Mick Jagger (Virgin)
Some things should not be split: infinitives, a new pair of pants, the atom. Likewise, wandering out on his fourth solo effort, Mick Jagger lacks the compass of Keith Richards's guitar. Future musicologists will be stunned to learn these 12 songs date from 2001; many sound like mid-'80s midtempo rockers by middling bands. Guest stars—Pete Townshend, Rob Thomas, Bono—fade in the mix as Jagger, 58, veers from light funk to light electronica with sporadic success. Only Lenny Kravitz brings things up to date, with a grinding guitar on the single "God Gave Me Everything."
Two ballads, though, stand out—"Don't Call Me Up," a confessional that echoes Stones classics like "Memory Motel" and "Waiting on a Friend," and "Too Far Gone," a rare nod to time for a guy who hasn't gained a pound since the Nixon Administration ("I would spend my childhood days/Lost in starry dreams/And now watch my children/Just downloading them to screens"). Here's hoping Jagger will never learn to act his age, but better to play off being a rock and roll geezer than to replay the '80s.
Bottom Line: Waiting on a friend like Keith
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