THE ROLLING STONES
(Late Period Albums, Videos and Appendices Section)
ALBUM REVIEWS:
VIDEOS:
APPENDIX A: My Review Of The Stones' Moscow Concert
APPENDIX B: SOLO PROJECTS
APPENDIX C: GUEST APPEARANCES
Year Of Release: 1975
Record rating = 6
Overall rating = 11
Outtakes of varying quality, yet probably a must for any true Stones
fan.
Best song: I DON'T KNOW WHY
Teaming up with the long-forgotten Andrew Oldham, Allen Klein, who was
and still is holding the rights to all of the Stones' pre-1971 material,
dug around the huge archives and released this rather patchy collection
that includes a couple alternate versions of well-known tunes ('Out Of
Time', 'Heart Of Stone'), but mostly consists of songs you ain't ne'er
heard about if you're not a rabid bootlegger. Now in the Western world
this album, as far as I know, still remains unavailable on CD, probably
the most glaring gap in the Stones' collection, and, as usual, due to the
commercial smell of Mr Klein who's happy to make us shell extra bucks for
the miserable number of original songs on Flowers but still holds
Metamorphosis to himself as he's not too sure if the release will
bring him extra pocket money or no. But hey - here, in Russia, it has finally
been released, with a proud little sticker on the cover that says 'first
time on CD', which makes me ever so proud of my lil' country. Damn the
copyright. (Whew). The only thing that's missing are the liner notes, but
at least they took the liberty to reprint Andrew Oldham's stupid poetry
('this new elpee is for your home rack with songs and stars to take you
back'). To tell you the truth, I've never been a fan of his prose, either:
the famous lines about 'see that blind man, knock him on the head' were
blatant and silly, and I doubt if they ever managed to raise the band's
rating in the eyes of anyone.
Anyway, the record itself is not really all that great. After all, outtakes
are outtakes, and, while the Stones do have a lot of great outtakes
(presumably) that I ain't never heard, these ones hardly rank up there
with something like, say, Let It Bleed, or even with selected 'minor'
albums like Goats' Head Soup. The two sides of the album roughly
correspond to the R'n'B/pop epoch (1965-67) and the blues/rock'n'roll epoch
(1968-69), and both have their ups and downs. The biggest down is, of course,
that most of the tracks are underarranged; and if listening to the original
albums has never made you wonder about the band's arranging skills, you
need to consider Metamorphosis to be convinced that clever arrangements
are really one of the Stones' fortes.
On the song level, the first side does contain a couple lost pop gems that
could, with a little work, occupy their rightful place on Aftermath
or Flowers. 'Some Things Just Stick In Your Mind' is one of these,
a jolly, upbeat, acoustic-driven ditty with a simple, but catchy melody,
and an occasional piano or bell tinkle to add a light psychedelic flavour.
And the last two songs on that side are potential masterpieces: '(Walkin'
Thru The) Sleepy City' continues to milk their Kink-ish vein, adding more
haunting British images with more music hall piano and church bells throughout,
and the great anthemic, almost martial feel of the song makes me wonder
if Mick and Keith were under the particular influence of 'Dead End Street'
or 'Big Black Smoke' at the time. Finally, 'We're Wastin' Time' is a dang
waltz! Not a countryish one, like 'Dear Doctor', though, but again,
a British music-hally one, with the piano once again overshadowing the
guitars and vocal harmonies that try a bit too hard to sound Beach-Boyish,
but also with a fascinating melody that simply can't be denied, and a somewhat
out-of-place, but very 'diversifying' stingin' guitar solo in the middle.
Everything else on the first side is totally throwawayish - sorry to say
that, boys and girls, but some of these numbers are just embarrassments,
and I fully understand how Mick and Co. really resented the release of
the record at the time. Songs like 'Each And Every Day Of The Year', with
its overabundance of sap and total lack of melody, would better be left
for Davy Jones of the Monkees, while the countryish shuffle 'I'd Much Rather
Be With The Boys' just doesn't seem to fit my idea of what the Stones really
sound like. Herman's Hermits, okay. The Monkees, okay. But the Stones?
They rarely do honour to this style, and the falsetto vocal harmonies are
awful. Finally, the above-mentioned alternate versions either add nothing
to the originals ('Heart Of Stone' has some more of these off-key vocal
harmonies that make me cringe) or sound far worse (you can have a good
laugh at the orchestrated version of 'Out Of Time' for the first time,
but nothing will make you love this version as much as the original). So
the only track on here that's simply 'decent', not 'really good' or 'really
bad', is the generic R'n'B number 'Don't Lie To Me': enjoyable, but far
too similar to their already well-known R'n'B numbers like 'Talkin' 'Bout
You' or 'Little By Little' or 'Down The Road Apiece' to open a new page
in the tattered Stones' book.
Now the real meat comes on the second side; most of the stuff there is
at least above average, if not more. Apparently, there was so much great
material composed at the tail end of the Sixties that even the outtakes
were uniformly stronger and more effective. The best one is their passionate
workout on Stevie Wonder's 'I Don't Know Why' - this is Mick's showcase
all the way round; I mean, the guitarwork is quite strong, but it's primarily
Mick's alternating wailings, roars and subtle whinings ('I don't know whyyyy
I love you baby') that make the grade. Okay, so Mick Taylor's guitar solos
are exceptionally strong, too. 'Try A Little Harder' and 'Jiving Sister
Fanny' are two exceptional pieces of blues rock, with Taylor at the forefront
again; the melodies are rather generic, of course, but the raw feel and
power of the notorious Keith/Mick interplay are undeniable (I simply can't
resist that opening riff to 'Jiving Sister Fanny'! Now that's rock'n'roll
for you!)
And the 'less bluesy' stuff is great, too. 'Family'! Ever heard that one?
Echoey guitars, minimalistic, pulsating drumming from Charlie, and a nearly
'Sister Morphine' feel to it. The lyrics probably overdo the 'traditional
family values bashing' bit a little, with lines like 'what exactly's gonna
happen, tell me/When her father finds out/That his virgin dream has bordello
dreams/And that he's the one she wants to try out'; but the lazy, ominous
vocal delivery and that incredible haunting feeling that nobody but the
Stones could master in their prime make this a definite highlight. With
a little bit of further arranging work, the song could have been a perfect
sequel to the horrors of 'Sister Morphine'.
'If You Let Me' and Bill Wyman's 'Downtown Suzie' are two lesser tracks
on here, but with charms of their own (funny that the latter has an overall
'sleepy' atmosphere to it in the beginning, just like 'In Another Land'
- does this tell you anything about Bill Wyman?; later on, the melody starts
resembling 'Casino Boogie' a little); and 'I'm Going Down' is a 'Soul Survivor'-style
rocker which means I'm not a fan, as the melody is far too unnoticeable,
even if the energy is all there. Finally, the LP (or, in my case, the CD)
features the shorter and superior version of Jagger's solo showcase 'Memo
From Turner', an incredibly vicious society-thrashing anthem culled from
the soundtrack to the infamous movie Performance. Superior, cuz
it's much more heavy on the guitars and is presented as a real rock'n'roll
number here, not just a mantraic chant, as it is shown in the long version
present on Singles Collection.
Plus, my CD issue has a bunch of cute bonus tracks! Ever heard the pretty
bluesy jam 'And Mr Spector And Mr Pitney Came Too', from the early days?
How about 'Andrew's Blues' (aka 'Fuckin' Andrew')? Rumour has it that it
was recorded on the same day as 'Now I've Got A Witness' from their debut
album, and if only the recording engineers had made a bloody mistake and
swapped both songs, the Rolling Stones' career would have happily ended
the very day that the record came out. 'Well, Andrew Oldham sitting on
a hill with Jack and Jill/Fuck all night and suck all night and taste that
pussy till it taste just right...' EH? HOW'S THAT? I wonder who's singing
that one, as it sure ain't Jagger. Brian Jones, mayhaps? What a wonderful
blues, anyway. Plus, there's a blistering sharp, poppy version of 'Blue
Turns To Grey' that's at least ten times better than what they actually
released. Far more Beatlesque, acute, precise and magnificently harmonized.
Who was the jerk that made the take selection, I'd like to find out.
In all, unlike most of the 'normal' Stones records, this one has to grow
on you a little to be appreciated. I can only give it a 6 (and remember,
a 6 is a pretty good mark for a five-star band anyway), as there's way
too much filler, on one hand, and far too few really great gems, on the
other ('I Don't Know Why', 'Family', 'Memo From Turner', maybe 'Jiving
Sister Fanny' and 'Sleepy City' all qualify, but the rest never reaches
the heights we're all used to); but it's still an essential purchase for
fans, if only there comes a day when it becomes easily available on CD.
We'll probably have to wait until the Horned One invites Mr Allen Klein
to dinner. Not that I'm really asking you to precipitate that moment!
Do you really think I'm that kind of person?
Try a little harder and mail your ideas
Your worthy comments:
Tony Stewart <tony.remi.stewart@worldnet.att.net> (11.02.2000)
Oh God! I can't believe I gotta do this one. What began as a great idea,
with Wyman putting together an album of Outtakes of the STONES from their
Decca years called the "Black Box", and which would have given
us such STILL unheard tunes (e.g."Godzi") turned into a ALO Muzak
showcase, miles below the Stones' standards. A majority of these songs
have nothing more to do with the Stones than the Jagger/Richards credits
and Mick on Lead Vocals. Some were done by ALO's 'Orchestra' in his silly
attempts to emulate Phil spector, others were Demos whipped up for the
purpose of selling them to other artists. And others are Rolling Stones
doing what they do so well. The overall sound is lukewarm and bland.
So let me concentrate on the Good. "Out Of Time" opens Side A.
What was an interesting and actually quite sophisticated arrangement with
Marimbas and a well placed 12-String, plus a great Vocal arrangement has
all the spice taken out of it by this godawful String Arrangement, which
sounds like it is penned by ALO himself, it is so forced. Jagger probably
is the only Stone on this one. BTW don't let all those Liner notes fool
you. This was no great Jam session with the Stones and Jimmy Page etc.
It just so happens that J.P.Jones and Page were the top session musicians
in london around that era and are used on several of those tunes. As a
matter of a fact I have a feeling that "Heart Of Stone" is Jimmy
on Lead. "Don't Lie To Me" is one of those tunes that J/R got
writing credits on, but supposedly strays very close to a number of one
of their heroes. This one IS the Stones, but they would do this one a lot
hotter in years to come. "Some Things..." is one of the VERY
few Stones songs that I can truly say I do not like very much. My problem
is I would still rather hear anything by the stones than by 99.9% of everyone
else, because I like the STONES themselves. Sounds like Keith during his
12-String period. Was a Demo for another band, same as the over-produced
but actually quite pretty "Each And Every Day..". Really love
those Trumpets with that 'Spanish' Flair ALO! "Heart Of Stone"
is even worse in it's "Non-Stonesism" than "Out Of Time".
Chris Farlowe actually ended up doing quite well with "OOT",
but the chicks could have stayed out of the "Heart Of Stone"
chorus. That's a mean-ass single the Stones had there; elevator music on
this disc. "I'd Much Rather Be With The Boys" actually has a
lot of charm and I really would like to know the line-up on that one. Penned
by Keith and ALO, Andrew explains the eyeliner a bit, and Keith writes
a very Doowop sounding melody. "Sleepin' City" again isn't a
bad song. This is what is so infuriating about this disc. It is totally
ALO's record, arrangements are strictly for commercial purposes. this one
has a great little bridge with an interesting shift in Key, a solid Hook.
Makes one wonder what the stones would've done with it. "We're Wasting
Time". I know.
"Try A Little Harder"; a solid groove, some chicks doing a generic
doowop, and your basic melody and lyrics, and still Jagger manages to get
my toes a -tappin'..
Side B is by FAR the stronger side. Because this one is undoubtedly Stones.
In Demo mode, but....Rolling Stones.
We begin with the tune they supposedly were working on when they received
the news of Brian's death. "I Don't Know Why". Jagger cuts a
cool whining vocal track but the stars are the guitars. Some great 'ancient
weaving' going down there. Especially the Wahguitar set against the Vibrato
sound of the other. Now that is a good one. Right into "If You Let
Me". My gut feeling is that this IS the Stones. Just because it sounds
like the type of lighter feel songs they were writing when they felt like
it in that period. "Jiving Sister Fanny" affirms what Keith has
said about each stonessong having it's cousin somewhere. "Dance Little
Sister" sounds closely related to this one. There are other meaner
versions with Taylor really letting fly on Lead. Good Rocker. "Downtown
Lucy" (I never understood why it is called "Suzie") is Bill
Wyman's other song that was accepted into the fold, and is actually the
better one of the two. It sounds like the guys in a circle on the floor
with some friends, work out the harmonies and let the tape roll. Good job,
Mr.William Perks. "Family" here in version 18 or is it 17? This
one from the Beggar's era, they obviously tried very hard to make
work, and it just wouldn't take off. It sounds like Jagger wanted to deliver
those lyrics, which I think he'd feel a little foolish about today. "Memo
From Turner"is one of those tunes that Stones aficionados like to
argue over. Which one is better. The version here is basically the 'Keith'
version, more uptempo, but without much soul behind it. IMHO that might
partly stem from the fact that Keith really had kind of a bad taste in
his mouth about the whole "Performance" bit, since he refused
to visit the set and watch his best friend fuck his girlfriend. So he sat
in the car and wrote "Gimme Shelter" instead; not a bad trade-off...
The single that Jagger wisely put out(which also differs from the Movie
version) is the first real official solo outing from one of the Bandmembers.
He used a version that he cut with a great Slideguitar by Ry Cooder, plus
Jim Capaldi and Stevie Winwood. One wonders if he was also already harboring
thoughts about Jimmy Miller, since he pulled him from that camp not long
after. Great lyrics, this time. Wish they'd do THAT one today! The disc
closes on a high note, on the most Stonesy song of the entire disc"I'm
Goin' Down". There are a couple of versions of that one floating around.
As long as you get the Congas and Bobby on Sax, you're all right. Built
around a riff that is so pure "Stones" that it should almost
be sampled as "Stones Guitarriff". Jagger mouthing off about
'...shoot'chor Momma in Law..' and at least we go out with pure Stones
ringing in our ears.
This was a disc,where the decision to release it was obviously completely
out of the Stones' hands. It was a legal matter, they tried their best
to at least get as much good music on there as possible, but that was before
Jagger found Lowenstein, who kicked Klein's greedy ass back to living off
Beatles rehashes. But still, it was a long time and a lot more mediocre
rehashes to come, before the Stones ridded themselves from several bad
contactual obliations. No wonder they are so tightfisted with their material
when it comes to dealing with Sampling and Major Companies. On the other
hand they are probably the most generous band as far as the "Import"
discs go. They make up for it in other ways.. I don't think the stones
are in any kind of financial troubles. On a scale from 1-10 I give this
one a 6. So total is 11.
Oh and BTW for IORR I only gave 8; of course that means 13.
Year Of Release: 1976
Record rating = 8
Overall rating = 13
Just a bunch of jams - but these are The Jams Of The Giants!
Best song: FOOL TO CRY
Badly, badly, oh so badly, underrated. The trademark Stones' 'groove'
album, Black And Blue doesn't have any concept, any message, frankly
speaking, it doesn't even have too many songs - just eight, and most of
them are grooves. Okay, so it's obvious that the Stones gave up on "messages"
two or three albums ago (depending on your personal views), but nowhere
is this so blatantly obvious as on Black And Blue that 'it's
only rock'n'roll but I like it' indeed. Only 'Hand Of Fate' and 'Memory
Motel' can be treated as serious compositions brought to finish, and even
then they're not very typical.
Recorded in 1975, right after Mick Taylor got the message (or, rather,
sent it - nobody still understands quite well what brought Mick to this
decision exactly), this was a serious mess: tons of session players arriving
and departing, lots of other friends like Billy Preston visiting, so that
in the end you hardly hear the Stones themselves. You can actually see
Ronnie Wood, the band's new guitar player, on the back cover of the album,
but there's not that much Ronnie on the album: at the time of the sessions,
he was just another in a series of persons invited for 'guitar audition',
which included Harvey Mandel of Canned Heat fame, Wayne Perkins, Ronnie
(all of which you can hear on selected tracks here), and - as rumours say
- even both Jeff Beck and Eric Clapton, although I can't really
confirm that. It wasn't until Ronnie's previous band, the Faces, had officially
split up at the end of 1975, that he took up the official position, and
so most of the guitarwork here falls on the shoulders of Mr Richards, making
it a Let It Bleed of sorts. Joking, of course.
Despite all this, the resulting album was surprisingly strong. The typical
accusation is that the compositions don't really go anywhere - for the
most part, things like 'Hot Stuff', 'Melody' or 'Hey Negrita' just represent
the band having mindless fun in the studio. But don't forget that this
is not just any band: this is the Rolling Stones, and nobody can
make a silly groove and turn it into a near-breathtaking experience as
efficiently as these guys. The entire album feels so homely and cozy, as
if the band were just sitting in a corner of your living-room and jamming
away and you were there watching 'em and admiring 'em. And if you ever
complained of the 'post-classic' Stones albums being too slick and polished,
here's ample proof that this wasn't really that obligatory. That's not
to say the album feels too rough or too underproduced: not at all. All
the instruments are firmly in place, and the sound is crystal clear, allowing
us to hear basically everything that's going on, every single little
grunt from Jagger and every single little guitar pluck from Keith. This
is the Rolling Stones gracefully allowing us into the midst of their creative
activities, and at the same time making the final product more 'artsy'
and accessible.
Another interesting feature is that Black And Blue might just be
the most diverse piece of product in the entire Stones catalog - apparently,
with the controls set to 'jam mode', the Glimmer Twins paid no attention
to the exact genre they were practicing. Out of the eight numbers, no two
ones fall into the same category, and thus you'll probably hate at least
something on here. But hey, that's what eclectic people like me
are for - I'm perfectly able to identify with every one of these eight
songs, and consider this album - together with Satanic, though that
one was an entirely different affair - ample proof that the band was always
able to reach far further than the 'rootsy' tag stuck on them by those
who can't see very far.
Let's just have a brief overview to prove that. 'Hot Stuff' is the band's
first (but definitely not the last) excursion into the world of disco,
with a complete mastery of the form - the main guitar riff upon which the
groove hangs is impeccably creative, plus Harvey Mandel adds some wonderfully
fuzzed-out guitar solos that make your head go round. Let not the length
bother you - remember, disco grooves were supposed to be long ('Love
To Love You Baby', anyone?). Then, a radical change of style with 'Hand
Of Fate', a desperate bluesy rocker, a fine and passionate vocal performance
from Mick, and Wayne Perkins' ringing solos making a near-perfect replacement
for Mick Taylor. Then - another radical change of style with a reggae
sendup, 'Cherry Oh Baby', which seems to be one of the band's most universally
despised songs, but I don't really get why so many people pretend to take
this obviously parodic, tongue-in-cheek, goofy number so seriously. I just
go wild over the 'yeh-ay-yeah-ay-yeah-a-a-yeah-a-a-yay-yays' which might
be the funniest moment on the album. And finally, another radical
change of style with the moving epic ballad 'Memory Motel' with both Jagger
and Richards at the piano. This one can bring you to tears.
And that's just the first side. The second side opens with the Latin-tinged
rockin' groove 'Hey Negrita' (Ronnie Wood's participating - the first example
of the classic Richards/Wood interplay), continues with the oddball jazz
sendup 'Melody' (Billy Preston on keyboards) that'll definitely have you
caught up in all the fun with a terrific 'chaotic' coda, and culminates
in the cute 'soft-pop' ballad 'Fool To Cry', which some also despise because
it reminds them of Barry Manilow, but hey, once again, people just don't
feel the tongue-in-cheek character of the song. Hint hint hint: pay closer
attention to the lyrics. Another hint hint hint: listen to Jagger's wailings
of 'I'm a fool baby yeah' at the end of the number, which is pure delight.
Last hint: pay close attention to Keith Richards' neat tricks on the guitar.
The line which leads from the last refrain into the coda (right before
Jagger starts wailing 'I'm a fool') is what I'd characterize as 'emotional
killer'. And we fizzle out with a bombastic glam-rocker, 'Crazy Mama',
which is more Slade than Stones, but since I have nothing against Slade,
that's all right by me.
As a deep lover of diversity - particularly successful diversity
- I have no other choice but to give the album a 13. Simply put, this is
one of the finest 'lightweight' albums in existence, and I applaud the
Stones, and Mick in particular, for deciding to let it out as it was, without
overslicking the performances and without depending too much on contemporary
fashion to avoid any possible accusations of 'bandwagon-jumping'. I don't
care that the songs are underdeveloped or unfinished, because this is what
they're meant to be - the record is so deeply adequate it almost
hurts. This (and not It's Only Rock'n'Roll) is a fine and respectable
swansong to the Mick Taylor era, and no Stones lover should overlook it.
As they - unfortunately - often do.
Hot stuff! Play it rough! And mail your ideas
Your worthy comments:
Simon Hearn <simon@leehearn.freeserve.co.uk> (11.09.99)
A short comment on this one. 'Hot Stuff', probably the most famous track
off the album, is not a great track that "tames" funk and disco
rhythms and uses them to augment the stone's sound. I really do believe
it is a poor track that would not be out of place on Emotional Rescue.
'Fool To Cry' is too sickly and does not fit the stone's lexicon of music
at all. (you should have given it to lionel Ritchie lads!)
A 6 would be a fitting grade. The stones real 70's album comeback was some
girls - no question.
Compare 'hot stuff' to 'miss you' - and see
Glenn Wiener <glennjwiener@hotmail.com> (30.09.99)
I will admit there are some great riffs on this record. However, the melodies and lyrics are so underdeveloped that this record is really a dissappointment. But a danceable dissappointment at least. 'Hot Stuff' has such a cool groove but even after a while with theminimal lyrics you would think something is wrong with your needle(record) or CD player. 'Fool To Cry' gives the same impression with the ooh ooh's after the second verse. 'Melody' is pretty creative but Mick must've had writer's block when working on the chorus of merely repeating Melody-Melody- It Was Her Second Name. Most of the songs have potential but none of them deliver all the way.
Jeff <Jkh1392@aol.com> (20.10.99)
Not as bad as I remembered. In fact, I rather like it now. All the grooves
("Hey Negrita," "Hot Stuff," "Cherry O Baby"
are really solid and the playing is tight throughout. "Memory Motel"
starts out kinda crappy, but it turns out okay, especially the Keith-sung
parts. "Fool to Cry" is cheesy to the extreme, but it's such
a lovely little melody. The two "rockers" are fun, if nothing
special, and "Melody" is one of the most off-beat song the Stones
ever recorded. Overall, I wish this was longer. I mean, what's here is
enjoyable, but there's only 8 songs!! It was okay to have nine songs on
Let it Bleed, because they were all perfect. These songs are good,
sure, but they don't hold up a well as an album. So as much as I like this
stuff, I'd rank this as the weakest album the Stones made in the 70s. Of
course, that would translate into a 7 or so.
By the way, it's odd that this is Ronnie Wood's first album with the Stones,
since none of the guitar work sounds anything like his work with the Faces.
Neither does his songwriting-- how could someone put "Hey Negrita"
and "Stay With Me" in even the same category of music?
Tony Stewart <tony.remi.stewart@worldnet.att.net> (12.02.2000)
Black And Blue. I agree fully with George's
opening line of 'oh, so underrated'. The Stones are rumored to do their
best work under extreme duress and confusion and i tend to agree. History
proves it again and again. Here we have Keith supposedly in an utter Heroin
daze, no second Guitarrist, and the Stones at an overall low in popularity,
because they supposedly had rejected their ideals. Like with "Exile"
this one took time to sink in. It is their disc which probably more than
any other has stood the test of time and only gotten better as the years
go by. It also occupies, with"Some Girls" the distinction of
having every song performed live. It's tough to review this one because
do we venture back to '76, or do we look back from the present year? Let's
just go with my first night with the disc. I was not a teenager yet and
had all their discs and was indulging in some...things. "Hot Stuff"
with it's wonderfully clean, compressed Keithian Funk are the first notes
we hear. The obligatory Wah Wah, Clavinet and 'Hot Stuff' chant follow
to flesh out the Disco/Funk Groove. High points are the Breaks with Harvey
Mandel come blasting in and then taking us up ina great Keychange during
the solo. Jagger's Island style rap is surprisingly convincing at the end.
I sat there mesmerized, shaking my head. I had never heard a human sound
like that. What was he talking about? "Hand Of Fate". What a
wonderful song and what a beautiful solo. Wayne Perkins evokes memories
of Taylor on that solo and came this close to getting the job, probably
on the strength of that solo alone. A little footnote: Dig the short instrumental
break right before the last verse which just comes out of nowhere. I had
a friend who was heavily into fusion and whom I was trying to turn into
a Stonesfan. He became one after he heard that little break. "Cherry,
Oh Baby" is one of the two songs where we have Ron actually playing.
It's easy to see how a lot of people can hate this song. Either you get
it or you don't. And also let's keep in mind the guys were still working
at the subtleties of actually playing Reggae. Read any interview by Keith
on the subject of reggae if you want a good lesson. First thing to learn
is that it does NOT only take a 'chunke chunka' trebly guitar and a lot
of weird drumfills that don't crash on the obligatory one of the bar. With
each album they got better and better and grew more comfortable and confident
with the style. Having Marley, Tosh, Robbie and Sly around a lot certainly
didn't hurt either. All three of these songs sounded great in concert.
Which brings us to "Memory Motel". I must have listened to that
song 25 times in a row that night. It has since become a Live Fave, but
Boy did it take a long time...The totally unorthodox Drumming by Charlie
and the harmonies that only, but only Keith could comeup with and place
where and when his soul made him, coupled with the trio of Keyboards played
by the three Keymen of this song, add Keith's Bridge to it and the "Sha-la-la-la's"
and you have a studio masterpiece. This one I've always felt should have
stayed in the Studio. Live it loses a bit of it's majestic feel. It makes
the perfect soundtrack to the inside of the gatefold cover. The guys don't
give us much time to linger on sweet memories though. right away comes
Ronnie's masterpiece "Hey Negrita", a Funkriff so nasty and so
mean, that makes even Billy preston sound good on piano. Ron is playing
his Silver Zemaitis and he used to get a real nasty growl out of it in
the lower register, when he is playing the main riff. Ollie brown and his
Percussion on top of that just make it irresistible. And when hetakes it
up into the 22nd fret...the rooster crows one last time before he gets
strangled. (where did that come from?). From the bubbling Gumbo of "Negrita"
we cool down to the big band flavored "Melody" which showcases
just a tad too much Preston. I love the lyrics and i love Jagger , and
i actually like preston on this whole album. I just have this personal
thing: I hate Billy Preston. He did do the stones a lot of good though
when they needed him. Jagger didn't have his partner there for a while,
so he had to find someone else to play with. "Fool To Cry" is
the "Angie" syndrome. It's hard when you're a Rolling stone and
you've got a flat out beautiful song with what definetly can not be termed
Rebel Rock Lyrics. What to do? Also "Angie" was really not so
far in the past. F*ck it, release it anyway as the single. And it proved
to do really well. They play it to this day. All of them for that matter,
especially the album closer"Crazy Mama" which at the time (another
parallel) evoked that same "Starfucker" syndrome. Although, very
crafty, especially once the middle break and endpart of guitars had been
overdubbed, it sounded very much like the stones saying"Hey let's
play a Stonestype song". But time goes by, and you look around and
you realize you had been comparing the Stones to their own high standards,
because who else just sat down and joyfully bashed away on Cymabals, Trashcans,
electric guitars and yodeling lines like "you're plain psychotic,
plain insane, you one Crazy Mama..."
So numbers now. 14.
jpcs <jpcs@xtra.co.nz> (09.06.2000)
hey i know i just referred to this as "a piece of shit", i was just being a wanker.Going back to have a listen to it tonight,having culled it from my collection at least one-third of a lifetime ago,I find myself agreeing with damn near everything George says.By the way tho' ,the phylum "Hot Stuff" belongs to is not called "disco",it's FUNK. As good a example as a average Ohio Players album track,which means, good enough to be 1 of my favorite tracks off this album. (BTW "Miss You" is a Stones disco song ,if you need the comparison.) Yeah so George,when you say (about this track) "next to no lyrics",to you that's a negative point,am I right? Yeah well not for me,man:less Mick Jagger is usually nought but a bonus.Props to him for one thing tho' - usually their slow ballads are a pain 'cos of his horribly strained insincere "soul" singing,but both "Fool to Cry" & "Memory Motel" are surprisingly good-sounding...especially surprising coming so soon after the gruesome "Angie".Good work,fella!You're nearly as good as Rod Stewart!
John McFerrin <stoo@imsa.edu> (09.10.2000)
I disagree - it may be underrated by most fans, but I think you're overrating
it pretty strongly. I agree with supporters of the album that this is pretty
much the last time that they tried to do anything different over an entire
LP, and in that way it's at least amusing. But as nice as diversity can
be, it cannot make a strong album by itself. This is the Stones trying
many styles, yes, but this diversity is not the product of having a firm
grasp of several different genres. Rather, it's the band 'running in all
directions, painfully trying to find a style' - and I quoted your description
of Peter Gabriel I here because I consider it the same type of album
as this.
On the 15 point scale, I would give this a 10 - it's not bad, not by any
means, but hardly a very strong effort.
John McFerrin <stoo@imsa.edu> (21.10.2000)
Hmm. It looks like I may have been wrong on this one. In my mind, I
know that it's mostly just a decent groove album ... so why in the hell
can't I stop listening to it? I mean, it's weird - when the album's over,
my mind tells me, "dude, that song only had one riff for five minutes"
or something like that, but when I'm listening to it, I'm having an absolute
blast. I fully understand the heading you give for this album now.
I feel funny giving this as high of a grade as you did, but what the hell?
This album's so much fun! A 13.
Year Of Release: 1977
Record rating = 7
Overall rating = 12
Everybody's happy and having fun, but you have to play those guitars
too, you know...
Best song: BROWN SUGAR
A not half-bad live album. Sure, it ain't no Ya-Ya's, but what
is? The guys enjoy themselves, Mick doesn't give a crap about singing,
Ronnie is probably just standing on his head most of the time, Bill Wyman
is credited for 'bass and dancing', and the only guys who do all the dirty
work are Keith, with his riffs in all the right places, and Charlie who
just can't allow himself to play bad. Nevertheless, it all works, and you
find yourself somehow enchanted by this jolly atmosphere. The newer songs
rule ('Hot Stuff' shows Ronnie can do a mean solo if necessary,
'Fingerprint File' almost succeeds in reproducing the mysterious atmosphere
of its studio original, 'It's Only Rock'n'Roll' was obviously a live favourite
by that time, too), although 'If You Can't Rock Me', having been pretty
awful in the studio, is just awful on stage, and joining it with a bullshit
rendition of 'Get Off Of My Cloud' wasn't necessarily a good idea. Keith
is allowed to sing on 'Happy', which he somehow manages to pull off without
too much trouble. Indeed, besides that odd pair nothing on here seems to
suck in a direct way: rather, some of the slighter songs are undermined
by a kinda 'pedestrian' treatment, like 'You Can't Always Get What You
Want' which is put at the mercy of Ronnie (why on earth did they think
his madman imitations of solo playing belong in the middle of that song?)
Side C is a clever diversion: it's played somewhere at a club in Toronto,
and it's just four old blues/R'n'B tunes (kinda like the newer invention
of the center stage on the Bridges tour). Muddy's 'Manish Boy' is
fantastic, with Mick and Keith exchanging their 'oh yeahs!' until they
choke; Bo Diddley's 'Crackin' Up' is nothing special, but they sure can't
go wrong with 'Little Red Rooster' and especially 'Around And Around'.
That good old Keith, when he's in the mood, he sure can crank up a good
Berry-lick (at least, he could in 1977). And we close with the usual
classics: 'Brown Sugar' (in which the sax solo is dropped in favor of a
simply fantastic guitar solo, was it really Ronnie?), 'Jumpin' Jack Flash'
and, sure enough, 'Sympathy For The Devil'. That last one substitutes a
great hell of a noise for Taylor's exprompts, and it works just as well.
Hey, but what about the defects? Oh sure enough, there are defects: like
I said, Ronnie can't play a note unless grabbed by the balls and pressed
hard, and Mick was more worried about his inflatable penis than about his
vocals on that particular tour. And that 'If You Can't Rock Me' is pretty
crappy, too. And the Andy Warhol artwork is out of place - oh, for some
cool photos! And there's a lot of gross banter. And 'You Gotta Move' loses
all the charm of an ultra-blues song it had on Sticky Fingers -
in other words, it's just ruined. And 'Star Star' has a sloppy coda. And
like I said - it ain't no Ya-Ya's. But... like I care. A pretty
enjoyable live album, it is.
Crackin' up over this review? Mail your ideas
Your worthy comments:
Jeff <Jkh1392@aol.com> (06.09.99)
Not Ya-Ya's, but second best ain't too shabby. Solid all the way through, barring "You Got To Move." The rest is sloppy and rocking, just like the Stones should be. It's almost as if they felt the need to show the world they were still a rock band after the wierdness of Black & Blue. My only disagreement with you is over the "If You Can't Rock Me / Get Off Of My Cloud" medley. It's my favorite moment on the whole album!! Billy Preston really boogies on the piano there. I liked "Rock Me" in the first place, and "Cloud" may not sound anything like the original, but it rocks hard enough that you don't mind at all. Side three is friggin fantastic, by the way. Oh, and I believe the guitar solo on "Brown Sugar" was overdubbed in the studio. Wish I knew who it was playing it....
Simon Hearn <simon@leehearn.freeserve.co.uk> (11.09.99)
It is not ya ya's, but there are some good tracks on here. (I think Flashpoint is better that this myself. Why does it get the same mark?) The best tracks are the classics - 'brown sugar', which as George has pointed out has fab guitar work - one of the best versions of the song I've heard I think; 'jack flash' and 'sympathy' are also good. A good live album, not up to the standard of ya ya's or flashpoint
Tony Stewart <tony.remi.stewart@worldnet.att.net> (12.02.2000)
Let's go with Love You Live. A Ya-Ya's it ain't but what
is? This is actually the last in line of those 70's discs suddenly getting
their long overdue praise. At the time of this writing this very disc is
actually among aficionados turning into one of the most appreciated discs
of the day. Having exhausted all the talk about the "B2B" and
"NS" Tours and Discs, attention has shifted via the headscratching
performances of one Ron Wood on those tours to the good ole days when he
played his ass off. And since there are very few good in quality Concert
Recordings out there, from what it seems, this is the Disc to really get
an idea of Ron in his early days with the Stones. A wildly overdone Stageshow,
with the Stones still learning how to manage ArenaRock successfully, Jagger
mainly being too out of breath than to do more than bark the lyrics, Keith
and Ron both indulging heavily even ON stage(if we are to believe Ron),
plus the insufferable Billy Preston feeling more and more at home resulted
in some great Shows , but not really in great music. Keith was for the
first time showing a little bit of lackluster in his playing, Jagger was
not there to cover this time so it was really left to Preston and to a
boy who did more than just rise to the challenge: Ron blew the roof off
the house nightly. He got Wyman back in the fold and his great Zemaitis
sound played in that percussive style jived well with Ollie brown 's little
shop behind the ever rock solid Charlie. The Disc really showcases the
best of the tour The highpoint of course is Side 3 at the El Mocambo, where
all this dissappeared and we just had the greatest R&R Band in the
World firing on all cylinders. One of the best sides of any disc they've
ever released, "Mannish Boy", has just a plain scary Harmonica
break"Around & Around" sounds like straight from '64, the
Reggae tinged"Crackin' Up" has Jagger just sounding like he's
enjoying himself blabbering in some silly "Island" patois, the
introductions are a hoot and the gem of what we hear of the show must be
the Two Slided "Little red Rooster". A wonderfully restrained
Organpart only adds to the Swampfeel. Fabulous!
The other three sides are an entirely different animal:"Honky Tonk
Woman" IMHO is probably their worst opening number ever and doesn't
quite get the place shaking, right into the medley of "If You Can't
Rock Me" where that mean break gets a little more of the respect it
deserves, and acting as a segueway into a great boogie version of "Get
Off Of My Cloud" with spicy little Pianofills in between the singing.
"Happy" during the '70's was as always just barely croaked out
by Keith, carried by Mick and really just showcased the loveable Richards
to his ever growing Fanbase. It also served as proof that he was indeed
alive and awake. "Hot Stuff" turned into a Motherf*cker during
that Tour. Mean and a lot wilder than the clean Studioversion. Ron's Guitar
thunders away. "Starfucker" served three purposes: 1) It forced
Keith to actually really play, cause Keith is drawn to a Berry-type Rocker
like a Bee to Honey. 2) It brought out that stupid inflatable dick and
3) It served as great Photo opportunities with Mick and Ron singing the
Chorus. A lot of Side A sounds rushed; has a lot to do with Jagger being
out of breath. "Tumbling Dice"is played Keith's way - slow! It
never quite reaches any magic. "You Gotta Move" was a crime!!
A shameless Photo -setup, with of all people Ollie providing the meat of
the vocals. I have heard a version of this one in Germany where Jagger
sang about 3 notes. Keith solos incessantly, and Ron hits a chord here
and there. Preston meanwhile is already gauging the stage for his Solospot.
This has NOTHING whatsoever to do with the Fred McDowell swampy Blues off
of Sticky. Now where I must seriously disagree with George is on
the solo of "YCAGWYW". Yes gone is the nice melodic ON the beat
Virtuoso playing of taylor, who more and more had forgotten what syncopation
sounded like and that sometimes less is more. Ron attacks this song from
a completely different angle; a lot bluesier and IMO and I think a lot
of others this solo is one of the highlights of the disc. Especially when
he busts into the riffing towards the end of the solo. I'm NOT going to
get into a Taylor/Wood debate here.'Fingerprint File" I completely
agree with George. I was actually surprised at how WELL they did with that
one on stage. Jagger got to play guitar and Preston was edging his way
around the Keyboards already. Side 4 always surprises me. Now called the
Hot Rocks Section they actually pull them off a lot less perfunctorily
than one would expect. Especially"It's Only R&R" flies. The
Stones ALWAYS play well in Paris. "Brown Sugar" cooks too. Reason
there is no Sax solo probably had a lot to do with there being no Bobby
either.
"Sympathy" I wasn't so sure about until one day someone had a
Tape playing in the car and it was just music and I immediately thought
to myself for just one second before i recognized it"Who the hell
is that? They are kicking some ass!" I love when that happens. Too
often do we compare the stones against their own incredibly high standards
and forget that at their worst they are still miles ahead of the rest.
Love the Artwork; attended the Party and got my Disc autographed by a VERY
grumpy Keith and by Charlie who actually seemed more nervous than me. That's
cause he's a Kidder... Tony
PS Give this one a 13.
jpcs <jpcs@xtra.co.nz> (09.06.2000)
Here's why a whole generation of rock fans gave up on the Stones,right here.I've heard many small-town pub bands (& Grand Funk Railroad) playing way better versions of Stones songs than this,and Jagger's vocals are just gross. Still,pretty good 3rd side - "Mannish Boy " almost makes this thing "worth it".At that time tho',this just seemed like a spit in the face of their fans ( I was a teenager in the late '70s and paid money for this record - you weren't,which is probably why you don't understand school-of-'77 punk rock)
Year Of Release: 1978
Record rating = 8
Overall rating = 13
Jagger embracing disco and punk, with mostly good results.
Best song: MISS YOU
I really don't know why this record is praised and Black And Blue
despised. Because that one was a heartfelt groove and this one is a commercial
product. While Keith was dealing with his drug problems, Jagger took the
lead, listened to some contemporary music and crafted this album. It's
certainly brilliant, chockfull of hits and even the more obscure songs
are great, but it just don't have that heartfelt feelin' I'm a-likin' the
most. 'Commercial' is the word for it: it was obviously made up specially
for the public.
All the fast rockers on here are based on punk rock: 'When The Whip Comes
Down' is, as its title implies, no sissyass love song, and both 'Lies'
and 'Respectable' feature terrific guitar interplay between Keith and Ronnie
set to (sometimes) completely gross lyrics. And what about 'Shattered',
an incredible rap about the Big Apple? Although in the live set it was
speeded up and actually worked better, it is still a fascinating tale about
'laughter, dreams, and loneliness and (of course) sex and sex and sex!'
The ballads here are either disco (the wonderful 'Miss You') or more traditional
guitarry Stones ('Beast Of Burden'): both are classics and deservedly so.
The lack of emotion is compensated by catchy melodies and special vocal
efforts by Mick. Plus we have the controversial title track whose lyrics
were the object of so much critique ('black girls just wanna get fucked
all night'), but, believe it or not, this is probably the only reason it
was ever written. It's the worst cut on here, actually: very weak melodically
and very dependent lyrically. Still, it's all compensated with Keith's
'Before They Make Me Run': if you try and ignore the whiny vocals, it's
actually a very good song about his conviction. And, finally, the cover
of 'Just My Imagination' is quite nice, although overlong.
Overall, this album gives the impression of a 'special gift': it reinstated
the fans' hopes in The Rolling Stones, started their 'silver age' and,
even more important, solidified their status as Un-Old Farts among the
newer generations. But, frankly speaking, I must state that whoever thinks
this is a better album than Black And Blue should probably check
up the meaning of the word 'better' in any dictionary he can find!
Before they make me run hurry up and mail your ideas
Your worthy comments:
Jeff <Jkh1392@aol.com> (06.09.99)
Well, I think it's better than Black & Blue. Of course, I've only heard that one once, so I never really got the chance to get into it. I may change my mind once I've heard it again. As for this here record, I really like that title track. Sounds sort of like one of them slinky Aerosmith tunes (back when they were good; like Rocks-era). Speaking of which, whoever decided that Aerosmith were Stones ripoffs? Listen to Sticky Fingers, then listen to Toys In the Attic. They both rock pretty hard, but that's the only connection I'm seeing.
Simon Hearn <simon@leehearn.freeserve.co.uk> (08.09.99)
How can you say this is equal to black and blue? This is far
superior - better songs, better playing and most of all a semi-cleaned
up Keith. 'Miss you' is fantastic - compare it to 'Hot Stuff' - no contest.
There is not one bad song on this album, whereas Black and Blue
has some right dodgy stuff.
PS. I saw Mick perform 'some girls' in concert after his recent fatherhood
experience - I cannot tell you what an hilarious moment it was!
Glenn Wiener <glennjwiener@hotmail.com> (30.09.99)
This one I just don't care for at all. Out of ten songs I believe five or six are all written in the same key of A. Geez thats creativity for you. The singles 'Miss You' and 'Beast Of Burden' just get stale after a while. 'Respectable' rocks pretty hard, 'Some Girls' grooves along nice, and 'Before They Make Me Run' has a nice tone to it. 'Far Away Eyes' is a bit cute. However, the rest just doesn't take me anywhere special.
Tony Stewart <tony.remi.stewart@worldnet.att.net> (14.02.2000)
Lately I've noticed that every Review I do I start
off with some comment on a disc od 'review' that has scrolled before I
get to my destination. This time around i couldn't help but notice someone
comparing Some Goirls to Black'n BLU; but since this since
this respected reviewer had only heard B&B ONE time all he had
to say about it that it sure sounded like an Aerosmith title and he didn't
quite agree with the painfully obvious comparisons between the Stones and
Aerosmith. Well he is right in one aspect. There are very few comparisons.
Aerosmith is not even in the sme league as the stones, Perry never having
grasped what the Blues are about, Tyler having to surgically alter his
face to resemble Mick and that guy without a chin definetly not doing much
'ancient guitar weaving ' with Ole Joe. Nuff sid.
Some Girls VERY obviously answers the challenge from the Punks,
especially after the Stones were especially vulnerable to such criticism
hurled at them after the Tour of Excess of '75/'76, where music was definetely
taking a backseat to the fireworks etc. Well, the best thing in a way that
could have happened to them at first looked like disasters. Keith's bust
and Taylor's leaving. But what we got out of this imbroglio (=mess for
the Aerosmith dude) was a rejuvenated Keith and Ron in 5th gear all over
the place, practically producing this gem of an album. The music goes straight
to the core of the Stones. Short, no-nonsense rockers in A and E, very
witty lyrics with all the hoopla going on around their private lives and
the occasional masterpiece thrown in for good measure. I was in NYC when
this Disc came out and I can unequivocally say it was the Summer of the
Stones. "Miss You" blared from every Boombox; black, white, puerto
rican...The Tour is still the most fun the stones and the fans have ever
had together, and Jagger just about seemed as if he had risen from the
dead. Gone were the Feathers and Boas and Crotchrubbing with Preston; Hello
to ripped up plastic Rockstar, licking everything he could wrap that tongue
around and really re-inventing his Stage persona. I remember the first
'78 show I saw in Philly and jagger in that Beret was doing these absurd
Clownmoves and I'm thinking"What the F*ck is this?" But Nureyev
couldn't have done it better. The set for the only time ever consisted
practically of the entire new disc. "Miss You" the intangible.
By now a sing along in concert it was set to a Discobeat, jagger sounded
utterly convincing and Charlie I think pulls off the only No 1 Charttopper
ever without playing a single drumfill. George is right when he puts this
one in the category of ballads. Strictly minor key, even though it pumped
in the discos every night, when Jagger cries"sometimes I feel abandoned"
we are not left with the aftertaste of just having "rocked' out. Too
much soul. Wyman plays a great bassline, several lines have become absolute
classics. It was what the stones BADLY needed. A Megahit! "When The
Whip Comes Down", "Lies", "Respectable" are all
straight forward rockers, obvious crowd pleasers, but with such great subtleties
thrown in, like the guitar army dominated by Woody's Slide on "Whip",
the nonsensical garage joy of "Lies" and the naughty lyrics of
"Respectable", which by now has found a very solid Live arrangement.
"Just My Imagination" at ALL '78 Shows I saw was the highpoint.
It is a wonderful song to begin with and the Stones drove it home with
such fervor and passion everytime; I tip my hat. "Some Girls"
always seems to fit the times, lyrically. Right now of course they pulled
it out for the Brazilian busted rubber, in '78 the lyrics almost gave Jesse
Jackson a heartattack and Zuma Beach was referring to Dylan's divorce proceedings.
Plus there was some other busted Jagger rubber that had caused a scandal
somewhere on the planet at the time; can't remember where... "Far
Away Eyes" is already hilarious, but I have to agree with Keith who
insists it was even funnier, until the last vocal take when Jagger laid
on that silly accent. It was ten times funnier sung straight as the Outtakes
prove, but unlike Keith, Jagger has always had a hard time taking Country
seriously.
"Before They Make Me Run" has turned into one of Keith's anthems,
and deservedly so. With the bust, the eventual sentencing, his detox going
down he couldn't have written a funnier/more serious song than this one.
Once again Keith claims his place as the ultimate Outlaw. "Beast Of
Burden" with it's beautiful Guitar interplay and great vocals, especially
that last verse with the slapback on the Reverb was an instant fave especially
with the chicas. Jagger going'..pretty pretty pretty..oooh..' brought back
memories of the early sixties with chicks just screaming"Oh Mick,
you're rough enough for me..."The masterpiece saved for last sums
it all up. This has been a total NYC disc and no song ever rocked the to
the New york Groove as well as "Shattered". Jagger is said to
be especially proud of the lyrics and the vocal delivery and I agree. He
outdoes himself. First time I heard that tune I sat there with my mouth
hanging open. There is this beautiful little Pedal Steel Slide coming out
of the Guitar solo which I just love. ONE note! The lyrics I don't even
want to get into . every line is a classic. And this time you can also
understand them. 'Shmattah shmattah shmattah.....' 15
Seth Edwards <sethed@home.com> (09.09.2000)
8/10? I think this album deserves a 9 myself. Everybody knows 'Miss You' so well for a reason, its a damn good song! Although if you say this is a commercial product because it sounds like punk, what about some of their earlier output? The heavy drumbeat and riffage in "19th Nervous Breakdown" sounds like punk to me...but thats not a commercial single? I've never heard Black and Blue, so maybe upon listening to that my opinion of this one will change. "Beast of Burden" is an absolute classic, my favorite from this one. Much better than the Bette Middler version, which I sadly heard once on the radio. At least its not Britney Spears doing "Satisfaction".
Brian Adkins <badkins@mail.calltech.com> (21.11.2000)
How are you gonna give a review about some girls without mentioning the song 'far away eyes'. This is an awesome song and its the stones using a country beat. I love listening to Jaggar sing those lyric, just marvelous.
Year Of Release: 1980
Record rating = 4
Overall rating = 9
Jagger embracing disco and punk once more, with terrible results.
Don't milk the same cow twice...
Best song: SHE'S SO COLD
A lame attempt at 're-somegirling', as I call it. For me, this album
is notorious for containing the first ever totally insipid Stones' track.
I mean, they had their ups and downs, but up to that moment they haven't
released even a single song which I'd call bad - that is, bad
from a general point of view, unfit even for bands of lesser stature. But
the opening 'Dance' is just it: a lame, murky, melodyless and hookless
disco track which neither has a good riff (like 'Hot Stuff') nor charming
harmonies (like 'Miss You'). It has nothing - except for some dorky lyrics,
that is.
The other tracks, though not as miserable, also show that writing punk
and disco music was good enough for one album but became obnoxious when
carried over to the following one. The two punk tracks, unlike either 'Lies'
or 'Respectable', seem to be strangely lifeless: both 'Summer Romance'
and 'Where The Boys Go' suffer from overgross and banal lyrics, poor melodies
and simply an evident desire to sound contemporary. So whose fault is it
if they still sound like old farts? Even less appealing is the reggae 'Send
It To Me' (one of their worst efforts at the genre, no doubt), while the
generic rocker 'Let Me Go' just does not cook, if you ask me: once again,
the melody is next to none. (This song worked better live, though). Finally,
'Indian Girl' is a Latino/folk improvisation about little girls dying on
the streets of Granada or something - hardly an appropriate matter for
Mick J in 1980. By 1983 he'd found a new way to present these things, though,
and you tell me what's better.
So? Any good news? Sure! There has to be some good news, or else
it woulda been a 1... I guess. There's the generic blues 'Down In The Hole',
which is strangely good, with its harmonica and barking pessimism; there's
the title track which is an interesting disco experiment (Jagger singing
falsetto - check it out! he's not barking yet), and, of course, the groovy
funny 'She's So Cold' - just an utterly simple, charming boogie piece.
Stupid, you say? Sure! But I love when 'em Stones sing stupid songs. They're
not very clever guys, see? Because when that Keith guy gets clever, he
ends up spitting out an unlistenable wailing - like the album closer on
here, 'All About You'. It's certainly entertaining, and I would recommend
using this song as a lullaby. I mean, just don't get me wrong: I'm not
against Keith, and I really admit he has a cool voice, no matter what they
say (or maybe way of singing is a better expression here), and the
feelings, they're all right there, but it's just that there's no melody.
No hook. Just the raw feeling. No place for me to tune in. Sorry. Same
goes for the album in its entirety.
Send it to me! Mail your ideas
Your worthy comments:
Simon Hearn <simon@leehearn.freeserve.co.uk> (07.09.99)
It pains me to listen to this - although it did provide the boys with their first no 1 since '73. This is their lowest point, but then again there was dirtywork and undercover!
Simon Hearn <simon@leehearn.freeserve.co.uk> (26.09.99)
I have just listened to this album for the first time in months. It is a lot better than I remember it. 'Dance (pt1)', which I know you hate, really isn't that bad. Ok it goes nowhere, but the rhythm is good and it is danceable. It is throwaway, but not worse that anything off undercover. I also love 'Send it to me' - really good tune and sounds like the stones having fun in the studio again. 'Indian Girl' is atrocious, but the rest of the album is forgettable music, not atrocious music. The third worst stones album after dirty work and undercover. Try it for yourself - you may be surprised
<LedZep3206@aol.com> (21.11.99)
I bought this album based on "She's So Cold," and I must say I hated the rest of the album (with the exception of "All About You"...I think I love all of Keith's songs).
Glenn Wiener <glennjwiener@hotmail.com> (22.01.2000)
This record just has not held up well for me over time. When I buy a record, I hope that there are more good songs then filler material. On Beggars Banquet there are nine high quality tracks and one decent track. On this collection, its about a fifty/fifty success rate. 'Down In The Hole' is a stunning blues jam performed with some passion by Mickey man. 'Let Me Go', 'Where The Boys Go', and 'Summer Romance' have some spirit as well. 'Dance Part 1' has an interesting groove. However, the rest varies from just OK to somewhat annoying. And as a whole, the Stones were slumping in the seventies as their mediocre streak hit three with this release.
Tony Stewart <tony.remi.stewart@worldnet.att.net> (20.02.2000)
This one always has struck me with Undercover as one of the most overlooked Stonesdiscs. This one I hate to say rightfully so. Released on the coattails of Some Girls it had that same Sophomore slot to fill that Goat's Head Soup had. Coming on the heel of a classic it's hard. I myself have always believed the best thing to do after a monster album is to go 180 degrees the other way; not try to capitalize on the success of the former. On Emotional Rescue sadly that is exactly what the Stones did; but taking the short fast rockers to an almost parodic level. It was also the FIRST disc of the return of Keith. Keith himself has said on numerous occasions that it took Jagger years to grow reaccustomed to having the 'real' Keith around. It's very much an experimental album. We are able to feel the Stones tring to sort out the new power balance within the inner vortex of the band. Wyman growing increasingly distant, Charlie growing more independent, quietly filing his style down to one of the most lethal razorsharp weapons in Rock, Keith returning albeit, still a little tentatively. Ron still firmly in his position of a major force and player; to use the old cliche`"I was the bridge between Mick and Keith". And a newly revitalized Mick, who had learned a lot about playing guitar and who also foresaw the advent of a whole new world opening up with MTV and PCs. "The interminable "Dance Pt 1" opens the disc. Keith fought long and hard to keep this an instrumental, while Jagger, I believe realized that this groove needed some lyrics. He never did find anything worth writing home about. Still we ended up with two completely different versions of this one. "Summer Romance" and "Where The Boys Go" straight from the fruitful Pathe Marconi Sessions were redone and sound very very forced with Mick laying on this Cockney accent, that is almost laughable. The guitars on "Summer" are lethal though. "Let Me Go" and "Send It To Me" again, by Rolling Stones standards, are Fillermaterial. So what do we like? Well, the first glimpse I had of this new disc was the Titletune on a Car radio in Rotterdam. I was out of circulation for about 8-9 months. And I'm driving down the road one day and start grooving to this tune which is coming in with a pretty lousy reception. The falsetto threw me for a while, but when that unmistakeable Jagger voice comes growling in I hit the ceiling; almost caused an accident. "It's the new Stones!!!" I yell at my passenger. Anyone who doesn't get the joke at the end of the tune has no sense of humor. Of course it's over the top. A great Disco romp with Ron on Bass and the fender rhodes and Snare really being all we need here. "Indian Girl" is pure Jagger. The lyrics come off a little hollow. This has often been Jagger's problem, because Jagger DOES care, this I believe. But he had early on made the decision to not make too many "political" statements. Too easy to get stereotyped into a corner. The Nicaragua visit with Biance supposedly really shook him up and once again he immediately went out and did something about it. We are now years later, but the Middle American political had gotten if anything worse. Again a heartfelt, beautiful ballad like this one did not need an affected vocal delivery is my only criticism. "Down In The Hole" on the other hand takes us to a different part of the globe; the Eastbloc. And if ever anyone could pull off a great paranoid Blues about the Iron Curtain it was Jagger. This is IMHO a great tune worthy of their legacy. Then we also have "She's So Cold". Ok. Every tune I have mentioned so far ( and this one is no exception) is either one's favorite tune of the disc or they can't stand it. "She's So Cold" is an almost childlike melody , it is so simple, and the lyrics fit right in with it. That is why it became pretty popular. I myself have always dug the production of the tune the supercompressed, superclean guitars. Very dry! And Jagger screaming on top about every play on words about 'hot' and 'cold', backed by a great Snare. The song itself i think from day one has never done that much for me. But in my mind ALL is forgiven once the beautiful album closer "All About You" rolls around. The story goes that Keith had the chord progression and it struck him as so natural that he thought he was subconciously stealing another song. He played it to everyone he knew. No one recognized it, so he said"F*ck it, this is mine", and left us with a wonderful ballad and very telling lyrics. Keith always has worn his heart on his sleeve and although everyone assumed it was about Anita, Keith insists it was very conciously written with Jagger in mind. But Jagger, Anita, Marianne, Woody, Gram Parsons...all just a bunch of Stones that rolled through Keith's life. Hard to judge this one in a number. Make it 12.
Year Of Release: 1981
Record rating = 9
Overall rating = 14
Ballsy and unpretensious, but full of great riffs and excitement.
Best song: START ME UP
Great! Great is the word. Okay - so it's not as great as their
peak albums. The melodies are all here, it seems, but the spirit is long
gone. In any case, whatever the possibilities, Tattoo You is the
very last great album for the band before the stagnation. Rumour hath it
that it contains mostly outtakes (on a couple of which you can even hear
Mick Taylor's guitar!), and it seems like it, especially considering that
it was preceded and followed with such weak releases. Here, though,
nasties you will find not. The songs are all packed with hooks and have
enough drive to convince you that the Stones are still able to rock
out; on the other hand, they rarely overdo the trick like they did on contemporary
live shows - yeah, this album does feature the purpose of proving
to the world that the Stones still had the spirit of twenty-year old bull
calfs, but it does so in a moderate, decent way, and there are no sweaty
T-shirts or missed vocal notes to make you scream: 'hey now! they're trying
way too hard!' It's all right.
As its 10-year old predecessor, it is divided into a 'hard' and a 'soft'
side, even more rigidly so than Sticky Fingers. The hard side kicks
all kind of butts, and the soft side is as gorgeous as possible. Goes without
saying that the record is a pretty lightweight one; there's hardly any
philosophical message in any of the songs at all. Well, you could read
out some social critique in songs like 'Hang Fire' or 'Tops', but it's
not very interesting or serious. Even the punkish vibe of Some Girls
seems to be gone. So I'd guess you could easily call Tattoo You
a 'trashy' record - but if it is 'trashy', it's possibly the most valuable
trash in the world. For me, at least; I'd be happy if it were the same
for you.
But, trashy or not, I ask you in all honesty: how would it be possible
to resist a generic Stones rocker? And there's quite a few of them on the
first side. The opening 'Start Me Up' builds up on a kind of classy riff
you'd only expect on something like 'Jumpin' Jack Flash', that kind
of riff; the mood, however, is more comparable with that of 'Honky Tonk
Women' - pure fun and debauchery rather than venting frustration. 'You
can start me up, you can start me up and never stop'. And so on and so
forth. Needless to say, the song had immediately become a stage favourite
and is one up to this very day when I write these lines. I love it as well
- why shouldn't I? It is then immediately followed by 'Hang Fire' - an
even faster rocker which is somewhat of a cross between doo-wop and punk
(really) - utilizing charming vocal harmonies backing up Jagger's angry
scowl (punkish, but not lame, as he belts out scornful, surprisingly anti-British
lyrics). Meanwhile, Keith rips it up on 'Little T&A' which is the grossest
lyrics he ever sang set to a cute little melody - I have mixed feelings
towards the song, depending on whether I follow the lyrical matter or not,
but in any case I'll take it over his sloppy, unstructured ballads any
day of my life. For some reason, I'm a big fan of 'Neighbours', a song
which everybody seems to hate for some other reason. Maybe it's because
it was based on a cool video (which you can easily look up on Rewind),
maybe just because the main vocal melody of the song is so catchy, and
the guitar and sax solos so energetic and driving. I also suppose that
this is indeed a great song to tease your peaceful middle-class neighbours
with in the middle of the night (please don't say I provoked you); actually,
I seem to remember it was dedicated to people who tried to move
Keith out of his apartment for disturbing the peace.
Finally, the hard side also gives the blues lovers a tasty bone to chew
on: there are two R'n'B reminiscences - the powerful 'Slave' (a Black
And Blue-period jam with lots of guests and everybody having the uttermost
fun) and the retro 'Black Limousine' with a rather strange nagging violin
line slicing through the song, but to good effect.
The soft side? The soft side includes some trademark gentle ballads ('Worried
'Bout You' with the last Jagger falsetto you'll ever hear), bitter ballads
('No Use In Crying' with a desperate, chill-sending tone), and social comments
('Tops', a very old outtake with Mick Taylor on lead guitar - the
guy was quite disappointed that he was left uncredited). But the two true
highlights on here are rather atypical. 'Heaven' shows the Stones in an
experimental mood: the song is an instrumental (well, there are
vocals, but they are synth-processed and practically inaudible), all built
on aethereal guitars, synths and sound effects - the resulting mood is
spectacular, something the likes of which you'll never ever experience
with any other Stones' song. The band rarely relies entirely on atmospherics
and ambience, but here they almost go overboard with them, and succeed:
I like to put this on when I'm relaxing and feel like I'm really floating.
Only a really solid Brian Eno tune can compare with this stuff. And, of
course, everybody knows the delicious, sincere 'Waiting On A Friend' that
with its lazy, 'friendly' shuffle sets just the right mood for an album
closer. Oh wait, did I say 'sincere'? Hard to believe, ain't it, with all
these enmities between Mick and Keith at the time... But boy oh boy, does
this song wring out a tear of my eye when they sometimes do it live nowadays...
And a lot of people knock this album out. Seriously. Even Serious Stones
fans sometimes say: 'this album sucks. Go listen to Voodoo Lounge'.
Nope. I won't. I'll trust my old Tattoo, thank you. I mean - what
do people expect? For 1981, it was a real whopper. And mind you, there's
no disco here!!! Not even a little teeny-weeny Frisco disco whacky tracky!
Whoopee! I mean, you can dance and all, but it's a rock'n'roll album -
not a disco album (like Emotional Rescue) or a punk album (like
Some Girls). Lightweight, certainly, but groooooovy. Groovy and
catchy. Catchy and groovy. And it has mock tattoos of Jagger and Richards
on the cover! Imagine that.
All right, I did play dumb with you for a moment. Seriously, now, I can
understand people who hate Tattoo You - the album doesn't really
have a large share of creative ideas ('Heaven' excluded), and few of the
songs go far beyond 'cute'. But I really like the care that has been put
into the album: formally, it would be a travesty to accuse it of anything.
The songs are catchy; the songs have melodies, most of them original (today,
most bands would kill for something like the riff in 'Slave'); the songs
are short; the songs are well-arranged, well-played and well-sung; and
the songs are totally adequate - the Stones aren't really trying to carve
a niche here, they just return to basic rock'n'roll and that's it. And
it warms my heart.
Waiting on a friend to mail your ideas
Your worthy comments:
Jeff <Jkh1392@aol.com> (06.09.99)
Finally, I agree with one of your reviews word-for-word. No that the others have been bad (they were actually quite good), it's just that we have slightly different opinions (I still love "I Got the Blues"). But here-- here you've hit the nail right on the head. Tattoo You is a great album. One point of interest is that it sounds slicker and tighter than most Stones albums. You'd think I would miss the sloppiness of old, but how can I when the music sounds this bloody good?!? They sound so professional here, and by "professional" do I in no way mean "stale" or "dull." I mean "GOOD." My only complaint is that I don't know where each of the songs came from. I'll have to do a little research on that matter...
Simon Hearn <simon@leehearn.freeserve.co.uk> (26.09.99)
Another one I have listened to again recently and slightly revised my
opinion on. Ok ok - we know 'start me up' and 'waiting on a friend' are
classics so I will skip past them. 'Black limousine' is the only other
decent track on here in my opinion. When this album rocks (ie 'start me
up') it is relentless, otherwise you could use it to cure insomnia - IT
GETS SO SO BORING. How people can say it is the last GREAT stones album
passes me by ? Voodoo is much better (quality of songs, track order
and amount of tracks etc.) Now before you say, he's crazy this is a good
album stop slagging it off, LISTEN ? I believe it is their second best
album of 80's and 90's output - outshines undercover and dirty
work with ease, but I do find it boring.
I know you won't agree, but hey opinions make this page interesting, right?!
Tony & Remi Stewart <tony.remi.stewart@worldnet.att.net> (26.02.2000)
Well I've been dreading this one more than any others. Tattoo You
was a huge commercial success, spawned a very long and IMHO the first and
only non-exciting Worldtour. Jagger wore weird pants and Wyman was beginning
to look his age. This time we had a cherry picker, BUT we had MAC and STU
on piano again. The band was by today's standards stripped to the roots
and raggedy /tight the way only the Stones know how. Arena Rock was beginning
to emerge, the shows were very long and we all got our bellies full. A
new anthem was written, probably one of the best known Stonestunes ever;
certainly the most 'heard' one, since Microsoft and every Sports franchise
got a hold of the right s to it. It was the first Tour sponsored by a ...well
sponsor. It was '81 and all these things stand for what the 80's ushered
in and left us with. Corporate Rock. The disc itself is a real piece of
work. Give Mick Jagger all the credit in the world for putting together
a balanced disc,contemporary technology, a huge seller,without hardly any
sessions, and nobody noticed. I am at a loss for words at how he pulled
it off. First out of supposedly over 40 versions of interminable jams of
a Reggaeriff, he pounced on the ONE time they tried it Rockstyle and detected
the power of a Megahit, which was to be "Start Me Up". Even Keith
tips his hat to Jagger on that one. Great hooks in the lyrics; Jagger likes
the analogies of cars and chicks. He's done it a few times. "Hang
Fire" from the (again) Pathe Marconi sessions, a very simple song
that went through many changes that were all lyrical. The song was written
the first time they played it. "Slave" is really sort of an edit
a`la "Just Wanna See His Face" froma long jam. But where "Face"
suceeded on it's Voodoogroove, this one had to be artificially mystefied
by rumors like 'Pete Townshend on guitar', 'Percussion by so and so'. It
could be "Munich Hilton" it could be "Hey Negrita"
ten minutes later. It's your basic jam, and Jagger just could not get down
on it. Saving grace is that mysterious Saxplayer. Keith gives us "Little
T&A" highly popular during the tour; a great Keith song cause
there's very few lyrics, but they all sound cool and you can sing any line
anywhere and Fans loved it after a Twelvepack. "Shotgunshoulder"
and "she's my little rock'n roll, tits and ass" . I mean what
else can you ask for? "Black Limousine" seems to be a fave within
the Stones themselves. They play it a lot to this day. And George, that
violin is a harmonica. Probably a Glass Harmonica... Ron gets credit with
J/R, but it's his song. The 'fast' side closes with "Neighbors",
a very straight forward overcharged Rocker , the way Jagger wrote them
back then. They all sounded forced, when he was still in his early guitar
days. Sax Mysterioso again comes in to blow even harder. This particular
chord progression was wearing a little thin. Try listening to "Send
It To Me" and "Neighbors" back to back.
The reason I have been kind of dry about this whole side is because I do
not like it. It is my least favorite Stones side of any disc ever. It's
an intangible, but it is just so unemotional and stale to me. People and
fans loved it, but this one has NOT stood the test of time very well. Except
for the two biggies of the disc, the rest have kind of been cast aside
for time being.
Now Side Two, the 'slow' side is a WHOLE different story. To this day Taylorfans
rightfully so have a BIG beef with the Stones and that Side of the disc.
"Tops" a great midtempo ballad, not only was written inTaylor's
days. I venture to say that it is him playing Lead on the actual released
Take. Jagger does a low key Rap and some we finally hear some passion in
his singing. Same with "Worried About You". Now we know this
song was actually played at the El Mocambo gigs 4 years earlier. The Solo?
Another major reason for Stonesfans to argue. Is it Wood? I think so. Is
it Taylor? Many think so. Even more think since it dates back to the Great
Guitarrist Hunt that it might be Wayne Perkins. The song itself is beautiful,
with Jagger doing his best Jagger pleading "Baby, pleeease.."
in Falsetto and then busting into his lower register. Some people just
can't stand Falsetto. I love it and I love this song. "Heaven"
is a very un-Stones like Ballad, psychedelic and a haunting melody. It's
only Jagger on guitar, Wyman on Bass and Synth and Watts; I think we can
add the delay on Jagger's vocal as another contributor.It is followed by
one of those songs that will never be noticed much again and it is just
a pity. This is where a song coming from the Stones almost hurts it. Their
great tunes are countless and this is just another one. But the point is
it is a great song. Just slides right by you, saying it. "No Use In
Crying" one of those blusey, minor key ballads, brimming with soul
and again we have Ron in the credits, which basically means it's Ron's
song. Jagger is dynamite on it.The closer is a beauty. Absolutely fan-f*cking-tastic!
A very unpretentious video didn't hurt it at all. What hurt it a little
was that it too dated back to the days of Taylor. Jagger had to reach deep
into the vault to find that gem. But boy we were glad he did. Words come
to mind that are not usually associated with the Stones. 'Airy,light, pretty,
accoustic spring'. And Sonny Rollins the Saxman Misterioso plays so sweet
it puts a lump in your throat. Jagger for once with HIS heart on his sleeve,
delivers the "Feel-good" lyrics over that irresistible Guitarhook
in a totally unaffected manner. "I'm not waiting on no lady, I'm just
waiting on a friend"...Sonny plays his horn, Mick and Keith are bopping
down St. Mark's Place, the guitar plays and all is right in the world for
a few brief moments as the disc fades out. I really hate writing more after
that, because that is exactly the effect that last song produces. No more
needs to be said today. But there is a first side that now, looking back
I can feel as so Eighties, that gives us "SMU" and "T&A"
and "Limousines" but also some really subpar work. Man I hate
these numbers. I would say 12.
Stadelman <mkstad@netzero.net> (09.06.2000)
'Heaven' and 'Just Want To See His Face' have a similar sound and feel to me.
John McFerrin <stoo@imsa.edu> (27.10.2000)
Wow. I LOVE this album. I don't think I'd ever heard 'Start Me Up' in
its entirety , and as such never had a chance to appreciate the subtle
brilliance of the "you make a grown man cry" counterpoint. Elsewhere,
'Slave' is wonderful as hell - only The Stones could make a song with the
line "Do it! Do it! Do it! Do it! I wanna be your slaaaaaaaave!!!"
into a great number. And complete dittos on 'Heaven'. And ... man, I love
hearing Keith go "a huh huh huh" in a strange, almost french-mockery
manner in 'Little T&A'.
I'd easily give this a 14 - this is even more fun of a listen than Black
and Blue!
Year Of Release: 1982
Record rating = 6
Overall rating = 11
Imitating a punk band? Hmm... So it's danceable, but there's not
a lot of musical activity going on.
Best song: SHATTERED
Live again, from the 1981 American tour. Hailed by many as the worst
Stones' attempt at a live album, it's actually not that bad. Actually,
it's not bad at all! What distinguishes it from all the others is: (a)
most of the slow songs are played at a fast tempo, and most of the fast
songs are played at a breakneck tempo, and this, first of all, gives the
impression of ending up the album too fast, second, adds little variety;
(b) Mick's singing is even worse than on Love You Live, since he
cared for showcasing his penis more than for showcasing his voice on that
tour. However, if you omit these peculiarities and just dig that groovy
sound, you'll find yourself tapping your feet and playing air guitar in
no time. The newer hits (from the last three studio albums) rock mercilessly
(in fact, this one has my favourite version of both 'Shattered' and 'Just
My Imagination', especially 'Shattered' - I just adore these 'ah! shadoobie''s),
and 'Let Me Go' couldn't even dream of becoming such a ferocious
treat while resting on Emotional Rescue. 'Start Me Up' trashes and
bashes just as good.
Plus, there's some oldies: 'Under My Thumb' showcases its great riff with
a clearty of sound never achieved on Got Live, but 'Let's Spend
The Night Together', unfortunately, just doesn't hold together so well
without the piano part (there is some piano in the background, but it's
practically unheard), although substituting piano chords with screeching
guitar lines was an interesting experiment. The closing 'Satisfaction'
is forgettable, but the two covers on here ('Twenty Flight Rock' and 'Going
To A Go-Go') are a fascinating listen. Overall, this hardly ranks among
their better live efforts, and the accompanying video (see the review)
is plain atrocious; but without the video line this is still eminently
listenable. Old farts trying to pass themselves for young punks, that's
what this one is all about.
Going to A Go-Go? Why don't you mail your ideas instead
Your worthy comments:
Tony & Remi Stewart <tony.remi.stewart@worldnet.att.net> (02.03.2000)
I must have listened to Still Life about two times since I got
it the day it was released. It represents one of the worst moments in Stones
Recording history IMHO. Even sadder is, and Gorge mentions that too, is
that the two strongest cuts are the two covers. "Go Go" was a
real Keith showpiece in Concert and it comes through on the disc. it was
the single (not that it sold or anything...). First off let me say the
BIGGEST culprit of the whole '81 Tour was, besides jagger's Wardrobe designer
and the Cherrypicker, Ernie Watts. Is he good? I think so, I don't care.
Thankfully they brought him down in the mix but on countless other shows
and I expect for the whole tour he played, no soloed non-stop through every
song. Dynamics is what makes you be able to pull off a song on ONE chord
and it still can be a Classic. This man has no sense of dynamics and thus
ranks in my book as a very lousy musician. MUSICIAN. No matter what you
play, you do what helps the song. He ruined many a ood song.
But it is of course the Stones who we come to see. George again is right
in pointing out the awful movie. I have NEVER understood why the Stones
once they had every financial aid at their disposal could not make a decent
Movie or Video.
"Under My Thumb" was a surprisingly effective opener, since it
was not done in the frenzied style of Got Live..., where it really
rocked. At midtempo as a Showopener it did the job surprisingly well. "Night
Together" misses the piano in a big way, but Ron's Lead lines that
mesh with the Vocal on the parts like "Ill satisfy your every need"
are great. "Shattered' i have always thought should have stayed in
the Studio. Live , it becomes a bunch of aimless 'shattered shattered oom
shadoobee' and every once in a while you hear 'lafferjoynlonilinessnsexsexsexsexsexsexsexsexs'
back to interminable drone. "Twenty Flight Rock" (I'm not sure
if we mentioned it on this board before) draws attention to the one style
the stones never really have been to pull off convincingly. Rockabilly
just does not like midrange Telecasters. It is a very hard style to play.
Charlie shines on this one and is the glue. "Go Go" to me is
the jewel of this disc giving us a quick glimpse of what had been before
and what lay ahead in Stonesworld. A great adaptation Jagger, Richards
and Tom Tom Watts bashing it out with the power of a turboengine. "Let
Me Go" is surprisingly good. Not that it deviates in any major way
from the Studioversion, except being played at breakneck tempo; it rocks
infinitely better than on ER. "Time Is On My Side" was
by many interpreted as a goodbye, just like "The Last Time" was
in '66 and in '99. All it is here is a song played well, that they used
to play weller LOL. Folowed by Covertune, what No. 4 or 5?, "Imagination"
was also just plain better in '78. I won't even mention the end. To give
us "Start Me Up" and "Satisfaction" in that very perfunctorily
performed manner. 'Okay, I guess we gotta play these f*ckers' and then
throw them on the disc with the same attitude reeks of a Contractfiller
of a Disc, and that is the way I have always viewed this one.
It's the Stones! But better days were right around the corner.
I give it a 10.
Jeff <Jkh1392@aol.com> (29.03.2000)
Harmless fun, to be sure, but I'd expect something better out of a Stones live album. "Going to a Go-Go" and "Twenty Flight Rock" are definitely highlights, and the rest is... well, it's the Stones. Nothing special, other than a live "Shattered" and "Let Me Go." Whoop-dee-doo. And Mick's singing isn't too great. Poor guy. Good thing he shaped up in time to father a child with a Brazillian supermodel. I tell you, some guys have all the luck... I'm rambling again, aren't I? I guess it's because there's not much to say about this album, so I'll just go ahead and quit while I'm ahead. Or behind. Whatever.
Year Of Release: 1983
Record rating = 4
Overall rating = 9
Electronic and over-raunchy. The music gets lost behind these two
factors.
Best song: SHE WAS HOT
This is the disastrous album that ruined them. Indeed, if the 'Still
Life' tour was the starting point for the ruination of their reputation
(how's that with words?), Undercover marked the complete downfall.
And it's not that the songs are that bad. Of course, most of these melodies
can't be rated among the Stones' best, but they are decent nevertheless,
and a 'decent tune' for the Stones is still miles better than a supersong
for most any other band. In fact, I've grown to love some of the numbers,
although some of them (like the totally ineffective, dull and useless rocker
'All The Way Down') are plain unbearable.
The main problem with Undercover is that its main aim was to showcase
the band's status as The Most Raunchy And Debauche Group In The World rather
than its status as The Best Rock'n'Roll Group In The World. Thus, the songs
are mostly focused on funk, raunch and hooliganry. Either it's of a sexual
character (the boogie-woogie 'She Was Hot'; nice melody but primitive lyrics,
the freedom of speech does have its drawbacks, after all), or of an extreme
sexual character ('Tie You Up (The Pain Of Love)'; the title says it all,
although I must confess I find some dorky pleasure in listening to this
song); or of a maniacal, gory character ('Too Much Blood', which is more
disco, techno and rap at the same time than the Rolling Stones, but it's
fun nevertheless - that is, if not taken seriously); or of a political
character ('Undercover Of The Night', the only well-known song from here
and, as far as I know, the only one ever played live). All of these except
'Tie You Up' were accompanied by provocative videos, which are harmless
fun, but really don't do too much honour to the Stones, except being banned
on a lot of channels.
Now just to reassure yourself: this album is not extremely bad.
If you're a fan you'll take no pain by buying it. But in all, this is definitely
a low point for the Glimmer Twins and their courtiers. Hey man, Charlie
Watts isn't even present on most of the tracks - it's electronic drums
you hear. And the general feel about this is pretty desperate. It's like
they were squeezing themselves to the limit, pulling out trashy numbers
like 'Pretty Beat Up' (which they probably were) and 'Too Tough' (which
they certainly weren't). No timeless musical values here - all of the songs
are certainly written on occasion, and a damn sordid occasion it
is. The album cover is appropriate, too - a stripped girl with stickers
covering her sex. Banal, guys! Banal and just plain unnecessary! Still,
I think it's probably OK, they were just having mid-life crises, all of
them.
Oh, and just as a small post-scriptum consolation: Keith's contribution
here is 'Wanna Hold You', a strangely tender rocker with no obscene connotations
at all (lyrically a complete opposition to 'Little T&A' from the last
record), lately reincarnated for their '97-'98 tour. It's actually quite
attractive, but doesn't fit at all with the rest of the record.
It must be hell without you mailing your ideas
Your worthy comments:
Tony & Remi Stewart <tony.remi.stewart@worldnet.att.net> (02.03.2000)
I saw your 9 and right away got going. Right now on one of the Internetboards
there is a discussion going on about the most overlooked great Stonesdisc.
IMHO Undercover easily takes that title. I LOVE this disc! I have
revered it since the day it came out. This was probably the one I got closest
to it's actual release. I actually pulled it off the truck that was delivering
to the Recordstore. Great Cover, some sleaze with the body of a pasty Stripper
and pull-off stickers and finally some Linernotes again. Robbie and Sly
heavily featured and the beginning of Leavell's days as a sixth Stone.
A good 6th Stone stays quiet, and knows every Stonesdisc inside out.
We open with a Monstercut, heavily supported by a video banned for excessive
violence. The guitariff and Kimsey's recording and mixing of it, is masterful.
Woody's choppy Leadline and the Drum/ Percussion tracks are something to
behold. Charlie and Sly create a jungle of patterns that don't overpower,
but lay a bed. The lyrics are powerful, timely but always appliable to
some state of affairs somewhere in the world. (Never paint yourself into
a corner that is geared to a specific moment in time). "She Was Hot"
is one of those typical Stonesrockers, with the Stones doing themselves
until we get to the haunting chorus, which completely takes the whole song
into a different stratosphere. Lyrics are straightforward and are through
the whole song, but the beautiful Chorus with that Piano and the minorchords
finally draw some of the best lyrical workouts from Jagger in the Coda.
Keith clocks in with some mean Guitar, (I even read recently that Jagger
agrees on this point) that is the anchor for this Groove, which you can
tell came from riding that groove for 12-15 minutes during rehearsals until
the Groove was perfected. Throughout the whole disc we have the bed of
Percussion that after a while is taken for granted and just felt; except
for a few times where it takes topbilling. e.g. is the great Breakdown
with Sly beating on some Dragonheart called Drum in his world. Back with
Keith's tune"I Wanna Hold You". The Beatles immediately spring
to mind, and even Keith says while they were writing it with Mick on Drums(!)
and him on Guitar they used to call it the 'Beatlesong'. It has that "happy"
feel to it and the distinction of being the only tune of the disc with
no blood and guts lyrics. On the VL Tour Keith performed that tune
with a great Horn arrangement. My only complaint about it, and I had saying
this line:"It goes on too long; should have been a 3 minute ditty
and it would have been perfect." "Feel On Baby" closes out
Side 1, a swaying Island groove. Very full, not the dry Reffae that Keith
usually favors, but a lot more melodic , mystical and yearning. Again Sly
and Robbie's influence is felt. The Twins and Ron knew perfectly well how
to play a mean Reggae by now, but they also knew who on the team might
know it even better. I really like the production on this one. "Too
Much Blood' I have mixed feelings about. is it good? Is the speedrapping,
the over-the-top irony cool? Yes. are the Horncharts hot? Yes. Are the
guitars about as non Stones as can be ? Yes. and that is what bugs me.
the Stones have always left no doubt who was doing this song. In my mind
this very much showcases the polished 80's gloss & glitz that Jagger
was after on his first two solodiscs. Jim barber is playing guitar, so
is Mick. And since I really don't hear much more guitar I figure there
just isn't much Keith or ron in the picture. It's a great Dancefloor tune.
Next cut swings completely the other way. A Ron Wood Groove, with Wyman
on Piano, Ron on Bass and guitar, Keith doing what he does best and it
sure rolls. One of those Stones jams that just tears the roof off the house,
never goes anywhere, and needs some Lyrics. "Too Tough" is probably
THE tightest the Stones can get. Wood is just awesome on the Lead. But
it is the well crafted 4 minute Hardrock song at its finest with verse
and chorus and solo, nothing fancy, but played so well and tight that it
gives me goosebumps. "All The Way Down" I heard before any single
was released. And i knew right away this was going to be the B-side. It's
the typical song the Stones put before the Closer and then throw on the
B-side of the Single. This one is so 'charming' - I just can not find another
word. No it will not lead the revolution. But I could see a bunch of London
boys hoisting a Pint growling at the top of their lungs "She went
all the ...all the way doooown". Great Snare. "Soul Survivor"
No 2 (="It Must Be Hell") should have stayed at home. after this
great disc we needed a Killer closer. I honestly think if this album had
featured a strong closer it would be right up there with one of their best.
It just ends on such a weak note. The percussion coming in to really rally
the final rave-up is just a little pathetic to me. The lick is so obviously
lifted we don't even have to discuss it; lyrics are "Undercover"No
2 , best thing is Keith's guitar during the verse just that hypnotic drone.
The violent lyrics are all obviously tongue in cheek. the stones are no
threat to anyone. And they know and knew it then. so people really should
have gotten the joke. The stones were pushed into a corner and were openly
telling us. I always see it as a gutsy record. Very self critical and self
mocking and full of inverted sarcasm. Like any other Stonesdisc it's confused
but we have come to expect them to change the world every time they open
their mouth; that is a lot of pressure and this time they answered in one
of their ways. They were a bit mean.
A Footnote: this was the disc that began giving out the FANTASTIC Stoneskit
for Collectors. I give this one a 14.
Year Of Release: 1986
Record rating = 3
Overall rating = 8
Heaps of garbage which resulted from the tensions between Mick and
Keith.
Best song: HAD IT WITH YOU
Asswork, to be more correct. That's what most of them were using
during the sessions, especially Mick. The band was on the point of disintegration
by that moment, with Keith doing most of the job and Mick just arriving
at the last moment and overdubbing his vocals. As for Charlie, his presence
was probably just unnecessary - most of the drums are electronic once again.
But what's even more horrible, most of the songs are absolute bullshit.
Sure enough, they are rip-roaring, energetic, fast and furious: but this
resulted rather from the personal tensions between the band members than
from any careful elaboration. Keith was pissed off at Mick, Mick was pissed
off at everyone, and so they went along nicely - recording this pile of
rubbish to (probably) fulfil their contractual obligations.
Ten songs on here (plus a couple boogie-woogie cords in memoriam of the
late Ian Stewart), and out of these ten only one can be rated on any significant
level - the grotesque 'Had It With You' (guess who had what with whom!).
I love it because it's just boogie, with Mick playing harmonica and the
band really sounding tight. Four more tracks feature Mick's barking over
grungy guitarwork (the idiotic 'Fight' which has no melody to add to the
energy; the slightly less forgettable title track, which at least features
some traditional interplay between Keith and Ronnie in the vein of 'Respectable';
the fast-but-pointless 'Winning Ugly' which sounds like a cross between
late-period Kinks and the Sex Pistols; the totally unlistenable shitty
mess 'Hold Back' which is by far the most horrible track ever recorded
by the band); another letdown is the disco 'Back To Zero' which just doesn't
hold a candle to their earlier (and later) disco experiments. The
opening rocker 'One Hit (To The Body)' somewhat redeems the situation with
its strong acoustic/electric interplay and the only bit of what might be
genuine emotion on this album, and the cover of 'Harlem Shuffle' is at
least decent. However, the two Keith-sung tracks are ridiculous: 'Too Rude'
is yet another reggae excourse with childish lyrics and singing over a
mess of electronic drums, and 'Sleep Tonight' is yet another wailing in
the vein of 'Coming Down Again'. Never mind, though, - the lack of melody
only serves to hide his lack of singing abilities.
So here you go - one entertaining song, two or three vaguely interesting
ones, and horrid bullshit music everywhere else. How on earth could they
make an album that bad is what baffles me completely. Oh well, they probably
were just so pissed off they just couldn't do anything more solid than
this. On the face of it, this is an interesting historical document featuring
their 'bad times'. Rename it 'The Story Of Two Friends Turned Enemies',
have a listen and throw it away (if you're not a completist, of course).
Dirty work? This review is dirty work? Then mail your ideas
Your worthy comments:
Glenn Wiener <Glenn.Wiener@Entex.com> (11.08.99)
Not so terrible. But boy is Dirty. Spot...uh Mick just barks through these songs like a rabid Doberman. 'Fight' and Don't 'Hold Back' are the filfiest of this bunch as the mix between fido and the guitar noises is just horendous. However, at least this album is primarilly rock n roll. Truthfuly 'Too Rude' is an interesting regaae excursion. 'Sleep Tonight' is a bit incomplete though. In addition to the tensions between Mick and Keith, Woody and Charlie were both badly hooked on heroin. Yes, Charlie, the alleged family man of the Stones. It was kept quiet but he eventually and fortunately kicked the habit.
Tony & Remi Stewart <tony.remi.stewart@worldnet.att.net> (02.03.2000)
Before i move to the barren fields of Dirty Work I HAVE to correct
George on one point from his Undercover review. Those are NOT Drum
machines. Those are Sly and Charlie creating and experimenting Reffae/Rock
style with not always great results. The point in Reggae is that eventually
the Mixer/DJ comes in and uses all those wild ass effects that are deemed
too radical for Western Music. On "Too Much Blood" the song with
the most obviuous Drumfill it IS electronic drums but played with sticks
(Simmonsdrums and not a machine). There are plenty of straight Charlie
songs on there. In fact every one except there are layers of other stuff
on top.
Dirty Work must have been Hell. Keith and Ron and then Charlie,
pretty much had an Album waiting for jagger to walk into and either write
words to or add his production touches and bring his own songs. Jagger
did NOT want to be there. Was very plain about it, had used up all his
decent material on his Solodisc that he was busy promoting and did not
want to tour behind the disc. So that does not make for a harmonic atmosphere
in the studio. Rumors about Charlie having broken his leg and Steve Jordan
having played some Drums are probably true. The Jordan part; the Leg I
don't know about. This was Charlie's time of battling the Hard Drugs. Bill?
Who cared anymore? He plays Bass maybe on half, maybe less of the record.
Jagger arrived, head full of Synthesizers, Leavell in tow; while Keith
had all these Rockers ready to go finish up and take on Tour. He was furious!
Jagger openly put down the Stones even while the disc was still being 'worked'
on. "One Hit To The Body" was the opener and one of the few highlights,
even though many fans were a little disgruntled to find out Jimmy Page
had played that great solo. "Harlem Shuffle", a tune that keith
had purchased the rights to ages ago, because he knew it was a good one
for Jagger to sing and he was right. Don Covay is great on this one, matter
of a fact Keith doea some great production work on this disc. He begins
what would become his trademark of the latter days sound. Great Vocal arrangements,
and Killer riffs over songs that flow the way it feels natural. "Winning
Ugly" is a real Jaggersong and this one I have always dug. Do it Live
guys. Smoking doubled Synthbass and Killerguitars, lead right into some
goulash of Island?Worldbeat embarrassment called "Back to Zero"
(Leavell/Jagger). We have the typical 'second' song, the short rocker that
goes NO where called "Fight". No hook whatsoever. "Hold
back" is probably the ONE song by the Stones I truly hate. "Too
Rude" is just tired. Nice harmonies again, but Keith's Reggae and
)I think) Steve Jordan's drumming just becomes a little tiresome on this
one. "Sleep Tonight" with RON on Drums is the obligatory Keithian
closing ballad, another dustbiter. What else? Oh, the titlecut...starts
out as a tight Rocker and literally falls apart in front of our very eyes
. Finally a Stonesrockerand after 2 minutes we are in senseless drumechoes
and Jagger going off in a Million directions. "Should I rap? should
I talk? should I sing? What's for dinner?
The best cut proves to be the only true raunch, would have made Brian proud.
Probably recorded into a Boombox, with Jagger on Harp and everybody kind
of playing whatever was closest"I Had It With You". Sums up the
overall feel in the studio and what Jagger was feeling.
Wood gets a lot of writing credits, Stu is in the only REAL moment of the
disc remembered through a little Boogie of him at the end of the disc.
But it was time for the BIG break and in retrospect it is better they did
not tour. Both Mick and Keith learned a lot about the other's responsibilities,
and we all eventually lived happily ever after.
Grade: 9
Year Of Release: 1989
Record rating = 10
Overall rating = 15
The singles collection it is, one of the few greatest singles collections
in the world.
Best song: ALL OF THEM!!!
Yeah, I know it's a compilation, and strictly speaking, I shouldn't
have rated it. But it isn't a 'best-of' package, see? It's a singles collection
- every single A-side and B-side the rights to which are owned by ABKCO
and Allen Klein (comprising the years 1963-1971). The songs here aren't
selected subjectively, and so this is the analogy to the Beatles' Past
Masters. And it gets a 10. Now take my advice: if you only wish to
settle for one Rolling Stones album/package (alias: if you're that
kind of half-assed jerk), go and pick up this, not the dreaded Hot Rocks.
For what reasons? First: there are more songs here, as this is a 3-CD set
packed almost to the brim. Second: it gives you a chronological and exact
picture of the Stones' gradual development over the years. Third: it's
simply tons more representative, and there aren't that many classics on
Hot Rocks that are missing here. Fourth: it'll give you the right
to boast possession of some interesting rarities. Anything else?
There is, of course, one serious problem that does not allow me to place
this package on the same level with Past Masters. Like I said, if
you want to make this your first buy, you're welcome. But if it turns out
that you already have all the original LPs from that epoch, you'll be horrified
to see that there's only about from four to eight songs on each of these
CD's that you miss in your collection. So, if you're a completist, you'll
be forced to pay three times more than you're due!!!! (And not only that,
some of the Stones' material is only available on the More Hot Rocks
compilation). Do you understand now what a greedy bastard Allen Klein really
is? These songs could have easily fit onto some of the original CDs as
bonus tracks - and they could have felt perfectly at home there! Just imagine:
'Sad Day' as a bonus track to Aftermath! 'We Love You' as a bonus
track to Satanic! 'Jumpin' Jack Flash' as a bonus track to Beggar's
Banquet! But no! See, if the Rolling Stones weren't the greatest rock'n'roll
band in the world, this would have already been done long ago. As it is,
Klein and his thugs know for certain that fans will even buy a Stones'
CD if it only has one track on it, for the full price. The Stones are great,
sure enough, but isn't this a mean thing to do?
Okay, now that I've vented myself, let me tell you about the compilation.
More exactly, let me tell you about the exact 'new' songs on it that you
so desperately need to fill out your collection - most of the 'old' ones
have been discussed earlier.
CD 1 (which I'd entitle 'The R'n'B Period') has five of these. There are
the two first Stones' singles: Chuck Berry's 'Come On', backed with 'I
Want To Be Loved', and Lennon/McCartney's 'I Wanna Be Your Man', backed
with 'Stoned'. All four of these kick butt. I mean, 'Come On' sounds oh
so tame and pale compared to the stuff they'd begin to release only a year
later, but it's still fun - and shows how much their sound depended on
Bill Wyman's amazing basswork in these early days. Mick blows a mean harmonica,
too, though! Ah, but the bassline is even more amazing in 'I Wanna Be Your
Man' (which, by the way, was written specially for the Stones, and only
added later to With The Beatles as an afterthought), the 'ultimate'
early Stones' hardcore rocker: the bassline is simply crazy, Mick croaks
out the vocals like a maniac, and Keith (Brian?) adds a ferocious, stingy
solo. And don't forget about the mean instrumental 'Stoned' (later ripped
off by the Beach Boys as 'Stoked', although probably not off the Stones,
but off their common source which I do not know)! Nowadays, it sounds pretty
tame, I guess, but can you imagine the horror of mothers every time the
mean blues rhythm ceased and Mick uttered 'STONED... OUT OF MY MIND...'
I mean, it's like, here come the warm jets! Would you let your daughter
go out with a Rolling Stone? No way!
The fifth 'original' track here is a version of 'Time Is On My Side', quite
different from the one you'll find on 12x5: less gospelish organ,
more bluesy guitar. I actually prefer this one, but it's your bit.
Now CD 2 (which I'd entitle 'The Pop Period') already has eight
songs that you need - that's progress for you! And among them are such
timeless gems as the middle-class bashing '19th Nervous Breakdown' and
hey, there's 'Jumpin' Jack Flash'! Funny how the studio version sounds
so 'soft' when compared to any live version, right? On the other hand,
the magnificent guitar/bass/drums intro was never done live, so you need
to hear it in any case. But that's not all (luckily). There are two wonderful
Aftermath-style ballads, 'Sad Day' and 'Long Long While', which
would fit in with that album quite perfectly. There's the glorious B-Side
to 'Have You Seen Your Mother...', a mean, echoey, killer blues rocker
'Who's Driving Your Plane', one of the hardest, most uncompromised tunes
they recorded during that period; were it released in 1964, it could have
become a classic, as it is, it was just overshadowed by even better songs.
There's the famous 'psychedelic' single 'We Love You', a trippy, piano/Mellotron/brass
dominated chant with Lennon/McCartney on backing vocals and lyrics like
'We love you/We love you/And we hope you love we, too', written as a 'thank
you' for fans who supported the Stones in jail, and its B-side, the gorgeous
ballad 'Dandelion'. And there's the Stones' goodbye to psychedelia, 'Child
Of The Moon', yet another tune that's quite trippy, but this time melodic
and wonderfully gentle.
CD 3 ('The Rock Period') is maybe a bit more dismissable, but not entirely:
after all, how can one dismiss an album with 'Honky Tonk Women' on it?
And most of the other 'new' tunes on here you probably don't know at all,
unless you're a diehard fan, as most of them are singles that were originally
culled from Metamorphosis (a stupid situation - the album itself
is unavailable on CD, but the singles taken from it are!) The version of
'Memo From Turner' on here actually differs from the one on Metamorphosis:
it's much longer and a bit more underarranged; actually, I think it's the
authentic soundtrack version, while the old one was really made up as a
song, not as a bit of soundtrack. And tacked onto the end are several more
songs from the album that made it onto the singles - 'I Don't Know Why',
'Try A Little Harder', 'Jivin' Sister Fanny' and, curiously, that ridiculous
orchestrated variant of 'Out Of Time' is also on here. Note how the singles
all accentuate the late Sixties period, not the less self-assured,
inaccurate early Sixties' outtakes. In any case, as of now, this is the
only place you can take a sniff of what a Stones' outtake sounds like without
having to dive in into the bootleg pool.
Ugh. That's about it, I think. All the other songs you can easily get on
regular LPs. I don't know if I convinced you enough to shell out some of
your hard-earned pay, but after all, this is your choice. You might as
well STEAL IT! Just don't say I told you so!
We love you, and we hope you will mail your ideas, too
Your worthy comments:
Tony & Remi Stewart <tony.remi.stewart@worldnet.att.net> (09.03.2000)
Oh how I hate writing about Compilations. But George is right: If you are a novice and you want to experience the Stones' musical development in the light of their hit Singles, this is the one to get. But note that i said Hit singles. They released the most commercial stuff, obviously; especially once ALO had whipped the Jagger/Richards team into a Hit Writing Duo. It is not so much a pictorial of their MUSICAL development eventhough they do roughly correspond. But for evey "Paint It Black" there was a "Who's Been Sleeping Here?". For every "Honky Tonk Woman" there is a "Gimme Shelter". One truth about this record is the fact that it is not called a Biggest Hits. Some of their greatest hits were never released as Singles. I really do not have much to add to George's summing up, because he does an excellent job in dividing the three discs, and citing the strong tunes that were released on B-Sides. "Who's Driving Your Plane?" and "Child Of The Moon" (one of my alltime faves) are some of the greatest music the Stones ever made. The solo on "I Wanna Be Your Man" is about as Brian as Brian got on Guitar. That is one of the most vicious guitar attacks this side of hendrix. Remember what year it was recorded. Lennon and mcCartney have both said their collective jaws dropped once they heard what the Stones had done with their little ditty. And Keith flat out stated: "Brian and that Slide made that song!" Disc 3 sadly is weak, because right as the stones are poised to enter their most fruitful years they left the label. So disc 3 is Metamorphosis all over again; this time in Singles form. I don't blame Allen Klein solely on this one. I think they all had their fingers in the pot: ALO, Klein AND the Stones. This was/ is to date the closest we come to a Boxed set of Stones material, but we do not see any statements by the stones distancing themselves from this project, and that speaks volumes. It is a very well produced , complete truthful statement of their London years: The Singles. And Great Singles too. Didn't they write "Satisfaction"?
Jeff <Jkh1392@aol.com> (29.03.2000)
I'm so proud of the record company boys for finally getting it right. Wait, they didn't get it right at all, did they? Stupid Allen Klein... Anyway, I still have a soft spot for Hot Rocks, as it was my introduction to the Stones, but this is so superior in so many ways. The chronology is what really sells it for me-- just listening to their artistic and musical development is worth the price alone. Not to mention that every single song on here is fantastic, especially the obscure stuff. I mean, "Memo From Turner"? "Sad Day"? "Stoned"? "Who's Driving Your Plane"? Absolutely incredible!! And their version of "I Wanna Be Your Man" blows the Beatles' away! (not that I don't love that one anyway). And on top of all this, I found this sucker in a used bin for 25 bucks!!! Not cheap by any means, but compared to the nearly $50 price tag I've seen elsewhere, it was the find of a lifetime.
Sergey Zhilkin <sergey_jilkin@mail.ru> (24.09.2000)
I think you overrated this album. In my opinion it can't get more than 8 out of ten because there're no Stones' songs. 'I wanna be your man' which was a gift from Lennn/McCartney is horribly played! Though I agree that their versions of 'Come on' (Chuck Berry), 'Poison Ivy' (Lieber / Stoller), 'I want to be loved'(Dixon), 'Money'(Cordy / Bradford) and 'Stoned' (Phelge) are better than originals but it only proves that boys COULD play guitars very well and nothing more. Surely I enjoyed it but it's no reason to give it 10/10! I think it's 7/10 and not more! [Apparently, Sergey only got the first disc out of three. The other two contain 99% of Stones songs - G.S.]
Year Of Release: 1989
Record rating = 5
Overall rating = 10
The Comeback album which wasn't that good but at least pointed a
way to the future.
Best Song: ROCK AND A HARD PLACE
The Renaissance for The Stones? Possibly. Possibly not. It had
to be the Renaissance: after all the hassle-dazzle Mick has finally settled
his troubles with Keith, and the recording of this album was a desperate
affair: they had to show the world that the name of The Rolling Stones
still mattered. And in doing this, they managed to put out an album which,
although far from perfect, was still a serious improvement over their last
two.
The defects are still obvious. Jagger barks on most tracks, some of which
belong in that wretched Dirty Work bag ('Hold On To Your Hat', for
example, which is 'Hold Back no. 2', or 'Hearts For Sale', which is 'Winning
Ugly no. 2'). The arrangements are all very similar - the rockers 'Sad
Sad Sad', 'Mixed Emotions' and 'Rock And A Hard Place' all sound pretty
much the same, although the latter is actually the best song on the entire
record. And I'm sorry to say that, but Keith has completely lost what few
abilities he had as a solo player: the riffing work is superb, as usual,
but watch out for those solos! And there's too much electronic drums, as
on all the 80's records (except for Tattoo You, of course).
Still, not all is bad. Jagger has contributed two ballads, and it's news
- there were no soft songs on Undercover, and the only soft (and
bad) song on Dirty Work was Keith's. Of course, 'Blinded By Love'
has some dorky lyrics and a rather simple melody, but 'Almost Hear You
Sigh' is charming. Keith - first time ever - takes lead vocals two times,
and both times it's a score: the ballad 'Slipping Away' is among his best
(a very rare exception: my humble opinion is that besides this one and
'You Got The Silver', and, maybe, 'The Worst', all of his ballads stink),
while the rocker 'Can't Be Seen' has a really memorable melody and nice
emotional singing as well. The psychodelic (sic!) 'Continental Drift' is
so-so, but the disco effort 'Terrifying' is very, very, very convincing,
with Jagger turning it into a 'mysterious' song in the vein of 'Fingerprint
File'.
So I guess it's fifty-fifty for this album; that's why a 5 rating sums
it up nicely. Indeed, I've considered pumping it up, but then it would've
been equal to Goats' Head Soup, and that ain't so. A solid effort,
and a good start for their Big Return, but after all, it's only a start.
Mixed emotions over this album? Mail your ideas
Your worthy comments:
Glenn Wiener <Glenn.Wiener@Entex.com> (09.08.99)
Not quite mixed emotions on this one, George. Its the clunker of the
Stones collection. Yes, worse than Dirty Work. The cheesy arrangements
just make me want to scream. None of the songs really stand out that much.
You are correct about 'Rock And A Hard Place' being the best of this weak
lot. 'Slipping Away', 'Mixed Emotions', and 'Hold On To Your Hat' are decent.
The rest are fairly poor with 'Continental Drift' being down right disastrous.
Its as if Rock N Roll was captured by the Martians.
I do not mean to be picky but you have a couple of errors. You state that
Keith sings two songs on this disc for the first time and that is not so
as you previously mentioned that he has two leads on Dirty Work.
Second of all, Ronnie Wood is responsible for the crappy soloing on this
record. I enjoy your Stones reviews but you don't have to mention every
song on every record.
[Special author note: sorry,
but the crappiest soloing on the record is Keith's fault - Ronnie doesn't
play a note on 'Sad Sad Sad', for instance. Ronnie is an excellent lead
player, in my opinion, but Keith had better stick to rhythm, at least in
this era.]
Tony & Remi Stewart <tony.remi.stewart@worldnet.att.net> (06.07.2000)
Steel Wheels was such a RELIEF, that they could have put out
anything. We were so glad they were back; new tour, new Stones, new outfits
and Stage. And in all the commotion, all the hype, it took all of us a
while to realize that the disc pretty much sucked. By Stones standards.
In retrospect (and it is amazing that one can talk about a band THIS old
and still be discussing a 'new' period) it is easy to see that they indeed
had made up, and made up their minds to carry on, but that there was still
a LOT of work to be done, to climb back up on the pedestal of truly being
the Greatest R&R Band In The World.
So I will review it from today's eyes. "Sad Sad Sad" is a piece
of nameless nothing. It could have been ANY chord, ANY word. It says, conveys
absolutely - NOTHING. It's one of those warmer-uppers in concert. Good
guitarwork and we get a taste of Chris Kimsey's decent, but misplaced Production
techniques. Crisp Drums, Guitars with that tinge of 80's still ringing.
Shudder...
"Mixed Emotions" clearly was a typical Open-G Keithian riffing
and all it needed was a nice little hook. Jagger(and one never knows) came
up with 'Mixed'? 'Mick's'? 'Emotions and the lyrics just 'happen' to hit
close to last year's events. Mick knows how to grab those headlines. I
like the song. Bernard and keith provide some beautiful harmonies in the
chorus, but it clearly did not work Live. "Terrifying" on the
other hand was inserted into the liveset way too late because it is a M*therf*cker
of a tune. The Spanish overtones are used well and the trumpet and percussion
rock. Clever lyrics too! One of the strongest outings follows"Hold
On To Your Hat" with Keith just tearing the roof off the place. Ron
on Bass and Charlie on Drums it just smokes! My personal fave, is "Hearts
For sale" and i don't know why. I love the chorus. Ron's flanged restrained
solo, and the pumping groove. If only they had faded Mick out in the end.
Memories of "Lucky In Love"...
"Blinded By Love" to me begins what is wrong with 99% of all
Stones' Countrynumbers since: overproduction. We have about 15 accoustic
guitars, fiddles, Pedal Steels, ploinky Telecasters. Ah where are you "Country
Honk"? It's THAT easy! The lyrics are embarrassing.
Side two opens with the obvious HIT! "Rock In A Hard Place".
It is the third time they have used that "Soul Survivor" riff,
this time in a minor key, but it makes for an obvious smoker of a song,
that for some reason i just have never liked. It has all the correct Funkgrooves,
and the dramatic stops for Jagger to scream etc. , it rocked the stadiums
and the Lightshow; that is probably the problem - it is all just so 'correct'.
"Keith's first tune "Can't be seen" is wonderful. A fluid
melody, propelled by a irresistable Bass/drum line; plus Keith had learned
something in his Soloyears about stacking and arranging BU Vocals. One
of the most spoken , and also best songs of the Disc supposedly pays tribute(If
you want to believe the Press) to Brian. Mick and Keith even went to Morocco
and enlisted and recorded the Joujouka musicians for this one. A great
arrangment, based on a revolving Synthline of Mick's. Beautiful Arabesque
melody and an incredible crscendo. This is one of the reasons I am a Jaggerman.
Jagger can and will fall flat on his face, but he has the courage to pick
himself up and go at it again. Many, many of the musical Stones ideas that
have been automatically credited to either Keith or Brian come from Mick.
From the otherworldy atmosphere of "Continental drift" we go
right back into the Bayou to one of the Beggar's Banquet type Blues
Gumbos. In other words : the Stones at their best, with some kneeslapping
Dobro and distorted Harmonica. It all ends in the ethereal "Slippin'
Away" sung by Keith, and rescucitated at many liveshows afterwards
at the insistence of the hornsection, who loves the tune. It is a pretty
one. This is another trend I see developing. This ending of Stonesdiscs
with a Keith-ballad.
Well they did a great tour, learned a lot and came back twice and then
thrice as strong, so Steel Wheels was not the greatest disc in the
world, but it was the stepping stone that set the Stones back on the right
path. BTW it was to be Bill Wyman's last Studiodisc with the Rolling Stones.
darryl Jones took over afterwards.
I have to give it a total score of 12.
Year Of Release: 1991
Record rating = 7
Overall rating = 12
The 'new-type' live album. Not a lot of fun (stadium rock!), but
a lot of good performances.
Best song: MISS YOU
The predictable official live follow-up to Steel Wheels. Finally,
it features the Big Band: massive megatour, huge scenes and decorations,
and, most important, tons of back-up musicians. Mick is in great form,
barking only in cases of great need (especially appropriate on 'Miss You'
and 'Jumpin' Jack Flash'); unfortunately, Keith has decided to begin playing
most of the solos, and he's no damn good at it. But skip through the solos
and you'll find out that there's practically nothing to complain about.
The record provides a rational share of evergreens (particularly entertaining
are 'JJF' and 'Sympathy For The Devil'), selections from the last studio
release ('Rock And A Hard Place' is especially worth mentioning), and huge
surprises ('Ruby Tuesday' - live?!?!?!?; 'Factory Girl' - flawless performance;
'Little Red Rooster' with a rattling solo by special guest Eric Clapton;
'Paint It Black', too!) Sounds OK. Somewhat more rigid and sounds a bit
too much rehearsed for my personal taste, but then again, Mick does
sing and he does it well, and they really show a newly-born interest
in giving the audience 'good music' instead of 'good time'. Three cheers
for surviving the mid-age crisis, Mick!
The only letdown is the two studio tracks slapped onto the end, both in
the vein of Steel Wheels: 'Highwire' is a bland political anthem
along the lines of 'It Must Be Hell', but even less entertaining; and 'Sex
Drive' is a bland funky poopster along the lines of 'Hot Stuff', but even
less fascinating. In fact, I really don't feel any need for having these
average rip-offs directly after a prime live disc. They don't spoil my
blood, see, but they just get on my nerves.
Miss you and your comments. Mail your ideas
Your worthy comments:
Jeff <Jkh1392@aol.com> (06.09.99)
You're not just imagining it: those last two cuts do suck. And the live set is fun, but nothing to get excited about. It's just the same old songs (except for "Factory Girl" and "Little Red Rooster"- both great performances); you're better off listening to Hot Rocks than to this. But for Stones fans, it's a good time, and the band sounds pretty darn great (except for those pesky solos, of course). The only real standout is "Paint it Black." Not a fantastic live album, but a solid enough one.
Tony & Remi Stewart <tony.remi.stewart@worldnet.att.net> (09.07.2000)
Well at least I got the version that they eventually re-released. At
least i think that is what happened, because of lagging sales they added
that second disc with all the goodies. It is that second disc that saves
this truly AWFUL Live disc. The songs, when taken one by one at points
are not that bad but it is just a Pisser of a disc. I mean the tour sucked.
By then everyone knew the band was going to get a LOT better already; they
got two Covers of Rolling Stone and were happy. why Jagger put such an
awful Live selection of songs out I will never know.
"Ruby Tuesday", "Can't Be Seen", "Factory Girl"
and "Little Red Rooster" stand out. The rest plus those two odious
Studiocuts are by Stones standards not even worth mentioning.
How many time was he going to spring "JJF", "SMU" and
"Satisfaction" on us? Oh yeah, I forgot "BS".
Now the second disc at the time was a real winner, because singles just
do not exist anymore. They exist on paper and special order, so all those
B-Sides were nice and that version of "Winning Ugly", which I
have always considered a Killer Stonestrack, especially with that Synth
Bass pumped up, come in handy. On the strength of that Disc 2 i give it
an 8. Flashpoint the Livedisc I guess is an 8 too. I forget who
i am dealing with here.
But "Lord I miss you...blah blah"
Year Of Release: 1994
Record rating = 7
Overall rating = 12
A great album for the 90's, but it adds little to the Stones' legacy.
Best song: YOU GOT ME ROCKING
With this album the band has finally 'settled into old age', as they
say. Perhaps the most wonderful thing about it is that they do not try
to sound other than they are, if you know what I mean. Sure, Jagger wouldn't
be Jagger if he hadn't sucked in a few up-to-date fashionable ideas (like
that grunge thing, for one), but overall this is a very Stonish album.
No more barking, no more punking, no disco or anything - just your average
selection of classy tracks, full of delicious guitar chops and everything.
The rockers do grab you ('You Got Me Rocking' is a rollickin' anthemic
song set to a hardroarin' riff, 'I Go Wild' has some of the most fascinating
guitar interplay you'd ever witness on a Stones' record, 'Sparks Will Fly'
has a 100-percent original and funny melody combined with gross lyrics),
the ballads are nice (especially 'Out Of Tears'), and some of the tracks
are really nostalgic, harking back to those great days in the Sixties
when this sounded as fresh as anything ('Moon Is Up' - romantic psychodelia;
'Blinded By Rainbows'). The blues number 'Brand New Car' is certainly not
original, but the way it sounds - with Mick strutting out his voice as
far as possible, guitars ringing out loud and horns poking at the exactly
needed moments - really suggests that this was probably the first album
since... maybe even since the early Seventies, on which they really cared
more about the music than about their image.
Still, not all is THAT good. Some of Jagger's tracks still carry the insignia
of his trendy experimentations (the murky dance muzak 'Suck On The Jugular',
the sweety accordeon-driven 'Sweethearts Together'). Holy Mother, if there
is a threat to that RS sound, it's in Mick. Why don't they relegate
him to lyrics? As it is, he managed to spoil both this one and Bridges.
Maybe it does have that commercial type of sound which gladdens Mick's
heart, but what is he expecting? What's his desire? Be loved by young kids
now or be revered by clever people in a hundred years' time? You
tell me... Anyway, there's also a couple of ballads that don't really make
it for me. Jagger's 'New Faces' is an uninspired and painfully artificial
stab at a 16th century-type ballad (even though the lyrics are telling),
and Keith's 'Thru And Thru' is the usual sloppy wailing, six minutes long
this time. Beh. Even Charlie's thunderous drums don't enliven it up. (Then
again, he compensates with 'The Worst' which may well be his best
ballad. What a paradox, eh...) But - thank God! - this lengthy six-minute
bore is not deemed to become the album closer. Instead, they let rock one
more time with 'Mean Disposition' - a simple, but catchy generic rocker.
A wise move. Once again, reminds us of earlier times. Yahoo!
So what'd I say? A pretty good album. Oh, I forgot to mention 'Love Is
Strong' - that great mean dark opener. It's enjoyable, as is the album
in general. And yet... there is a strange sense of washed-upness in it.
Er... not to say they're really washed up... maybe just a little... but
you know, there's really nothing to jump around about or anything. It wouldn't
make my top hundred albums, for sure. But get it. That is, if you're on
a stable salary.
I go wild when you mail your ideas
Your worthy comments:
Jeff <Jkh1392@aol.com> (06.09.99)
The rockers here all all just fantastic. Generic, true, but fun fun fun!!! Much better than the oversynthesized stuff on Steel Wheels. "Love Is Strong," "Brand New Car," and "Suck on the Jugular" are slinky, sleazy, great tracks. "The Worst" is a great Keith ballad, but yeah, "Thru and Thru" is waaaay too long. I like "New Faces" for some reason; it's cheesy-sounding, but it works for me. "Sweethearts Together" makes me gag, though. "Blinded By Rainbows" and "Out Of Tears" make up for it. "Moon is Up" is my favorite track here. It's the freshest-sounding thing they'd done in years. Sort of like the rest of the album, actually. Should have been a few songs shorter, but overall, a return to form.
Glenn Wiener <glennjwiener@hotmail.com> (14.09.99)
The Stones comeback album. Influences from the sixties to the prsent are all here. 'New Faces' is very reminiscent of 'Lady Jane'. 'Suck On The Jugular' is one of the Stones best excesses in Funky Music. At least it has better lyrics than 'Hot Stuff' and 'Dance Part 1' and a more varied rhythm. It does get a little soft in spots but to me it only adds to the variety.
Tony Stewart <lucid-burner@worldnet.att.net> (10.08.2000)
Voodoo was the beginning of a few years of Stonesdom, and IMHO
the last big uprising of the Juggernaut of the Stones. we will still see
some more Stones, but this Voodoo - No security run was one
hell of a rush. Again Steel Wheels almost doesn't count in Stonesland.
It merely served the function of saying "We are back!" It could
have been anything. Now on Voodoo they had to have a reason to be
back and I agree with you that it is the first disc where they just are
themselves, in a looong time.
"Love Is Strong", great tune. Keith said it did not click until
they convinced Jagger to sing the vocals low and mean. The Harp is great.
And the tune is also VERY similar to "Wicked As It Seems", down
to the rattlesnake. "You Got Me Rocking" not the most inspired
lyrics, but it has become a staple of their Liveset and has really held
up well. Good tune. "Sparks Will Fly" is one of those tunes that
Keith explained at length was so complicated, in it's tightness that Keith
and Charlie only let the band hear it once it was worked out. It sounds
like a 1234 to me. I mean what is the big deal here? Except that Jagger
is gonna "fuck 'er sweet lil ass"? "The Worst" is cool.
Two things ; it is nice to hear Mick harmonizing behind Keith and it stayed
short. He came, he said what he had to say and he left. "New Faces".
Oh the comparisons to Cobain. I saw them coming the second I heard the
lyrics. And so did every other Stonesfanatic. But it is a GOOD song, It
isn't only the Clavicembalo that gives it that medieval feel; it is really
there in the sway of the song. Ole Lord Jagger.
"Moon Is Up" for a while was my fave cut on this disc until i
heard Mick going on and on about how experimental "Moon Is Up"
was. It sort of ruined it for me. Once I heard the Liveversion I liked
it even less. What I love about the Voodoo version is the interweaving
of all the phasing and Leslies on top of an already circular motif. "Out
Of Tears" is one of the stones' great ballads. Had they released this
in '72 it would be the "Wild Horses" of today. it is one of the
ever so rare glimpses Jagger gives us of Jagger. Damn CD's. If Albums still
existed of course this would have been the end of Side 1.
"I Go Wild" is for some reason a great Rocker. Until jagger throws
those stupid stops, with the huge Snare sound at the end in it is just
a cooker. I love the lyrics, can't help it. "Brand New Car" is
the one song Keith plays Bass on. he uses a trick he loves. Bass doesn't
come in until Verse 2. Very subtle. It is also Daryl Jones' fave cut of
the disc, he said. The lyrics are silly, the Horns tight. Some people absolutely
hate it. I do not really like it. But that is nothing compared to what
awaits us next. My biggest beef with "Sweethearts" is not the
syrup. It is the overproduction. We have about 18 Accoustic guitars, Pedal
Steel, Slides, Fiddles, BU vocals "Chi hua-hua", Accordion. MAKE
UP YOUR MIND> This is the way "Country Honk" would have come
out of Voodoo. Put Mick and Keith into a room. Give them both a
guitar and play the thing. Over. You want a solo? Bring in one of the 15
Soloists they enlisted and give the job to ONE of them.
"Suck On The Jugular" (close to "Honest Man" from 'Brew'
and 'Stew') is a good Funkgroove. A LOT of fans do not dig it. i like it.
i love ten guys singing in unison"All get together and rock".
It is a little ..gay(?) or is it tough(?). I thought it rocked and was
surprised they did not do that one Live. "Now "Blinded By Rainbows"
I personally can not stand. There is a certain type of ballad that Jagger
has perfected, and this is one of them and I hate it. I hate the lyrics,
although I know that Jagger really DOES back up his words with actions,
as far as helping people in need. But when that chorus comes in....you
hear it before it even happens. "Baby Break It Down"...???? What...
Which leaves the real end of the disc "Thru and Thru". First
time I heard it I could not believe I was listening to the stones. Keith
has become a VERY good songwriter. And i mean waaay up there. There is
a lot of throwaways; give him a tele and an Open G and you WILL get a song.
But every once in a while Keith will cross the line into the zone. it goes
on too long, but I really think Keith wanted to give Pierre alittle room
on a Stonesdisc. "Mean Disposition" is great! It is just what
the Stones should be doing now. Supercool! Even when i did not know of
B2B to still come, I always felt VL was a stepping stone
on to another level. And I still do. 12.
Year Of Release: 1995
Record rating = 6
Overall rating = 11
Acoustic re-runs of the evergreens. Interesting, but why????
Best song: LIKE A ROLLING STONE
Instead of following Lounge with a typical live album, they decided
to combine live cuts with some rehearsing material and release a 'bastard'.
What's even more attractive, most of the songs aren't greatest hits, but
rather slightly more obscure songs from different stages in their career.
In fact, only one track goes beyond 1973 - and that's 'Slipping Away' (well,
they HAD to include some Keith singing, thanks goodness it wasn't 'Coming
Down Again' or 'Thru And Thru'!)
So we have some tracks going back as early as 1965, grating their first
serious songwriting attempts ('I'm Free'; 'The Spider And The Fly', with
the original 'she looked about thirty' changed to 'she looked about fifty',
naturally), going on to the gold period ('Love In Vain', 'Let It Bleed')
and the early seventies ('Wild Horses' which, alas, shows the flaws in
Jagger's aged voice; 'Dead Flowers'! Hey!). Terrible letdowns in the live
versions of 'Angie' (Jagger has to work hard to make this song come alive,
and he's clearly out of form on the record) and 'Shine A Light' (after
all, Ronnie Wood is no Mick Taylor, and he destroys the song with a couple
of sloppy solos which only hint at the ecstasy on the original version).
But for these letdowns we have our deserved compensations, too: two new
songs which are tons better than the two additional 'songs' on Flashpoint.
The cover of Dixon's 'Little Baby' is a good quiet blues, and the cover
of Dylan's 'Like A Rolling Stone' is not just a tribute to Bob or a jeu
de mots: it's actually rockin', with Jagger adding some extremely smooth
and powerful harmonica lines. I like it, and I welcome their decision to
include this song in their latest tour. So there.
So why a 6? Simple. Not a single song here equals the original. They are
not even rearranged, just simplified, as every normal live recording. Moreover,
there's no pulsating energy here which makes their live albums so exciting.
I like to put it on sometimes, but that's only when I get tired of the
regular versions. Nice, but not essential. Or, well, maybe essential, but
not groundbreaking. OK, maybe it is groundbreaking, but it simply does
not rule. I'm not gonna go on. I'm gonna go listen to Beggar's Banquet.
Right now.
Like a Rolling Stone? Or like an old fart? Mail your ideas
Your worthy comments:
Jeff <Jkh1392@aol.com> (06.09.99)
I like this one better than yer average live album, mainly because it doesn't sound so much like the Stones. They get to stretch out some, and the performances are top-notch. Personally, I think they botched the chorus on "Like A Rolling Stone" with the female backing vocals, but that harmonica is nice. The track listing is near-perfect, the sole exception being "Slipping Away"-- why not "You Got the Silver"? I guess they may have thought there was already enough country on here. But it's Stones country!!! You can't go wrong with that stuff!!! Mick's vocals may not measure up to his best, but they're more than listenable. And did I mention that the band sounds great? Well, let me do it again. The band sounds great. So there.
Tony Stewart <Zophiel@oneworldonline.net> (21.11.2000)
I love Stripped. Stones doing their version of Unplugged.
The opening "SFM" knocked me off my feet first time I heard it.
It is such a great tune, but had been receiving a rather shabby treatment
as a closing tune, where Keith was at volume 11, and Jagger barely got
the lyrics out; throwing shit into the crowd. Now during the Taylor days
Taylor's solos DID carry it, but it became mainly just a vehicle for show
and energy. Actually there is nothing wrong with that, come to think of
it. :) Next we get "Like A Rolling Stone". They consitently did
this one perfectly through the whole tours. The ONLY time it got confused
was the time Dylan sat in with them in So. America LOL.It gives me goosebumps
though when I hear Mick and Keith singing "..like a ROLLING STONE..".
Would have been great to see them share the Mike like in the old days.
Great Harp! Go Mick! "Not Fade Away" sounds even better than
on tour with Ron on Accoustic. Short and tight. "Shine A Light"
was a real treat our Dutch fans got. Played very close to the Studio version.
Why oh why will they not TOTALLY revise the setlist on the next tour?
"The Spider And The Fly" (a real surprise) one of the highlights;
the 'rinsed out Blonde on my left' has gone from age 30 to 50. LOL. "I'm
Free" is one of my fave Stones tune; mainly based on the great solo
on December's Children. The solo here is a lot more restrained..
"Wild Horses" is simply gorgeous. "Let It Bleed", "Dead
Flowers" follow with straight up renditions. Keith steps up with "Slipping
Away". This one is done in the studio. I did not think that they would
do that one Live. Too tricky. I prefer this version over the official version.
The Horns do get their parts right. "Angie", "Sweet Virginia"
are cool. They are exactly what one would expect on an "accoustic"
Stonesdisc. "Angie" is pretty lush with the Synth, and Jagger
does a great vocal. The last number "Little Baby" is one of the
welcome surprises. Great song! Stones doing the Blues. Leaves us with "Love
In Vain". Love that false start. This must be the best version of
the Ron Wood era. I know I am not drooling over this disc, but in my mind
it is right up there with Ya-Ya's and No Security, Got
Live... I give this one a 14. Free the sweet black slave.
One Love, Anthony
Year Of Release: 1997
Record rating = 6
Overall rating = 11
A pretty normal latest album, but it's just a bit too dark and Jaggerish
for me.
Best song: FLIP THE SWITCH
Now don't blame me. The hype was enormous, the tour was great, and some
of the songs here are just fine. But overall I wouldn't think of this album
as belonging to the Stones' finest work. They sure do not stagnate, and
they're certainly willing to take a few risks and make a few experimentations,
and the playing, singing, mix, and production are as flawless as possible.
However, musically it's not that strong.
This is certainly a 'Jagger' album. Keith's presence here is limited to
three songs, unfortunately, none of them gems: 'You Don't Have To Mean
It' is a dull reggaeish whine, and the closing two tracks - 'Thief In The
Night' and 'How Can I Stop' belong to the same Keith-unmelodic-wailing-dustbin
that has already accumulated so many of his so-called 'ballads'. The latter
is slightly touching and nostalgic, at least.
Mick is captain-in-chief on the rest, and it produces mixed results. On
one hand, we have a couple of good old ferocious dark rockers - the opening
'Flip The Switch' is, as they boast, the fastest song they ever recorded,
and 'Too Tight' is certainly an improvement over 'Too Tough'. The ballad
'Already Over Me' is a cross between 'Almost Hear You Sigh' from Steel
Wheels and 'Fool To Cry' and is thus quite good. And finally, the more
experimental 'Out Of Control' is certainly quite unlike anything else and
is also a superb stage number. But then again - we have the hit single
'Anybody Seen My Baby' which is just so 90's-like and so un-Stones-like
I can hardly stand it. Lots of other tracks are like this, and I tell you,
they should rather belong to a Jagger solo album: 'Gunface' features disco
rock, 'Might As Well Get Juiced' with its 'juiced' bass line reminds me
of their worst musical excesses on Undercover, 'Saint Of Me' is
not bad, but not Stones either. And the guitars on 'Lowdown' just don't
seem Keith-ish to me. And 'Always Suffering' is just another re-run of
'Already Over Me', only less inspired. The atmosphere is much darker than
on Voodoo Lounge, which is rather surprising especially since everything
else was so good and bright - the expectations, the tour, etc. Listening
to this album, it's really possible to understand why so many people shrug
their shoulders at the words 'Rolling Stones' and treat them like Blur
or something. Oops, by chance - if you're one of these people, why don't
you try Let It Bleed? It don't hurt to try, trust me...
OK, OK, now, it's not that bad. Actually, listening to the coda to Keith's
'How Can I Stop' even makes me cry: it's a fantastic ending for such a
weak album. And hey now! I'm talking of Bridges as of a 'weak' album
- not a loathsome piece of trash (like Dirty Work) or a self-parody
(Undercover). These two albums I wouldn't even dare to compare
with their early classic efforts: whereas Bridges at least sound
like a weak return to form.
Also, I'm looking forward to their next live album, due to come out soon.
Such a great tour should have a great live album...
Might as well get juiced if you don't mail your ideas
Your worthy comments:
Jeff <Jkh1392@aol.com> (06.09.99)
Again, the Stones stretch their considerable talents and make a "90s" album. I like it, darn it!!! Just as good as Voodoo Lounge, IMHO. The first five songs start thing off fantastically, but "You Don't Have To Mean It" is just dopey. Dopey old Keith. When will he ever learn? Also, "Thief in the Night" is painfully murky, while "How can I Stop" is overdone. "Might As Well Get Juiced" is actually kind of cool, but "Always Suffering" sounds like Garth Brooks!!! Aaaaaahhhhh!!!!! Everything else is just dandy, especially "Saint of Me," their best song since, I dunno, "Slave" or something from Tattoo You. "Out of Control" is fun, too. Good album. Consider me impressed that these guys are still this fresh-sounding.
Simon Hearn <simon@leehearn.freeserve.co.uk> (08.09.99)
I love this album! Equal to Voodoo in my opinion (I have all the stones catalogue). I agree with a previous reader who stated 'you don't have to mean it' was cr**. This is the only bad track on the album. 'Saint of me' is the best track (sorry George) - a sort of 90' 'sympathy for the devil' - not as effective though, but nice never the less. 'Out of control' is fantastic live and their next album proved. However the full marks go to two keith vocalled songs: 'thief in the night' and 'how can I stop' - tender, sincere and that voice makes the songs all the more so beautiful. A real return to form. Forget about voodoo - get this!
Glenn Wiener <glennjwiener@hotmail.com> (25.09.99)
The Stones continue to reeturn to form with this fine release. Maybe I am the only one, but I like Keith's reggae flavored 'You Don't Have To Mean It'. The song structure and the rhythms just suit my ears fine. Most of the other songs are quite catchy and even danceable. This album doesn't quite measure up to the Stones peak albums(Beggars Banquet, Exile, Sticky Fingers, etc..) due to an over-reliance on studio musicians. However, it is a quality release by a quality band.
<LedZep3206@aol.com> (21.11.99)
I'm sorry, I just don't agree with half of your diagnosis of this album. "Gunface" is awesome, and about as un-disco as you can get (well, not really, but I think you get the picture). "Anybody Seen My Baby" is a GREAT song, and completely Stones. 'Saint Of Me' is one of the best on the album, I think, and a great tune as well.
Tony Stewart <Zophiel@oneworldonline.net> (21.11.2000)
GEORGE!!!! Are you crazy? :))))
B2B is the best thing have done in ages! Beginning with Steel
Wheels it has all been uphill. Look at how many Live cookers they got
from this one. "Out Of Control" and "Saint Of Me" were
the highlights from the tour. In a way it is the 90's equivalent of Exile
because it was recorded in such a confused manner. But really gels all
as a whole. Keith is VERY present. Who is NOT very present is Ron, but
we all saw that on tour. I honestly do not know what he must have felt,
walking into the studio and see Waddy Wachtel there. I love WW but Ron
is the Stone!!!
It is strange what you said about "Already Over Me", by far my
least fave off the disc. It reminds me of "Blinded By Rainbows"
this type of Jagger ballad where on a first listening you can already tell
what the chorus is going to sound like. "Flip The Switch", the
fastest song (beats per minute) the Stones have ever recorded. ("Rip
This Joint" used to be the one...). Great riff, Title probably came
from Keith and Jagger filling it out. Superb backing vocals arrangment.
Is that an Upright Bass? I think so. "Anybody Seen My Baby".
Well. They had to give credit to K.D.Lang, which she probably would not
even have noticed, since it is such a frequently used melody line over
minor chords; very pretty. Of course it was a mistake to release it as
a single because then they felt compelled to play it live and of course
it did not work. The "Rap" is embarrassing. But the body of the
song, had it been produced a little softer would have made a great song.
That is typical Jagger, trying to force a beat on to a song that does not
need it. And shouting the song on stage made it even worse. "Lowdown"
is ALL Keith on his open G tuning. I very much like the song, was surprised
they only played it once during the whole tour. Another great BU Vox stack.
"Gunface" was done Live in the studio. Now that is a Killer Bassline,
smoking Synth in the chorus. It is hot! "You Don't Have To Mean It"
is Keith doing his obligatory Reggae and it is a good one. Anybody else
notice that Keith uses more instruments on his tracks than the other guys?
Same Live...
"Out Of Control" is one of the best tunes the Stones have ever
done. Of course it is Jagger, but Keith must have realized they had hit
gold and he is right up there. The Live dual solo of Mick blowing at Keith
and Keith throwing it right back from his axe was incredible! Same goes
for "Saint Of Me". I have to agree with Keith on this one: 'Why
use a Drumloop when you have Charlie Watts ?' I do not think Mick had any
idea what a hit he was sitting on with this one. I mean listen to recordings
from Buenos Aires or Rio - they would not quit the chant! The lyrics pick
up where "Sympathy For The Devil" and "Wandering Spirit"
left off. I dig "Might As Well Get Juiced". Of course it is a
Synth tune, but again just like "Continental Drift" Jagger is
after all a musician too. And has the need to experiment. He has slipped
several times, but this sucker pumps IMHO. Just did not leave much room
for guitar. "Always Suffering" is finally a nice Country ballad
NOT overproduced. For some reason it reminds me of "Loving Cup".
A very 'sunny' song. And it feels like it is Mick, singing it to the love
of his life - Keith. "Too Tight" is a short Rocker in the vein
of "Sparks Will Fly", only better. That one would have worked
live.
Which leaves us with a rather unusual closing duo. Whoever had that idea
had a good ear. I guess it is an unwritten rule by now that the Keith ballad
closes out the disc, but this time we get two. "Thief In The Night"
would already have been enough, with it's backward Cymbals and muted guitars.
Beautiful eastern melody on top. Great live too. But "How Can I Stop"
just steals your heart away. What beautiful piece of music; especially
the very end with the Sax solo.
All in all a great disc. The only sad part was the notable absence of Mr.
Ron Wood. I hope he comes back on fire! 15!
Year Of Release: 1998
Record rating = 8
Overall rating = 13
After all these years, they've still got it! Well, depending on what
you consider to be 'it', of course...
Best song: RESPECTABLE
It's really unfortunate that Bridges made the charts and this
one hasn't and probably never will, cos in many many respects it's better.
Apparently, the album just didn't get as much promotion as Bridges
got - sadly enough, in this corrupted world of ours promotion is DA TING,
man. This resulted in a chain of events likely to piss off a lot of Stones
fans; for instance, there had been plans of releasing something like an
official 2-CD package with recent outtakes, a real paradise for Stoneheads
like me, but all this was scrapped in the wake of No Security's
commercial failure. Dumb.
Anyway, I had really high hopes for this album after seeing the tour, and
even if these hopes haven't been justified totally, well, I'm still pretty
much satisfied with the result. Critics usually twirl their noses at all
of the Stones' live albums since Ya-Ya's, most of the actual criticisms
going like 'gee, how many more live records do these guys really
need?' But the hilarious thing about it is that apparently, the further
you get, the better you get - No Security is the band's best live
album since Ya-Ya's, and it shows.
The main idea on here was not to release another 'Greatest Hits Live';
therefore, the album is blatantly missing the usual classics like 'Satisfaction',
'Jumpin' Jack Flash', 'Honky Tonk Women', 'Brown Sugar', etc. (It may well
be that this decision is one of the factors that turned off the 'common
fan' - after all, what use do you have for a live Stones record if you
browse through the track listing and don't find any Hot Rocks standards
on there? Ooh man, where's da headbanging factor?) On one hand, it was
certainly a good idea: common fans are common fans, of course, but indeed,
how many live versions of 'Satisfaction' do we have to endure? Haven't
the Stones already released a fair share of these? On the other hand, this
results in a somewhat scrappy album which doesn't really recreate the atmosphere
of the show: even though there are no fade-outs between songs, it feels
like a collection (not to mention Mick talking in several languages throughout
the record). Fans who actually saw the tour will be heavily disappointed
when the intro takes off, the screen comet blasts away and instead of the
inspiring 'Satisfaction' riff we hear the band launching into 'You Got
Me Rocking'; likewise, the idea to finish the 'show' with 'Out Of Control'
instead of the usual classics might almost seem off-putting. But hey, whatever,
the tour caused something like a couple hundred bootlegs, so why worry?
More disturbing is the fact that there are way too few slow moody numbers
for a Stones concert: 'Memory Motel' (with guest star Dave Matthews whose
voice actually sounds OK despite the fans' constant blasphemation - look,
people, Mick Jagger's vocal chords aren't the only laudable thing on this
planet), 'Waiting On A Friend', 'Sister Morphine', the Taj Mahal guest
appearance on 'Corrina Corrina' and Keith's boring vocal spotlight 'Thief
In The Night' are all performed quite well, but what are they doing between
the really great energetic highlights, such as 'Flip The Switch', the opening
'You Got Me Rocking', the oldie-but-goldie 'The Last Time' and a fantastic
version of 'Respectable'? These are the songs that I listen to frequently,
even if 'The Last Time' is a trifle marred by being slowed down (as compared
to the regular live playing, I mean), and 'Respectable' is a trifle marred
by cheesy backup vocals. I need some drive for a Stones' concert, dammit!
I love Stones' ballads as well as anybody, but if I want to listen to their
ballads I'll readily pick up a studio album. Mind you that on a real
concert these problems would simply be non-existent: they rarely performed
more than two or three slow songs during a show, and added a lot more of
hard-rockin' classics. So I'll say it again: the album's main problem lies
in being unrepresentative. They could have easily replaced a couple of
slow songs with 'Bitch' or '19th Nervous Breakdown', or whatever else they
performed on the tour - and they did perform a lot, what with the famous
'Internet voting' for the best-loved song. Although Mick did later confess
that they messed up the voting results sometimes. Otherwise, they'd probably
have to play 'Love Is Strong' for twenty shows in a row...
Still, I keep catching myself complaining and bitching, but whatever be,
most of the performances are great. Mick's voice sounds fine, even though
he rarely changes his tone, obviously saving it 'for later'. The guitarwork
is excellent, incomparable as it is with the Ya-Ya's sound. It's
better than on Love You Live, though, especially when it comes to
the mix: Ronnie's guitars, usually inaudible in the context of the actual
show, are delicately separated and brought high enough in the mix, which
makes the fabulous guitar interplay all the more driving and intoxicating.
The backing musicians sometimes seem annoying, but sometimes not (Lisa
Fischer, the back-up singer, does a great job on 'Gimmie Shelter', even
though she's no Mary Clayton). And the album closes with 'Out Of Control'
which really only revealed its potential in concert (the closing jam is
not effective without the video, though). Good work, boys! Just dump that
atrocious album cover and clean up the backyard!
And please somebody do me a favour: clean up all those 'though, though,
though' in this review. Replace it with just one big THOUGH: 'This is a
magnificent live album, THOUGH it ain't no Ya-Ya's'. Which is why
it gets deprived of a couple of points.
Flip the switch and mail your ideas
Your worthy comments:
Jeff <Jkh1392@aol.com> (06.09.99)
What a bloody awful cover.....
Anyway, this is a really fun set of songs, and it's nice to hear so many
lesser-known gems. The new songs work really well as live numbers, and
all those classic tunes are given great treatments. I still don't like
"Thief In the Night," but "Memory Motel" sounds way
better than the original. Those God-awful keyboards are toned down, and
Matthews' vocal performance sounds surprisingly great; as much as I loathe
the Dave Matthews' Band, here he and Jagger lift the song out of mediocrity
and turn it into soemthing special. As good as much of this stuff is, I've
got a bootleg copy of the entire St. Louis concert (part of which turned
up here), and it's much better than this album. It flows more naturally,
and you feel more like you're at the actual show. Lots of fun if you can
find it.
<Huntr3@aol.com> (23.07.2000)
I agree. I especially like Lisa Fischer. Oh wow, she can sing. I dont think anyone could do better than Mary Clayton did, but Lisa Fischer is definately good. Dave Matthews is very talented too. But what was makin think "wait a second" was when Mick started givin' ol Dave Matthews those looks.. You know which ones im talkin about.. you know.. "hey sailor.... long trip?" those kinda looks. is mick bisexual? im convinced he is.. what about that limp wristed dance thing he did at the start of 'Gimme Shelter'? yeah.... SOMEBODY is battin for the other team......
Tony Stewart <SweetBlackAngel@oneworldonline.net> (07.12.2000)
Allright the cover is awful! What was Mick thinking??? There is a great
alternative cover for the promo single, with Keith and his Voodoostaff
and the rest of the band. Now why did we get some fat biker? At least the
content is superb. Glad they opened the disc with "You Got Me Rockin".
Never meant to be much of a brainchild it appeals to the pelvic area and
has progressively become better and better in a Live setting. And Ron actually
plays!!
"Gimme Shelter" features Keith and Lisa and Ron plays AGAIN.
"Flip The Switch" showcases Keith's mastery of a Killer riffhook.
Now I am one of the few people that can not stand Dave Matthew as a soloartist,
but loved him with the Stones. Keith gets a huge round of applause every
time he does his little bridge. "Corinna" is out of tune and
it drives me crazy. You can tinker all you want with fixing things in the
studio, but you can not fix a guitar that is out of tune. Too bad Taj Mahal
did not tune up a little better. Jagger sounds a little forced on that
one. Almost as if he is thinking "Let's get this thing out of the
way". There is a lot more harmony in his interplay with Matthews."Saint
Of Me" rocks of course. Same goes for the awesome winner of the tour"Out
Of Control". That leaves us with the main part of Side 2 , had this
been on Vinyl. What a great section. "Respectable" gets the treatment
it always deserved. In'78 it was just one of the 1-4-5 Rockers off of Some
Girls. Here they really drive that guitar hook home. "The Last
Time" has Ron chomping at the bit. "Live With Me also thrives
on the guitar weavings from Keith and Ron. "Waiting On A Friend"
with Josh Redman sticks close to the Albumversion. I am always surprised
how well they do this one Live. Keith does his wonderful "Thief In
The Night". Uses the entire cast for that one.
Leaves us with my personal fave:"Sister Morphine". So glad they
dusted that one off AND put it on the Livedisc. Jagger rules on that one.
All in all a VERY good Livedisc from a highly successful tour. But then
the Stones are SUPPOSED to make great discs.
I give it a 13.
Year Of Release: 1997
Although it was released only thirty years later, this film was actually
shot in Dec. 1968 and, at least from my point of view, it is the best and
most enjoyable document witnessing... no, not the Rolling Stones,
but rather the general swinging atmosphere of London. An average night
in an average place in an average London town... and there you have it:
all in one place? Would you like to see a very new, very young, very 'green'
Jethro Tull? Les voila! Or maybe your interests lie in pure rock'n'roll?
Why not have a look at brilliant Taj Mahal then? Or you're just an average
hard rocker? Well here are the Who for you! Want to see something extravagant?
Oh well, m'sieur, I don't know if it will satisfy you, but tonight we've
only got this average supergroup - like there's John Lennon there, and
that Mitch Mitchell guy, and Keith Richards on base, and Eric Clapton,
too.
Impressed? And to top it off, here come the... "I was born in a crossfire
hurricane..."
Not that the Stones are especially brilliant here. "Sympathy For The
Devil" is top-knotch, and there's a beautiful "No Expectations"
with a live Nicky Hopkins on piano (imagine that!), but the playing is
somewhat sloppy sometimes, probably due to the fact that Brian Jones was
completely stoned at the time. Still, it is such a rare opportunity to
see him live on video at all that I hardly mind. "Jumpin' Jack Flash"
and "Parachute Woman" still rock, although the closing "Salt
Of The Earth" is kinda boring.
The real heroes of this film are The Who, actually, but this belongs to
another story (see The Kids Are Alright video/album reviews). Me,
I enjoy this video. It is very important historically and quite plausible
at times. But don't worry about buying this on CD!
Mail your ideas
THE STONES
IN THE PARK
Year Of Release: 1983
Historically important, but musically shallow. This is an hour-long documentary of their famous Hyde Park concert in July '69, heralding a series of firsts: the first real big one, the first after Jones' death, and the first with Mick Taylor. The first first means you have to sit through a lot of Hells Angels footage, the second first means you have to listen to Jagger stuttering over a poem by Shelley in Brian's memory, and the third first, unfortunately, means that the sound is horrible, most of the songs being poorly rehearsed. 'Jumpin' Jack Flash' and 'Honky Tonk Women' are OK, and the closing 'Sympathy For The Devil' is fascinating, especially with all these tambourines and maracas and all, but the rest is extremely patchy. The extracts from 'Midnight Rambler' are patchy, 'Satisfaction' is a bore, and the novelties ('I'm Free' and a cover of 'I'm Yours, I'm Hers') are really nothing special. The general atmosphere is intoxicating, though, maybe even more so than on Gimmie Shelter. Also, everybody is dressed really cool. So the video line is worth it.
Mail your ideas
GIMME
SHELTER
Year Of Release: 1970
The classic movie of a classic concert. Just for the record, that Altamont
thing was damn great overexposed. So what if they killed a guy? First of
all, it wasn't the only death at the concert (overdoses were a usual thing,
too, I guess), and the guy messed with the Angels himself. Oh, well...
never mind. Sure, it's a tragedy and all, but to attach a symbolic meaning
to it... bullshit. It was just appropriate to make it symbolic.
The End of The Woodstock Age! Ha! This could have happened at any time,
I say. But let's get on to the movie.
The movie, made by some Maysles brothers or others, features a lot of dialogue
in the fat guys' offices and naked bodies on the Altamont Speedway, which
is not that entertaining. But things get better when they turn the camera
onto the Stones - either in the studio, gleefully listening to their own
recordings of 'Wild Horses' and 'Love In Vain', or live - where the fun
begins, actually. And since this is the era of Ya-Ya's (1969 American
tour, if you still don't get it), the performances are terrific. 'JJF',
'Honky Tonk Women', 'Street Fighting Man' and 'Sympathy For The Devil'
go off splendidly, with an occasional chick flying onto the stage and making
Mick miss a line, but this only adds to the excitement. Keith manages to
ruin 'Satisfaction' by taking a much higher pitch than necessary, but nobody
gives a damn. Anyway, I definitely do not want to regard this film as 'symbolic'
or 'ominous' or anything like that. It certainly was meant to be that way,
and probably was back then in 1970, but nowadays for me it is just another
great memento of some fantastic performances by the Greatest Rock'n'Roll
Band In The World. Unluckily, there are too few completely performed songs.
But... what would you expect? It's a 'serious' movie!
Mail your ideas
LET'S
SPEND THE NIGHT TOGETHER
Year Of Release: 1981
The video of the 1981-82 world tour, and the feelings are mixed. On
one hand, all the songs are enjoyable - they plough through most of Tattoo
You (none of these songs except 'Start Me Up' got to the official album),
lots of songs from Emotional Rescue and Some Girls plus a
lot of standard classics near the end. Here's the list (may you enjoy it):
'Under My Thumb', 'Let's Spend The Night Together', 'Shattered', 'Neighbours',
'Black Limousine', 'Just My Imagination', 'Twenty Flight Rock', 'Let Me
Go', 'Time Is On My Side', 'Beast Of Burden', 'Waiting On A Friend', 'You
Can't Always Get What You Want', 'Little T & A', 'Tumbling Dice', 'She's
So Cold', 'All Down The Line', 'Hang Fire', 'Miss You', 'Let It Bleed',
'Start Me Up', 'Honky Tonk Women', 'Brown Sugar', 'Jumpin' Jack Flash',
and, of course, 'Satisfaction'. Cool, eh?
On the other hand: most of these songs are thrown off at a terrific speed,
twenty or thirty times faster than even the usual concert treatment, so
that the video is over before you can say Jack Robinson; Mick's singing
is plain awful; Ronnie does more showing off than playing; and the whole
affair seems to showcase Jagger's penis rather than Jagger's musicianship.
Keith is holding on, with his guitar producing most of the sound (at least,
most of the good one), but even Keith comes to a dead end while singing
'Little T & A'. Decide for yourself. Me, I only watch this when I've
had enough of all the other stuff.
Mail your ideas
REWIND
Year Of Release: 1984
Not bad! This is a collection of early videos for late Stones, and it's
actually enjoyable as hell. I used to hate it when I was younger because
if taken on the same level with the early Stones this is more of a parody
than of anything else. But I've grown to love it as, quite simple, a bunch
of grooves. All the videos are united by a dorky subjectline: Bill Wyman
(why Bill, I wonder?) gets inside a museum or something, finds a 'Stones-room'
with Mick as one of the main exponates, and watches all these videos through
lots of TV sets. Most of the videos date back to 1980-83 (there's three
from Undercover, three from Tattoo You, and two from Emotional
Rescue), plus there's a TV performance of 'Miss You' (unfortunately,
incomplete), a groovy early rendition of 'It's Only Rock'n'Roll' and a
beautiful performance of 'Angie' (the last two feature Mick Taylor who
is unjustly uncredited in the end). Oh yes, and there's a performance of
'Brown Sugar', cut-and-pasted from several live shows and set to the sound
of the version on Love You Live.
The main videos are all solid, ranking from the simply-entertaining live
performances (the earlier videos of 'She's So Cold', with a still young-looking
and cool-dressed Keith, and 'Emotional Rescue') to the slightly-more-elaborated
performances (the later videos of 'Neighbours', shot inside a New York
hotel or something, and 'Waiting On A Friend', featuring Mick waiting on
Keith) and to the groovy-bombastic-obscene-rude-gory-nasty-banned-everywhere-where-possible
clips (the latest videos of 'Undercover Of The Night' with Keith shooting
Mick through the head, 'She Was Hot' with some hot dancer setting Mick
on fire and bursting everybody's zippers, and 'Too Much Blood' with, sure
enough, too much blood). If you got all the stuff you wanted from
the 60's, go ahead and buy this - just remember that this is nothing more
than a groovy parody. But as a groovy parody, it works amazingly.
It cooks! And there's a couple extracts from the notorious 'Cocksucker
Blues', too! I love that moment with Keith throwing a TV set from the balcony.
Mail your ideas
LIVE AT THE MAX
Year Of Release: 19??
Better 'n before. This is to Let's Spend The Night as Flashpoint is to Still Life - somewhat more restricted and rehearsed, but much better from the musical point of view. Except for Keith's horrible solos (the idea of letting him play lead more often than necessary was not that good in the end), the playing is great, even though for the first time they get a whole bunch of session musicians. Mick's looking cool, with his specific short haircut, and everybody else is in great form. Still - the sound is a bit dry, as if they were playing lip-sync (which they were not, I hope). Highlights include Keith singing 'Happy', '2000 Light Years From Home' (maybe the first time they ever played a Satanic song live), a 'Honky Tonk Woman' with inflatable dolls (both were inexplicably left off the live album), a great 'Paint It Black', and the closing 'Satisfaction' is quite a treat. Quite good.
Mail your ideas
VOODOO
LOUNGE
Year Of Release: 1995
The official video of the 1994-95 Voodoo Lounge tour, shot somewhere
around Miami, I presume. The band is in great form, better than on the
previous tour, actually, and most of the performances are quite fine. There
are many defects, though. The show is obviously cut. Some of the songs
are not that great (the boring, un-energized version of 'Stop Breaking
Down' with guest star Robert Cray; 'It's All Over Now' with Keith playing
a solo that almost seems a parody on the old one and makes me suspect he
forgot all his perfect Berry-licks). And, finally, the heat must have been
great: they're sweating so much it makes them lose their charm. Keith,
in particular, looks truly horrible, especially on his solo number - which,
by the way, is called 'The Worst'. It's not the worst, though. Not here,
at least.
Any surprises? Sure! Somewhere in the middle, they bring out Bo Diddley!
And they perform a rip-roaring version of 'Who Do You Love' which is fantastic
- a 50-year old Mick with a more-'n-60-year-old (I guess) Bo, performing
hardcore rock'n'roll better than anybody. Wow! However, apart from this
one, you won't find any terrific surprises.
In all, I would strongly recommend to find VL in Japan instead.
But if you can't, then stick with this one. It won't hurt.
Mail your ideas
VOODOO
LOUNGE IN JAPAN
Year Of Release: 1995
Unfortunately, this one is very rare. I have the first part of it (there
probably should be a second as well, but where?), and it's great, much
better than the official universal video. First of all, it is much longer,
and has great renditions of songs that never made it onto the official
video - such as 'Sparks Will Fly', 'I Go Wild', 'Love Is Strong' (the new
ones) and 'Live With Me', 'Street Fighting Man' and especially 'Monkey
Man'! Hey, there's a great 'Monkey Man' with Mick singing a duet with Lisa
Fischer on here! Also, the general quality is much higher: Mick is in a
much better form, no heat is gonna make the makeup run down their faces
and make Keith look like a cross between Count Dracula and Quasimodo, and
no Robert Cray is gonna drive them into a weak generic blues performance.
If you are lucky enough to get this one, drop the official video; if you're
not - just keep looking.
Oh, by the way: besides 'Monkey Man', highlights include 'I Go Wild' with
a great triple guitar sound (Mick plays rhythm), 'Before They Make Me Run'
(sung by Keith, sure enough), 'Slipping Away' (with breathtaking solos
by Keith), and a fantastic coda to 'Street Fighting Man'. Plenty of letdowns,
though: 'Love Is Strong' is weak, far below the studio version, 'Rocks
Off' puts some rocks on due to Mick's 'incorrect' singing, and 'Rock And
A Hard Place' is just so-so. But never mind, all of these things are just
minor embarrassments.
Mail your ideas
BRIDGES
TO BABYLON (LIVE IN CONCERT)
Year Of Release: 1997
A strange thing, but starting with the infamous 1981-82 tour, the Stones seem to get better and better with each following one. The Bridges tour is undoubtedly their best in at least twenty years, and that's mainly because the main accent is made on the music and singing rather than on the special effects and pyrotechnics. The stage is relatively small, the screen is nice and compact, there's no Urban Jungle or voodoo dolls here, just a couple Eastern decorations. But the performance is awesome! Mick has never sung so well since his better days, and his movements on the stage are just fascinating! The newer songs are either turned into powerful, breathtaking jams ('Out Of Control') or into crowd-pleasing anthems ('Saint Of Me'), and the older songs are performed immaculately. Highlights include 'Gimmie Shelter' with Lisa Fischer singing a terrific duet with Mick; 'Waiting On A Friend' (the Internet choice); another duet, this time with Dave Matthews ('Wild Horses' - Jagger has finally overcome his vocal problems on Stripped); and, of course, the closing set of classics. If you're looking for an 'old period' Stones video, this should be your first choice.
It is August 12th, 1998, and I'm writing about this - undoubtedly one
of the greatest events - of my life. Writing now, because I'm still under
the impression and remember it as clearly as possible.
We arrived at the scene as early as possible - at 16:30, although it was
already a little too late - the best standing places were taken. Still,
we got to the very front row - the price of standing on our feet for almost
five hours' time before They came out. The weather was awful - nasty clouds
covering all the sky, and rain, rain and rain. Then the opening act (Spleen)
came out. I'm not really a great fan of Russian rock music, but this particular
group ranges among the worst (at least, in my personal humble opinion).
Eventually the audience realised it too and if they weren't booed off the
stage this was probably due only to the fact that everybody was getting
so bored with standing and doing nothing for a lot of time they were already
able to put up with anything.Who's responsible for these opening acts,
anyhow?
Then, after they finally vacated the stage, - another hour of waiting,
they're making the final preparations, and then... the lights finally go
out, the curtains are drawn, we have a comet bursting, and the band breaks
onto the stage with 'Satisfaction'. I really can't describe what's happened
to the audience. Suffice it to say that most of the song passed me by -
I couldn't hear anything but the crowd. 'Let's Spend The Night Together'
was better - I actually got to hear the keyboards; still, unfortunately
the sound was not that great. Either it was too obscured by the crowds
or they plain had some problems. The worst thing was with the guitars:
Ronnie's guitar, which is the weaker one, wasn't heard at all, while Keith's
riffing was discernible but his soloes were not. Never mind, though. As
far as I could see, everybody was in top form.
Mick has learned some words in Russian and said 'Hello Russia!' and 'We're
here at last!' which further enraged the audience (in a good sense, I mean).
'Gimmie Shelter' was terrific, with Lisa Fischer's screeches overcoming
the roar of the crowd. She is a great singer. The new songs (from 'Bridges
to Babylon') were good, too. I don't really like 'Anybody Seen My Baby'
'cos it's too un-Stoneslike, but 'Out Of Control' was just superb! When
suddenly you have Mick dancing and playing harmonica at the same time,
Keith wildly tearing at strings by his side, looking him straight in the
face, some of the most fiercest and enthralling sounding you can ever get,
and all this punctuated by lighting and other special effects, it can simply
drive you insane!
When I looked at the web page that morning, the obvious winner was 'Love
Is Strong', but they preferred to ignore it and played 'Paint It Black'
instead. They probably got fed up with it (having played it for the last
three concerts) and preferred something else instead. I have a strong feeling
that the voting list is being trumped up as often as they consider it necessary.
In fact, 'Love Is Strong' has disappeared from the 'voted-for' song list
today! Anyway, I don't care: 'Paint It Black' was just superb. Then 'Miss
You', with Jagger asking the audience: 'Would you like to sing?' (first
in English, then in Russian). Of course, everybody did, and it went off
fine.
Band introductions. Mick introduces Ronnie as 'sumashedshy hudozhnik' (which
is Russian for 'crazy artist', of course) and Keith as 'tsygan' ('gypsy').
Charlie gets the most applause, as usual, but everybody gets his share.
Keith's small set. As soon as he starts with 'Thief In The Night', the
rain starts falling again; however, it doesn't spoil anything. I don't
know whether Keith was pleased or not, he just muttered something like
'blessed rain'... 'Wanna Hold You' is great, a very good choice for a live
song. Still, I wish he'd do 'Happy' or 'You Got The Silver' instead of
'Thief'.
Then the bridge! They do the standard set which is 'Little Queenie', 'You
Got Me Rocking' and 'Like A Rolling Stone' on the small stage. For me it
was a blessing because all the people rushed off to the center and the
pressure was gone - finally (I almost wasn't able to breathe when they
did 'Saint Of Me'). All the three songs were great, but I was rather far
away.
They return for the final set. By now it's raining rather heavily - for
'Honky Tonk Women' Mick puts on his hat and raincoat. Ronnie does likewise,
then plops his hat onto Keith's head and takes another one. I hope they
were not too sad about it - after all, more than half the concert went
off splendidly, no rain at all. 'Start Me Up' is great, with Keith repeating
the opening line thrice. And they close with 'Jumping Jack Flash', which
drives everybody into complete ecstasy.
Charlie had 'You Can't Always Get What You Want' in the encore set, but
they dropped it (like they already did before) - either because of the
rain or for some other reason. Pity. But they crash on the scene one more
time for a stunning version of 'Brown Sugar', with Mick performing his
'yeah-yeah-yeah-OOOH!' ritual with the audience and Keith running around
the stage and playing his guitar in front of the audience. Tons of confetti
descend onto the front rows and we have fireworks - then it's over!
OK, cut. I'll never forget this show in my whole life and I think that
it will be discussed here for weeks and weeks. In fact, this is what we
need so much in Russia - a concert THAT great to show everybody what real
rock'n'roll really is! Mick, Keith, Ronnie and Charlie - come back again!
PLEASE!
It may or may not be amazing, but neither Keith
nor Mick never actually had a solo project going on until the mid-Eighties,
and, apparently, Micks' adventurous branching out on his own in 1985 was
one of the main factors contributing to the temporary break-up of the band.
Nevertheless, both Mick and Keith managed to produce a couple decent efforts
on their own, well worth having and listening to. Of course, when they
stay away from each other, their individual flaws become much more obvious
than usually, but apart from that, it can clearly be seen that the author
of the project in question is a real Rolling Stone.
Meanwhile, Bill Wyman also had a somewhat dubious solo career going on;
amazingly, I have been able to scoop up practically all of his solo
albums barring some collaborations. It's worth taking a peek, but be careful
- Bill's adventures are incredibly hit and miss, ranging from the Whacky
and Weirdo to the most banal and forgettable. Likewise, Charlie Watts and
even Mick Taylor had a few solo efforts of their own, but I haven't yet
seen these records. I have also reviewed two of Ronnie Wood's albums on
the Odds And Sods page; since Ronnie's solo career actually began before
his joining the Stones, and was tightly connected to his work in the Faces
and with Rod Stewart, he's probably deserving a solo page of his own, if
I ever get around to that.
Year Of Release: 1972
Overall rating = 7
I don't know who 'Edward' is apart from what the front cover tells
me; but I sure know the actual jamming is kinda lousy.
Best song: THE BOUDOIR STOMP
Man, this must be the weirdest project that ever sported a Rolling Stone's
name on it, not to mention three Rolling Stones' names. Legend has
it that one sunny day Keith failed to show up for the Let It Bleed
sessions (and no, I'm not going to speculate about the possible
reasons), and Mick Taylor wasn't yet doing a full-time job. As a result,
the rest of the band found themselves strained in the studio with little
on their hands to do, so they teamed up with their trusty keyboard player
Nicky Hopkins and guest guitarist Ry Cooder and spent the whole day jamming
and having a lot of fun. Now this fact ain't really that surprising; what's
far more mysterious is why the hell did the record company decide to put
the results of this notorious jam session on an LP destined for public
auditioning.
Because, let's face it, there should probably be (in fact, there definitely
are) tons of far more interesting jam sessions than this pale shadow
o' the Stones image, you gotta believe me. Fact is, the Stones are a great
jamming band: one listen to, say, the version of 'Midnight Rambler' on
Ya-Ya's should convince all the 'unfaithful'. But the Stones' jamming
power rests mostly on their world-famous guitar interplay: Bill and Charlie
constitute a terrific rhythm section, but they're hardly all that entertaining
when taken on their own and not backing up Keith's gruff riffage or Mick
Taylor's masterful soloing. So what the hell can you expect of a 'Stones
jam' that's not based on Mr Richards' six-string?
One word - nothing. The record is a dragging, tedious listen. I have nothing
but the greatest respect for Nicky Hopkins, one of the Stones' most essential
session keyboardists whose sound is vital for almost all of their 'classic'
1966-72 period. And I dearly love the sound of Ry Cooder's slide, like
the one that makes songs like 'Sister Morphine' sound so epic in scale.
But what I loved about both was the way they actually embellished
Stones' songs, inserting tasty, lush 'sonic fills' to add to the 'main
sound body'. As soon as Nicky and Ry find themselves at the very centre
of the sound, the impression becomes completely different. There's simply
no energy, no energy at all in these performances. Nicky plays well, but
it's just simple, unexceptional blues/jazz piano with little passion; and
the only place where Mr Cooder sounds at least vaguely entertaining
is the very beginning of 'Blow With Ry', where he demonstrates his dazzling
mastery of slide.
Otherwise, it's mostly dull, dull, dull and dull again. Out of the six
tracks on here, only one is more or less structured as a 'song': it's when
the 'band' suddenly turns in a trusty rendition of Elmore James' blues
classic 'It Hurts Me Too'. The funny thing about that one is that somewhere
in the middle Jagger suddenly inserts a verse from Dylan's 'Pledging My
Time' (was that a hint at the man's dependance on blues cliches?). He plays
some pretty mean Dylanish harp, too, but the guitar and piano are unimpressive
as hell. So the most interesting part on here is probably 'The Boudoir
Stomp', a fast, raving jam which was later used as a basis for the creepy
instrumental break in 'Midnight Rambler': Watts employs exactly the same
pounding rhythm, while Ry pounds out the riff to 'Rambler' and Jagger blows
his 'midnight harp'. Yet the sequence lacks the mind-blowing scariness
of the finished version - mainly due to lack of careful mixing and production,
of course, as there is absolutely no 'midnight feel' in 'Boudoir Stomp'.
On the other hand, 'Blow With Ry' and 'Edward's Thrump Up' don't have even
that: they're just two lengthy, insipid jams, the likes of which you could
investigate on the third LP of George Harrison's All Things Must Pass:
pointless noodlings on the instruments with no sense of direction or goal
at all. At the tenth minute of 'Blow With Ry' you're ready to scream and
smash the damn thing together with your CD player. Brief relief comes with
the funny piano-based 'Interlude A La El Hopo', with Nicky demonstrating
his 'Spanish' chops, and the album closes off with the equally boring,
but mercifully brief 'Highland Fling' which I simply can't remember a damn
thing about.
And the big question is: why the hell are we supposed to blow our hard-earned
cash on this? Just to see the funny comics on the cover? Oh well, at least
the sound quality is all right: apart from Jagger's voice, which you can
hardly hear at all (then again, you can hardly hear it on Exile On Main
St. as well, so no need to be complaining), all the instruments are
perfectly audible. Charlie's relatively good, too - sometimes I catch myself
on concentrating exclusively on the powerful drumming. But I guess
I'm just trying to justify the fact that I rate this a seven and
not, say, a two or three. A seven it is. Don't you dare buy this; grab
yourself a handful of trusty bootlegs instead.
It hurts me too when you don't mail your ideas
Your worthy comments:
Tony Stewart <Zophiel@oneworldonline.net> (25.11.2000)
I have to disagree with George on a couple of things: I think this disc
stands for several things. A) I t shows us what the Stones do while they
are waiting on Keith. Which is not sitting around twiddling their thumbs.
May of the "Hot Rocks" section are Jaggertunes. "Moonlight
Mile", "Sway", "Heaven" all without Keith. So
Jagger gets down on his own. B) It also shows how loose the Stones are
in the studio and how 'liberal' the RS Label in the older days. They would
neber do something like that anymore. They basically beat the Boots to
the punch.
In a way the tunes do not really matter. Ther's Jagger, Wyman, Watts, Nicky
and Ry Cooder. And they decide to jam for a while. All except for "It
Hurts M Too" are lose jams and are to be taken as just that: just
another night at the Memory Motel.
I forgot to grade it:10
Year Of Release: 1974
Overall rating = 10
A pleasant trashy record - for fans only, but fans will definitely
be satisfied. Even if this hardly ties in with Bill's image as a Stone...
Best song: WHAT A BLOW
Ever wanted to know what are the similarities between Ringo Starr and
Bill Wyman? Their solo careers. The strange thing is that Ringo's record-making
formula was perfectly predictable: he was always the friendly humorous
little chap with little songwriting skills, and only happy to sing something
he was given to sing by his 'superior' pals, and he followed the same recipee
throughout most of his solo recording years. On the other hand, the only
thing Bill Wyman seemed to share with Ringo was the relative lack of songwriting
skills: the only song he ever contributed to the Stones' catalog was 'In
Another Land', and it was a great tune, but one tune is no great shakes,
after all. Otherwise, Bill was gloomy and grim, never moving or getting
all out of himself on stage, and keeping mostly to himself.
So how could one react to Monkey Grip? Bill's solo debut closely
follows Ringo Starr's formula: he takes on a mega-band, with virtually
billions of guest stars, ranging from relatively unknown ones to big superstars
like Leon Russell and Dr John on pianos and Clapton's masterful sidekick
George Terry on guitar, and I won't even name the others; suffice it to
know that the 'core' of the sound is provided by members of 'Manassas',
Steve Stills' backing band which Wyman also had a hand in (see about that
in more details on my CSN page). Thus, the drummer is CSN's trusty sideman
Dallas Taylor. And the song material? Well, the songs are all written by
Bill himself; but one couldn't imagine anything further from a Stones'
record. With a couple exceptions, nothing on here even comes close to any
of the Stones' preferrable styles; for the most part, Bill goes wild with
penning rather primitive retroish stuff - toothless pop with a jazzy, countryish
or bluesy edge. There's virtually not a single attempt at getting serious
on the whole album: the lyrics are at the best corny, and at the worst
smutty, the melodies are almost dangerously lightweight, and the hooks
are often so obvious and dumb that you wish they'd never existed - the
very idea of going back and re-listening to the imbecile chant of 'monkey
grip monkey grip monkey grip' on 'Monkey Grip Glue' makes me look and feel
silly as a new-born pig. Or monkey, for that matter.
Nevertheless, just as is the case with the best of Ringo's stuff, the album's
trashiness is of a completely inoffensive manner. And, just as is the case
with same Ringo, this is in a large part due to the careful production
and the band's ultra-evident professionalism: Wyman actually demonstrates
that you may make even the dumbest trash look like art (of some sort) if
you approach it carefully. For one, Bill suddenly comes out as the owner
of a good singing voice - too good for its own sake, in fact, as it's good
enough to not sound particularly attractive because of its weirdness
(like Ringo's voice does), but bad enough to compete with Jagger, for instance.
Still, those who have only experienced Wyman's singing as masked with tremolo
effects on 'In Another Land', will get a pleasant surprise as they put
on the disc and the first notes of 'I Wanna Get Me A Gun' echo around the
room.
Second, how can you really resist this stuff? 'I Wanna Get Me A Gun' is
actually a lot of grandstanding fun - a groovy piano shuffle with wonderful
trombone solos and all kinds of stuff to make you feel all right (the female
backup vocals are rather sleazy, though). 'Crazy Woman' is a Fifties-style
rocker with nice, hard-hitting guitar fills and a crunchy fuzz bass riff
which is probably the best evidence of Wyman's instrumental presence on
the record. 'Pussy' is a generic country tune, and you may hate it as you
much, but I can never stand still to a fast country shuffle, especially
when the banjo is ripping it up in my left speaker and the fiddle in the
right one. Of course, the lyrics to 'Pussy' are so sexually crude and disgusting
('ding-dong-dell pussy's in the well/who put that pussy down?/Cos now's
the time I need a little pussy/and that pussy just can't be found' - pleeease,
Bill! Restrain your appetites! Haven't you had enough in the Sixties?)
that it nearly spoils all my fun, but I just pretend I don't understand
a word of English, and it works great on the blah-blah-blah level.
'Monkey Grip Glue' is probably the closest Bill ever came to completely
imitating a Ringo tune - he even models his voice after the Beatles' drummer,
and turns in a pop rocker of the likes that constitute the majority of
songs on Ringo. Just dismiss that annoying 'monkey grip monkey grip
monkey grip' sequence I mentioned earlier, and you got yourself one more
near-perfect pop number. 'White Lightnin' is yet another favourite of mine,
a folkish number, mostly acoustic in style, with a set of overdubs that
make it sound like a small acoustic symphony, and the song's so catchy
I simply can't get it out of my head, and neither could you, so don't you
blame me. And the jazzy sound of 'I'll Pull You Through' is so crisp and
well-produced you'd think it was Wyman, not Watts, who was the real jazz
expert in the Stones' camp. Go figure.
The two Major Exceptions are thus the songs that slightly deviate from
the formula: 'It's A Wonder' and 'What A Blow'. The first one starts 'normally',
like just another jazz pop number, but somewhere along the way it suddenly
transforms into a powerful big-band jam, with guitarist Danny Kootch suddenly
forgetting the general trashy nature of the record and turning in a performance
of a lifetime - a magnificent, swift and fluent guitar solo of the kind
you'd never meet on a Rolling Stones recording, let alone a Ringo Starr
one. Meanwhile, 'What A Blow' opens the second side on an unusual note
- unlike everything else, it's a grim bluesy stomper based on an ominous
bunch of organ riffs, while Bill himself gives his most efficient Jagger
impersonation. It's probably no coincidence that the record came out in
1974, in the same year that the Stones recorded 'Fingerprint File': the
two songs are extremely close in mood, except that, of course, Wyman's
number is ultimately just a bit of kitsch. Even so, the way he hisses out
the refrain - 'If I don't survive/Never get out of this world alive' -
is quite scary, that is, until you start to notice the utter idiocy of
these exact lyrics.
No, of course I'm not trying to present Bill as a serious solo artist on
this album - I don't think it would make any sense even to try, actually.
And if you ever sat through a Ringo Starr solo record (of the best variety)
and made the understandable mistake of twirling your nose, don't even think
of wasting your cash on it. As a groovy complement to the Stones' regular
catalogue, Monkey Grip makes a good acquisition; as an 'art object'
in itself, it has about the same value as your wallpaper. Remember that
one, in the nursery? With the pink elephants?
It's a wonder you still haven't mailed your ideas
Your worthy comments:
Tony Stewart <SweetBlackAngel@oneworldonline.net> (18.12.2000)
I have to disagree with you. Just releasing Monkey Grip alone
took some balls, with Keith being so against ANYTHING coming from the Stonescamp
that had the ring of mediocre. Now Monkey Grip obviously does not
measure up to any Stonesdisc, but Wyman (even though he showed his true
colors in his book as a whiner) still has been putting out some surpringly
good stuff. He had to begin somewhere. I read that he had a hard time writing
lyrics up until he just chose to write as a different person than he was
in real life. So all of the sudden there is "I wanna get me a gun"
etc.. The sad part that although he had one of the hottest Sessionbands
he somehow turned them into Milktoast. I mean he had Mac Rebennack, Danny
Kortchmar, Dallas Taylor, Leon Rusell, the Pointer Sisters etc. He himself
on Bass. This band could have rocked hard. The disc could stand some re-mastering.
The songs are not halfbad, but every tune gets turned into a cutesy singalong,
especially with the weak vocals and the Backing vox girls just blowing
him away. I agree totally that Side 2 is by miles the better side. "It's
A Blow" and "I'll Pull You Thro" are right up there.
The main thing about this disc is that it was the first time a Stone had
stepped out and made an active stand against the Stones' Glimmer Twins
unwritten rules. Wyman was frustrated and did what he had to do. Question
is: Do we like it?
Score 9.
I forgot to add "What A Blow" to the highlights. And one more
thing: There are a slew of videos from this disc. Wyman did "Monkey
Grip", "White Lightning" and a few others. And it is very
obvious by the look on his face that he is fully aware that he is not remaking
Exile here but is only trying to have a "Mighty Fine Time".
And BTW I like "Monkey Grip Glue".
Year Of Release: 1976
Overall rating = 7
It's almost incredible how such a good start could be followed by
such a self-parodic finish.
Best song: APACHE WOMAN
Eeehh... wrong way buddy. The settings for Wyman's second solo album
are pretty much the same as for his first one - the big band is still there,
and it's even bigger this time, with about twenty or twenty-five players,
singers and just old pals (no Stones but Ronnie Wood, though) dropping
in and lending a hand. So when I got this, I thought it was going to be
a more or less similar pleasant trip through Wyman's trashy, but fun songwriting.
Of course, the fact that Wilson & Alroy gave this record one and a
half stars kinda bugged me, but I thought: 'Oh, well, they're just snubby,
'sall'.
Boy, was I wrong. Out of all the 'normal' Wyman solo albums (not counting
his misguided affair with the Rhythm Kings), this one's easily the worst.
Not only that - much of the material is plain unlistenable, because somewhere
along the way something clicked in Bill's head, and he suddenly decided
to orient himself on the lowest tastes imaginable. Primitive disco, bland,
banal Fifties' twist, uninventive blues and various snippets of stale,
pub-oriented roots-rock abound on here and effectively quench any signs
of creativity that Monkey Grip displayed. It's far worse than even
contemporary Ringo records.
And Bill holds nearly complete responsibility for the fact - out of the
twelve songs on here, only three are covers. And out of these, apart from
one throwaway, but passable R'n'B tune (guitarist Danny Krotchmar's 'Feet'),
none are cheerful enough, either. The generic twist number 'A Quarter To
Three' is Wyman trying to imitate Chubby Checker, I suppose - are ye happy
with the perspective? I'm not. But don't worry and please twist all night
long, because otherwise you'll have to spin this record forward and somewhere
along the way fall upon 'If You Wanna Be Happy', a song that's so crass
and sleazy I almost get red in the face when it echoes across the room.
It's not just silly or stupid - it's idiotic beyond my comprehension; I
know one of Wyman's trademarks is making a fool out of himself, but here
he's trying a bit too hard; these synth-driven Latin rhythms set
to dumb lyrics devoted to the theme of married life are one of the horriblest
things I ever had the displeasure to hear.
Not that creative forces have completely abandoned Bill's lifeless corpse.
A couple of the tunes here might have easily fit on Monkey Grip
- rare cases when idiocy doesn't entirely prevail over common sense.
Thus, 'Gimme Just One Chance', IMHO, is just very very funny, with an imbecile,
but superbly catchy and hilarious jazzy melody, and it's perfectly easy
to perceive the tongue-in-cheeky character of the song (I swear to you,
on 'If You Wanna Be Happy' the man almost sounds serious - as if
he were truly feeling this stuff!). 'What's The Point' reminds me of the
Monkees, you know, that period when Mike Nesmith started getting far off
into the country: it's a relatively fast, driving, charming country rocker
with lots of nice slide guitar and even a kazoo part, I think. The best
of the lot, however, is 'Apache Woman', a dangerous, kinda creepy 'rocker'
with a brilliant intro that would have made honour to any Stones song:
the ominous electric guitar notes and their interplay with the Eno-ish
synthesizer bursts really prepare you for something 'uncomfortable', and,
while the vocal melody doesn't really live up to the instrumentation, it's
about the only spot on the record where Bill seems to elevate himself from
the lowest level he'd dragged himself down to of his own free will. I don't
even care if there's just about one single verse in the whole song, which
doesn't even make any sense ('Apache woman/We know we did your people wrong/Let's
try to get it back together/Let's get it on, get it on, get it on'). Oh,
wait, that must be something about the Minorities Rights Protection. Gee,
was that a Bill Wyman album or something?
Hmm. Maybe it was. In any case, that's about all the praise. 'Soul Satisfying'?
It's a monstruous hybrid of disco and reggae, all topped off with more
synthesizer bursts, but now they aren't even Eno-ish, hell, they're not
even Tony Banks-ish. They're just... full of first-sort cheese. 'Every
Sixty Seconds?' It's a plodding, predictable honky blues number that's
neither instrumentally attractive nor funny. 'Peanut Butter Time'? A straightforward
disco tune that's probably designed to parody Donna Summer, but problem
is, the panting and screaming girls in the track almost make me suppose
the song was recorded in a bordello, right in the middle of the, ahem,
'entertaining process'. 'Wine And Wimmen'? That one's simply not interesting
- a banal rocker that ain't catchy at all. 'No More Foolin'? I don't know
who's singing on that one (hardly Bill), but to me, it sounds like a half-assed
parody on Armstrong... shucks.
Come to think of it, the whole album's a parody. Maybe if you arrive at
that thought definitely and ultimately, it'll be easier to tolerate Stone
Alone. Unfortunately, if it is a parody, it's that kind of curious,
uncertain parody where you're not really sure whether the songs parody
a certain genre indeed or not. I can't take most of these songs
as parodies - more as lame imitations.
This was also Bill's last solo album in quite a while - maybe he wasn't
too pleased with the final results as well as me, or maybe work with the
Stones, who were just pulling it back together, made him so busy he couldn't
spare any free time until 1982 - which is when he came back and surprised
the world once more by completely changing his image and putting out his
best record ever.
Gimme just one chance! Mail
your ideas!
BILL
WYMAN 
(released by: BILL WYMAN)
Year Of Release: 1982
Overall rating = 11
Wyman's mind-blowing flirtation with disco. Man, it's weird.
Best song: (SI SI) JE SUIS UN ROCK STAR
Man, I don't know what's happening to me. My tastes are probably slowly
heading towards the drain - I can't find another explanation to the fact
that I not only favour this album, I feel compelled to dub this Bill's
best release and I'll even go as far as to say that this is a serious application
for the status of a 'serious artist'. Now put me in an asylum, as I never
thought I would ever find such music entertaining.
This is by no means a big-band affair like Monkey Grip or (thanks
goodness) Stone Alone; I mean, Bill's backing combo is still rather
large, but it's already a combo, not just a hoarde of guest musicians who
come and go every half hour. There's just one main guitarist (Terry Taylor),
and just one main drummer (Dave Mattacks), and just a small bunch of guest
stars. Plus, of course, there's the main change in sound: the record is
very much dependent on synthesizers, here played by several persons including
Stephen Wyman (Bill's brother, I presume). And that's it.
The atmosphere is thus much more stern and strict, although Bill's slightly
pervert and sometimes slightly smutty sense of humour still prevails on
many of the songs, especially towards the end of the album: it's actually
quite strange to watch it begin in such a lethargic, gloomy, dark way and
then slowly transform into an amusing, tongue-in-cheek parody on contemporary
musical genres. And this is, actually, where I'd like to state my praise
for Bill. Apparently, he spent quite a bit of time edging his way into
all kinds of corny disco and generic dance music, as well as New Wave,
Electronica and Ambient, and I must say he's eventually become quite a
pro in all these genres. Practically every one of the ten tracks on here
takes some modernistic genre and milks all of its possibilities. What I
really mean to say before I become all messed up is that these songs rule!
They're simple and effective, and they're all hook-filled and catchy as
hell. Their melodies are extremely simple and memorable, but rarely generic:
Bill borrowed all the genre requirements, but he never borrowed real song
structures. I tell you, if you ever wondered how on Earth could the Stones
come up with disco tunes as effective as 'Hot Stuff' and 'Miss You' (of
course, if you do consider them effective), bear in mind that this
ought to have something to do with their witty old bass player.
Now I'll be the first to admit there's totally nothing spectacular about
these songs, and there's nothing groundbreaking or vastly exciting in the
record in all. But who cares? It still deserves at least an eleven in my
book, based on consistency and intricacy alone. I think I already mentioned
that the record's mood slowly shifts from gloomy and depressed to joyful
and even imbecile near the end, and that's the absolute truth. It opens
with 'Ride On Baby' (NOT to be confused with the Rolling Stones' 'Ride
On Baby', which is quite a different song), a menacing, ominous synth rocker
with Wyman again doing his scary Jagger impersonation; and yeah, it may
be corny, but I guess Rod Stewart would kill for a song like that
to appear on any of his early Eighties' albums. The guitar breaks from
Terry are mighty impressive, too, and hey, the lyrics are funny too. 'A
New Fashion', then, is Wyman's perspective of industrial (I guess) - not
a highlight, but the chorus is simply irresistible. And 'Nuclear Reactions'
is... man... it's weird. I guess Bill had been listening to a bit too much
Talking Heads. At least, the other-worldly synths that grace the tune sound
like prime Brian Eno, that's for sure. And he sounds so stoned on here,
it's as if he was trying to write a new Satanic for the Eighties.
Oh well, a song about 'nuclear reactions, hydrogen and helium' is supposed
to sound apocalyptic.
It all kinda lightens up on the pretty love ballad 'Visions' - I have mixed
feelings towards that one, as it sounds a bit way too soundtrackish to
me: that adult contemporary guitar sound has a pretty high cheese potential
in it. But Wyman's singing is lovely, anyway; I couldn't deny that. Perhaps,
with just a little bit of re-arrangement, he could have easily transformed
it into his best ballad... eh, but this seems to be the only ballad
Bill ever wrote, so it is his best by definition.
Whatever be, 'Visions' truncates the slow moody section of the album, and
hoopla! now you're ready to jump and shout. Actually, if you're not gonna
jump on a Saturday night, you never gonna jump at all - that's what Bill
tells us in his loony parody on ska ('Jump Up'). From here on, much of
the material sounds generic and highly corny, but keep in mind it's all
tongue-in-cheek. I can just imagine Mr Bill Wyman putting on a T-shirt
and waving his thighs in the air... hrr-hmm. Excuse me. It's laughable,
of course, but it's a good laugh. 'Come Back Suzanne' is a tongue-in-cheek
disco parody (brilliant); 'Rio De Janeiro' is a harmonica-driven, Latin
(indeed) influenced ballad with quite a few sleazy backing vocals (amusing);
'Girls' is a New Wave-ish smutty rave-up with Wyman sounding completely
out of his monkey mind ('t-t-t-t-t-talking b-b-b-b-out g-g-g-g-irls...
s-s-s-s-s-s-exy little g-g-g-g-irls...'; hilarious); and 'Seventeen' is
just gross. Finally, this perverse craze comes to a respectable climax
on '(Si Si) Je Suis Un Rock Star', a song that defies classification -
it's thirty percent disco, thirty percent samba and thirty percent mamba,
plus ten percent restrained idiocy, as Bill effectively impersonates a
thuggish, braindead disco performer looking for pussy. Say what you will,
my friends the purists - if you can restrain yourself from tapping your
foot to the paranoid, pulsating beats of that one, there's simply something
wrong with your reflexes.
Whack, whack, completely whacky album. I really don't know what to make
of it. It's either the cheapest, sleaziest, stupidest put-on I've ever
heard in my life, or a brilliant, totally idiosyncratic reinterpretation
of a whole bunch of late Seventies'/early Eighties' music. For the moment,
I tend to lean towards the second answer. Be so kind as to hear it yourselves
and utter your judgement: I rarely feel embarrassed about mine, but this
is just a case of 'I-need-help-from-all-ye-bros and sisters!' Si Si Je
Suis Un Rock Star, hydrogen and helium. Boy, even the album cover looks
whacky.
A new fashion - interactivity! Mail your ideas!
Your worthy comments:
Steve Knowlton <knowltos@co.washtenaw.mi.us> (04.02.2000)
Stephen Wyman is Bill's son -- the one who married Bill's ex-wife's mother.
Year Of Release: 1998
Overall rating = 8
A shallow and weak retro record; a couple fun numbers surrounded
by loads of banal crap. Sorry, Bill; I know you cared.
Best song: GOING CRAZY OVERNIGHT
What a shame. This is Bill's first record since he left the Rolling
Stones for good, and if this is the kind of stuff he's planning
on doing ever after, I really don't understand how on Earth could he have
dumped the band and make a complete a**hole of himself. Okay, no problem
if you're sick of your past and want to retire; but if you're gonna carry
on solo, why not take a more right approach to what you're doing, at least?
Bummer.
Not that the very idea that Bill planned on carrying out was rote. The
'Rhythm Kings' are a somewhat disjointed super-big-band that incorporates
tons of guitar heroes (Eric Clapton, Albert Lee, Peter Frampton, and Bill's
older sidekick Terry Taylor) and other various distinguished or half-distinguished
players, including Procol Harum's Gary Brooker on organ and the notorious
Ray Cooper on percussion. Bill himself doesn't sing all that much on the
album, too, often handling vocal duties to black female singer Beverly
Skeete or to more well-known lead vocalists like Paul Carrack or even Georgie
Fame himself. As for the main idea of the album, it was supposed to be
the first part in a trilogy of records in which Bill wanted to pay a full-fledged
tribute to all styles of popular music since the 1920s. Not that Stuff
is really dedicated to a particular period: the material here ranges from
a cover of CCR's 'Green River' to pub-jazz stylizations a la nineteen-nineteen
or something like that. I'm also surprised at the relatively low amount
of covers: an absolute majority of the tunes are actually written by Bill,
solo or in collaboration, and presented as typical 'retro' numbers.
In any way, the project can sound enticing if you like retro stuff. I,
for one, have little against retro stuff... in general. And when 'Green
River', opening the record, really brought memories of John Fogerty on
my mind (the guitar in particular sounds awesome), I really set my expectations
high. But what's that I hear? Instead of going for the gold, Bill went
ahead and dived in for the dirt. At least half of the songs on this album
are dang near unlistenable - ridiculous parodies on some of the most tasteless,
sleazy, public-pleasing varieties of cabaret jazz. My hair basically stood
on end when the chorus to 'Stuff' came along: all my life I've been trying
to get away from lounge dreck of that sort (for some reason, songs like
that are quite popular in Russia among people whose musical taste borders
on roquefort cheese). The brass section sounds generic, the melody sounds
stupid and the lyrics are among Wyman's worst. Blah.
Likewise, 'Bad To Be Alone' and 'I'm Mad' are crappy, totally worthless
generic jazz tunes that could probably work if they were graced with outstanding
vocal performances; but they aren't, so they can't. 'Hole In My Soul' is
a strange, nearly dissonant stylization that sounds a third traditional
jazz, a third Bo Diddley, and a third Eric Burdon (yeah right and I'm not
jokin'); horrible crap. And I'll never, can you hear me, Bill, I'll never
forget you for ruining 'Melody'. In the Stones' hands it was a fun,
cheerful tongue-in-cheek jazz jam showcasing Mick at his very artistic
best; Bill transforms it into a forgettable duet between Georgie Fame and
Skeete, considerably changing the lyrics, and proceeds exactly to free
the tune of all the genuine excitement by reducing it to a trivial jazz
ditty.
Such a total loss of face certainly can't be compensated even by the good
'stuff' - which, by the way, includes but three or four numbers. I've already
mentioned the satisfying, though far from ideal, cover of 'Green River';
then there's the pretty blues-rockin' rendition of Howlin' Wolf's 'Down
In The Bottom' (which turns out to be a complete rip-off... er, a sequel
to Muddy Waters' 'Rollin' And Tumblin', and is far better recommended in
both Cream's and Eric Clapton's versions); the traditional 'Tobacco Road'
which closes the album and is probably the most 'heavy' tune on the entire
record. And my personal favourite is one retro number in which Bill (IMHO)
succeeded: the gentle, soothing piano melody of 'Going Crazy Overnight',
which in a better world could even come out of the head of a dude as gifted
as Sir Paul McCartney (in fact, it's very close to the style of Paul's
'Baby's Request' from Back To The Egg).
And that's it. What annoys me most of all about the album is really not
even the quality of songwriting - after all, it's not the easiest task
in the world to write a satisfying retro number. What annoys me most is
that even with all the talented players that Wyman has assembled, he really
can't get a good groove going on. The only halfway decent guitar solo on
record is on 'Tobacco Road', and that's considering that both Clapton,
Lee and Frampton are first-rate guitar soloists. The regular instrumentation
is just plain dull; there's nothing to distinguish the playing from your
average bar band that plays for a dollar per hour. In fact, I personally
know a couple Russian bar bands that play much better than the Rhythm Kings,
and that's not even a compliment.
Nope. If you want a good retro album, go and buy Clapton's From The
Cradle: there's plenty of generic stuff there as well, but it's all
compensated by the energy and the incredible playing skills. Struttin'
Our Stuff is so dang average that I'd bet my head there are thousands
of better retro albums coming out each year. Just because it's Bill Wyman
doesn't necessarily guarantee it's really hot stuff. I mean, they do strut
it, but it sure ain't hot. I'd rather see Bill on tour with the regular
boys; he's sure missed on stage. That darned Darryl Jones messes up 'Live
With Me' each time he starts it!
Bad to be alone, please
mail your ideas
ANYWAY
THE WIND BLOWS 
(released by: BILL WYMAN & THE RHYTHM KINGS)
Year Of Release: 1999
Overall rating = 7
A lot of generic pub jazz on here; can be delightful to assorted
souls but freaks ME out.
Best song: ANYWAY THE WIND BLOWS
Ain't I cute, and I mean really cute - I did give Bill Wyman's
oddball project another shot. By 1999, the critics' appreciation towards
his retro obsessions had somewhat faded away, and Anyway The Wind Blows
never got any rave reviews; I figured that since the critics hated it,
it should be great, but - for once - I was mistaken. If you prefer to trust
me, I'll tell you that this bleak follow-up to Stuff is indeed even
weaker than its predecessor - which is really pathetic, considering that
Stuff was never that impressive on its own.
Interesting, though, that, just as before, the record starts on a very
high note. Oiling the wheels of the band with a gritty rendition of J.
J. Cale's title track could really have set a start for a great album -
as it turns out, it doesn't, but that sure means NOT that I don't enjoy
the hell out of it. Bill really swings out on his bass - there ain't a
second bassline like the one he pounds out here on any of these two records.
And I don't know who exactly sings lead vocals on it, but it's certainly
a well-meaning guy. Add sharp, clear, delicious guitar licks, a solemn
brass support and steady, self-assured drumming, and there you have it
- a retro masterpiece. What a great, somber, menacing piece of slow boogie...
then again, I never had anything against J. J. Cale, though, personally,
I like Dire Straits a whole lot better. I also like Eric Clapton's version
of 'Cocaine' much better. I confess, though, that it's a subject for another
story.
But did Bill really have to go ahead and follow this great opener with
thirteen tracks that all fall into the same cathegory? Which is - mediocre
pub jazz a la Twenties that all sounds the same. Fortunately, Bill never
stoops to such absolute lows as 'Stuff' or the reworked version of 'Melody';
most of this stuff is acceptable judging from the position of common sense,
but it's all 'kinda ehn', to quote some reviewing guy, or maybe several
reviewing guys. I guess this is supposed to be the 'Jazz album' of the
trilogy, whereas Stuff was somewhat more eclectic; God only knows
what Mr Wyman intends to be the overall theme for the next part.
But I simply have trouble with imagining the possible auditorium of this
record. Rock lovers like me will certainly cringe and yawn and say, 'hey,
they guy's stepped into a real tight pair of shoes'. And jazz lovers,
well, I think that a Bill Wyman And The Rhythm Kings' record of retro jazz
tunes is the least probable thing a potential jazz lover would dream of
acquiring. Why should he when he can take the originals instead, all better
performed, more exciting and authentic, of all things? Do the Rhythm
Kings really add anything to their innumerable covers of selected jazz,
blues and R'n'B acts like Hicks, Dixon, Mose Allison and company? Yes,
Bill's band is professional and well-polished: but somehow, for a retro
record to be anything more than a retro record there are different complementary
ingredients required - real youthful enthusiasm, for instance, or a truly
outstanding set of virtuoso performances (like on Eric Clapton's From
The Cradle, for instance). None of this jazz crap offers anything but
complete 'genericness' for my ears.
Some particular problems. Bill seems to have a crush on that Beverlyey
Skeete gal - she sings about half of these songs, if not more, and I simply
don't like her voice (Ella Fitzgerald or Aretha Franklin she is not,
and if she isn't, I'm not that interested in any case). Georgie Fame's
deliveries aren't that inspiring either. Wyman's own compositions, which
start getting unveiled towards the middle of the album, are undistinguishable
from the butchered covers; and even when they get around to exploiting
Eric Clapton's talents, they don't squeeze anything other than a couple
of predictable, not too exciting jazz solos (like the one on 'Gee Baby
Ain't I Good To You'). An interesting trivia buff: the song 'Struttin'
Our Stuff', a Wyman/Taylor collaboration, wasn't actually included on the
Stuff album itself, but instead crammed on here. It's as completely
forgettable as everything else, though. And, completely out of ideas, Bill
even recycles 'Every Sixty Seconds' from Stone Alone, but to zero
effect: on that album, it could at least be perceived as a piece of kitsch
- here, given again to Beverley Skeete, the song is plain dull and ordinary,
and it falls out of your head the very second your CD player begins playing
the next one.
Not that these songs are really offensive, see? I guess the fact that I
didn't manage to give this anything higher than a seven (and a pretty low
seven at that, too) has something to do with my general dislike for the
less intrinsic forms of jazz. However, even when I try to distance myself
from my subjective tastes and appreciate this album on a more objective
level, I simply can't see whether there's something these songs add to
the originals. Maybe they don't, and the very idea is to reproduce the
originals (and the 'original spirit' in Wyman's compositions) as closely
as possible. In which case, Anyway The Wind Blows is not so much
an album made through true artistic creativity, but a socially conditioned
record destined to 'revive' the old jazz spirit in the younger generation.
A noble cause it is, but I don't rate records according to their social
importance, even if there is any social importance in this record.
Gee, at least they finish their dreary runthrough on a high note - with
a rockin' cover of 'Sugar Babe', perhaps the only truly enjoyable song
on here besides the title track. The guitar squeaks out in a weird, funny
tone, the harmonica drones on with just the right amount of volume, and
somebody pounds away on the electric piano as if the guy's life depended
on it. Possibly Gary Brooker, hey? Reminds me of reminding you to go and
buy a Procol Harum record today. And the very last track on the album,
'Gonna Find Me A New Love', isn't that impressive, but at least it ain't
pub jazz, so I can really see the guys having 'good clean fun' instead
of putting on these sleazy jazz masks and losing all traces of identity.
I seriously hope the third part of the trilogy, if it ever comes out, will
be more decent - after all, the Rhythm Kings do have a lot of potential.
Sad that they should burn it in such a dull and unnecessary way.
Sugar babe, sugar
babe, mail your ideas now
TALK
IS CHEAP 
(released by: KEITH RICHARDS)
Year Of Release: 1988
Overall rating = 10
Keith gives this album all that he ever had as a Rolling Stone -
unfortunately, it also proves that the Rolling Stones never equalled 'Keith
Richards'.
Best song: TAKE IT SO HARD
Keith Richards probably never ever even dreamt of making a solo album
- until he was hard pressed to it by Jagger. He gave everything he ever
had to the Rolling Stones, and he never had or, at least, always controlled
his ambitions within the band. But when Mick dissolved the band (and yes,
everybody knows that it was primarily Mick's fault), what was a poor boy
to do except to sing in a rock an' roll band - his own rock an'
roll band? So, as much as good ol' Keith hated it, he was simply forced
to assemble his own bunch of musicians, come up with some lyrics and croak
out most of the vocals - himself, because, ambitionless as he was, he really
didn't want to become the next Jeff Beck. The guys he plays and jams with
are mostly nameless, honest studio workers, and the 'big star' of the album
is Keith's co-producer Steve Jordan: he plays bass, drums and probably
something else, plus he co-wrote most of the tunes with Keith.
Critics loved this album - and I can easily understand them. History has
probably overrated it, but there's no denying the fact that Talk Is
Cheap was an astonishing accomplishment for Keith: nobody thought he
would be able to do a record at least half that good. Now see here, it
doesn't always sound like the Stones, this one. First of all, it has no
Mick Jagger on vocals. A banality, yes, but an important one. I'm not the
biggest fan in the world of Keith's vocals. I mean, I certainly don't have
to bring up the fact that the guy can't sing worth a dime - that goes without
saying; and sometimes, his dreamy, croaky and soulful vocals can be an
interesting distraction from Mick's harsh, sly tone. But when he sings
throughout a whole album, that's damn hard to take still. Also, if you
already enjoyed my Stones' reviews, you probably already know that I'm
not a fan of what I'd call 'typical Keith-style boggy ballad', stuff like
'Sleep Tonight', 'Coming Down Again', all that crud, which is very soulful
and emotional, for sure, but lacks strong melodies completely. Of course,
Keith couldn't miss the chance to insert a couple of such babes onto this
record: 'Locked Away' and 'Make No Mistake', to be exact. The former just
drags at five minute plus, and does nothing for me, although I understand
perfectly that devoted Keith fans will get additional years of life out
of listening to it. 'Make No Mistake' is a little better, maybe just because
there's something endearing in the way Keith gurgles out these 'make no
mistake... abooooout it...' lines all the time.
But in any case, it's not the ballads that are gonna make this album. For
an ex-Rolling Stone (soon-to-be-Rolling-Stone again), the general tone
on the album is remarkably soft: most of the rockers are subdued and subtle,
with little distortion or 'ass-kicking' to get in your way. Nevertheless,
Keith still plays that six-string in a way that no living man on Earth
can. Listen to his pulsating, incredible licks on 'It Means A Lot' to know
what I mean. How on Earth can he achieve that incredible rock-rock-rockin'
effect by playing just a few chords in a few places? Over the years, he'd
learned that famous 'syncopated' style of his that could only be equalled
by Pete Townshend in his prime days - but Townshend's prime days are long
over, while Keith is still in perfect form for a rhythm guitarist (not
for a soloist, though). And most of the songs here display his guitar playing
talents, thank you Lord - after all, the back cover of the album, with
the famous fingers, the famous skull-ring and the famous guitar, should
really tell you something.
Apart from 'It Means A Lot', there's a great funky opener, 'Big Enough',
that at first seems like a more self-assured, real-song-like rewrite of
'Hot Stuff' - but it isn't, it's actually a separate strong song in its
own rights. 'Take It So Hard' is the song that rocks out the fiercest on
here - with lots of prime riffage, some cool vocals and a great party atmosphere.
And don't bypass the jolly Fifties sendup on 'I Could Have Stood You Up'
- together with some doo-wop harmonies and funny lyrics. Yeah, Keith is
no great lyricsman, but he does well for a beginner. He even summons all
his forces to write a venomous, How-Do-You-Sleep-ish message to Mick ('You
Don't Move Me'), and succeeds - come to think of it, it isn't even venomous,
it just sounds like an innocent, angry, but not really thoroughly pissed
off scolding of an older brother who's always been an example but isn't
any more. 'You made the wrong motion, drank the wrong potion'.
All in all, no Rolling Stones fan will ever be disappointed by this record.
Arguably, it is considered the best offer by a solo Stones member that
money can buy - and while I certainly disagree, because, shame on me, I
enjoy Mick's solo output a lot better, it is quite decent and, well, definitely
better than Dirty Work, at least. It is, however, obvious that Keith
really needs Mick. The Beatles' solo careers proved that John didn't need
Paul, and Paul didn't need John - they could get on by themselves just
as well, even if with a diminished commercial and artistic success. Keith
and Mick cannot successfully function without each other, not for
a long time period of time, at least. Mick needs Keith's great riffs and
his 'primal' sense of melody; whereas Keith certainly needs Mick's vocals
and sense of experimentalism. The latter is especially important: perhaps
the greatest flaw of Talk Is Cheap is that it is horrendously formulaic.
People complain about the Stones' mythic 'formula' (although I hardly ever
understand what they're talking about); well, this album certainly has
a 'formula', and it gets a bit tiring near the end, though on this particular
release it never gets too tiring. Buy it still! And get Keith to
autograph it to you! Hurry up - he's still alive, miraculous as it may
seem!
It means a lot when you mail your ideas
Your worthy comments:
Glenn Wiener <glennjwiener@hotmail.com> (30.09.99)
Truthfully it isn't Keith's voice that gets me down about this album. Its the fact that the songs are fairly weak in song structure. Gosh, 'Rock A While' sounds like a broken record with the same sequence and little variation in the lyrics. 'It Means Alot', 'Locked Away', and a few other stick to one chord progression and the lsiteners brain is stuck. Fortunately, some of the riffs are fairly catchy. I agree with you that Mick and Keith defintiely need each other as Mick provides Keith with a badly needed hook for his steady riffs. Overall, this record is not bad but certainly not great.
Michael Warren <bearfat@doitpc.net> (31.10.2000)
Look, George. You are obviously a very smart guy, but you are missing the point here (or perhaps you are too polite to say it). Keith is/was one of the greatest songwriters in Rock. But the reality is.......this is painful.......the man is burnt.......finished. I love Romance, but, alas, we must face reality: Keith is like another one of my favorites: Jerry Lee Lewis. You can only ingest so many painkillers (or inject them...ie...Jerry Lee's stomach injections), drink so much whiskey, and snort so much coke, and shoot so much heroin before you are ruined, both mentally and physically. Any one of these drugs or any combination thereof (including others unnamed) will eventually destroy a man (or woman) if used in excess. Does this mean that Keith can't play good guitar ? Not necessarily. Does this mean that Keith can't write a great song ? Not necessarily. I believe that Keith's talent was deep. Nevertheless, everything catches up with you. Now, I am not trying to deny the importance of Mick---as a songwriter or as a creative spirit, but I am trying to make the point that Keith's abilities have been diminished as a result of his recreational habits. Some loss can be attributed to the effects of age or the wearing of experiences, but with Keith, overall, I believe his lack of ideas may be more accurately attributed to substance abuse. I know, to some, my comments will seem to be insults towards Keith. Actually, I'm standing up for him. Put another way: I don't believe he lost any of his musical powers due to negligence, laziness, or attrition. Or that Keith's abilities were overrated. He simply overindulged. It's a miracle that he is still alive (likewise Jerry Lee Lewis) and able to play as well and contribute as much as he can. He should be thankful ! I know that I am ! PS: Keith is the greatest Rock rhythm guitar player of all time!
Year Of Release: 1992
Overall rating = 9
Now I'm really tired. Keith must have been really tired, too.
Best song: YAP YAP
Gee, I'm bored. Not that I ever expected much. You see, many people
complain about the Stones getting back together in the late Eighties and
Nineties and putting out 'worthless product'. Well, regardless of whether
their complaints are grounded or not, I say it's a good thing, because
if Mick and Keith hadn't patched it up and managed to reconvene from time
to time, we would probably be subjected to a stream of Keith solo records
instead. And Main Offender proves one thing: Keith sticks to the
formula so hard and proud that in such a case we would just witness one
record being redone over and over and over again.
Indeed, Offender sounds like a carbon copy of Talk Is Cheap,
only less diverse, less fresh and less inspired. In other words, I can
only recommend it for diehard Keith worshippers: if you really can't
get enough of his playing, singing and overall spirit (and I fully understand
such a position - Keith is one of my favourite rock'n'rollers, so I certainly
like this record more than I'm generally supposed to), get it at all costs
and you won't be disappointed. But once again, this album emphasizes the
crucial role that Jagger plays in making Stones' records: where Keith provides
the musical backbone and is responsible for the meat 'n' potatoes, Mick
produces the spice that keeps the meat so intriguingly tasteful and surprising
all the time.
What can I really say about the record? First of all, go and consult the
review of Talk Is Cheap above; this will give you the main idea.
Keith's team on here is more or less the same (at least, Steve Jordan is
still co-credited for all of the songs); the main addition is that of guitarist
Waddy Wachtel who would go on to have quite a few guest relations with
the Stones later on. And when Keith gives the sign, the band rocks pretty
hard: the opening number, '999', rolls along fast and steady, with lots
of thick riffage and a solid amount of jamming power, while songs like
'Will But You Won't' feature a lighter, more laid-back kind of sound, borrowing
their lax charm from Fifties' boogies rather than the Stones' trademarks.
Unfortunately, there are too few tunes on Offender that rock till
they bleed: for the most part, the tone is just dreadfully monotonous,
and there's not a single great riff to be found. Which is preposterous
- the Riffmeister running out of ideas? Just your basic unimaginative R'n'B.
Okay, 'Bodytalks' does have a good riff, and it's about the only truly
memorable tune on the album as a result. Fans usually choose the passionate
rocker 'Eileen' as their favourite, but to me it reeks a bit too much of
a 'Wanna Hold You' rip-off, and I was never a big admirer of that one in
the first place. Just a fast, good-natured rocker with some moody backing
vocals. Well?
Of course, no Keith album can do without a couple of his patented Soulful
Ballads. The most generic of these is 'Demon', continuing the line of 'All
About You' and stuff. Gee, you know I love Keith, but I'm really
overfed with these melodyless wailings. I'd better take 'Hate It When You
Leave' - it's a little bit faster, it's a little bit more interesting in
the way of instrumentation (funny synth backing up, for instance, as well
as a credible, unruptured guitar melody going on), and it features Keith
singing, not just mumbling. Not that it's a great song, mind you; it's
just a little less usual for Keith and thus, more intriguing.
Any experimentation or peculiarities? Really hard to tell. 'Words Of Wonder'
is usually considered to be highly unusual for Keith, but I don't see that;
it's just a typical reggae number in the vein of 'Too Rude' (later on,
Keith would slightly perfect the formula with 'You Don't Have To Mean It'
on the Stones' Bridges To Babylon). Not to mention that six and
a half minute for a reggae tune really tries my patience.
As a result, the honour of 'best tune on the album' falls to 'Yap Yap'.
At first listen, the song might not seem a great deal to you; just another
mid-tempo ballad in the endless stream of Keith's mass productions. But
its mood is, in fact, very different from anything else: with the gentle
background vocals, echoey guitars and atmospheric piano tinkles around,
it manages to borrow certain stylistic elements from prime Dire Straits
and from Dylan, and the result is an introspective masterpiece. I'm absolutely
sure of that, because as rare as Keith's songs make me want to cry, this
tune does just it - the refrain, where he sings 'yap yap, you talk too
much' to his partner, is just plain beautiful. Which makes me wonder -
why the hell did Keith so rarely want to put his ballads into a more concise,
rhythmic form, so that they wouldn't just be perceived as unstructured,
disjointed, melodyless rants?
Even so, two good songs like 'Yap Yap' and 'Bodytalks' aren't gonna save
this overtly mediocre album. I repeat, though, that no true Keith fan would
want to be without it, and I wouldn't call purchasing it a meaningless
act. But in the context of the Stones' work in general, this can only be
regarded as a pathetic excuse for getting back to the band - Voodoo
Lounge is so many light years ahead of this stuff that you really start
to believe that a band as a whole should definitely be much more than just
a sum of its parts.
Hate it when you leave without
mailing your ideas
PRIMITIVE
COOL 
(released by: MICK JAGGER)
Year Of Release: 1987
Overall rating = 11
What a great album title! This is indeed a record that's 'primitive
cool'...
Best song: PARTY DOLL
Many people simply write off Mick Jagger's solo career as something
totally unpalatable and offensive to good taste, and this album is often
used as the main pretext. I expected to hate it; I got surprised because
I loved it at first listen. To me, this seemed what the Stones' Dirty
Work failed to be - a happy, joyful rag-bag of various styles, dumb
in some places, intelligent in others, relatively diverse and full of hooks
and crunchy guitar riffs all over the place. Jagger almost seems to be
happy to finally get out of the Stones, and this is his statement to the
whole wide world. Where his first solo album was kinda insecure and ultimately
so over-commercial that it became dated within the year of its release,
this is an entirely different matter. Not a masterpiece, for sure; and
certainly just an ordinary (not bad, though) release by the Stones' own
standards, but enjoyable as hell. Why critics tend to dismiss it is way
beyond me.
Seriously, now, there ain't a single song on this album that Mick should
ever be ashamed of. He's got himself a fairly impressive band, with Jeff
Beck doing much of the guitarwork and Simon Philips bashing out on the
drums, when they are drums, not machines, and wrote some fairly
impressive songs. Okay, if you've heard this album, I know your complaint:
'Let's Work'. This is often pointed out as one of the hugest missteps in
Mick's entire career - a stupid dance beat over which Mick, in his best
DirtyWork-tone, barks out lyrics about how his fans should get off
their butts and 'let's work, kill poverty'. In my opinion, condemning Mick
over this song is about the same as condemning him for Satanism based on
'Sympathy For The Devil'. Can't you seriously see this is tongue-in-cheek,
almost a comedy number? There is totally no ugly aggression in his barking
this time, and me, I simply have a good laugh while listening to this song.
Not to mention that he really does an outstanding job - on no other album,
Stones' or solo, does Mick bark as convincingly as on this one.
And then there are the 'real' rockers. Okay, songs like 'Say You Will',
'Peace For The Wicked' or 'Radio Control' might not be among his best.
But they're all solid, okay-ish tunes with loads of energy, strong, memorable
riffs, and plenty of amusing and tricky production gimmicks to keep your
attention set in - I can't really see what's wrong with that, people. And
'Kow Tow' is really good - I love it when he roars out the lines 'I won't
bow down, I won't kow tow'. Good lad.
And yeah, I forgot to tell you that this record features at least two
blistering classics that should by all means earn their gold status in
the Stones' legacy - a pity that fate placed them on a Jagger solo album.
First, there's 'Throwaway', a song that was brilliantly chosen to open
the album. Essentially, it's just Jagger's 'confession' about how he used
to play the Casanova but, well, he's finally found a love to stay (apparently,
that love - Jerry Hall - got divorced from him several month s ago, but
what the heck, it's 1987 we're talking about). But there's just something
moving in the song, particularly in its refrain ('a love like this/is much
too hard/to ever throw away'), and the way it bounces along with all these
tasty guitar lines thrown in is just enthralling. And next, there's 'Party
Doll', a brilliant country stylization along the lines of 'Sweet Virginia'
and 'Love In Vain' (something in between the two, actually); I mean, it's
still worse because it's spoiled by the booming drums and everything, and
it'll sure as hell be much too melodramatic for somebody else's tastes,
but you can't deny the melody because it's right there, by gum! And the
harmonica and fiddle parts are dazzling.
Perhaps the only time when Jagger really goes somewhat overboard
(if you don't count 'Let's Work', of course) is the 'epic' 'War Baby',
an overblown peace anthem that goes on for too long and I mean it - it's
like seven minutes long, for Chrissake! And there's too much gunfire involved,
blah. It's still better than Paul McCartney's 'C'mon People', though -
maybe because it sounds more sincere. And in any case, it's fully compensated
by the brilliant title track, with some of Mick's most interesting lyrics
ever, about a child looking back on his parents' past and on the Fifties
and Sixties in general. And for some reason, nobody even knows the song.
What a pity, what a shame. It's rockin', tender and intelligent at the
same time, and who has ever heard of it?
All in all, the album's definitely a blast, at least by Mick's own standards.
It's easy to see what the album lacks - a Keith Richards in control to
strip it of its dated, ridiculously over-technophilic production (to be
frank, though, this record isn't as technophilic as, say, some of the contemporary
David Bowie albums, with whom Mick was quite close during the decade),
and to bring in a straightforward, retro rocker. On the other hand, where
the hell was Keith when the band was recording Dirty Work? And at
least the fact that the album is a solo effort saves us from the necessity
of digesting yet another soggy Richards ballad...
Say you will mail
your ideas!
WANDERING
SPIRIT 
(released by: MICK JAGGER)
Year Of Release: 1993
Overall rating = 12
Perhaps the closest thing to a Rolling Stones album you'll find whilst
meandering through the guys' thin solo careers.
Best song: WANDERING SPIRIT
All Rolling Stones fans are heartily welcome to this album - in fact,
more welcome than to any other solo project by any other band member. You
like Voodoo Lounge? You think it was a pretty decent return to form
after all those years? Well then, you'll be pleased to hear that Mick,
at least, was basing that album on the artistic success of his previous
solo effort. Because I, for one, really, really love this record. Sure,
it gets thin in places, but it's also ample proof to the undeniable talents
of Mick as a composer and musician. On the previous albums Mick was trying
to be 'cool' and overabuse all kinds of accessible Eighties' gimmicks -
things that have proven to be dated, silly and overly commercial. Which
is why Primitive Cool, for instance, doesn't hold all that well
over the years - it was a good one, but you have to understand that it's
good after you've sifted out all the production crap.
By 1993, however, fashions have changed, and the world was just going through
a 'retroization' brought about by the likes of different 'alternative'
bands and stuff, and if 'cool' is danceable and electronical to you, then
no, Wandering Spirit ain't cool. But if 'cool' to you means 'a solid,
enjoyable, clever and arse-kicking album with interesting melodies and
catchy hooks', then you're right on the spot! At least half of these songs
could easily rate as Stones classics, and almost none of the others are
bad or sleazy or anything. The album cover, in fact, is probably the most
off-putting detail o' the whole show, but hey, we all need a bit of bare
chest to look on, right? And if you want it - well you can look at the
bare chest of Mick!
The rockers are mostly fabulous - similar to the Stones' numbers on later
albums, sometimes worse, sometimes better, but of the same quality in general:
Mick steps away from the metallized sound of Steel Wheels and adopts
a more grungey sound, with multi-tracked guitars creating a 'thunderstorm'
effect (ever heard 'I Go Wild'?) 'Wired All Night' is the best of these:
it opens the album on the wildest note possible, as Mick raps through the
angry lyrics and makes the best of his voice; but then there's 'Put Me
In The Trash' that's accompanied by these hilarious 'oo-wee-oo-wee-oo'
backing vocals, and 'Mother Of A Man' (kind of a precursor to 'Gunface'
off Bridges To Babylon) roars and tears! Yeah, and the title track
- how can I forget that one? It's weird - starts off as a plain retroish
rockabilly number, then picks up steam, then picks up a little more steam
and goes into the fast'n'furious refrain. And I really wouldn't know about
it, but ain't the song some kind of a 'sequel' to 'Sympathy For The Devil'?
Same kind of travelogue, and the spirit ain't all that good and kind, it
seems. Yes it IS nowhere near as convincing or spooky (it's rather funny,
in fact), but at least it's worthy and ain't no self-parody, you know?
Like... 'tie me up the pain of love'. Oooh. Don't hurt me, baby, I'm just
a wandering spirit...
But in fact, there's quite a lot to this album - more than loud, brawny
rockers. A couple of ballads are just fine - hey, ain't 'Don't Tear Me
Up' some kind of a 'prequel' to 'Saint Of Me'? Same kind of melody, man!
Hear that organ in the beginning? Mick sure ain't no big original... nevertheless,
I actually like this one more than 'Saint Of Me' because it ain't no stupid
'hymn'. Just a good old power ballad. I don't ever want to see your picture
again. 'Angel In My Heart' is kinda good, too, though I've never thought
much of the cheesy, sentimental 'Evening Gown'. Then there are a couple
of not very memorable songs near the end, a swell R'n'B number ('Out Of
Focus'), and a dreadful, slow, fiddle-enhanced country number ('Handsome
Molly') where Mick sounds so horrendous that it almost makes the song great.
Well, I'd say he still tries to make it sound good, so it sounds dreadful
anyway.
Hmm. I suppose these two last sentences didn't make a great deal of sense,
now did they? You try to figure it out when you have a bit of free time,
then. And if you still don't get it, take a hint: I really hate 'Handsome
Molly'. That's about the only thing, though, that I hate about this album.
On the contrary, I'm really amazed at how fresh, strong and invigorating
it sounds. Funny, too. Oh! Silly me! And I have even forgotten about 'Sweet
Thing'! That's a cool dance number where Mick sings in his unique falsetto
about really loving his sweet thing and the All-Music Guide says his falsetto
is strained and the All-Music Guide can go to hell now. Meanwhile,
I'd advise you to buy this album if you've run out of Stones' artefacts.
You won't regret it.
Don't tear me up when you mail your ideas
Year Of Release: 1979
Overall rating = 10
A solid mix of Dylan, Stones and Jeff Beck, together with some boring
muzak - well, actually, it's better than I hoped.
Best song: GIDDY UP
Mick Taylor's solo debut is surprisingly good. No, I mean it, really:
not 'great' or 'groundbreaking' or 'amazing', just a good, normal, inoffensive
record that would be heavily recommended for Stones fans and, of course,
especially Stones fans of the Taylor period. To tell you the truth,
I never even expected that quality; in his Stones days, the only thing
Mick excelled in was immaculate soloing, and I was really somewhat afraid
that, being separated from the Riffmeister's basis and Jagger's sly hooks,
Taylor would just go down the drain. In a certain sense, he did: Mick
Taylor was his only complete solo album with original studio material
that he had recorded until the very recent A Stone's Throw, and
most of the other time you almost heard nothing of him. He sometimes rose
out of the mist to play with Dylan (esp. on his Infidels album and
the supporting tour, check out Bob's Real Live for that), and on
one occasion he even reunited with the Stones on stage, resulting in a
concert whose quality is universally panned by fans (on the 1981 tour).
And later on, he had a few remarkable (or unremarkable) collaborations
with Carla Olsson, but that's not being discussed at the time.
Anyway, this debut album will pose quite a few surprises for the listener.
Out of nine songs, four are instrumentals, and the other five are pleasant
pop/roots-rock tunes featuring Mick on vocals. Now he may not have a great
voice, and actually, people like to bring on the vocals as the downside
of the record, but I find few problems with that - his singing never really
grates on you, and he's got enough of a human touch to sound convincing
on numbers like 'Leather Jacket' or 'Baby I Want You'. In fact, sometimes
I could easily describe him as a 'Dylan without the hoarse'; that's not
a compliment, because 'Dylan without the hoarse' is actually not too interesting,
but it's not a putdown either.
And the songwriting is tons of fun. He follows the Stones in trying to
diversify his approach while at the same time never really venturing out
of 'normal' rock - cool experimentation you will find NOT. But he takes
on several distinct genres and sounds self-assured and steady in most.
'Leather Jacket' is the most Dylanish tune on the album, a soulful folk
rocker with a warm, live guitar tone and a catchy structure - I can easily
imagine that one in the hands of the Bobster as one of the better tracks
on something like Planet Waves. 'Alabama' steers us into country,
and it contains a major misfire in its lyrical content: I can almost
imagine Mick punching his head and trying to bash out something that would
come out as 'authentic' and failing. Instead, he turned to Colin Allen
to provide the lyrics, and the dude couldn't come up with anything better
than 'only halfway through Louisiana/on my way home to Alabama'. Ooh, that
rhyme makes my hair stand on end. Luckily, Mick compensates for it by inserting
a marvelous, inflammatory guitar solo recalling some of his work on Exile
On Main St.
'Baby I Want You' probably has some Dylan influences, too, but eventually
it comes out as a slick pop song in the vein of, say, something Christine
McVie used to write (he even shares the fabulous 'McVie intonation'!) That's
okay; I'm a big fan of good old Chris, and if Mick had been listening to
a little Mac on his way through the record, well, that's... you know...
that's good. What else can I say? The guitar is fine and pleasant, the
vocal melody is enthralling, and the rhythm is held all the way through.
It's better than some of Keith Richards' balladeering stuff, that's for
sure.
Now 'Broken Hands' is more or less the only Stones-sounding track on here
- a typical Exile-era rocker underpinned with ferocious slide rhythms
and absolutely Stones-like electric licks. Actually, the number it reminds
me most of all isn't any Exile track, but rather 'Hand Of Fate'
off Black And Blue: some licks are almost played in the same way
as on that song, and even the guitar solo is similar. That's all the more
funny since I have no information about 'Hand Of Fate' being a Taylor era
outtake (remember that Black And Blue was recorded already after
Taylor had left). Did they conceive the song pre-1975 with Taylor taking
the idea with him as he was quitting? Or did he just rip it off from Black
And Blue post factum? Feedback, please! Finally, 'S.W.5' returns
us back to folk-rock territory, and it's a good number, this time highlighted
by Jean Roussell's piano and a high-pitched solo guitar.
Now I actually have mixed feelings about the instrumentals - don't even
know why, they're all quite solid. Maybe it's because I was expecting some
tremendous guitar heroics but didn't get it? I mean, 'Slow Blues' bloozes
along nicely, but is it all that special? Not at all. 'Spanish', at seven
and a half minutes, drags on for too long, and while at times it does give
us Mick playing, well, Spanish, it can't really overshadow his Santana
stylizations on 'Can't You Hear Me Knocking'. And I don't particularly
care for the piano-dominated 'A Minor', either, nice as it is. I suppose
this has a lot to do with my passion for Steve Hackett and his Spectral
Mornings of the smae year - an album in which the man clearly demonstrated
that the possibilities of the electric guitar were not yet entirely spent.
Taylor, on the other hand, just often plays generic muzak, forgettable
ear-candy that's good for one seance and that's about it.
That said, I really enjoy 'Giddy Up'. It's not too long, it rocks, and
with that marvelous descending guitar riff, it just might qualify as my
favourite number from the album. It doesn't pretend to be 'highly emotional',
like 'Spanish', and it doesn't entirely rely on cliched blues formulas
like 'Slow Blues'; it just contains a brilliantly constructed solo that
flows perfectly, never grates, and, I suppose, is a great thing for beginning
solo players to learn. One thing I always liked Taylor for when he was
in the Stones was his inventiveness with his instrument - he was
always able to find new fascinating chord progressions and arrange them
without having to rely to Hendrix- or Townshend-type gimmicks (in this
he qualifies as my second-best preferred guitarist of the type after John
Fogerty), and this is the track that best proves this on the album.
Ah, well. 'I believe it's time to go'. Kudos to Mick for not really disappointing
us. I don't know anything about his backing band (except that one of the
drummers was an ex-member of the British prog-rock Gong, if you're interested),
so I won't be naming them - what's in a name, after all? Unless that name
is Mick Taylor, of course. Recorded at the Rolling Stones Mobile, by the
way - what a friendly gesture.
Baby I want you to mail your ideas
Each and every one of the Stones' members, past
or present, has at least a couple million guest appearances, and I'm not
gonna review all of them even if I get paid for this. Actually, I wasn't
even planning on this section - but it so happened that I scooped up a
cheap copy of Dirty Strangers, intrigued by the fact of both
Keith's and Ronnie's appearance, and now I have no choice but to review
it. Too late the hero, in other words. Maybe in the future I'll add something
else to this section; for now, let it stay as it is.
THE
DIRTY STRANGERS
(released by: THE DIRTY STRANGERS)
Year Of Release: 1988
Overall rating = 9
A not uninteresting gritty R'n'B album. It's easy to see what Keith
liked in these guys.
Best song: BATHING BELLES
If you ever fall upon a copy of this extremely rare album (distinguished
by half a female naked body on the front cover), you might give it a try:
The Dirty Strangers obviously modelled themselves after the Stones, at
least, a little bit. On the other hand, they certainly weren't just a 'tribute
band'. Vocalist Alan Clayton sports a raunchy, low-growlish tone that ain't
too special, but at least he can easily stay on key and he's got enough
excitement to last us throughout a whole album; the rhythm section is cheerily
pounding away a la late Seventies' Stones (with elements of punkish
abandon, of course); and the only figure in the band some might be familiar
with is their regular guitarist Paul Fox, better known for his later work
as producer with bands such as XTC and others.
The band is obscure, indeed: I haven't been able to locate any information
about them on the Web. They don't seem to have had any other releases,
and in all, this sounds more like a weird side project that ended as quickly
as it began. The album itself is long out of print, but some Web stores
still offer used LPs of it, and I suppose that rabid Stones fans might
as well be interested. Now for the more pleasant stuff. Indeed, the record
features both Keith and Ronnie, albeit they never seem to play together.
Keith contributes his playing to six of the record's tracks; Ronnie is
present on three; and three more don't seem to feature anyone of them.
Now I may be a little heretical here, but it's really hard for me sometimes
to tell correctly who's playing on what. For instance, the reckless rocker
'Hands Up' could just as well feature Keith and not Paul Fox or
any of the other guest guitar players. What the hell, it's even based on
a riff ripped off of the Stones' 'If You Can't Rock Me'.
Some of the tracks are unmistakably Keith, though. For instance, on the
Clayton-contributed Berry-ish rocker 'Bathing Belles' Keith really comes
to his senses and delivers some scorching solos and riffage that he never
really managed to deliver on Talk Is Cheap: apparently, this is
an excellent example of nostalgia for those early Sixties' days when Keith
did everything to outchuck Mr Berry. And near the end of the track he completely
gives himself out, ripping into the famous riff from 'It's Only Rock'n'Roll'.
On most of the other tracks, though, Keith's playing is suspiciously similar
to the style he'd forvere incorporate into his playing since Steel Wheels
- bombastic, arena-loud metallic riffage and dissonant soloing that certainly
mars his work up to the present day. Not that I actively dislike this style
- I've gotten used to it, but it's really a far cry from the classic Stones'
sound we all know and love them for. Even so, the band is in such a euphoric,
energetic state, that even such macho arena rockers like 'Thrill Of The
Thrill' or 'Wide Boys & Slim Pickings' go off like firecrackers, and
they're certainly great to dance to or to bash your head against the wall
to. I suppose. I don't give a damn about generic power ballads like 'Didn't
Want To Be An Angel', though: I mean, you can dance to the rockers, but
what should you do while these ballads are on? A 'power ballad' is a very
fishy thing - it's either offensive and grossly pretentious, or heartbreaking,
there's definitely no middle ground. This one's certainly NOT heartbreaking,
so it gotsta be offensive. Likewise, I hate 'Diamonds', the track that
closes the album: it's written in the grand 'sleepy' Keith tradition ('Sleep
Tonight', all that dreck), and the female backup voices, that were corny,
but tolerable, on 'Bathing Belles', closely approach unlistenable on here
('wipe those diamonds of your e-e-e-e-e-eyes', they bleat like professional
goats).
As for Ronnie, he probably takes on lead playing on a couple of rockers
('Baby', 'Here She Comes') and a 'soul' ballad ('Easy To Please'); not
that he's pretty distinguishable on there, either, but well, what could
you expect? Ronnie's always pretty lowkey when he's backing up somebody.
In all, I'd say that for people collecting Stones' guest appearances, this
should be a good place to start, as both Keith and Ronnie are here and
they're here for the most part of the album. Still, I wouldn't want to
give it any more than a nine, as it never really elevates high above 'acceptable
background music'. The riffs are shamelessly 'borrowed' off various R'n'B
and rock'n'roll classics, and Clayton's vocals really start getting tedious
after a while. See, this album is much too formulaic. Now if the popular
rumours were correct and the Stones' own music were 'formulaic', as well,
most of their albums would probably look like this. As such, Dirty Strangers
is a perfect proof to the contrary: the Rolling Stones are not a formula.
The Dirty Strangers are: a pretty solid formula, too, but ultimately toothless
and, well, it's easy to see that the project died as soon as it was born.
Hands up! Mail
your ideas or DIE!!
Return to the Index page! Now!