Pizza Burnin'

I knew I had the new Rolling Stones disc in the basement, literally somewhere in a sloppy pile of promos, DVDs, CDs, magazines, trash and other stuff next to the cat box. It took me weeks to actually put the thing on, though, and give it a listen

Each Rolling Stones record arrives hailed as their best album since [x], with [x] determined by the generosity of the assessor. "Tattoo You?" "Some Girls?" "Voodoo Lounge?" "Goat's Head Soup?" Around the beginning of their new one, "A Bigger Bang," I thought the disc actually pretty strong, in a shambling b-sides and rarities collection sort of way, but then it quickly sags. No surprise there. The Stones only record as an excuse to tour.

What surprised me about this album, however, is how essential asshole Mick sounds. Keith or Charlie are always pegged the soul of the band, the above-reproach linchpins that even the cooler than thou can embrace. But Mick's singing is really good on this disc, and without it half the songs would sound like, I dunno, the latest crapped out Ryan Adams record. So it's a compromise disc. I'll dutifully file it with their other records, but probably never listen to it again, save the occasional track like "Oh No Not You Again."

It did remind me that Keith Richards played on "Rain Dogs" and "Bone Machine," two of Tom Waits' best records, and it made me imagine how cool it would be were the two to reunite for a duo record. You never know!