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Blue & Lonesome is a covers album by the Rolling Stones—their 23rd British and 25th American studio album—released on 2 December 2016.
Despite the short time length of just around 43 minutes, the album was released as a double LP. "Just Your Fool", a Buddy Johnson cover (though the Rolling Stones version is based on Little Walter's arrangement) was released as the first single from the album. Eric Clapton contributed guitar on two tracks.
This is the first album since Dirty Work (1986) to not feature any guitar playing from Jagger (who instead concentrates completely on vocals and harmonica), although he is pictured in the album's booklet playing guitar during the album's sessions. It is also the first album since It's Only Rock 'n Roll (1974) to not feature a lead vocal from Richards. Likewise, it is also the first album since Dirty Work to release a lead single that was not a Jagger/Richards composition with "Just Your Fool".
As Keith Richards tells it, the Rolling Stones' first-ever all-blues album is the result of the band learning how to play in the unfamiliar surroundings of Mark Knopfler's British Grove Studios.
To ease into the new place, the Stones decided to knock out a version of Little Walter's "Blue and Lonesome" and it sounded good enough that the band decided to cut a few more covers, winding up with a full album of Chicago blues in a few days. The Stones haven't worked at such swift speed in decades -- not since the early '60s, when they were churning out two albums a year -- and much of the appeal of Blue & Lonesome lies in its casualness: by being tossed off, the album highlights how the Stones play together as a band, blending instinct and skill.
Blue & Lonesome isn't a showcase for virtuoso playing -- even Eric Clapton's two smoldering solos are part of the tapestry -- but rather a groove record, emphasizing feel and interplay while never losing sight of the song. Such commitment to song is one of the reasons Blue & Lonesome winds up as an unexpected triumph from Mick Jagger.
A blues album from the Stones always seemed like a dream project for Keith Richards, who always championed the band's blues roots, but it's Jagger who dominates the album, playing searing harp and singing with nuance and power. Always a guarded performer -- back in 1974, he scoffed at the notion of letting his feelings flood on the page -- Jagger seems freed, pouring heart into the slow burners and uptempo shuffles alike. The rest of the Stones match his commitment and that's what makes Blue & Lonesome something remarkable.
Conceptually, it's clever -- if this winds up being the last Rolling Stones album, it provides a nice bookend to their 1964 debut -- but it's artistically satisfying because it's the Rolling Stones allowing themselves to simply lay back and play for sheer enjoyment. It's a rare thing that will likely seem all the more valuable over the years.
Tracklist
1. Just Your Fool (Little Walter) - 2:16
2. Commit a Crime (Howlin' Wolf) - 3:38
3. Blue and Lonesome (Little Walter) - 3:07
4. All of Your Love (Magic Sam) - 4:46
5. I Gotta Go (Little Walter) - 3:26
6. Everybody Knows About My Good Thing (Miles Grayson, Lermon Horton) - 4:30
7. Ride 'Em on Down (Eddie Taylor) - 2:48
8. Hate to See You Go (Little Walter) - 3:20
9. Hoo Doo Blues (Otis Hicks, Jerry West) - 2:36
10. Little Rain (Ewart G.Abner Jr., Jimmy Reed) - 3:32
11. Just Like I Treat You (Willie Dixon) - 3:24
12. I Can't Quit You Baby (Willie Dixon) - 5:13
The Rolling Stones
Despite the short time length of just around 43 minutes, the album was released as a double LP. "Just Your Fool", a Buddy Johnson cover (though the Rolling Stones version is based on Little Walter's arrangement) was released as the first single from the album. Eric Clapton contributed guitar on two tracks.
This is the first album since Dirty Work (1986) to not feature any guitar playing from Jagger (who instead concentrates completely on vocals and harmonica), although he is pictured in the album's booklet playing guitar during the album's sessions. It is also the first album since It's Only Rock 'n Roll (1974) to not feature a lead vocal from Richards. Likewise, it is also the first album since Dirty Work to release a lead single that was not a Jagger/Richards composition with "Just Your Fool".
As Keith Richards tells it, the Rolling Stones' first-ever all-blues album is the result of the band learning how to play in the unfamiliar surroundings of Mark Knopfler's British Grove Studios.
To ease into the new place, the Stones decided to knock out a version of Little Walter's "Blue and Lonesome" and it sounded good enough that the band decided to cut a few more covers, winding up with a full album of Chicago blues in a few days. The Stones haven't worked at such swift speed in decades -- not since the early '60s, when they were churning out two albums a year -- and much of the appeal of Blue & Lonesome lies in its casualness: by being tossed off, the album highlights how the Stones play together as a band, blending instinct and skill.
Blue & Lonesome isn't a showcase for virtuoso playing -- even Eric Clapton's two smoldering solos are part of the tapestry -- but rather a groove record, emphasizing feel and interplay while never losing sight of the song. Such commitment to song is one of the reasons Blue & Lonesome winds up as an unexpected triumph from Mick Jagger.
A blues album from the Stones always seemed like a dream project for Keith Richards, who always championed the band's blues roots, but it's Jagger who dominates the album, playing searing harp and singing with nuance and power. Always a guarded performer -- back in 1974, he scoffed at the notion of letting his feelings flood on the page -- Jagger seems freed, pouring heart into the slow burners and uptempo shuffles alike. The rest of the Stones match his commitment and that's what makes Blue & Lonesome something remarkable.
Conceptually, it's clever -- if this winds up being the last Rolling Stones album, it provides a nice bookend to their 1964 debut -- but it's artistically satisfying because it's the Rolling Stones allowing themselves to simply lay back and play for sheer enjoyment. It's a rare thing that will likely seem all the more valuable over the years.
Tracklist
1. Just Your Fool (Little Walter) - 2:16
2. Commit a Crime (Howlin' Wolf) - 3:38
3. Blue and Lonesome (Little Walter) - 3:07
4. All of Your Love (Magic Sam) - 4:46
5. I Gotta Go (Little Walter) - 3:26
6. Everybody Knows About My Good Thing (Miles Grayson, Lermon Horton) - 4:30
7. Ride 'Em on Down (Eddie Taylor) - 2:48
8. Hate to See You Go (Little Walter) - 3:20
9. Hoo Doo Blues (Otis Hicks, Jerry West) - 2:36
10. Little Rain (Ewart G.Abner Jr., Jimmy Reed) - 3:32
11. Just Like I Treat You (Willie Dixon) - 3:24
12. I Can't Quit You Baby (Willie Dixon) - 5:13
The Rolling Stones
- Mick Jagger – vocals, harmonica
- Keith Richards – electric guitar
- Ronnie Wood – electric guitar
- Charlie Watts – drums
Additional musicians
- Eric Clapton – slide guitar (on "Everybody Knows About My Good Thing"); lead electric guitar (on "I Can't Quit You Baby")
- Darryl Jones – bass
- Matt Clifford – keyboards
- Chuck Leavell – keyboards
- Jim Keltner – percussion (on "Hoo Doo Blues")
Production and design
- Andy Cook – assistant engineer
- Jason Elliott – assistant engineer
- The Glimmer Twins – producer
- Richard Havers – liner notes
- Stephen Marcussen – mastering
- Ron McMaster – mastering
- Krish Sharma – engineer, mixer
- Pierre de Beauport – crew chief
- Don McAulay – drum technician
- Derrick Stockwell – assistant engineer
- Don Was – producer
Notes
Released: 2 December 2016
Recorded: 11, 14–15 December 2015 Studio British Grove Studios, London
Genre: Electric blues, Chicago blues, blues rock
Length: 42:36
Label - Polydor Records
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