The Rolling Stones released only two studio albums in the 90s: 1994’s Voodoo Lounge and 1997’s Bridges to Babylon. While the former hearkened back to the band’s R&B roots, Mick Jagger wanted to take a new direction for its follow-up.

While Bridges to Babylon kept producer Don Was onboard, Jagger brought in a slew of new faces to supplement the recording process, including The Dust Brothers, whose work with Beck and the Beastie Boys he admired.

I imagine Jagger was seeking to modernize the band’s sound the way U2 did on Achtung Baby, Zooropa, and Pop. But The Rolling Stones seemed destined, no matter how much they’re twisted and turned, to always return to their original shape.

As a result, Bridges to Babylon sounds a lot more like Voodoo Lounge than it does Odelay or Paul’s Boutique, but it does contain The Stones’ first (and to date only) use of sampling on an album. So that’s something.

Unfortunately, the disagreement over the album’s sound once again drove Jagger and purist Keith Richards apart. This time their animosity grew to the point that they refused to be in the studio together. They alternated work days during the final weeks of recording.

Despite that turbulence, Bridges to Babylon came out pretty great. One of my biggest surprises during this deep dive is how effective I’ve found the band’s late-career work. I expected greatness through the 70s and then a steady decline into a boring old age. Instead, I’ve found an uneven 80s gave way to a creative resurgence in the 90s that produced some truly memorable work.

Among that memorable work is first single ‘Anybody Seen My Baby?,’ which featured a 22-year-old Angelina Jolie in its video. During mastering of this track, Richards’ daughter noted the chorus’ resemblance to that of k.d. lang’s song ‘Constant Craving.’ To avoid any potential conflicts, the band preemptively gave lang and her co-writer songwriting credit on the track, to her delight.