Bridges to Babylon

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Bridges to Babylon is a studio album by British rock band The Rolling Stones, released by Virgin Records on 29 September 1997. It would prove to be the band's final studio album of the 1990s and their last full-length release of new songs until 2005's A Bigger Bang. The album was supported by the year-long worldwide Bridges to Babylon Tour that met with much success.

Bridges to Babylon, containing an unprecedented three solo vocals by Richards, was released to mixed reviews. It reached #6 in the UK, #2 in France and #3 in the US, where it was certified platinum by the RIAA in November 1997.[1] As of January 2010, Bridges to Babylon has sold 1.1 million copies in the US.[2] Further singles "Saint of Me" and "Out of Control" were also minor hits.

The Stones had become a touring phenomenon by this point. The Bridges to Babylon Tour in 1997 consisted of 108 shows, making it the second largest grossing North American tour of all time.

The cover art was designed by Jay Bryan.

In 2009, Bridges to Babylon was remastered and reissued by Universal Music.

Background and recording

Following the Voodoo Lounge Tour, and Stripped projects of 1994/1995, the Stones afforded themselves a brief respite before Mick Jagger and Keith Richards began composing new songs together in the summer of 1996 with demos to follow at the end of the year. Although the band would use Don Was as a producer again, Jagger wanted to bring The Dust Brothers in to work with them, having been impressed with their work on Beck's Odelay.[citation needed] Richards wasn't keen on the idea and brought in Rob Fraboni for his solo material, such that the only tracks that would bear their influence were "Anybody Seen My Baby", "Saint of Me" and "Might as Well Get Juiced"; it was thus the first, and so far only, Stones album to feature sampling. Additional producers would also contribute, giving the project a more rounded feel.

Bridges to Babylon was recorded during the spring into summer months of 1997 in Los Angeles in a matter of four months, one of their most concise periods of recording in years. As it was being mastered, the projected lead single "Anybody Seen My Baby?" was found to resemble k.d. lang's 1992 hit "Constant Craving" in its chorus[3], a discovery brought to Richards' attention by his daughter Angela. Seeking to avoid possible future legal entanglements, lang and her co-writer Ben Mink were credited along with Jagger and Richards on the new song. Upon its release, it would reach #22 in the UK and become a US radio rock hit.

A total of eight different musicians played bass on the sessions for the album: Jeff Sarli, Jamie Muhoberac, Blondie Chaplin, Don Was, Danny Saber, Darryl Jones, Me'shell Ndegeocello, and Doug Wimbish.

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[4]

Track listing

All songs by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, except where noted.

  1. "Flip the Switch" - 3:28
  2. "Anybody Seen My Baby?" (Jagger/Richards/k.d. Lang/Ben Mink) - 4:31
  3. "Low Down" - 4:26
  4. "Already Over Me" - 5:24
  5. "Gunface" - 5:02
  6. "You Don't Have to Mean It" - 3:44
  7. "Out of Control" - 4:43
  8. "Saint of Me" - 5:14
  9. "Might as Well Get Juiced" - 5:23
  10. "Always Suffering" - 4:43
  11. "Too Tight" - 3:33
  12. "Thief in the Night" (Jagger/Richards/Pierre de Beauport) - 5:15
  13. "How Can I Stop" - 6:53

Personnel

The Rolling Stones
Additional musicians

Charts and certifications

References

  1. ^ "Gold and Platinum Database Search". Retrieved 21 January 2010.
  2. ^ Christman, Ed, et al. "Future Shock". Billboard. 23 January 2010
  3. ^ Richards, Keith (2010). Life. Great Britain: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. p. 457. ISBN 978-0-297-85439-5. {{cite book}}: |access-date= requires |url= (help); Unknown parameter |coauthors= ignored (|author= suggested) (help)
  4. ^ "Allmusic review".
  5. ^ "The Rolling Stones – Bridges to Babylon (Album)" (ASP). Australian Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  6. ^ "The Rolling Stones – Bridges to Babylon (Album)" (ASP). Austrian Charts (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  7. ^ "The Rolling Stones – Bridges to Babylon (Album)" (ASP). Ultratop (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  8. ^ "The Rolling Stones – Bridges to Babylon (Album)" (ASP). Ultratop (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  9. ^ "The Rolling Stones Album & Song Chart History: Canadian Albums". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  10. ^ "The Rolling Stones – Bridges to Babylon (Album)" (ASP). Finnish Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  11. ^ "The Rolling Stones – Bridges to Babylon (Album)" (ASP). Les Charts (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  12. ^ "Chartverfolgung / ROLLING STONES, THE / Longplay". Music Line (in German). Media Control Charts. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  13. ^ "Archivum: Top 40 Album". MAHASZ (in Hungarian). Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  14. ^ "Artist Ranking CD Album". Oricon Style (in Japanese). Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  15. ^ "The Rolling Stones – Bridges to Babylon (Album)" (ASP). Dutch Charts (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  16. ^ "The Rolling Stones – Bridges to Babylon (Album)" (ASP). Charts.org.nz. Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  17. ^ "The Rolling Stones – Bridges to Babylon (Album)" (ASP). Norwegian Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  18. ^ "The Rolling Stones – Bridges to Babylon (Album)" (ASP). Swedish Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  19. ^ "The Rolling Stones – Bridges to Babylon (Album)" (ASP). Swiss Charts. Hung Medien. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  20. ^ "Chart Archive: Top 40 Official UK Albums Archive – 11th October 1997". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 2 August 2011.
  21. ^ "The Rolling Stones Album & Song Chart History: Billboard 200". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  22. ^ a b c d e "The Rolling Stones: Charts & Awards – Billboard Singles". Allmusic. United States: Rovi Corporation. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  23. ^ a b c "Featured Artists: Rolling Stones". The Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
  24. ^ "Argentinian album certifications – Rolling Stonse – Bridges to Babylon". Argentine Chamber of Phonograms and Videograms Producers.
  25. ^ "Austrian album certifications – The Rolling Stones – Bridges to Babylon" (in German). IFPI Austria.
  26. ^ "Canadian album certifications – The Rolling Stones – Bridges to Babylon". Music Canada.
  27. ^ "French album certifications – The Rolling Stones – Bridges to Babylon" (in French). Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique.
  28. ^ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (The Rolling Stones; 'Bridges to Babylon')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie.
  29. ^ "Norwegian album certifications – Rolling Stones – Bridges to Babylon" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway.
  30. ^ Expression error: Unexpected <= operator
  31. ^ "Guld- och Platinacertifikat − År 1987−1998" (PDF) (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-05-17.
  32. ^ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Bridges to Babylon')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien.
  33. ^ "British album certifications – Rolling Stones – Bridges to Babylon". British Phonographic Industry. Select albums in the Format field. Select Gold in the Certification field. Type Bridges to Babylon in the "Search BPI Awards" field and then press Enter.
  34. ^ "American album certifications – Rolling Stones, The – Bridges to Babylon". Recording Industry Association of America.
  35. ^ "IFPI Platinum Europe Awards – 1998". International Federation of the Phonographic Industry.
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