22. Voodoo Lounge (1994)

On 1994’s Voodoo Lounge the Stones sound present and convicted, even when the uneven songcraft fails to accrue to their accustomed capacity to muster the goods. Keith’s affecting ballad “Thru And Thru” recalls the sad yearning of “You Got The Silver,” while the infectious “Sparks Will Fly” is a terrific rocker in the Tattoo You mold that suggests that even in their dotage, you fuck with these guys at your own peril. Unfortunately the two lead tracks — “Love Is Strong” and “You Got Me Rocking” — are the kind of generic, struck-by-lightning idiocy that we would expect from Bad Company or Robert Palmer. On Voodoo Lounge, we can feel the true heart beating, but too frequently it is corrupted by a mindless take on riff rock that flatters neither band nor genre.