The deeply weird
Bossa 'n Stones
collection is like a Mad Libs version of a tribute record. It's as if its subject (
the Rolling Stones
) and style (contemporary
bossa nova
) were selected at random, with the end result designed to provoke nervous giggles. The finished product doesn't make much more sense. You can't imagine a wider chasm than what separates the thunderous drumming of
Charlie Watts
from the feather-light, percolating rhythms of
, rendering all of the performances off-kilter and out-of-step. Moreover, the dark, menacing bravado of the best
Mick Jagger
and
Keith Richards
songs exists in diametric opposition to the playful sensuality these performances evoke -- the vocals don't mesh at all with the lyrics. That all said,
is livelier and more passionate than anything
the Stones
themselves recorded since
Tattoo You
-- tepid praise, but probably better than the set deserves. ~ Jason Ankeny