JEM Records Celebrates Jagger & Richards

Various Artists

Jem Records

This is the fifth in a series of tributes Jem has released yearly, and all have been great, like this one is. It affirms Mick and Keith as elder statesmen and the Stones as at least one of the world's greatest hitmakers.

It shows how versatile the Stones were too -- rock, pop, and on The High Frequencies' “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” you can dance to it. And there's raunch. “Star Star” by the Cynz is one of the Stones' most notorious songs, “Starfucker” with a clean title. “Too Tight” by The Airport 77s, with its Cars-like synth playing, is fun, especially if you want something perverse and cool.

There is a nice blend of hits and album tracks here. The Midnight Callers do “Jumpin' Jack Flash” and The Weeklings do ”Rocks Off.” Both put a power pop twist on classic songs. Paul Collins does a folk/rock take of ”Tell Me.” The Anderson Council rock up “Citadel.”

So if you want something that compliments the Stones' current tour (especially if you’re going to see them), just feel like hearing the Stones, love classic and album rock, or power pop, or just want to hear something good, you’ll find all of it here, with a good time guaranteed for all.

Andrea Weiss