A Bigger Bang is the 22nd British and 24th American studio album by The Rolling Stones, released on Virgin Records in September 2005. It is the follow-up to their previous full-length studio album Bridges to Babylon from 1997; that gap of eight years was the longest between studio albums of the band's recording career, although the band has not issued a studio album of new material since. Released as a double album on vinyl and a single compact disc, it was produced by Don Was and The Glimmer Twins.
Contents[]
History[edit][]
The album used a stripped-down style reminiscent of Some Girls, but with a harder, more contemporary edge. Although initial reports stated that the Stones had "returned to their roots" with the record, the minimal instrumentation, rough mix, tough blues and "garage" rock hybrid bear certain similarities to the style of contemporary artists like The White Stripes and The Black Keys.
Many songs were recorded with just the core band of Jagger, Richards and Watts. Ronnie Wood was absent from many sessions, playing on only ten of the sixteen tracks, with only occasional contributions from outside musicians comprising the recording of the album. This is also the first album where Jagger plays bass guitar on some tracks.
Release and reception[edit][]
Professional ratings | |
---|---|
Aggregate scores | |
Source | Rating |
Metacritic | 73/100[1] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
The A.V. Club | favorable[3] |
Canoe.ca | [4] |
Entertainment Weekly | B–[5] |
NME | 6/10[6] |
PopMatters | 5/10[7] |
Robert Christgau | A–[8] |
Rolling Stone | [9] |
Stylus Magazine | B[10] |
The first single, "Streets of Love/Rough Justice", reached No. 15 in the UK singles chart, while A Bigger Bang peaked at No. 2 on the UK charts.[11] Another popular song from the album was "Sweet Neo Con", which was critical of American politics.[12]
In August 2005, the Rolling Stones embarked on the 90-show A Bigger Bang Tour in support of the album. It was met with sold-out tickets at every destination, usually within minutes of opening. The tour was extended into 2007 because Richards got hurt falling out of a tree in Fiji and required brain surgery in New Zealand. It concluded on August 2007 at the O2 Arena in London.
Critical reaction was mostly positive. The aggregate score of the album by Metacritic was rated 73 out of 100, categorizing the reviews as "generally favorable."[1] A Bigger Bang was touted as the best Rolling Stones album in years.[2][3][4][5][10] Nevertheless, all of the Stones albums since 1989's Steel Wheels had been similarly lauded,[7] and many critics and fans felt that the Stones had yet to record a late-period album truly up to their high standards. It was chosen as one of Amazon.com's Top 100 Editor's Picks of 2005, and ranked the second-best album of the year by Rolling Stone magazine, behind rapperKanye West's Late Registration.[13]
A Bigger Bang went platinum in the US[14] and Germany,[15] and gold in Japan.[16] According to Nielsen SoundScan it sold 546,000 copies in the US,[17] and as of 31 March 2006, 2.4 million copies worldwide according to EMI.[18]
In 2009, A Bigger Bang was reissued by Universal Music Group. The US re-release was handled by Interscope Records, while Polydor Records handled all other territories.
Track listing[edit][]
All songs written and composed by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards.
No. | Title | Length | |
---|---|---|---|
1. | "Rough Justice" | 3:11 | |
2. | "Let Me Down Slow" | 4:16 | |
3. | "It Won't Take Long" | 3:54 | |
4. | "Rain Fall Down" | 4:54 | |
5. | "Streets of Love" | 5:10 | |
6. | "Back of My Hand" | 3:32 | |
7. | "She Saw Me Coming" | 3:12 | |
8. | "Biggest Mistake" | 4:06 | |
9. | "This Place Is Empty" | 3:12 | |
10. | "Oh No, Not You Again" | 3:46 | |
11. | "Dangerous Beauty" | 3:48 | |
12. | "Laugh, I Nearly Died" | 4:54 | |
13. | "Sweet Neo Con" | 4:33 | |
14. | "Look What the Cat Dragged In" | 3:57 | |
15. | "Driving Too Fast" | 3:56 | |
16. | "Infamy" | 3:47 |
DVD special edition bonus disc[edit][]
[show]Track listing |
---|
Personnel[edit][]
- The Rolling Stones
- Mick Jagger – lead and backing vocals, guitars, harmonica, keyboards, bass guitar on "Back of My Hand", "She Saw Me Coming", "Dangerous Beauty" and "Sweet Neo Con", percussion
- Keith Richards – guitars, backing vocals, keyboards, lead vocals and bass guitar on "This Place is Empty" and "Infamy", percussion on "Infamy"
- Ronnie Wood – guitars
- Charlie Watts – drums
- Additional personnel
- Darryl Jones – bass guitar on "Rough Justice", "Let Me Down Slow", "It Won't Take Long", "Rain Fall Down", "Streets of Love", "Biggest Mistake", "Oh No, Not You Again", "Laugh, I Nearly Died", and "Driving Too Fast"
- Chuck Leavell – piano on "Rough Justice", "Streets of Love" and "Driving Too Fast", organ on "It Won't Take Long", "Streets of Love" and "Biggest Mistake"[19]
- Blondie Chaplin – backing vocals on "She Saw Me Coming" and "Infamy"
- Matt Clifford – keyboards and vibraphone on "Rain Fall Down", piano, organ, and strings on "Streets of Love", programming
- Lenny Castro – percussion on "Look What the Cat Dragged In"
Chart positions[edit][]
- Album
Chart (2005) | Peak
position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA)[20] | 4 |
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[21] | 1 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[22] | 3 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[23] | 4 |
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[24] | 1 |
Danish Albums (Hitlisten)[25] | 1 |
Dutch Albums (MegaCharts)[26] | 1 |
European Albums (Billboard)[27] | 1 |
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)[28] | 4 |
French Albums (SNEP)[29] | 3 |
German Albums (Official Top 100)[30] | 1 |
Greek Albums (IFPI)[31] | 1 |
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[32] | 10 |
Irish Albums (IRMA)[33] | 18 |
Italian Albums (FIMI)[34] | 1 |
New Zealand Albums (Recorded Music NZ)[35] | 2 |
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)[36] | 2 |
Polish Albums (ZPAV)[37] | 2 |
Portuguese Albums (AFP)[38] | 5 |
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[39] | 2 |
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)[40] | 1 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[41] | 1 |
UK Albums (OCC)[42] | 2 |
US Billboard 200[43] | 3 |
- Singles
Year | Single | Chart | Position |
---|---|---|---|
2005 | "Rough Justice" | Mainstream Rock Tracks[44] | 25 |
2005 | "Streets of Love"/"Rough Justice" | UK Top 75 Singles [45] | 15 |
2005 | "Oh No, Not You Again" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 34 |
2005 | "Rain Fall Down" | UK Top 75 Singles | 33 |
2006 | "Rain Fall Down" | Hot Dance Singles/Club Play | 21 |
2006 | "Biggest Mistake" | UK Top 75 Singles [46] | 51 |
Certifications[edit][]
Region | Certification | Sales/shipments |
---|---|---|
Argentina (CAPIF)[47] | Platinum | 40,000x |
Austria (IFPI Austria)[48] | Gold | 15,000x |
Canada (Music Canada)[49] | Platinum | 100,000^ |
Denmark (IFPI Denmark)[50] | Gold | 20,000^ |
France (SNEP)[51] | Gold | 75,000
|
Germany (BVMI)[15] | Platinum | 200,000^ |
Greece (IFPI Greece)[52] | Gold | 10,000^ |
Japan (RIAJ)[16] | Gold | 100,000^ |
New Zealand (RMNZ)[53] | Gold | 7,500^ |
Poland (ZPAV)[54] | Gold | 10,000
|
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[55] | Gold | 20,000x |
United Kingdom (BPI)[56] | Gold | 100,000^ |
United States (RIAA)[14] | Platinum | 1,000,000^ |
Summaries | ||
Europe (IFPI)[57] | Platinum | 1,000,000
|
|