Blue & Lonesome (Deluxe Edition) CD

Now pushing a terrifying fifty-five years into their career, one would be forgiven for thinking there would be precious few tricks up the sleeves of the so-called 'Strollin' Bones'. Yet they've confounded expectations by not only returning to their blues roots but in delivering their best record in at least half that stretch. Who knows whether the grit and raunch that originally inspired the ingrates back in the early-'60s has infused these readings with a timeless charge, or whether the band chemistry has simply been re-ignited by this old-as-the-hills yet fresh-as-a-daisy approach. All we can tell is that Keith and Ron's guitars have rarely sounded as sharp, nor the band this electrifying this century, and the 73-year-old Mick Jagger in 2016 has the strut and self-possession of a man one third his age.