A Bigger Bang

A Bigger Bang
Studio album by The Rolling Stones
Released	5 September 2005
Recorded	September 2004 – June 2005
Genre	Rock, blues rock, rock and roll, punk blues
Length	64:23
Language	English
Label	Virgin, Interscope, Polydor
Producer	Don Was and The Glimmer Twins, with Matt Clifford ("Streets of Love")
The Rolling Stones chronology
Bridges to Babylon (1997) A Bigger Bang (2005)
Singles from A Bigger Bang
"Streets of Love"/"Rough Justice" Released: 22 August 2005 "Rain Fall Down" Released: 5 December 2005 "Biggest Mistake" Released: 21 August 2006

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. Released as a double album on vinyl and a single compact disc, it was produced by Don Was and The Glimmer Twins.

History

The album used a stripped-down style reminiscent of Some Girls, but with a harder, more contemporary edge. Many of these songs were recorded with just the core band of Jagger, Richards and Watts. Ronnie Wood was absent from some of the sessions, playing on only ten of the sixteen tracks, with only very occasional contributions from outside musicians comprising the recording of the album.

Although initial reports stated that the Stones had "returned to their roots" with the record, the minimal instrumentation, rough mix, and tough blues and "garage" rock hybrid bear certain similarities to the style of contemporary artists like The White Stripes and The Black Keys. The album is the first on which Jagger also plays bass guitar on some tracks.

Content

The first single, "Streets of Love/Rough Justice", reached No. 15 in the UK singles chart, while A Bigger Bang entered the UK charts at No. 2, and No. 3 in the US and France. However, like all of the Stones' studio albums from Undercover onwards, its commercial performance was not enormous, as its singles failed to become major hits in the US. Even before the singles were released, A Bigger Bang was noted for the song "Sweet Neo Con", which was critical of both President George W. Bush and American politics in general, and caused minor controversy.^[1]

In August 2005, the Rolling Stones embarked on the A Bigger Bang Tour in support of the album. The 90-show phenomenon is the largest tour in North American history and was met with sold-out tickets at every destination, usually within minutes of opening. The tour was extended into 2007 because Richards fell out of a tree in Fiji. It concluded on August 2007 at the O2 Arena in London.

Critical reaction was mostly positive. A Bigger Bang was touted as the best Rolling Stones album since 1981's Tattoo You and found the band in a revitalised state. Nevertheless, all of the Stones albums since 1989's Steel Wheels had been similarly lauded, and many critics and fans felt that the Stones had yet to record a late-period album truly up to their high standards, though the rock-oriented nature of the record certainly appeased the Stones' loyal fanbase. 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 rapper Kanye West's Late Registration.^[2]

A Bigger Bang went platinum in the US^[3] and Germany,^[4] and gold in Japan.^[5] According to Nielsen SoundScan it sold 546,000 copies in the US,^[6] and as of 31 March 2006, 2.4 million copies worldwide according to EMI.^[7]

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.

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	link
Blender	Oct. 2005
Robert Christgau	A− link
PopMatters	(5/10) link
Q	No. 231, Oct. 2005, pp. 110–11
Rolling Stone	link

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. 

Personnel

• Mick Jagger – lead and backing vocals, guitars, harmonica, keyboards, bass guitar on "Back of My Hand", "She Saw Me Coming", "Dangerous Beauty", "Sweet Neocon", percussion
• Keith Richards – guitars, backing vocals, keyboards, bass guitar on "This Place is Empty" and "Infamy", percussion on "Infamy", lead vocals on "This Place is Empty" and "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", "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", "Biggest Mistake"
• Blondie Chaplin – backing vocals on "She Saw Me Coming" and "Infamy"
• Matt Clifford – keyboards, arrangements, programming, vibraphone on "Rain Fall Down" and "Streets of Love"
• Lenny Castro – percussion on "Look What the Cat Dragged In"
• Don Was – piano on "This Place is Empty"

Chart positions

Album

Singles

Worldwide sales charts

Certifications

References