It's official: Rolling Stones lead singer Mick Jagger is working on solo music, and his collaborators include Eurythmics co-founder Dave Stewart, Joss Stone, Damian Marley and Oscar-winning songwriter/composer A.R. Rahman, who is best known for the music of "Slumdog Millionaire."
A representative for Jagger confirmed to the New York Post that the recording sessions took place, but says it is too early to know if the music will be released: "They all thought it would be interesting and great fun to go into the studio and play some music. No video has been shot, no label in place. All a bit premature."
The New York Post reports:
A source said, "They just finished a record and their first video and are talking to major labels about a deal. The name for the band at the moment is Super Heavy." Another source said, "Each member has a very distinct and different style, but it works. Mick has been recording with Dave for a while, and both worked with Joss in the past."
Mick Jagger, Stewart and Stone previously worked on the soundtrack to the 2004 remake of "Alfie." Mick Jagger and Stewart won a Golden Globe for writing the soundtrack's lead single, "Old Habits Die Hard." Mick Jagger's most recent solo album was 2001's "Goddess in the Doorway."
In March 2011, Mick Jagger's younger brother, Chris Jagger, told a Portugese TV program that Mick was working on solo music with Stewart, but there had been no official confirmation from Mick and his camp until now.
In an exclusive interview with Rolling Stone, Mick talked about the making of the SuperHeavy album:
The group got its start two years ago when Dave Stewart called Jagger from his home in Jamaica. "I live in Lime Hall right above St. Ann's Bay," says Stewart. "It's kind of the jungle, and sometimes I'd hear three sound systems all playing different things. I always love that, along with Indian orchestras. I said to Mick, ‘How could we make a fusion?' We were talking about an experiment, and then we started talking about voices. It was all born from that conversation."
Jagger loved the idea, and after lots of brainstorming and phone calls around the world, they settled on Stone, A.R. Rahman and Marley - whose rhythm section helped flesh out the band. "We wanted a convergence of different musical styles," says Jagger. "We were always overlapping styles, but they were nevertheless separate."
About 18 months ago, the band gathered in a Los Angeles studio. None of them had prepared any music. "We didn't know what the hell we were doing," says Stewart. "We were just jamming and making a noise. It was like when a band first starts up in your garage. Sometimes Damien would kick it off and then Joss would sing something on top of it. We might have a 22 minute jam, and it would become a six minute song."
The loose method was inspiring for Jagger. "One of the beauties is that, just speaking as a vocalist, I did other things," Jagger says. "I played guitar and harmonica, but there's four vocalist on the album. Not everything was reliant on me.” The band’s name came from some improvised vocals by Marley. "He was just singing 'Heavy, heavy, heavy, heavy, super heavy,'" says Stewart. "We thought that sounded good and it sort of stuck with us."
Jagger is confident that Stones fans will embrace the group. "It is a different kind of record that what people would expect," he says. "It's not all weird and strange though. I think Stones fans will think it's a bit odd, but they'll find most of it accessible. They've heard me play harmonica before and a lot of it is pretty high energy” …
When asked if the Stones are going to tour next year, Jagger just chuckles. "I don't have any announcement to make at the moment," he says. "I'm just, uh, ya know...just doing this right now."
In February 2011, Mick Jagger stepped out as a solo artist for the 53rd annual Grammy Awards in Los Angeles, where he performed Solomon Burke's "Everybody Needs Somebody to Love," in a tribute to the late Burke. It was the first time that a member of the Rolling Stones performed on stage at the Grammys, and Jagger received a standing ovation.
Despite rampant rumors that there would be a new Rolling Stones album and tour in 2011, the band members are pursuing other projects, and it has become obvious that there won't be a new Stones album or tour in 2011. Rolling Stones guitarist Keith Richards is working on solo music with the X-Pensive Winos. Rolling Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood is doing select 2011 concerts with a revamped lineup of the Faces. And Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts has been touring with his jazz band the A,B, C & D of Boogie Woogie.
It has been speculated that the Stones will tour in 2012 (which would be the band's 50th anniversary), but there are no indications yet that it will happen.
Rolling Stones tours take at least a year to plan. Over the past several years, their tours have traditionally been announced in the spring, and the Stones have new music to promote by the time they launch a tour. There are no signs that the band is gearing up for a spring 2012 announcement of a tour or that the Rolling Stones will have new music in 2012.
Although the Rolling Stones and former Stones bass player Bill Wyman reunited to record a cover version of Bob Dylan's "Watching the River Flow" (on Ben Waters' "Boogie 4 Stu" album, a tribute to the late Ian Stewart), that was a one-off recording, and there are no additional tracks from the album that feature all of the current members of the Stones playing on the same song.
Meanwhile, there have been unconfirmed rumors that Mick Jagger might perform at the 2012 Summer Olympics with a "supergroup" that includes Paul McCartney, Ringo Starr and former Sex Pistols singer John Lydon.
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