SUPERHEAVY = MICK JAGGER + DAVE STEWART + DAMIEN MARLEY + JOSS STONE + (NOT ENOUGH) A.R. RAHMAN

When I heard that Dave Stewart had put together a "supergroup" with Mick Jagger, Damian Marley, Joss Stone and A.R. Rahman, I was intrigued. Of course, it could be a trainwreck, but it could be cool.  Stewart, of course, has worked on some good records, both as a member of The Eurythmics, but also producing other artists like Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers ("Don't Come Around Here No More"), Mick Jagger ("Old Habits Die Hard") and Stevie Nicks ("Secret Love").

But Superheavy doesn't really work for me, although it does have it's moments.  I know that the idea was to have all of these cultures coming together, but in many places it comes off as very mainstream rock with tinges of reggae and Indian music. I would have been curious to hear it if A.R. Rahman produced more of the songs.  It sounds like he sort of just added some touches to the songs, but he is an Oscar winning musician who is one of the hugest stars in India.  I would rather have heard an album co-produced by Stewart and Rahman.

Still, if they ever do another album I would check it out, the record shows lots of potential.

TOMORROW ON THE MORNING JOLT: FUNK!

Two weeks ago, I returned to SiriusXM OutQ's The Morning Jolt With Larry Flick after being on the disabled list for a while.  Last week, I had to miss it again (for scheduling reasons, not heath ones). Tomorrow I'm back, and I'm bringing the funk.

Well, maybe not funk by the strictest definition of funk purists. But all the music I'm bringing in will be funky.

First up, is the Red Hot Chili Peppers' new album, I'm With You. I wrote about it recently, and I wish I liked it more than I do. That said, it has some great moments, like "Monarchy Of Roses" and "Brendan's Death Song."  More importantly, the new lineup, featuring guitarist Josh Klinghoffer, does show a lot of potential.

Primus is one of my favorite bands, and I really dig their new album, Green Naugahyde, which I just wrote about.  "Tragedy's A'Comin'" is one of my favorite songs of the year.

Fishbone is one of the most underrated bands of the past few decades.  But I haven't enjoyed much of their new music since 1993's Give A Monkey A Brain... And He'll Swear He's The Center Of The Universe.  They've just released The Crazy Glue EP.  I like it.  I'm really looking forward to the documentary about the band, Everyday Sunshine. Anything that gets them to a wider audience is cool with me!

When it comes to Lenny Kravitz, I'm a singles guy.  I have his best-of, and I'm cool with that. But the songs I've heard from his new album, Black And White America (the title track and "Superlove") are pretty cool and very funky. I may have to check this one out a bit more.

I wrote about Trombone Shorty about a year ago, and now he's got a new album, For True. I recently filmed a performance by him at the SiriusXM studios, and he was great (see it here).

Sly Stone actually has a new album, but sadly, it's mostly his old hits re-recorded.  There's no point to doing that: they were perfect the first time, and frankly Sly doesn't sound as good as he used to. There's a good new original song though, "Plain Jane."

I think that a lot of today's funk music is done by DJs, not bands, and David Guetta is one of the biggest DJs. I produced this shoot at The Electric Zoo festival in 2009 and I kind of "got" it.  Although dance music isn't my thing as much as rock and roll, I get it.

I haven't written about Superheavy yet, but any band with Mick Jagger, A.R. Rahman, Damien Marley, Joss Stone and Dave Stewart is worth paying attention to. Also worth paying attention to is the Jay-Z/Kanye West album, Watch The Throne.  So, if time allows, we'll discuss all of these albums tomorrow on the show!

MICK JAGGER AND KEITH RICHARDS RECORDING...

... uh, well... they *are* recording.  The rub: they are recording separately.  The new issue of Rolling Stone (not the one pictured here, the new one with Lady Gaga on the cover) has two separate blurbs about upcoming projects from Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Both mention a rumored 2012 tour.

A small feature on page 18 discusses Mick's new project, a supergroup of sorts that features Dave Stewart of The Eurythmics, Joss Stone, Damien Marley and Oscar winning composer A.R. Rahman. Mick has worked with Dave before in his solo career, notably on songs to the soundtrack of the 2004 film Alfie ("Old Habits Die Hard" is one of his best non-Stones moments). Joss and Mick did a duet on that soundtrack as well.

Mick has always expressed a bit of boredom with doing things the same way with The Stones, but his attempts to do different music projects outside of the band haven't done well.  His last full length solo album, 2001's Goddess In The Doorway, got a five star review in Rolling Stone, which only called attention to the fact that it was far from being a five star album.  (It did have one of his finest moments: his excellent collaboration with Lenny Kravitz, "God Gave Me Everything"). Anyway, it didn't sell well and I remember it being laughed at in the press (and by Keith). I guess his new "super-group" is an interesting project to him.  I have to admit, I'm interested to hear it. In the article, Mick says he doesn't have any Stones plans to announce at the moment.

Meanwhile, an "In The News" item on page 20 says that Keith is finally working again with his former backing band, The X-Pensive Winos. Unlike Mick, Keith seems to love working in the Stones' blues/country/R&B/rock style, which the Winos did so well.  So it's surprising to me that he hasn't done a real solo project in nearly 20 years. I saw the Winos twice (once on each tour) and they kicked ass.

So who knows what this means for The Rolling Stones. They can't wait too much longer to do another album and tour, can they?

Anyway: I know that conventional wisdom says that Keith's solo career is better than Mick's, but I'm planning (planning!) on writing about both men's careers outside of the Stones this week.  Feel free to weigh in, right here in the comments section.

TOMORROW ON THE MORNING JOLT - STEVIE NICKS, SADE, THE GO-GO'S, DURAN DURAN, THE CARS

Longtime readers of No Expiration know that on Wednesday morning at about 9 am ET(ish), I go on The Morning Jolt with Larry Flick on SiriusXM OutQ to talk about music. You can listen even if you aren't a subscriber yet: get a free online trial subscription here. This week I'll be talking about some artists who were huge on MTV in the '80s (I'm not calling this an '80s themed episode though).

I just wrote a bit about Stevie Nicks.  People are really excited about her new album In Your Dreams, which was produced by Dave Stewart of The Eurythmics. I think it's a pretty good album, but I am a much bigger fan of her last one, 2001's Trouble In Shangri-La (several songs were produced by Sheryl Crow). Dave Stewart is an interesting choice.  What do they have in common? How about being involved with a bandmate?  Plus, they've also worked with Tom Petty.

When I was a kid, my mom took me to see a play called "Brigadoon." It was about a city from another dimension, and the portal to get you there only opens once every hundred years or something.  Sade is like that.  Every couple of years, she reappears for a short while, and then vanishes for another decade, only to return looking as if she hasn't aged a day! Anyway, has a new best of out, with a couple of new songs.  The one that I like is "Still In Love With You." It's a Thin Lizzy cover, believe it or not! There are some remixes of her songs with Jay-Z and The Neptunes that I'm not digging as much.

The Go-Go's are reissuing a 30th anniversary edition of their classic Beauty and The Beat album.  I feel a bit old saying that. People forget that The Go-Go's come from punk rock ( I think Belinda Carlisle used to be involved with The Germs) but by this, their debut album, they were moving in a more pop direction.  I'm not mad  at that.  There are some great songs on this album.  The reissue comes with a live concert from the era.

Duran Duran have a new album, All You Need Is Now. Great title for a band that is so heavily associated with the '80s. But some of the most happening producers want to work with them: their last album was produced by Timbaland, and this one is produced by Mark Ronson. I'm curious how fans will react to this one.  I'm hoping that my friend Katy (aka "Ask Katy" on their website), who listens to Larry's show, will call in.

A few weeks ago, I talked about The Cars reunion, and I played a new song, "Sad Song." Their album, Move Like This, is out now, so I have a few more songs, including "Blue Tip." I'm looking forward to seeing them in concert soon, I have my tickets! I never got to see them back in the day.

STEVIE WONDER, ALICIA KEYS AND MORE TO CELEBRATE NELSON MANDELA

If there's someone who deserves a concert to celebrate his birthday, it's Nelson Mandela. And producer/Eurythmic Dave Stewart is putting together a big show at Madison Square Garden to celebrate the man's 91st birthday July 18. So far, Stevie Wonder, Alicia Keys, Aretha Franklin, Wyclef Jean, Queen Latifah, TLC (now a duo?), Cyndi Lauper, Angelique Kidjo, Baaba Maal, Josh Groban and Carla Bruni-Sarkozy are signed on to perform. Should be a great show - I may have to check that one out. Might I suggest the reunited Specials?