Jump Back: The Best of the Rolling Stones ... - Rolling Stones (The) (CD 2004)

Two weeks ago I was driving to the supermarket and the radio was playing Beast of Burden. That was when I made up my mind to buy a Stones CD. I was so overdue.

Here s what is on this remastered recording:

1. Start Me Up
2. Brown Sugar
3. Harlem Shuffle
4. It's Only Rock 'N' Roll
5. Mixed Emotions
6. Angie
7. Tumbling Dice
8. Fool To Cry
9. Rock And A Hard Place
10. Miss You
11. Hot Stuff
12. Emotional Rescue
13. Respectable
14. Beast Of Burden
15. Waiting On A Friend
16. Wild Horses
17. B*tch
18. Undercover Of The Night

The Rolling Stones
What hasn t been written about them? They have been around for ages and are beginning to look it. Just what is it about Mick, the lead singer, that has so much appeal? He s skinny, unattractive, gaunt and makes weird gyrations with his body. Yet many of us find him sexy. Is he a good singer? No. Does the band harmonize well? No. Does he enunciate well? Uh, read on.

What the heck are they saying?
Boy, you got me. I can t make out what they re saying in some of these songs. Take the song B*tch for example. Yeah, when you call my name, I salivate like a Pavlov dog. That s about all I can figure out. Ask me if I care. If you like brass, there s lots of brass in this song. It s pulsating - a very, very high energy song that gets louder and louder as it draws to a close. I dare you to sit still.

The Instruments
How about a word or two for the wonderfully used brass instruments in some of these songs, not to mention strings, and piano? And then there s that saxophone. Yes, we re familiar with the electric guitars and acoustic guitars and drums. Some of the music arrangements sound like a party. Like they are just having a blast making music.

My favorite
Waiting on a Friend is my favorite song on this CD. I swoon when I hear the saxophone in this collaboration. Darn, it is sexy! I also like the piano in this. Mick says that he added lyrics about the friendship of the band in this song, although he isn t really sure about that. I think he should listen to the song again because it doesn t sound anything like he s waiting for a friend from his band. Who would want to listen to this song if we thought that s what he was singing about: a band member? Geez, I m sorry I read that blurb. Damage Control!!!

The Booklet
The booklet that came with this recording tells about the places where the songs were recorded and the dates of the recordings. It also states what instruments were used and who played them along with brief comments from Mick and Keith like the one mentioned above.

Photos
There are some nice photos included with the booklet too. All are when the band was young and when Mick was cute. The photos are provocative as you might expect. He was a walking toothpick then too, clothed or otherwise. Personally, I like my men with a little more meat on their bones ..and yet.

Jerry Hall
It s hard for me to listen to Angie and not think of Jerry Hall, Mick s model/actress lover/ex-wife of two decades who, by the way, has an IQ of 146. I remember when Mick was on the David Letterman show prior to marrying Jerry. Letterman pleaded with Mick, Hey Mick, why don t you marry the girl and make and honest woman out of her. Although Keith Richards claims that the title of the song Angie came from his daughter s name: Angela, when you hear Mick sing it, it sure sounds like he s singing about somebody in HIS life.

Is it really Rock n Roll that he likes?
Has anyone not heard the song, It s Only Rock n Roll ? That s what I thought. Has anyone not sung the lyrics, It s only rock n roll but I like it. That s what I thought. When Mick sings or rather, says over and over, I like it. does anyone think he s talking about music? That s what I thought and that s what I think he thought we would think.

Just what is the outcome of Liking IT ?
Four kids by Jerry Hall and one by model Luciana Morad. There are probably more but who s counting. There s also the song, Fool to Cry created during the period that Mick had his first child, Jade. The lyrics go like this, When I come home baby and I ve been working all night long, I put my daughter on my knee. She says, daddy, what s wrong? She whispers in my ear so sweet. You know what she says, she says, daddy you re a fool to cry; you re a fool to cry and it makes me wonder why. This is a very tender and sweet song and it grows on you. I never heard it before until I played this cd. It could have been a hit single in my opinion.

Back to the IT Theme
Some of the lyrics to Start Me Up are, If you start me up, I ll never stop. I don t know any woman out there who doesn t appreciate the message behind this tune. It reminds me of the Everybody Loves Raymond episode when Debra, his wife gives him a kiss knowing that Raymond s family is arriving any minute. What are you doing to me? he asks. You ve activated the launch sequence!

And yet scientists apparently thought there was a need to create the drug Viagra.

What does it all mean?
Each of these songs could have special meaning to different people and circumstances. Their lyrics are often open to interpretation. Is Brown Sugar, a song about drugs? Or, maybe about a Black woman? At face value, something you put in a cake recipe? I think that s part of this band s enormous appeal. You can take out of their music what you need. Whatever it is, they found the right recipe to make music we all love.