[From our archives, written in December 2017] The new album by the world’s greatest band, the Rolling Stones, was recorded in British Grove Studios in Chiswick, West London in December 2015 and released one year later.
Incidentally, the recoding studios are not far from The Ealing Club, an R&B venue where, in 1962, Alexis Corner introduced Mick Jagger and Keith Richards to Brian Jones.
For the Rolling Stones, Blue & Lonesome (Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr) is not just a geographical but also a musical return to their origins. The purist blues and R&B album is inspired by artists whom the Rolling Stones admired when they were teenagers.
Mick Jagger said in 2016 interviews that, when he was 13, he discovered Blues artists from the United States on TV. Blues was about real life and had more swing than the UK music of the time.
Mick Jagger noted that he and Keith Richards had a similar taste when it came to Blues, which made it easy for them to work together. The white kids were inspired by Black music. Blues is part of their DNA.
The album Blue & Lonesome offers twelve cover versions of songs which never made it into the main charts when they were originally released.
The title song, “Blue and Lonesome”, was written by Walter Jacobs (1930-1968), better known as Little Walter, became a 1949 R&B chart hit for Memphis Slim.
In the liner notes, the opening song of the new album, “Just Your Fool”, is attributed to Walter Jacobs. However, the blues adaptation recorded by Little Walter in 1960 is based on the 1953 original composition “Just Your Fool” by the South Carolina-born blues pianist Buddy Johnson (1915-1977). Anyway, the rendition by the Rolling Stones does not sound dusty, but fresh and authentic, as does the entire album. It is time travel at its best.
Commit A Crime, written by Chester Burnett (1910-1976) aka Howlin’ Wolf is rocking and hard. “All of Your Love” by the Chicago blues composer, singer and guitarist Samuel Maghett (1937-1969) aka Magic Slim is a masterpiece.
Among the slows on the album are “Everybody Knows About My Good Thing” written by Miles Grayson and Lermon Horton and first released by Little Johnny Taylor in 1971, and “I Can’t Quit You Baby” by the Grammy Award winner Willie Dixon (1915-1992).
Among my many favorite songs on Blue & Lonesome are the two fast tracks “Ride ‘Em On Down” by Eddie Taylor (1923-1985) and “Hate To See You Go” by Walter Jacobs.
Guitarist Eric Clapton is a guest musician on two tracks of Blue and Lonesome: “Everybody Knows About My Good Thing” and “I Can’t Quit You Baby”. Other side musicians on this bluesy album include Matt Clifford and Chuck Leavell on keyboards, Darryl Jones on bass guitar and Jim Keltner on percussion.
Mick Jagger (vocals and harmonica), Keith Richards (guitar), Ronnie Wood (guitar), Charlie Watts (drums) and their guest musicians have offered as a jewel. May more of them follow (sheet music by the Rolling Stones)
Blue & Lonesome has debuted at number one in the UK Album Charts and made it to number one in Switzerland, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Germany, Sweden and other countries.
Incidentally, almost with the release of Blue & Lonesome, at 73, Mick Jagger became a father again. His 29-year-old girlfriend Melanie Hamrick, an American ballerina, gave birth to a boy in New York City on December 8, 2016.
With four other women, Mick Jagger already has seven children aged 17 to 45. In 2014, he became a great-grandfather. In addition, he has five grandchildren.
If you read German, check our history / biography of the Rolling Stones written in 2005.
The Rolling Stones: Blue & Lonesome. Polydor Records / Universal Music, December 2016. Order the CD from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de, Amazon.fr). Sheet music by the Rolling Stones.
The Rolling Stones: Blue And Lonesome MP3 album. Download it from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.de.
The Rolling Stones: Blue And Lonesome LP Vinyl. Order the Vinyl from Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk.
Blue & Lonesome photo shoot with Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Photograph © Universal Music.
The Rolling Stones photograph from “A Bigger Bang Live On Copacabana Beach”. Photo copyright © Universal Music. Order the Blu-ray A Bigger Bang Live On Copacabana Beach from Amazon.com, Amazon.de. Sheet music by the Rolling Stones.
The Rolling Stones CD review added on December 20, 2017 at 12:06 Swiss time. Added to our WordPress pages on April 30, 2022 at 16:09 Swiss time.
