Review 1 of 1

tonyromero writes:

4of 5 Stars

4 1/2 Stars, frankly... if I may. Jagger solo projects are often dismissed as slag-offs, and occasionally as vanity projects - 1985's "She's The Boss" was considered one, mainly - I remember. The Stones were just coming off their so-called "half-baked" "Undercover Of the Night." It wasn't. It sounded as if they would completely take over the airwaves - I mean it - for another decade. No other band on Earth were making albums of their caliber - with the possible exceptions of Van Halen and, yes, AC/DC, as far as radio-friendly "At Once!" Classic Rock. The point is, in 1985, there was no such animal - rock radio was simply rock radio. Yet, after the appearance of "Undercover", "1984", and oh, say "Fly on the Wall" - that was that, bubba. You were either a dinosaur or some spike-haired Hooter radio darling for the new wave of glop. "AOR! It's sooooo over! Gag me with a Detroit Wheel!" End quote. Sort of. I remember. Jagger did the last thing you'd think he'd do - he tried to beat them at their own game, and on similar turf. If album rock was officially on the way out, and video-single-image was essentially the new King of the airwaves, I suppose he thought, "Well, so you've got, like, Andrew Ridgely, for fucks sake... I THINK I can still get Beck on the phone!" That's Jeff Beck. Ridgely's from Wham! Pay attention. So he did. The result was "She's the Boss", and lemme tell you, it was a kick. Jagger attacked the 80's-glossy-drum-machine-monolith-of-snore- and-sap like a man possessed, and loaded it with some of the most auto-biographical and telling lyrics of his career - but that's not to say it was boring. Hellfire, this is Mick Jagger we're talking about! It was fun - and it rocked. It made you dance, and it made you laugh out loud. It made a mockery of his image as stud, and, if even for a brief moment, made you believe real love had never brought him a damn thing but pain. It was genius. It was the 80's. They ignored it. Sort of. That's a damn shame. I STILL don't. Neither should you. "The Very Best Of Mick Jagger" may not seem like a very important purchase to just any kid who approaches the racks - after all, there are dozens of Rolling Stones hit compilations by now - "...and, you know, I can always break out "Let It Bleed" - I think even Dad's got THAT one!" But to ignore Mick's solo art is to miss out on some of the best music of the era - each subsequent album after "Boss" has plenty to offer as far as rocking, party music - "Primitive Cool" is LOADED with great tunes, with a dash of avant-garde story-teller "character rock" for cohesion purposes - and is woefully misrepresented here. "Throwaway", "Say You Will", and "Kow-Tow" are remarkable, and should be considered must-have downloads, at least. Only "Let's Work" is featured, and simply put, it may express an honest, heartfelt sentiment dear to Sir Mick, but it isn't a great single, really. Only 1993's "Wandering Spirit" gets it's fair share of the action, and if you were to believe the critics, deservedly so - many declared it a masterpiece. It wasn't, but - Mick, with this release, was one of the first artists to fully explore the possibilities of the CD Format and it's 80 minutes of available aural space, and cement it as an expression of the total self -and his talents. Every imaginable aspect of the Mickster is here - even a "Majesties" doodle and a Celtic ballad - but, as you may have guessed, the real standouts are preening, rocker, sultry, super-Disco Mick - what else? HA! You guessed it - or maybe you didn't -"Evening Gown", which is, quite simply, one of the best Country & Western saloon songs ever written, sang, or recorded - by anyone. Ever. Period. There's no need to go on about the additional rare tracks - anyone can tell by the list of supporting players and track list these tunes are worth a listen. So buy it - and don't forget to check out the rest of the catalogue. Oh yeah... "Goddess in the Doorway"? Hope it's Jade. Heehee.

Oct 7, 2007 23:13:28