Review Summary: And you thought Let It Bleed was good...
I love The Rolling Stones. I love their swagger, their sound and their contempt of the law. Let's be honest, if you were invited to become a member of The Beatles or The Rolling Stones who would you choose. Even though I prefer The Fab Four's music this band is the very epitome of rock 'n' roll. And at no other point in their career have they been as cool as on this record. Sure it may not have been their best album but it is their quintessential one.
The album kicks off with ‘Brown Sugar.’ Despite containing some truly abhorrent lyrics, it is funnily enough one of the most memorable songs of all time. The guitar is just awesome, kudos to you Mr Richards for creating such a riff. When I hear those chords, the hairs on my neck stand on end and I have the urge to go ape sh*t. In fact I will stick my hairy neck out and say this is my favourite Stones’ song of all time.
Next up is ‘Sway.’ In spite of being stuck between two of the most well known songs in the band’s history, the song still stands up. It’s on these songs that I love that Jagger yelp. His bluesy, throaty howl is one of the best voices I’ve heard. I also adore that shuffling drum part throughout the song.
‘Wild Horses’ is a truly beautiful ballad. On these types of songs Jagger can just sound embarrassing, yet on this track he nails it. He sounds so tired and mournful, pouring heartfelt emotions of a lifetime into a six minute song. Genius.
After that is ‘Can’t You Hear Me Knocking.’ After such a tender song, the juxtaposition of this rocker is stunning. It has a very harsh sound, but also featuring some excellent riffing. It most definitely is air guitar time! Well at least for three minutes, and then more Stones’ magic occurs…they begin to jam. The sound in the remaining portion of the song is ethereal, it becomes almost Latin American, samba music. The saxophone is bliss. What starts out as an out and out rocker becomes an absolute cracker.
‘You Gotta Move’ follows. I really enjoy it when this band puts a country spin on their sound. They make it sound humorous or in this case very rugged. However, it does feel like filler and I don’t think it fits in well in the album.
As previously mentioned The Stones contrast their songs well on this album. The best instance of this is between the previous track and ‘Bitch.’ ‘You Gotta Move’ drags on until this song pops up. The chorus is terrific – ‘Yeah when you call my name/ salivate like a Pavlov dog’ and when those horns get going it just makes you want to wiggle those hips. This is pure Stones – unadulterated, sexy filth that you can not help but love. A close second to the lead off track.
‘I Got The Blues’ is next up. Jagger once again sounds so sincere and genuine. The band uses horns again – this time at a slower pace which really brings the song to life. We even get some organ playing! Not my favourite track but reasonably enjoyable.
‘Sister Morphine’ is the one song I’m not to keen on. This time Jagger does sound embarrassing; almost as though he is singing in a bath. I know it’s supposed to be harrowing, all about the bad side of drugs (there was a good side?). But I just can’t help but feel let down. Despite it bursting into life half way through, it’s not my cup of tea.
‘Dead Flowers’ is hilarious, definitely up there with some of the best country work they did on ‘Beggar’s Banquet.’ It’s amazing that to think that this band is English because when they play like this they sound like they came from the Deep South.
‘Moonlight Mile’ is very special, this time when they tried something different it comes off. The texture of the sound is just so original; I don’t think I’ve heard anything quite like it. It almost has an oriental feel. Admittedly, Jagger is still in his bath, but this time his wail fits the instruments so well.
‘Sticky Fingers’ is exceptional; it displays one of the best bands trying various musical styles with almost all of them coming off. I recommend this album to anyone with an interest in music. A true classic and one I’ll certainly listen to for a long time – ‘Coco slave she found the cotton fields/ sold her in a market down in New Orleans…’
