Mick Jagger
Goddess in the Doorway (Virgin) Revisionist history — or PR whitewashing, take your pick — informs us that Mick Jagger’s fourth solo album is his most mature work without the midnight rambler’s 40-year-old street gang, the Rolling Stones. It is. It’s also his weakest solo album. The first, 1985’s She’s the Boss, was then and remains a hip-shaking grade-B Stones LP, anchored by the lively “Just Another Night” and Jagger/Richards throwaway “Lonely at the Top.” Two years later, Primitive Cool was somewhat of a disappointment, but with Jeff Beck’s lead guitar, today it rocks true to the Stones’ Eighties-onward legacy: crisp, catchy, full of bravado. With ’93’s Wandering Spirit, third time was the charm; this is Jagger at his most “mature,” yet still brimming with plenty of stall kicking moxy. Almost a decade later, Goddess in the Doorway finds the 58-year-old man of wealth and taste at his most introspective, cuts such as opener “Visions of Paradise,” “Don’t Call Me Up,” and closer “Brand New Set of Blues” professing lessons learned from 40 years of worldwide philandering. Please. Bono’s brief guest shot on “Joy” can’t save a melody-impaired U2 attempt, though Wyclef Jean’s production and rich Spanish guitar distinguish the tropical “Hideaway” as one of the best tracks on the album. The sly “Lucky Day” and slinky “Gun” work, but generic rocker “Everybody Getting High” is the worst kind of filler. In fact, only the terrific Lenny Kravitz-infused swagger of “God Gave Me Everything” transcends Goddess in the Doorway‘s yawning adult radio plod. Jagger does Sting. No thanks.
This article appears in January 11 • 2002.
