MICK JAGGER”Wandering Spirit”Atlantic* * *You can’t always...

MICK JAGGER

“Wandering Spirit”

Atlantic

* * *

You can’t always get “Brown Sugar,” but you can come close to that Stones touchstone--and others--on Jagger’s third solo album.

Jagger, who casts himself as a spiritual drifter in the title song, wanders musically from one patch of signature Rolling Stones turf to another: menacing funk, chopped-chord rocker, harpsichord-and-strings ballad, anthemic country hymn. . . . It’s a good deal for Jagger, who gets the Keith licks without having to work with Keith and enjoys the hip imprimatur of a Rick Rubin production job.

His inspiration seems to fluctuate and the results are pretty mixed, ranging from mere posturing (on a never-ending remake with Lenny Kravitz of Bill Withers’ “Use Me”) to an ingratiatingly spirited commitment to rock’s classic values of humor and heart.

Jagger’s voice sounds tight and strained when it’s pushed by driving rock arrangements, but when given room it’s loose, lively and full of his broad flamboyance.

Jagger even breaks the stylistic mold a couple of times, with a heavy dose of gospel on “Wandering Spirit” and with a Pogues-like version of the traditional sea chantey “Handsome Molly.” These steps into new areas aren’t artistically astonishing, but they give the album enough risk and freshness to keep it looking forward instead of back.