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BRIDGES TO BABYLON was nominated for a 1998 Grammy for Best Rock Album. "Anybody Seen My Baby?" was nominated for a 1998 Grammy Award for Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocal.
Kicking off with Charlie Watt's whip-smart timekeeping, BRIDGES TO BABYLON finds the Rolling Stones swaggering towards the millennium with a record that confidently asserts that rock & roll is far from a young person's game. Don Was returns behind the boards, and joining him at Mick Jagger's behest are uber-technophiles The Dust Brothers. Rather than leaping headlong onto an ill-fitting bandwagon, The Stones wisely gild their rock & roll lily with subtle electronic nuances. The sampled rap tossed into the noirish mood of "Anybody Seen My Baby?" and the swooshing laser sounds of "Might As Well Get Juiced" are present-day window dressing for a legacy deeply rooted in rhythm and blues.
The Stones stop long enough to cleverly acknowledge their past by dropping a harp playing the main riff of "Papa Was A Rolling Stone" into the mid-tempo "Out Of Control" and using "Saint Of Me" to revel in their bad-boy persona. Keith Richards remains the soul of the Stones. His riffing and his endearing rasp continue to stand out, and his crooning on "You Don't Have To Mean It" demonstrates his deep love of reggae. The emotive one-two punch of "Thief In The Night" and "How Can I Stop" shows Keef to be a closet romantic camouflaged by a bad-ass strut.
Additional personnel includes: Waddy Wachtel (acoustic & electric guitars, background vocals); Danny Saber (guitar, Clavinet, keyboards, bass); Wayne Shorter (soprano saxophone); Blondie Chaplin (piano, bass, percussion, background vocals); Benmont Tench (piano, Hammond B-3 & C-3 organs, keyboards); Don Was (Wurlitzer piano, keyboards, bass); Billy Preston (Hammond B-3 organ); Darryl Jones, Doug Wimbush (bass, background vocals); Me'Shell Ndegeocello (bass); Jim Keltner (percussion, background vocals).
Producers include: The Glimmer Twins, Don Was, The Dust Brothers.
Engineers include: Rob Fraboni, Ed Cherney, Jim Scott.
The Rolling Stones: Mick Jagger (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, harmonica, keyboards, shaker); Keith Richards (vocals, acoustic & electric guitars, piano); Ronnie Wood (electric, slide & baritone guitars, pedal steel, dobro); Charlie Watts (drums).
Rolling Stone (5/13/99, p.65) - Included in Rolling Stone's "Essential Recordings of the 90's." Rolling Stone (10/2/97, pp.52-54) - 4 Stars (out of 5) - "...they are still at their best when they're mining American blues, soul and R&B, and giving those styles a new twist....feral without sounding forced, contemporary without succumbing to modern-rock trendiness. It's the Stones we loved back in the day..."
Are you always suffering? This album has been trashed a lot and is generally thought of as one of the Stones' worst albums, when in fact it's not (it's just different). LOVE the opening song "Flip the Switch", that has the best groove to it on this album. It is a shame that "Bridges to Babylon" has gone down as one of the most forgotten about and obscure Stones albums, and it really does have a lot of potential. In fact, if the Rolling Stones weren't "old timers" by that point in time (1997) it would have been a major hit album. Submitted by Ben (Cheverly, MD) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Bridges to Babylon Overall, I think that 'Bridges to Babylon' is definitely worth purchasing. Of the thirteen tracks on the album, most are very pleasant. These songs remind us of the earlier days such as 'Some Girls' and 'Let It Bleed', but give us a taste of new material so that we are not bored for the old stuff. The reason I cannot give this album a full rating is because it is lacking nice packaging that many Stones fans are used to. What is with the booklet? The entire CD only contains one group picture of the band. I think they could have done just a little better than that. Did you also know that on the back of the CD, it says that track number 13 is five minutes and fifty-three seconds long? It is actually six minutes and fifty-three seconds long. They should have checked for all mistakes before putting the record on the shelves. But with its flaws, as all records have, I think this album is worth tapping into. Submitted by Algebra74 (Lincolnton, NC, USA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Just short of classic. Okay, given, "Anybody Seen My Baby?" and "Might As Well Get Juiced" are pretty wretched. With those two out of the way, though, Bridges To Babylon is pure Stones goodness as only the Stones can produce. The rollicking spirit of "Saint Of Me" makes this the "Sympathy For The Devil" of the 1990s, and the melodic prowess shown on "Out Of Control" makes the latter tune the best on the album. Keith Richards' "How Can I Stop" is the perfect closer, while the hard-rock abrasiveness of "Flip The Switch" is the perfect opener. Okay, so a few tracks are pretty bad, but the rest is perfect, classic Stones. Submitted by louderthandrew (Bridgeton, NJ, USA) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo
Surprise, surprise As I this album for the first time heard, I was totally surprised.
In the 80's years I was rather disappointed by the Stones.
With this album the Boys shows again a outstanding musical feeling.
Who had the STONES in the 60's, 70's and 80's already gladly must it due to this album loves.
Submitted by GowerFrank (Baiersbronn, Germany) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo 0 of 1 found this helpful.
Awesome CD! This album is obviously the best yet. It has "Gunface," "Flip The Switch" and "Anybody Seen My Baby?" <br>
The cover is awesome and so is the inside. Submitted by a reviewer (Wakefield, RI) Was This Review Helpful? YesNo This review is for a different format.
Are you always suffering?
Surprise, surprise
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