An event that hadn’t happened in eight years occurred on Sept. 5, 2005: The Rolling Stones released a new record. A Bigger Bang also marked another milestone that hadn’t happened in more than 25 years: The Stones actually released a good record.
I listened to A Bigger Bang expecting a lot of the generic glossy pop from their more recent output. Instead, the classic mid-period Stones sound was back. That sound was updated, for sure, and Mick Jagger’s voice was deeper. But his swagger was back. Keith Richards actually sang with some effort on a few tracks, while he and Ronnie Wood were playing together as well as ever. And Charlie Watts still laid down some mean rhythms when called upon.
Richards and Jagger put forth a solid set of songs that may not have taken risks like “Sympathy For the Devil” but there weren’t any real clunkers in the bunch. A Bigger Bang wasn’t perfect by any means: The album did contain a couple of ’80s reminders, and tapered off a bit in the end, but the energy was there – and every track was distinguishable from the one before.
Most importantly, this record actually sounded like the same band who put out Let It Bleed and Sticky Fingers, even if A Bigger Bang wasn’t up to par with those classics. At this point in the Rolling Stones long history, that was plenty good enough for me.
