Stone is one of pop’s most famous recluses, long dogged by rumors of drug abuse and strange behavior. “I’m Back!” isn’t a return to his classic late-’60s heights, or even much of a return at all: Stone seems more like a visitor to these tracks, like somebody assembled them and he showed up sometimes. He sounds tired.
“I’m Back” feels both abbreviated and padded: There are several unreleased songs, including a lovely “His Eye Is on the Sparrow,” but most of the disc is given over to Stone’s hits, represented in two versions: A new version redone, though not usually substantially altered, with help from a guest star (Jeff Beck ably assists on “[I Want to Take You] Higher,” and Heart’s Ann Wilson sounds just right singing backup on a new version of “Everyday People”); and a remixed version.
There are entirely credible dance mixes of “Family Affair” (turned into a dubstep jam) and “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)” (now an electro club banger). It may seem sacrilegious, this bending and mutilating of Stone’s hits, but Stone himself appears to have given up on these songs long ago, and after years of overuse in car commercials and karaoke bars, these songs no longer feel untouchable, they just feel old.
— Allison Stewart
Recommended Track
“Everyday People”
