STACK #146 Dec 2016

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MUSIC FEATURE

Feature

ATOP THE BLUESTONE THRONE BLUESTONE This month rock 'n' roll kingsThe Rolling Stones release Blue & Lonesome , a covers album paying homage to the classic blues compositions the band performed when they first started out some 55 years ago.

ON BLUE & LONESOME Mick Jagger (vocals) Keith RICHARDS (GUITAR) DON WAS (CO-PRODUCER)

Mick on the album’s purpose: “This album is a homage to our favorites, people that kicked us off in playing music. That was the reason we started a band.” Keith on how originals turned to covers: “Suddenly Mick says: “Let’s do Howlin’ Wolf.” It just took off. After that, you couldn’t stop Mick. ‘Cool,’ I said. ‘Let’s keep rolling, boys.’ In a way, it was a total accident.” Don on the Stones’ longevity: “They are really an improvisational band. Nothing is planned out. Nothing is ever played the same twice. There’s a tremendous amount of listening and trading ideas and call-and-response among all the members. It’s incredible to see how far they can pull it out and still have it [held] together. That comes with experience.” Mick on selecting the tracks: “I had to go home and look at my collection. I tried to pick the ones that were not overly familiar to blues fans. I tried to find slightly obscure ones. I tried to make the song choices as varied as possible – different rhythms, different emotions, different feels, different time signatures.” Mick on playing the harmonica: “I’m really lazy. If I’d known I was going to do this, I would have been practicing for weeks. It’s not a very difficult instrument. The only thing about it, it’s not like a guitar or a keyboard where you can see what you’re doing. You can’t see the holes.” Don on Mick playing the harmonica: “I think it will blow people’s minds. I don’t think people realize that he’s truly one of the great blues harp players of all time.” Keith on muscle memory: “It was quite amazing. ‘I don’t know if I can remember this.’ You don’t have to. Your fingers are remembering. It had that beautiful freedom about it.” Don on feel over technical precision: “This was totally live. If there was a mistake, we left it. If it broke down, we did another take. It’s testimony to what great musicians they are, and how the whole is way larger than the sum of the parts.”

Y ou hear it from the opening notes: they’re doing this for real. Sure, it’s a little slicker than what we would have liked… but it’s sincere and from the blackest heart of their collective experiences – with love. When a group has been ‘The Coolest Band On Our Planet™' for the past 50 years, one can forgive the ultra-perfect production values and instead dive into the reason for the release; this is exactly how they started, people! The tracks presented are amazing, dangerous and alluring songs dealing with all manner of what you need within the genre; loss, sex, revenge, anger and regret (sorry: the blues are, indeed, ‘blue’). Handled with effortless panache and a driving vocal seriousness thanks to Jagger’s God-given gift, this is the

Blue & Lonesome by The Rolling Stones is out now via Universal.

Stones’ best album since Tattoo You . Magic Sam’s All Of Your Love is no better example of how these cats don’t steal, but rather guide you, gently, into waters uncharted. What you do from there is up to you. A covers album that tips its hat to Howlin Wolf (a regular go-to with The Glimmer Twins), Little Walker and Memphis Slim can’t really let you down, right? Buy this; listen to it ear-bleedingly loud. You’ll smile and want their entire back catalogue. If this is an epilogue, it makes complete sense. Chris Murray

DECEMBER 2016

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