Counting Down the Rolling Stones

October 12, 2015
After fascinating and insightful looks
at the songs of Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen, music writer Beviglia
provides a strong look at the 100 finest songs of the Rolling Stones. Beviglia unearths “numerous surprises and musical gems” that he hadn’t previously heard—which makes for much of the book’s appeal. His look at the relatively overlooked song “Tops,” from 1981, listed at #87, is an excellent description of how the song’s musical “veering back and forth between the playfulness of the verses and the refrains” mirrors the “push and pull” of Mick Jagger’s provocative lyrical role playing. But listing “Honky Tonk Women”—one of the Stones’ most famous and memorable songs—at #46 is bound to strike even halfhearted Stones listeners as odd, even if he does justifiably list “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” at #1. Still, regardless of his rankings, Beviglia’s writing will inspire readers to turn up the volume.

October 1, 2015
The third in Beviglia's Counting Down series (after books about Bob Dylan and Bruce Springsteen) enumerates the Rolling Stones' 100 best songs, as determined by the author. It's a book for hard-core Stones fans, especially those with a fairly extensive knowledge of music. For each song, the author tells us which album it's from, comments on the themes and writing of the song, and provides a capsule analysis of the musical performance. As with all lists of bests, the point here is for readers to make their own lists, disagreeing with gusto. Still, Beviglia includes lots of the Stones' classics ( Jumpin' Jack Flash, Gimme Shelter, (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction, You Can't Always Get What You Want, and Get Off of My Cloud, among them), but the order in which they appear is sure to spark debate (as will the author's choice for number 100, which many will believe doesn't belong on the list at all). Definitely not a book for those who don't follow classic rock, but just as definitely a must for devoted Stones fans, who come in all ages.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2015, American Library Association.)