Archive Review: Mick Jagger’s She’s The Boss (1985)

The self-proclaimed “Greatest Rock ‘n’ Roll Band In the World” produced what could arguably be one of the genre’s best vocalists (certainly one of the most flamboyantly well-known) in Mick Jagger. Regardless of the twenty-something odd years of ups and downs with the Stones, Jagger’s first solo work was not only greatly anticipated, it also held great expectations that the man, freed of the self-fulfilling indulgence of his band’s image, would produce an album both exciting and timely. She’s the Boss, sad to say, is neither...

Jagger’s vocals on She’s the Boss suffer greatly when matched against the squeaky-clean production work of Nile Rodgers and Bill Laswell. The too-cool, never-miss-a-note musical support provided by superstars Jeff Beck, Herbie Hancock, and others rob Jagger’s songs of the “get down an’ get dirty, I’ve busted a button on me trousers” feel of even the worst of the Stones’ material. 

What the Brit boychick hath wrought here is a soulless urban dancefloor relic. Save for an occasional bright spot (“Just Another Night” comes to mind), She’s the Boss is shallow, non-offensive, and uninteresting. Strictly for the pitiful middle class white kid, who can indulge their latent “I wish I were black” fantasies. If you’ve got eight bucks to spend on a dance-oriented LP, go for something like last year’s P Funk All Stars. (Columbia Records, released February 19th, 1985) 

Review originally published by Anthem: The Journal of (un)Popular Culture zine...