Performer Notes

Personnel: Mick Jagger (vocals, harp); Keith Richards, Ron Wood (guitar); Charlie Watts (drums).
Liner Note Author: Richard Havers.
As Keith Richards tells it, the Rolling Stones' first-ever all-blues album is the result of the band learning how to play in the unfamiliar surroundings of Mark Knopfler's British Grove Studios. To ease into the new place, the Stones decided to knock out a version of Little Walter's "Blue and Lonesome" and it sounded good enough that the band decided to cut a few more covers, winding up with a full album of Chicago blues in a few days. The Stones haven't worked at such swift speed in decades -- not since the early '60s, when they were churning out two albums a year -- and much of the appeal of Blue & Lonesome lies in its casualness: by being tossed off, the album highlights how the Stones play together as a band, blending instinct and skill. Blue & Lonesome isn't a showcase for virtuoso playing -- even Eric Clapton's two smoldering solos are part of the tapestry -- but rather a groove record, emphasizing feel and interplay while never losing sight of the song. Such commitment to song is one of the reasons Blue & Lonesome winds up as an unexpected triumph from Mick Jagger. A blues album from the Stones always seemed like a dream project for Keith Richards, who always championed the band's blues roots, but it's Jagger who dominates the album, playing searing harp and singing with nuance and power. Always a guarded performer -- back in 1974, he scoffed at the notion of letting his feelings flood on the page -- Jagger seems freed, pouring heart into the slow burners and uptempo shuffles alike. The rest of the Stones match his commitment and that's what makes Blue & Lonesome something remarkable. Conceptually, it's clever -- if this winds up being the last Rolling Stones album, it provides a nice bookend to their 1964 debut -- but it's artistically satisfying because it's the Rolling Stones allowing themselves to simply lay back and play for sheer enjoyment. It's a rare thing that will likely seem all the more valuable over the years. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine

Professional Reviews

Rolling Stone - 4.5 stars out of 5 -- "Solos are brief and tight, evoking the honed-punch effect of the original recordings. The running highlight throughout the album is the churning ensemble bond..."

Mojo (Publisher) (p.92) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "The song where it all lifts off is the title track. It's the best noise the Stones have made in decades: spiky, scrubbed guitar shards cascade in via the right-hand speaker from its arrestingly scrunchy, punky opening...."

NME (Magazine) - 4 stars out of 5 -- "[The album sounds] less like a swansong than four old friends having an obscene amount of fun. The result is an album made for the sheer hell of it, devoid of frills, but not wanting for thrills."

Pitchfork (Website) - "BLUE & LONESOME is a covers collection that pays tribute to the post-war Chicago blues that first got the Stones rolling and inspired their very name."

Clash (Magazine) - "[T]hese versions are injected with an instinctive reverence only acquired from a lifetime of study and devotion -- but what's most evident is the inherent joy in those live recordings: the raw, uninhibited sound of old friends reminiscing on their first love."

Album: Blue & Lonesome
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Just Your Fool	More Info...
2)	Commit a Crime	More Info...
3)	Blue and Lonesome	More Info...
4)	All of Your Love	More Info...
5)	I Gotta Go	More Info...
6)	Everybody Knows About My Good Thing	More Info...
7)	Ride 'Em On Down	More Info...
8)	Hate to See You Go	More Info...
9)	Hoo Doo Blues	More Info...
10)	Little Rain	More Info...
11)	Just Like I Treat You	More Info...
12)	I Can't Quit You Baby	More Info...

Album: Blue & Lonesome
#	Song Title		Time
1)	Just Your Fool	More Info...
2)	Commit a Crime	More Info...
3)	Blue and Lonesome	More Info...
4)	All of Your Love	More Info...
5)	I Gotta Go	More Info...
6)	Everybody Knows About My Good Thing	More Info...
7)	Ride 'Em On Down	More Info...
8)	Hate to See You Go	More Info...
9)	Hoo Doo Blues	More Info...
10)	Little Rain	More Info...
11)	Just Like I Treat You	More Info...
12)	I Can't Quit You Baby	More Info...