Allen Rothman

This music on this album is surprisingly good--much better than the filler they have turned out since 1981. (How much of that stuff do they ever play live). I credit Andrew Watt and Charlie's death. The latter made the Stones realize they had limited time to make a final, high quality, musical statement (or two). I especially liked the two tracks featuring Charlie--Mess It Up and Live By The Sword. They remind you how elegant his playing was. Steve Jordan is solid but Charlie is irreplaceable. Keith and Ronnie are concise and on point. In Keith's case much more so than his recent live playing. Mick is in fine voice. I just don't find his lyrics as interesting or poetic as they were in his best efforts. Still I like this album a lot.