubilee Singers in the background, and Young at the piano, the song tackles some of the eternal questions that face many even when death is not imminent. It may be one of the most beautiful things Young's ever written. -Reviewer: Nell Young

All Jacked Up
Gretchen Wilson (Epic)

Fans of Gretchen Wilson's chart-topping 2004 debut album, Here for the Party, might have braced for a letdown with her latest, All Jacked Up. Feel free to unbrace. This album's even better than the first. The pride of Pocahontas, Ill., pulls no punches (again) and nearly every song sounds like a dare for someone to tell the country sensation she's all bluster -- and not expect a face full o' knuckles. The title track, All Jacked Up, is a romp about keeping an eye on your drinking. Wilson knows her way around a bar, she readily admits, and she's not one to shy away from a song about knocking a few back. But there's something responsible about her don't-do-it-while-driving caveat here. One Bud Wiser is a hands down instant karaoke classic. Every country girl worth her salt will be trying to belt this one out for years to come. Wilson looks to the bottle for a little solace after a bad breakup: "When he left me he took my brand new Silverado/ I started thumbin' and I finally hitched a ride/ I just came in here to drink a beer and watch the rednecks fight/ Now I don't feel so bad about going home alone tonight," she belts out in earnest. It's all here. Politically Uncorrect is the brazen flag-waver and Rebel Child is the strongly sung but cautionary tale about life in the fast lane that could use a little downshifting to avoid the mistakes of youth. Wilson turns tender for a moment on the waltz-paced I Don't Feel Like Loving You Today. She shows vulnerability, a rarity for a pretty girl without a smiling photo to be found on her website promo shots. Skoal Ring is the only weak link. Any song that glorifies a man halfway home to gum cancer is a dud. Sure, it's supposed to be country code for a hard working man of true grit. But it's a throwaway tune that unfortunately stayed on the album. That aside, Wilson is the real deal. If there's a better country act going, let's see it. -Reviewer: Roy Harris

 

 

THE WORLD OF MUSIC: CHOICE OF THE MONTH 

Souls' Chapel
Marty Stuart (Superlatone)

To tout Souls' Chapel as the best gospel record this year gives it short shrift, because Marty Stuart's latest work ranks with the best 2005 albums in any genre. The songs shimmer, and not just because of the tremolo guitars. Stuart's exploration of twangy, bluesy Delta gospel has produced 12 tunes filled with faith, love and humour that will play well even beyond the Bible Belt. Call it souls music. The material is far from staid: One tune swings, another rocks, and Move Along Train (with guest Mavis Staples) does the bump and grind. The well-chosen covers include two Pops Staples compositions, a Steve Cropper-William Bell song and Albert E. Brumley's 1958 gem, Lord, Give Me Just A Little More Time. Just as inspired are the original tunes. The instrumental closing title cut features surf guitar, Way Down benefits from a Green Onions-style organ vamp, and Come Into The House of the Lord is elevated by a classic couplet: "In my dissipation, I had a revelation." Putting Souls' Chapel over the top are the vocals, with Stuart and his band producing four-part harmonies pure as a prayer. Stuart makes a compelling case: Jesus loves you, so crank it up.- Reviewer: Stephen Winne

Late Registration
Kanye West (Universal)

So this is where Kanye West wants to take hip-hop -- beyond the sped-up soul samples that made him famous, beyond his first album's gospel and R&B influences... into the orchestra pit. Fashioning himself on the adventurous Late Registration as more of a streetwise composer than arrogant producer-rapper, West piles on lush layers of strings, pianos and horns. Then some more instruments. And a few melodic lines from a choir. The abundance of sound results from the Chicago star's collaboration with Jon Brion, a southern California musician who has scored films, produced for Fiona Apple and had never before touched a hip-hop record. Together, they have created an album that is musically far more rich and complex than West's acclaimed first disc, and is easily the year's best hip-hop CD. Their quirky creativity makes Registration, which comes out Tuesday, less instantly accessible than The College Dropout, but more rewarding for repeat listeners. West's sometimes-mumbly voice is crisper, and his range of topics is again vast and intriguing. From his perch atop the pop world, West warms up with a few easy crowd-pleasers. Adam Levine of Maroon5 supplies the delicate chorus for Heard 'Em Say, a softie of a first song. Touch the Sky exuberantly jacks Marvin Gaye's Move on Up with one-liners about the hard life before fame: "Any pessimists, I ain't talk to them. Plus, I ain't have no phone in my apartment." The sly single Gold Digger features Jamie Foxx doing his Ray Charles I Got a Woman thing on the hook, and another rather obvious sample, Shirley Bassey's James Bond theme Diamonds Are Forever, gets reworked as Diamonds From Sierra Leone. That track and its remix, both included, feature West at his best -- introspective, political and witty. He raps in the original version about his night of petulance at the American Music Awards, where he lost in the new artist category and complained backstage. In the remix, featuring Def Jam label head Jay-Z, he examines African conflict diamonds: "I thought my Jesus piece was so harmless, til I seen a picture of a shorty, armless." West tends toward more such duality in production. Near the end of the car-celebrating Drive Slow, the jazz-infused beat gets stuck in syrup, slowing in the southern chopped-and-screwed style until the song title comes off as a rather ominous command, from a guy who famously knows well the consequences of car crashes. And in the odd yet enjoyable We Major, the pairing of lyrical heavyweight Nas with the drum break used in Run-DMC's Sucker MCs -- a perfect opportunity for some back-to-basics street rap -- is nearly overwhelmed by a Brion-style cacophony of twinkling pianos and swelling horns. West is at his creative peak when focusing on his family through the sweet la-la-laing Hey Mama and equally touching Roses, which uses a tale of his grandmother's hospitalization to criticize the state of health care. Determined to prove he's his own man, West invites Game to sing the hook on Crack Music despite the Compton rapper's coy rap war with Jay-Z, and doesn't even rap on My Way Home, given over to friend Common for a single magnificently crafted verse. Other guests on the 14 songs include Paul Wall, GLC, Brandy, Cam'ron and Consequence, who delivers a song-stealing verse on Gone. Conducting them all like a hip-hop maestro is West, a virtuoso of beats flaunting his laudable inability to be locked into a single style. -Reviewer: Ryan Pearson