The torrid pace of new studio releases by The Rolling Stones early in their career was a distant memory as they settled into the new millennium. Eleven years passed between A Bigger Bang and the band’s next release, 2016’s Blue & Lonesome.
They spent that time capitalizing on their impressive legacy by touring extensively, releasing live albums, and producing a retrospective documentary titled Crossfire Hurricane that commemorated their 50th anniversary.
After 1997’s Bridges to Babylon, The Rolling Stones waited a full eight years to release another studio album, by far the biggest stretch in their career (to that point). They stayed busy, though, touring the world and releasing live and compilation albums.
In 2005, the band dropped A Bigger Bang, a sprawling back-to-basics rock album. While their previous release saw Mick Jagger bringing more “modern” producers into the mix, this one found the whole band on the same page. Working once again with producer Don Was, The Stones wanted to sound like The Stones again.
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.
The Rolling Stones took a break for the first few years of the 90s. Both Mick Jagger and Keith Richards released solo albums, as did Ron Wood and Charlie Watts, and the band’s original bassist, Bill Wyman, left the band. The Stones also switched record labels from Columbia to Virgin.
When they regrouped, they released their 20th studio album, one that built on the success of “comeback” record Steel Wheels — 1994’s Voodoo Lounge.
Another three years passed before The Rolling Stones dropped Steel Wheels, their final album of the 80s and a return to form after an uneven decade.
The 80s were undoubtedly the band’s least successful decade artistically and critically, and the span where their personal relationships suffered the most. Commercially, though, it was a different story. The Stones released two platinum and three multi-platinum albums during those ten years, and cemented their legacy as the world’s biggest and best rock band.
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