Rolling Stones – A Bigger Bang
EMI (2005) - A+
Genre: Classic Rock

Recently turning 62, Richards and Co. have proven yet again that in rock n' roll, timing is everything. And when you are the forefathers of the muse, you're undoubtedly going to be always deadly accurate. By the time the Rolling Stones began calling themselves the World's Greatest Rock & Roll Band in the late '60s, they had already staked out an impressive claim on the title. As the self-consciously dangerous alternative to the bouncy Merseybeat of the Beatles in the British Invasion, the Stones had pioneered the gritty, hard-driving blues based rock n' roll that came to define hard rock. With his preening machismo, rooster dance in tow, and latent maliciousness, Mick Jagger became the prototypical rock frontman. His support took equal stage of the limelight however, while Keith Richards and Brian Jones wrote the blueprints for sinewy, interlocking rhythm guitars, backed by a very tight rhythm section of bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts. And while Jones is no longer with the group, the band continues to flirt with the seedy side of rock n' roll with quintessential temerity on this 16 song release. One of their greatest legacies is that everyone the world over has a Rolling Stones song triggered in their head that is linked to a memory. They are all in our collective consciousness, the soundtracks to our lives. And this time around, they have bestowed that sweet spot of the racket yet again engendering another chapter to their mythical glory. – CM

Standout tracks:
"Rough Justice", "Back Of My Hand", "Oh No, Not You Again"
If you enjoy this try:
The Who, Humble Pie, The Beatles, Bob Dylan

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club - Howl
RCA Records (2005) - B-
Genre: Americana Blues with a side of White Honky-Tonk

Black Rebel Motorcycle Club broke out of Los Angeles in 2001 with a self-titled debut, a retro powerhouse disc of dark fuzzy mood rock. Many likened the band to a neo-Jesus and Mary Chain, often disdainfully, as critics often did when they called Oasis a shameless rip-off of the Beatles. Be that as it may, BRMC did what they did well. "Love Burns" was a standout misanthropic anthem off the first BRMC album and justified their surly attitudes and bad boy sneers with a soaring noisy guitar chorus and harsh druggy lyrics.

All the noise and fuzz gets dropped on BRMC's latest record, Howl. This is the album a band makes when its members wake up hung over from a two-week bender, hit rock bottom, wake up in jail, go to AA, join a church-cult, and end up busking for a beaming Yogi. On Howl, the BRMC sound is totally reworked – they've dropped the electric noise and picked up the acoustic guitars. Shuffle Your Feet starts the album out with a stomp and a yelp and a series of handclaps. The honky-tonk rhythm breaks in next, and before you know it, BRMC has made a delta blues record complete with bellows to Jesus, finger wagging at the Devil and harmonica solos.

As a fan of the previous BRMC era I felt shock and betrayal by their genre makeover. To the indoctrinated fan, the new BRMC sounds like a cover band aping the Mississippi blues. But to the newcomer, Howl will probably strike a cord, albeit one as tired and frayed as the 90 year old bluesmen who originally struck it. – MD

Standout tracks:
"Shuffle Your Feet", "Fault Line", "The Line"
If you enjoy this try:
Jesus & Mary Chain, Johnny Cash, Cat Stevens