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Rating: What memory remains today, more than ten years after its release, of this controversial album by the Rolling Stones? The opinions regarding "Bridges To Babylon" have always been diverse and contrasting. Some judge it as a rather unsatisfying and disappointing work compared to the previous "Voodoo Lounge" album, the latter rich with great songs and excellent performances (listen to "Suck On The Jugular") with a fresh sound. Others benevolently consider it a true turning point in the group's sound, a work of modern rock'n'roll. Let's say that, even in this case, the truth is probably right in the middle.
Surely the exaggerated cover, depicting the image of the Babylonian god Baal, does not hide an exacerbated tendency towards megalomania, an aspect that the band has shown to appreciate in recent years by setting up tours with pharaonic stages. But fortunately, the Stones are always the Stones and they are forgiven for everything because their experience, class, and musical attitude will remain unmatched for millennia to come.
"Bridges To Babylon" is nonetheless a reasonably successful work that has the merit of growing over time, like almost all Stones albums post "Exile On Main Street". Veteran Don Was's production is very attentive to highlight the typical characteristics of the band. The sound is at times clean, too perfect, but fortunately, there are episodes with a dirtier and darker sound. The work of master Keith Richards is always indispensable, and it is his surges of pride that elevate the quality of the work. Just a riff, a whisper, or a groove from him is enough to forgive the group even the most evident slips. The scorching start of "Flip the Switch" with its tight and raw rock destined to spark live, is all his doing. Following on the same tracks are the edgy and canonical "Low Down" and the breakneck run of "Too Tight" with a Ron Wood in great shape. Keith even offers, within the work, three personal vocal performances where I personally find him reminiscent of a Tom Waits soaked in soul and wetted by Jack Daniel's. The Pirate may not have a great voice, but when Mick Jagger hands him the microphone, throws away the millionth cigarette, and starts singing, the emotions are always guaranteed. The soul of the Stones never betrays. In his three performances, the guitarist takes us to Jamaica with the relaxed reggae of "You Don't Have To Mean It", teaches us what a low-fi piece is with "Thief In The Night", and moves us with the melancholic "How Can I Stop", cradling us at the end.
Jagger, on his part, plays it safe with catchy songs like the romantic "Already Over Me", "Always Suffering", and the easy gospel-rock of "Saint Of Me". Nothing transcendent but everything, in the end, turns out to be damn enjoyable. Among the tracks, "Out Of Control" is pleasantly memorable, a throbbing, obsessive, nocturnal voodoo rock, with an insistent chorus and an engaging musical part. More or less of the same substance is the hard "Gun Face" with a nasty text and a wall of dissonant and at times heavy guitars. On "Might As Well Get Juiced" and its technological quest wanted in the production phase by the Dust Brothers, it is better to skim over just like the first single released from the album, that "Anybody Seen My Baby?", a black ballad that many found to be a clever and involuntary rewrite of a piece by K.D. Lang, "Constant Craving". A track perhaps more suited for an aperitif commercial than for blues venues or rock arenas.
The memory that remains today of this work is that of a certainly successful record but, at times, with a polished and overly elaborate sound. Not all the songs live up to the group's fame but, as in each of their works from the past thirty years, the Stones manage to slip in those five tracks that make the difference and that other young bands can only dream of composing. Inferior to "Voodoo Lounge" and the latest "A Bigger Bang", "Bridges To Babylon" proudly displays a lion on the cover. A lion, however, that at times struggles to deliver the winning swipe and that scratches with little conviction at times. Conviction that the group will brilliantly find during the grueling tour following the album's release, which will keep the Rolling Stones busy for almost two years.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
01 Flip the Switch (03:27)
(Jagger/Richards)
A scrap of flesh
And a heap of bones
One deep high
And a desperate moan
Three black eyes
And a busted nose
I said oh yeah, oh yeah
Take me up
Baby I'm ready to go
Shake me up
Baby I'm ready to go, yeah
Take me up
Baby I'm ready
Baby, baby I'm ready to go
(Chill me, freeze me, It's in my blood)
I'm not going to burn in hell
I cased the joint
And I know it well
Maybe my carcass
Would feed the worms
But I'm working
For the other firm
Take me up
Baby I'm ready to go
Fix me up
Baby I'm ready to roll, yeah
Set me up
Baby, baby, baby I'm ready to go
(Chill me, freeze me, It's in my blood)
Flip the switch
I got my money, my ticke
All that shit
I even got myself
A little shaving kit
What would it take
To bury me
I can't wait
I can't wait to see
I got toothbrush, mouthwash
All that shit
I'm looking down
In the filthy pit
I had the turkey
And the stuffing too
I even saved
A little bit for you
Lethal injection is a luxury
I wanna give it
To the whole jury
I'm just dying
For one more squeeze
Oh yeah
Oh yeah
Pick me up
Baby I'm ready to go
Take me up
Baby I'm ready to blow
Take me up
Baby if you're ready to go
Baby I got nowhere to go
Baby I'm ready to go
(Chill me, freeze me, to my bones)
Flip the switch
04 Already Over Me (05:24)
(Jagger/Richards)
As you poured out the drinks for me
I felt your hooks sink right into me
And I knew you were my destiny
And I thought you'd get the best of me
On the way down to Mexico
As I danced in yuor rodeo
You say poverty is picturesque
As you dragged your nails across my chest
You're so cold
You're so cruel
I'm your man
Not your fool
Are you already over me
Are you already over me
Are you already over me
What a fool I've been
In the first flush of ecstacy
As you lay naked next to me
While our love put the dawn to flight
I just ignore all those warning lights
Cause when you laugh
I just cry
When you left
I just died
Are you already over me
Are you already over me
Are you already sick me
What a fool I've been
Hard to hold on
To a love divine
I'm kneeling in a corner
Praying to your shrine
I've been hurt
So confused
I've been burned
I've been bruised
Are you already over me
Are you already over me
Are you already sick of me
Are you already over me
Are you already over me
Are you already tired of me
Are you already over me
What a fool I've been
What a fool I've been
What a fool I've been
05 Gunface (05:02)
(Jagger/Richards)
Gonna go downtown
Gonna get my gun
Gonna dress real sharp
Gonna beat my drum
I ain't gonna lie
Gonna walk so slow
Gonna talk just right
And my diamond ring
Gonna shine so bright
I ain't gonna lie
I've got a debt to repay
I ain't gonna cry
I put a gun in your face
You'll pay with your life
And I got my ears
And I got my eyes
And I got my narks
And my alibis
I won't waste your time
You made one false move
You made one mistake
When the juice is squeezed
That's the way it breaks
You'll pay for your crime
Your tongue lickin' way out of place
I'll rip it out
I'll stick a gun in your face
You'll pay with your life
I taught her everything I taught her how to dream
I taught her everything
I'm gonna teach her how to scream
I taught her all she knows
I taught her how to lie
I taught her everything
I'm gonna teach her how to cry
And you cause me hurt
And you cause me pain
And you turned the tap
On my burning rage
And I can't put it out
Gonna leave no sign
Gonna leave no trace
Gonna leave this town
In a state of grace
Give me the power
I got a debt to repay
I ain't gonna lie
I put a gun in your face
You'll pay for the crime
I taught her everything
I taught her how to speak
I taught her all she knows
I taught her how to eat
I half invented her
And now she acts so chic
I taught her everything
But now she's obsolete
I taught her everything
How to read and write
I taught her all she knows
She was a neophyte
I taught her everything
I loved to watch her grow
I taught her everything
And now I want to see her go
I taught her everything
I got a debt to repay
I ain't gonna cry
I'll put a gun in your face
You're playing with your life
I taught her everything
I taught her how to cheat
I taught her all she knows
She was so indiscreet
I taught her everything
I taught her how to lie
I taught her everything
I'm gonna teach her how to cry
06 You Don't Have to Mean It (03:44)
(Jagger/Richards)
You don't have to mean it
You just got to say it anyway
I just need to hear those words for me
You don't have to say too much
Babe I wouldn't even touch you anyway
I just want to hear you to say to me
Sweet lies
Baby baby dripping from your lips
Sweet sighs
Say to me come on and play
Play with me baby
You don't have to mean it
You just got to say it to me baby
Whisper whisper whisper in my ear
(I don't believe it)
(I don't believe it)
I wouldn't want to use you
Ooh I wouldn't blame you anyway
If you never ever spoke to me
(I don't believe it)
Hmm just say those little words
Sit on my shoulder like a little bird
Baby baby sing those words for me
Sweet lies
Baby baby dripping from yuor lips
Sweet sighs
Ooh you make me cry
Oh baby you know it
You know what I want to hear
Dripping from your lips
I got to tell you baby
Dripping from you lips
You don't have to say too much
Whisper whisper baby baby
I just wanna hear you say to me
(I don't believe it)
You don't have to mean it
Babe just say it anyway
I just need to hear those words from your sweet lips
You don't have to mean it
You don't have to mean it
(I don't believe you)
You don't have to shout across the room
Just whisper in my ear baby
07 Out of Control (04:43)
(Jagger/Richards)
I was out in the city
I was out in the rain
I was feeling down hearted
I was drinking again
I was standing by the bridges
Where the dark water flows
I was talking to a stranger
About times long ago
I was young
I was foolish
I was angry
I was vain
I was charming
I was lucky
Tell me how have I changed
Now I'm out
Oh out of control
Now I'm out
Oh out of control
Oh help me now
And the girls in the doorway
And the boys in the game
And the drunks and the homeless
They all know me
And the police on the corner
Give a nod and a wave
As they point me
To my final destination
I was young
I was foolish
I was angry
I was vain
I was charming
Feeling lucky
Tell me how have I changed
Now I'm out
Oh out of control
Now I'm out
Oh out of control
Oh help me now
In the hotel I'm excited
By the smile on her face
But I wondered
How was time
Gonna change her
I was young
I was foolish
I was angry
I was vain
I was charming
I was out there
Tell me how have I changed
Now I'm out
Oh out of control
Oh I'm out
Oh out of control
08 Saint of Me (05:14)
(Jagger/Richards)
Saint Paul the persecutor
Was a cruel and sinful man
Jesus hit him with a blinding light
And then his life began
I said yeah
I said yeah
Augustin knew temptation
He loved women, wine and song
And all the special pleasures
Of doing something wrong
I said yeah
I said yeah
I said yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah
You'll never make a saint of me
Oh yeah, oh yeah
You'll never make a saint of me
And could you stand the torture
And could you stand the pain
Could you put your faith in Jesus
When you're burning in the flames
And I do believe in miracles
And I want to save my soul
And I know that I'm a sinner
I'm gonna die here in the cold
I said yes, I said yeah
I said yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah
You'll never make a saint of me
Oh yeah, oh yeah
You'll never make a saint of me
Oh yeah, oh yeah
You'll never make a saint of me
Oh yeah, oh yeah
You'll never make a saint of me
I thought I heard an angel cry
I thought I saw a teardrop falling from his eye
John the Baptist was a martyr
But he stirred up Herod's hate
And Salome got her wish
To have him served up on a plate
I said yes
I said yeah
I said yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah
You'll never make a saint of me
Oh yeah, oh yeah
You'll never make a saint of me
Oh yeah, oh yeah
You'll never make a saint of me
Oh yeah, oh yeah
You'll never make a saint of me
I thought I heard an angel cry
I thought I saw a teardrop falling from his eye
I thought I saw an angel cry
You'll never make a saint of me
You'll never make a saint of me
09 Might as Well Get Juiced (05:23)
(Jagger/Richards)
If you really want to rip up your mind
If you want to take the lid off your life
If you want to reach down in the sump
To last dregs off the camel's back hump
And the wolves are howling right at your door
And the vultures want to tear off some more
Your flesh is burning right off your bones
Your children kick you out of your home
If you really want to tear up your mind
If you really want to get yourself blind
Might as well get juiced
Might as well get juiced
Hey mama
What's this crazy game of sevens, eights and nines
I can't keep up with you baby
I'm gonna give you such a piece of my mind
When I get around to it
'Cause honey I'm abused
Might as well get juiced
If you really want to melt down your mind
Crank it up to straight double time
If you really want to have you some fun
Spit right down on everyone
If you've got the strength to scream out "Hell Why?"
The wheels of life are passing you by
You might as well get juiced
Might as well get juiced
Some people like to get high on love
Buss it off with alcohol
Give me a little taste of those fumes
I need a little boost
I tell you the sweet things in life
How am I going to survive
I might as well get juiced
I might as well get juiced
I might as well get juiced
A little bit confused
11 Too Tight (03:37)
(Jagger/Richards)
Baby, don't get too tight with me
Yes, you're far too tight for me
I got your messages
And how can I resist
But if you come around
Don't slap the cuffs upon my wrist
Baby you're tight for me
(I warn you) yeah
Far too tight for me
Yeah
Untie those sheep shanks, yes
And all those fancy knots
I'm not Houdini, honey
C'mon now and loosen up
(Tight)
(Too tight)
(Too tight)
(Too tight)
Yeah, don't try to reel me in
With all those charm school looks
I've seen it all a thousand times
I sung that song, I wrote that fucking book
Do yourself a favor now
Don't drive me 'round the block
Let's split another bottle, now
Let's take a hit, loosen up
Don't get too tight on me
'Cause I'm, I'm bound so tight I can't breathe
We'll watch the sun go down
Upon the swollen sea
Aahhhhhh
If you try to chain me up
I'll vanish like a broken dream
Don't get so tight
Don't get so tight
Too tight
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Other reviews
By Dolcemiele
With this album, the Stones turn to a 'new' sound, absolutely unprecedented in all their previous production.
I believe that this album deserves to be listened to and re-listened to over and over again to be appreciated in all its immense value; possibly WITHOUT PREJUDICE.
