The Rolling Stones - Blue & Lonesome

The legendary blues rock band The Rolling Stones is back for the first time in over a decade with new material. Well, almost. The band's Blue & Lonesome is a very revealing record for the future of this band.

First and foremost, this record is not new material. It consists entirely of covers of old blues and jazz tracks. The only sense of "new" this album has is the fact that some of these covers have a different vibe than the original. Other than that, Blue & Lonesome feels entirely lazy and like the band has run out of life.

If the covers at least showed a different array of sounds, this album would be at least a bit more inviting. But no, every track sounds virtually the same. That is by no means the fault of the original artists; if anything, it's the Stones' fault for making the same sounding cover again and again. From the first track 'Just Your Fool' by Buddy Johnson to the last track, 'I Can't Quit You Baby' by Willie Dixon, you are just tired of hearing the same track. It's the same harmonica solo, the same guitar sound, the same vocals, everything. There is nothing to gain from this record beyond the first track.

Have The Rolling Stones run their course? Not only is Blue & Lonesome devoid of original material, but it also has the same recurring sound over and over again. It feels like there's no inspiration left. There's no confidence like they had in their biggest hits, just comfort in the same sound, and that's about as low as you can get in terms of passion. Comfort is the enemy, you have to challenge yourself - that's how you grow. The Rolling Stones don't seem to want to do that anymore.

Favorite Tracks: none.

Least Favorite Tracks: all of them.

Rating: 19 / 100

You can listen to or buy Blue & Lonesome from the following: