Mick Jagger, angry, irritated and disconcerted in the song that was released as his first single, with its simple and cutting riff, and a text that airs intimacies: “It hasn’t rained in a month, the river runs dry / “We haven’t made love and I want to know why.”
‘Get close’
Rock consistency with Elton John’s guest piano and a Jagger who confesses to being insomniac and imploring: “I negotiated with the devil, I need heaven for one night.”
‘Depending on you’
Raise the bar in this almost-ballad with acoustic guitars, a ‘steel’ touch and a cushion of Hammond organ (Benmont Tench) and string section in the final stretch. A great exponent of the collected Stones, with traces of the seventies.
‘Bite my head off’
The surprises continue, now in the opposite direction: lacerating ‘riff’ and the band, losing their temper and infecting Paul McCartney with vigor, who makes us hear a spectacular distorted and grunge bass. The final section is a coven, only Ron Wood included.
‘Whole wide world’
The Stones, looking at Detroit in an overwhelming song (‘riff’ similar to that of ‘Five foot one’, by Iggy Pop), with views of the wreck. “The streets I used to walk are full of broken glass / And everywhere I look there are memories of the past.”
‘Dreamy skies’
Another change of heart: although they boast rock muscle, the Stones make the echo of melancholy heard in songs like this, where they miss an old AM radio and Hank Williams. A vaporous blues with steel guitar.
‘Mess it up’
The Stones’ coolest and funkiest chorus since ‘Miss You’ (1978). Charlie Watts’ jovial drum rolls on one of his last records. Feeling of rejuvenation.
‘Live by the sword’
Here is not only Watts, but also Bill Wyman (for the first time since 1989), breathing ‘Stonian’ essences into a fiery rock number to which Elton John’s jumping piano adds touches of color.
‘Driving me too hard’
Another mid-tempo with thick curtains of guitars in which Jagger shines as he shares his anxieties around a relationship that tests his sanity.
‘Tell me straight’
The traditional theme sung by Keith Richards, but here the predictable ends: a meditative theme, with rarefied harmonies, without self-complacency, carrying musings on the transience of life and love.
‘Sweet sounds of heaven’
Turning Point: A spiritual tour de force of more than seven minutes in which Jagger and Lady Gaga raise their voices over a blues cadence with gospel resonances and that is elevated with the assistance of brass and the keyboards of Stevie Wonder.
‘Rolling stone blues’
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And closing, the return to the place where it all began: the old blues of Muddy Waters that, in 1962, inspired the name of the band. Reduced to a minimum: Richards’ raw guitar and a Jagger that reminds us of what a good harmonica player he has always been.