What makes a man Mick Jagger? A voice with the horsepower of a machine and the posture of a freewheeling spirit, that's what!
This, his fourth solo album, has gathered the Gods together to induce a style that will leave you surprised and impressed. His lyrics, jagged and vigorous, make for modern poetry and the tunes he’s written himself only elevate the tracks to higher ground. His opening, "A Vision Of Paradise" with Matchbox Twenty’s Rob Thomas as backing vocalist has a terrific play of strings and abrasive lyrics like "don’t tell me how to talk to my friends, just tell me the names of the stars in the sky"; "Joy", with Bono, is almost gospel-funk and says things like "I drove across the desert in search of Buddha and found Jesus Christ".
"Dancing In The Starlight" has great percussion, while "God Gave Me Everything" has been produced and arranged by Lenny Kravitz, with the unmistakable style of the legendary rock giant. "Hide Away" was co-produced by Wyclef Jean, and so sports a faint reggae strain. "Don’t Call Me Up" and "Brand New Set Of Rules" are perhaps the only slow numbers, giving the otherwise fast tempo an even break.
The sound is as raw as it ever was and hasn’t weathered; like young wine, Jagger only gets better with age!
This article was first published on24 Dec 2001.