All Wood and Stones II

John Batdorf is a music industry pro who's gotten around. He recorded a string of albums as part of the '70s duo Batdorf & Rodney; played as a session cat on records by Berlin, Rod Stewart, and Harry Connick Jr.; sang backing vocals on a Mötley Crüe album; and composed music for TV. James Lee Stanley was also a '70s singer/songwriter; he often collaborated with his old friend Peter Tork of The Monkees. In 2005, Batdorf and Stanley released the first volume of this unlikely series of acoustic-based Rolling Stones songs. This follow-up volume is much like the first. The performances are clean and earnest, often highlighting a sweetness that's never been associated with the Stones. If the performances weren't so well-done and clearly thought through, you might mistake the proceedings for parody. Batdorf & Stanley's mellow approach works best with songs such as "Play with Fire" and "Wild Horses," which were intended as acoustic ballads. Rockers like "Jumping Jack Flash" and "Tumbling Dice" are more curious.