Stones Roll on a Hot Track in ‘Steel Wheels’ : On eve of U.S. tour, former bad boys of rock showcase their concert power with latest album : THE ROLLING STONES “Steel Wheels.” Columbia *** 1/2:<i> Albums are rated on a scale of one (poor) to five (a classic) stars.</i>

“Button your lip, baby / Button your coat / Let’s go out dancing / Let’s go for the throat,” Mick Jagger sings in “Mixed Emotions,” the opening single from the Stones’ first album in four years. And the sassy lines serve as a fitting introduction to the album’s high-spirited and generally winning tone.

Several of the Stones’ most enjoyable albums--including 1972’s “Exile on Main Street,” 1978’s “Some Girls” and 1981’s “Tattoo You”--were tied to tours, and the new collection too is infused with the energy and anticipation you’d find in a group that’s about to step on stage. The album will be in stores Tuesday, two days before the start in Philadelphia of a U.S. tour that includes stops on Oct. 21-22 at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

Some of the album’s themes about strange desires and unrequited love are as forgettable as the material in such Stones low points as 1985’s “Dirty Work” album. But the music itself frequently sizzles.

Where the Stones once led us on a journey through some dark and forbidden cavities of human experience, the ride this time follows a carefully chosen route that avoids the Stones’ old bad-boy image in favor of showcasing the band’s power as a tantalizing concert force.

“Sad, Sad, Sad” and “Hold On to Your Hat” explode with the dance-minded vigor of tunes like “All Down the Line” and “Rip This Joint” from “Exile,” while “Almost Hear You Sigh” recalls the romantic melancholia of “Miss You” from “Some Girls” and “Slipping Away” conveys the world-weary disillusionment of “Black Limousine” from “Tattoo You.”

There are a couple of detours: a harmonica-accented salute to the band’s blues roots (“Break the Spell”) and an ambitious update of the psychedelia that the group flirted with in the late ‘60s (“Continental Drift”).

But the ride steers clear of overt nostalgia. There’s none of the tension in “Steel Wheels” that would signal an artistic breakthrough, but there is the consistent, comfortable feel of masters at work. That aura of contemporary competitiveness is a considerable achievement for a band that’s been at it for 26 years.

Perhaps the most remarkable thing about the new tour, in fact, is that the Stones still aren’t calling it a farewell affair, and the new album reinforces the idea that time is still on their side.