Since the mid-80's, every time the Rolling Stones release a new studio album, a horde of yahoos publish reviews claiming the new disc is the best the band has done since Exile On Main Street. This is patently absurd and those reviewers need to be spanked.

A Bigger Bang is no Exile, it is not even in the league of Tattoo You but it is pretty darn good. I will go out on a limb and call it their best since Undercover.

Bigger Bang is a stylistically diverse set crowded with 16 tracks but other than one super-lame power ballad and a political rant thinly disguised as a song, none of the filler is really unwelcome and there are plenty of bright spots. How did they pull this off? It certainly is not due to any production magic by Don Was unless he was responsible for keeping it simple. This is the Glimmer Twins show 2005-style displaying enough confidence to bang out a record without an army of session guys and a mountain of overdubs.

The fun begins with the title and the "Fascination with the origin of the universe" press release. You can't call these guys snickering schoolboys anymore but a dirty joke from randy old goats is just as funny. More importantly, the music:

1) Rough Justice- An energetic rocker miles better than recent tripe like "You Got Me Rocking". Really good guitars. Although some of the verse-lyrics are stupid and despite the fact that Mick almost falls into his latter day habit of over-singing, the boys keep this one together marvelously. A good portent of things to come.

2) Let Me Down Slow- A well constructed mid-tempo pop rocker featuring good singing and reflective lyrics from an old dog still doing his thing. Features a lyric that could sum up this surprisingly good record: "Are you coloring your hair with some new kind of dye? Alternately, this could easily be a question that Mick, Keith or Ronnie asks each other over lunch.

3) It Won't Take Long- Let the filler begin. A pedestrian rocker with been-there-done-that ...I'm gonna dump my girl / I'm better off without you lyrics.

4) Rain Fall Down- This funky track was highly touted in the advance press and why not? Give them credit for trying something different. This enjoyable groover is not as good as say "Emotional Rescue" but better than "Harlem Shuffle". I'd love to see the band put this in the "Miss You" slot on the current tour.

5) Streets of Love- The one major mistake on the album. This super-lame Alfie soundtrack leftover (one would suppose) is a classic Mick attempt to cash in on the power ballad jackpot ala Aerosmith. Why does he feel compelled to produce this kind of pap? Does he actually enjoy listening to music like this? I am trying to imagine Mick Jagger cranking the soundtrack to a Meg Ryan movie while making the bed and tidying up around the house. I wonder if Keith and Joe Perry commiserate about having to appease their preening singers. Extra credit to Mick for incorporating "Cross the Rubicon" into syrupy dreck aimed at tweenage girls.

6) Back of My Hand- Interesting. This is a real-deal, straight-up blues track featuring uncluttered guitar work and stinging harp. I would imagine that this evolved out of a warm up rehearsal jam but was considered good enough to finish. This is the kind of song that has been turning up on B-sides from their 90's releases. Keb 'Mo has nothing to be afraid of but this is not at all unwelcome.

7) She Saw Me Coming- A guitar rocker with a bit of a groove to it. This is enjoyable filler that belongs in the "Fake-Reggae" sub-genre of tunes like "Luxury" and "Send It To Me" that the Stones own unto themselves. The lyrics are kind of funny and are the flip side to the misogynistic put down song. This time, she has the upper hand.

8) Biggest Mistake- This is the Mick Show. A lovesick pop song featuring a bed of acoustic guitars with the occasional electric lick added for accent and flavor. Filler.

9) This Place Is Empty- The kind of ragged, world-weary talk-sing crooner we have come to expect from Keith. A country-ish vibe (rather than a country track) telling a gentle, "I miss my girl..." story. Keith should do a solo album with nothing but ballads like this.

10) Oh No, Not You Again- An energetic rocker with great guitars featuring a bit of the fabled Keith / Ronnie "Weave" hearkening back to the Some Girls era. The lyrics are simple but funny. This is my favorite song on the album and I look forward to seeing it live, it has the potential to become an on-stage barnburner in the vein of Respectable.

11) Dangerous Beauty- A mid-tempo guitar rocker, definitely good filler but I suspect there might be something more here. This is potentially a hidden gem and might actually catch on with a good video. My only real criticism is that Mick sings in his "Fake-Tough" style, which almost sinks it.

12) Laugh, I Nearly Died- This slow groover featuring highly stylized Mick vocals is a very enjoyable album track and one of the highlights on the record. Give them credit for trying something different, especially when they break it down at the end. This could be fantastic in a live theater setting.

13) Sweet Neo Con- Right on Mick didn't see this one coming. Not really a song, this is a taunting rant veiled in a skeletal groove aimed squarely at the Bush administration direct from Mick Jagger. Not really a good song, (but hey, High wire was sort of weak too) I admire the sentiment, especially the "Sweet" emasculating aspect. Give Mr. Jagger credit for telling it like it is, I don't hear U2 or any other big name rock star getting down to it this directly.

14) Look What the Cat Dragged In- An energetic, rocking groover that is filler but in a really good way. I wonder if the lyrics were inspired by Keith rolling in late for a session.

15) Driving Too Fast- Generic rocker, inoffensive filler

16) Infamy- Interesting Keith song. Kind of a mid-tempo groover. I don't hate it and I don't love it. Maybe it will be better live. "...Got It In For Me", get it?

Other than Streets of Love, I am very happy with this release. Of course these greedy bastids are planning to re-sell this to us at Christmas with a bonus DVD. Think it will contain bonus tracks to make it worth it? Don't hold your breath.

This album is nothing short of a godsend for Stones fans. On first spin, it is clear that the band is in fine form: energized, inspired, and in control. I suspect that after a week or two, some of the "this is a new classic," "five-stars" fervor will settle down for most people and turn into a clearer view that this is a rock solid, four-star, excellent outing.

The production is outstanding. You can hear everything clearly: the grit of what's left of Keith's voice; Mick's sneers; Charlie's unstoppable rhythms - and, best of all, the absolute best harmonica playing Mick has ever recorded.

This is what rock and roll can be in this day and age. It doesn't have to be the Next Big Thing, or even innovative necessarily. Rock and roll is the intangible thing that lives somewhere between a guitar and a voice and a drum beat that makes it all but impossible not to tap your foot and to feel a stirring in your gut. "Sweet Neo-con" has been getting most of the press, but right after that comes "Look What the Cat Dragged In," an all-out raver that just makes your jaw drop. The feeling you get when that song comes crashing in - when that whip comes down - that's rock and roll.

This is the Stones sound that we crossed our fingers and hoped for when we heard they had a new album coming out. My next wish: that they realize that a new cd doesn't have to mean a world tour and they go ahead and make some more real soon.

I wanted to like this so badly, but what a flop. The band SOUNDS great, I don't have any problem with the MUSIC here, BUT the songs almost to a one suffer from an acute case of Jaggeritis, an affliction dating back to Dirty Work where the Mick opts to go on for paragraphs when a few well-chosen words would do the trick. Dangerous Beauty isn't bad, great playing, but who is going to remember any of this in a few months? When even the Keith songs don't cut it, what hope is there left? This feels like a half-finished album, a great band playing hot but with too many wordy whiny Mick solo-album reject lyrics to make it worthwhile. This isn't the comeback album or tour of the year. That honor goes to Garbage, playing their hearts out live and with a solid album to boot. What a depressing disc this is.

Rolling Stones by the numbers. It's ok and it does rock for a bunch of guys now in their 60's. However, nothing stands out. Where is the "Start Me Up", "Brown Sugar"?

I listened to it over and over and it sounds as if they decided it's time to tour, we had better put out a CD. That said, why bother? We will all show up at the concert anyway. I just hope they don't play too many songs from this CD.

They can and have done much better in the past. Go to the concerts and avoid this CD.

As much as I hate to admit it, I've been buying Rolling Stones albums and CD's since 1964! Yep, that's what 56 years old does to you. I remember seeing them in NY back in 1966 with The Standells and Ronettes at the old Forest Hills Tennis Stadium and Madison Square Garden in 1969 with Stevie Wonder and The Ike and Tina Turner Revue.

I've bought every Stones release and gotta admit that this is the best one I've heard since "Exile On Main Street" from 1972. This CD rocks, the energy level is high and it feels like the Stones I remember from back in the "Sticky Fingers" days.

I highly recommend it, good rocking stuff!