Mick Jagger: Wandering Spirit : Music Reviews : Rolling Stone

Album Reviews

Given the feckless posturing of Mick Jagger's solo output "She's the Boss" (1985) and "Primitive Cool" (1987) traded substance for style the sheer punch of "Wandering Spirit" is staggering. Flexing the professional savvy that has long been his trustiest gift, Jagger nabbed as producer the rap & rock storm trooper Rick Rubin, and with deft players new and old (Billy Preston, Lenny Kravitz, Jimmy Rip, Jim Keltner), the pair deliver high-voltage goods. From rock ("Wired All Night") to funk (James Brown's "Think"), Mick stalks the Stones' turf with renewed attack but he ranges, too (from country to folk to faux-Elizabethan elegance), far more adventurously than those titans have roamed of late. Best of all, "Wandering Spirit" brings back Jagger's voice full bore - a role-playing marvel of intimidating skill.