Rolling Stones ‘Blue & Lonesome’ Review

          Maroon 5 can fake it, but the only one who has the “Moves like Jagger” is the one and only Mick Jagger, lead singer of the Rolling Stones. 50 years and now 25 albums later, the Stones and Jagger are rocking as hard as ever in an era where rock is fading away. Their latest album, “Blue and Lonesome,” released Dec. 2, showcases this with a renewed set of covers from the golden days of rock and roll.

          The album opens with “Just Your Fool,” a jazzy blues piece, originally composed by singer Buddy Johnson, which sees Jagger crooning promises of vulnerability to his singular lover. He swears “I love you baby, and no one else, I ain’t crazy, you are my baby,” which would be believable from anyone else other than Jagger himself. Still, the piece churns and hums along in all of its harmonica and funky guitar glory.

          The title track is slower and electric guitar driven, originally by Memphis Swim. This track makes it easy to imagine Jagger on his knees, begging “baby, please come home to me,” and then breaking out the harmonica, with Keith Richards jamming behind him for good measure. The melody serves as a track in the playbook for anyone who recently got heartbroken and needs a song to sing on their doorstep.

          A probable peak among the high points of the album would be Willie Dixon’s “I Can’t Quit You Baby,” also famously covered by the “other” kings of blues, Led Zeppelin. The five minute mini-epic is filled with agonizing, yet powerful vocals explaining “I’m gonna have to put you down for a while…(and) it hurts me deep down inside.” These are backed by electric guitar harmonies that seem to sing along, with drums quietly chatting in the background. The song isn’t about drugs, but it will definitely drug its listeners—blues fans or not.

          The Rolling Stones have cemented their place in history time and time again, this time without even writing a single track of their own. The 43-minute work is a solid testament to the Stones’ musical prowess as much as their longevity. Even so, it does not appeal to the masses today, enraptured by tunes devoid of the raw emotion the Stones lay down.