HOUSTON – Mick Jagger looked ageless. Once again. Keith Richards seemed nonchalant. Doesn't he always? Ron Wood smiled and slashed with his guitar. Of course, he did.

The Rolling Stones are back. After a three-year absence from North America, they returned Sunday night to kick off a 16-city tour.

The Hackney Diamonds Tour comes in support of the Stones' first album of original material since 2005 — "Hackney Diamonds," which has been hailed as their best since "Tattoo You" in 1981.

"It's opening night so you can't expect it to go completely like clockwork," Jagger said mid-show.

Indeed, Richards messed up the opening riff to "Start Me Up," the night's opener. The band couldn't find its way through the first half of "Rocks Off," the third song. And the guitars of Richards and Wood were distractingly up front in the sound mix on several tunes.

Still, it was the Rolling Stones — the world's oldest, richest and greatest rock 'n' roll band — as timeless, familiar and exhilarating as a stadium full of mostly baby boomers could want.

While Taylor Swift's Eras Tour has captured the imagination of the music world, the Stones pretty much stick to their classic era 1965-'81 except, of course, for three new numbers from their new album. "Angry" snarled, punctuated by Richards' sinewy guitar. Glistening guitars buoyed "Mess It Up," which included a taste of Jagger's playful falsetto. "Sweet Sounds of Heaven," an album peak featuring Lady Gaga, was messed up during Sunday's encore as Chanel Haynes, the group's new backup singer, sounded like she was testifying in church while Jagger seemed to be crooning on the front porch.

Haynes, who starred in the London production of the Tina Turner musical, brought a Jagger-loving Tina-ish vibe to "Gimme Shelter," always a favorite in concert. The night's high point was "Paint It Black," the 1966 chestnut with trippy chiming guitars while the stage was awash in flashing white lights and the big-screen live video images were all black and white.

The Stones pulled out another 1966 nugget that Jagger said they'd never played in Houston or possibly the United States before — "Out of Time," which was recast with kind of a girl-group vibe, driven by a loping bass line and guitars that sounded like a vibraphone. To top it off, Jagger threw in a deep-voiced Elvis vocal impression near the end.

Jagger was in good spirits all night, giving shoutouts to Texans from San Antonio, Austin, Dallas and Cut and Shoot (Mick loves to search the web). After he pointed out that the fans in NRG Stadium had voted for "Beast of Burden" as their request, he reminded them that they "get to vote again — in November."

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