Face it. Bernard Fowler has a better job than you. Not only does he release his own solo work, like his new album, Inside Out, he has also toured the world singing with the Rolling Stones for more than thirty years. He first started working with Mick Jagger on his solo album, She\u2019s the Boss, in 1985. Producer Bill Laswell had told Fowler he had a job for him in London, but didn\u2019t tell him with whom until he got in the same room with Jagger. As he tells me, he was more than surprised. But he aced the job, so when the Stones were getting ready to record Steel Wheels, Fowler got the nod to sing in the studio and on tour. He took charge of his part in the recording, going so far as to tell the guys to stop rolling tape so he could make suggestions. He has been firmly ensconced in that world ever since, touring and recording on Stones albums and solo albums, and writing with Ronnie Wood. As he says, he\u2019s watched their children grow up. <\/p>\n
The new album is a tribute to the Stones done in a spoken-word style, which helps brings out the stories in the lyrics. And it\u2019s not just a greatest hits package. He does \u201cSympathy For the Devil, which you heard on last week\u2019s episode, but other than that, Fowler takes a deeper dive with cuts like \u201cDancing With Mr. D,\u201d \u201cSister Morphine,\u201d and \u201cAll the Way Down.\u201d <\/p>\n
Fowler is happy to report that after his recent heart problems, Jagger is looking pretty spry onstage. And Fowler thinks the Stones are a better band now than they ever have been, and tells me why later in the interview. He says what he\u2019s mainly learned from the band is that if you love what you do, you can do it for a long time, and at a very high level. He also says there are a few songs on the new tour\u2019s set list that might surprise people. <\/p>\n