Mick Jagger 6: The Very Best Of Mick Jagger

Still trying to prove that he’s got the biggest set of balls in the business, The Very Best Of Mick Jagger is limited to the man’s less-than-stellar solo career. Granted, Keith’s own strange retrospective would include Stones songs performed live by the X-Pensive Winos, but he didn’t use such a pointed title. The one track here that ranks with the Stones’ best is “Memo From Turner”, his 1970 single from the Performance film, and no, that’s not the Stones playing on it.

That said, it’s a half-decent set, with rockers like “God Gave Me Everything”, “Put Me In The Trash”, and “Don’t Tear Me Up”, but you also have to deal with “Just Another Night”, “Let’s Work”, “Sweet Thing”, and the execrable version of “Dancing In The Street” with David Bowie. “Joy” is probably included because Bono’s on it, just as “Old Habits Die Hard” negates the need for the Alfie soundtrack.

Other rarities are included to entice the weary if not wary. “Charmed Life” was left over from Wandering Spirit, and should have stayed there, but “Checking Up On My Baby” comes from the same period, and a good blues workout. “(You Gotta Walk And) Don’t Look Back” is a duet with Peter Tosh from the latter’s Glimmer Twins-produced Bush Doctor, but the big carrot is the belated appearance of the notorious “Too Many Cooks”. This middling funk tune comes from one of the more sober stretches in John Lennon’s lost weekend, captured halfway through the sessions for a Harry Nilsson album.

So the good outweighs the bad on The Very Best Of Mick Jagger, and whoever decided “Evening Gown” should close the set is an absolute genius. It was also available as a set with a DVD including interviews and some of his videos. But beyond that…

Mick Jagger The Very Best Of Mick Jagger (2007)—2½