Mick Jagger's New Gig

For the first time since the Stones formed almost a half century ago, Mick Jagger is trotting out a brand new band. SuperHeavy, as it is called, is a supergroup featuring a motley crew of musical talent whose influences range from rock and soul to reggae and Indian. The collaborative has produced music so fresh and diverse, Jagger says it defies categorization. The unique nature of the project has made the band's eponymous debut album, set for release in September, one of the most anticipated records of the fall.

SuperHeavy is the brainchild of legendary Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger and guitarist/producer Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics. The two have worked together on numerous occasions over the years, most notably on the song "Old Habits Die Hard" off the Alfie soundtrack. The band also features soul songstress Joss Stone, another of Jagger's Alfie collaborators (the duo cut the track "Lonely Without You"); A. R. Rahman, the Oscar-winning Indian composer behind the films Slumdog Millionaire and 127 Hours; and Damian Marley, youngest son of Bob.

The group came together two years ago when Stewart called Jagger from his home in Jamaica with a proposal. "I lived in Lime Hall right above St. Ann's Bay," he says. "It's kind of the jungle, and sometimes I'd hear three sound systems off in the distance, all playing different things." The fusion of incongruous sounds inspired Stewart to approach Jagger with the concept of assembling a band of musicians from different cultures, generations, and musical genres to see what would result. Jagger loved the idea. The two promptly began making calls to artists around the globe and hand-selected Stone, Rahman and Marley to help bring their vision to life.

The ragtag bunch converged in a Los Angeles studio 18 months ago, armed with little more than ideas, a few guitar riffs, snippets of lyrics, and writing pads. "We didn't know what the hell we were doing," says Stewart of the multi-cultural free-for-all. "We were just jamming and making a noise. It was like when a band first starts up in your garage." The group recorded some 35 hours of music in 10 days, songs that ran as long as an hour, then reconvened to work that raw material down to the numbers that make up their first release, SuperHeavy.

Jagger found the organic nature of the project completely different from anything he's ever been involved in before. Cobbling an album together on the fly is not his typical way of working. "You always want to leave some room for improvisation, but you need to have something, some songs, when you walk into the studio," he says. But Mick went with the loose method of songwriting and was pleasantly surprised and plenty inspired by the spontaneity of it. As a band with four singers, Jagger had the opportunity to swap out vocals to assume other roles, including playing the guitar and harmonica. "Not everything was reliant on me," he says, a comment that no doubt met the wry bemusement of Stones bandmate Keith Richards.

The new album's track list will consist of 16 to 18 songs, including the first single released earlier this month, "Miracle Worker," a reggae number featuring Joss Stone. SuperHeavy also includes a double shot of vintage Jagger on the acoustic number "You're Never Gonna Change" and the slightly ominous "One Day, One Night," on which he sings the blues against a mix of electronic beats and Indian and Jamaican rhythms. Also making the cut are "Satyameva Jayate," which Mick sings in Urdu, the national language of Pakistan, and "Energy," a dance track that has Marley rapping on the verses.

In case you're wondering, the group's name SuperHeavy originated from some improvised vocals by Marley, who was goofing around one day, singing "heavy, heavy, heavy, heavy, super heavy." Stewart says they thought that sounded good and the name sort of stuck.

Jagger is confident that Stones fans will embrace the group. "It is a different kind of record than what people would expect," he says. "It's not all weird and strange though. I think Stones fans will think it's a bit odd, but they'll find most of it accessible. They've heard me play harmonica before and a lot of [the music] is pretty high energy."

As for the future of SuperHeavy, the band are taking a wait-and-see approach. There are no immediate plans to tour, although this may change depending on the reception the new album receives when it is released on September 20.

And speaking of tours, there remains that persistent rumor that Jagger's other band may hit the road for a run of dates in celebration of their upcoming 50th Anniversary in 2012. Concerning the rumor, Keith Richards—who himself is working on a new album with his side-project, the X-Pensive Winos—remains optimistic. "Something's blowing in the wind," he says. "The idea's there. We kind of know we should do it, but nobody's put their finger on the moment yet. This is what we want to ask each other: Do we want to go out in a blaze of glory? We can, if Mick and Charlie feel like I do, that we can still turn people on. We don't have to prove nothing anymore. I just love playing, and I miss the crowd." But for his part, Mick Jagger just chuckles when pressed. "I don't have any announcement to make at the moment," he says. "I'm just doing this right now."