"These versions are injected with an instinctive reverence only acquired from a lifetime of study and devotion -- but what’s most evident is the inherent joy in those live recordings: the raw, uninhibited sound of old friends reminiscing on their first love.", 4.5 stars out of 5 -- "Solos are brief and tight, evoking the honed-punch effect of the original recordings. The running highlight throughout the album is the churning ensemble bond...", "BLUE & LONESOME is a covers collection that pays tribute to the post-war Chicago blues that first got the Stones rolling and inspired their very name.", 3 stars out of 5 -- "The song where it all lifts off is the title track. It's the best noise the Stones have made in decades: spiky, scrubbed guitar shards cascade in via the right-hand speaker from its arrestingly scrunchy, punky opening....", 4 stars out of 5 -- "The album sounds less like a swansong than four old friends having an obscene amount of fun. The result is an album made for the sheer hell of it, devoid of frills, but not wanting for thrills."
