(September 20, 2011) -- This week sees the American release of Super Heavy, the self-titled CD from Mick's so-called super group, featuring Dave Stewart (formerly of the Eurythmics), Damian Marley (son of Bob), Oscar-winning composer A.R. Rahman ("Slumdog Millionaire"), and chanteuse Joss Stone. Mick has been meeting the press to promote the project, and has been very coy when asked about the Stones.

Obviously, with the Stones' 50th anniversary coming next July, it'd be an ideal excuse to rally the troops for a tour. The four Stones met in London two weeks ago, but they did not make any grand announcements and aren't divulging what was discussed.

It's no secret that Mick and Keith's relationship has been strained of late. But Stones-watchers will recall that, in the 1980s, coming off their most vitriolic volley of insults, they buried the hatchet around New Year's (1989) and were back on the road by summer. It can all turn on a dime. (Or a few hundred million bucks, depending on the tour promoter and sponsorship.)

At the very least, the Stones are guaranteeing some new product for the holidays. On November 21, they'll reissue 1978's "Some Girls" album, with a bonus disc of ten previously unreleased tracks. (For some of them, Mick recently overdubbed brand new vocals.) As with last year's "Exile" reissue, there will be different deluxe versions, offering all sorts of tchotchkes (like a repro of the mega-scarce "Beast of Burden" picture sleeve).

To coincide with the "Some Girls" hoopla, the band will release a DVD of their July 1978 concert in Dallas-Fort Worth. It's never been officially available till now. Also coming are two DVDs of the Stones' "Ed Sullivan" appearances. From 1964 to 1969, the band made six visits to that really big shoo, and, despite being widely bootlegged, this will mark their legal DVD debut.

If the Stones do decide to tour, most of 'em will have their chops together. Mick, as mentioned, has been staying limber with his Super Heavy thang, while Charlie and Ronnie have been playing incessantly.

Charlie's still gigging with his jazz band, the ABCD of Boogie Woogie. They'll hit Italy next week, then France and Switzerland in October. Two weeks ago, on September 7 (just hours after the band's formal meeting), Ronnie and Mick checked out Charlie & co. at London's 606 Club.

Ronnie, meanwhile, spent part of his summer touring with the Faces. He and his original bandmates, Ian McLagan and Kenney Jones, were joined in July by Mick Hucknall (formerly of Simply Red) and Glen Matlock (once of the Sex Pistols) for concerts in the UK, Netherlands, Belgium, and Japan. Ronnie spent the rest of the summer jamming around London. He joined Toots & the Maytals at the Brixton Academy, where he played on "Monkey Man." (Toots's "Monkey Man," not the Jagger-Richards composition.) He backed up B.B. King at Royal Albert Hall on "The Thrill Is Gone." He even jumped onstage with Brad Paisley at the 02 Arena for "Let The Good Times Roll." And hey, just because Rod Stewart wanted no part of the Faces reunion didn't mean he couldn't welcome Ronnie onstage for "Maggie May" and "Stay With Me" during his concert in Hyde Park.

As for Keith, he hasn't performed publicly in a while, but he's been dabbling in the studio with some of his old X-Pensive Winos mates. No word as to whether those sessions will lead to anything or whether they were just for kicks. Right now, Keith's literary pursuits and his dinner companions have been grabbing more headlines than his musical pursuits. Sales of his autobiography, "Life," just reached a million, and, while he was in London two weeks ago, he accepted GQ magazine's "Writer of the Year" award. It was presented to him at the Royal Opera House by his "Pirates Of The Caribbean" on-screen son, Johnny Depp. Back home in New York, Keith attracted the paparazzi when he chowed down with Bill Clinton at a restaurant called Craft. (Bubba left with a doggie bag, Keith did not.)

Perhaps the former president can broker a peace deal between Mick and Keith. Either way, the Stones will likely find themselves in the same room as they promote the "Some Girls" reissue. And, as long as they're talking, anything can happen.

Stay tuned.