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The Rolling StonesAlbums ReviewedLet It Bleed (1969)Sticky Fingers (1971) Exile On Main Street (1972) Some Girls (1978) Man, this page sucks and doesn't do justice to one of the best rock bands (if not the best) ever. I'll rewrite it when I add reviews for the other Stones stuff I have so far (Out Of Our Heads, Aftermath, Beggar's Banquet, Goat's Head Soup, and Tattoo You). And Some Girls is a little overrated, but it still has awesome stuff like 'Beast Of Burden', 'Miss You' and 'Just My Imagination'. Let It Bleed(1969)After their early blues phase and a foray into psychedelic experimentation, The Rolling Stones came into their own with an excellent sequence of albums between 1968 and 1972. The four albums are generally regarded as some of the most seminal in the rock canon, capturing the Stones discovering their musical voice beyond their blues and country influences and Mick Jagger and Keith Richards writing some of their best songs. Let It Bleed, the second album of the sequence, finds the Stones changing lineups for the first time; departing multi-instrumentalist Brian Jones and incoming guitarist Mick Taylor each play on a couple of tracks. While there are plenty of excellent songs on Let It Bleed, however, it's not as consistent as the two albums that follow. The claustrophobic 'Gimmie Shelter' starts off Let It Bleed on an ominous note; the group lock into a tight groove, while Mary Clayton's backing vocals are eerie. 'Love In Vain' is a lovely Robert Johnson ballad, although it's credited to Jagger and Richards, while 'Monkey Man' and 'Live With Me' are fantastic and overlooked rock songs. The epic 'You Can't Always Get What You Want' has an air of profundity that's rare in pop music, while Keith Richards' vocal spotlight 'You Got The Silver' has a convincing degree of sincerity. The rest of the album isn't as strong; 'Midnight Rambler' and the title track are nice, but don't justify their lengths, while 'Country Honk' is merely throwaway. Apparently this countrified version was how the awesome single 'Honky Tonk Woman' was first conceived, but Let It Bleed would be stronger with the rock version to liven up proceedings. While Mick Jagger is often looked down upon as a trifle dim-witted (his Brazilian paternity suit is a good example), his lyrics on Let It Bleed show glimpses of genius in their self-depreciating humour. "I've got nasty habits," he sneers in 'Live With Me', "I take tea at three." "I hope we're not too messianic," Jagger apologises in 'Monkey Man', "or a trifle too satanic." The transition from the teenaged assertiveness of '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction' to the adult uncertainty of 'You Can't Always Get What You Want' is also noteworthy. While many web reviewers would argue that music is far more significant than lyrics, I'd argue that the two go hand in hand; over a long career they tend to correlate. If Jagger wrote an especially strong lyric, then Richards would be motivated to come up with an equally strong riff. While The Rolling Stones have since thrown away their dignity by refusing to retire gracefully, once upon a time they were intelligent and significant. 'Gimmie Shelter' was creepy and 'Midnight Rambler' was edgy, forming the soundtrack for the tragic Altamont stabbings. 
 Sticky Fingers(1971)The Rolling Stones are at their peak on Sticky Fingers, able to deliver rock and ballads with equal aplomb. Powerful guitar riffs drive 'Brown Sugar' and 'Can't You Hear Me Knocking', while 'Wild Horses' and 'Moonlight Mile' are beautiful. 'Dead Flowers' is a successful stab at country-rock, while 'Sister Morphine' boils with tension. The boring 'You Gotta Move' is over quickly, and everything else more than compensates for it. While almost everything The Rolling Stones have produced since the early seventies is probably worthless, Sticky Fingers deserves whatever accolades it has received.
Exile On Main Street(1972)The Rolling Stones left Britain for tax purposes in 1971 and Exile On Main Street was recorded at Richards' home on the French Riviera, where he charged each member of the group 250 pounds a week for rent while recording. The recording sessions were predictably chaotic, with Richards' heroin addiction and Jagger's wife ostracised in Paris, but the double album that resulted is spectacular. While The Rolling Stones always integrated pre-rock influences into their sixties records, the tapestry here is richer than ever. As well as their blues fascination and dabbles in country, they also splash on huge dollops of gospel, as an expanded line up with Bobby Keys on saxophone, Nicky Hopkins on piano and J. Price on horns blast their way through eighteen tracks. While Exile On Main Street has an air of decadence about it, even more it is a celebration of music. Not everyone of these eighteen songs are brilliant by any stretch of the imagination; 'Shake Your Hips' is a bad re-run of Sticky Fingers' 'You Gotta Move', 'I Just Want To See His Face' is a turgid gospel piece, while there at least another half dozen throwaways scattered throughout the record. Even though some of the songs are not particularly strong, however, I wouldn't want to change a note of this album. The vibe is just so compelling; The Rolling Stones are on top of their game, and everything they touch turns to gold. The messy mix, with the vocals at low volume, is intoxicating, while even the ballads rock. The only real disapointment is that there's no blazing riff-rocker like 'Brown Sugar' or 'Honky Tonk Woman', but there are plenty of great songs as compensation. 'Rocks Off' provides a suitable start; confused, sleazy and rousing. 'Tumbling Dice' is closest to a hit with a funky rhythm and a catchy harmonised chorus. 'Torn And Frayed' is a terrific piece of country-rock, while 'Loving Cup' and 'Let It Loose' are intense ballads. Robert Johnson's 'Stop Breaking Down', the gospel of 'Shine A Light' and 'Soul Survivor' end things on a high note. A lot of the songs between these peaks are disposable, and there's one phenomenal single album hiding on here, but that's not the point. Exile On Main Street has so much swagger and mystique about it, encapsulating much of the appeal of rock and roll onto one convenient disc, where the vibe is effortless and intoxicating. Every time I listen to Exile On Main Street I feel like I'm having a classic rock experience.
Some Girls(1978)Obviously the Rolling Stones felt that they were one of the groups being criticised by the punk movement, returning with Some Girls; a more energetic effort with new wave influences. Unfortunately, Some Girls is well below the standard of earlier highs; the title track and 'Far Away Eyes' define the term filler while 'When The Whip Comes Down', 'Lies' and 'Respectable' are indistinguishable from each other. The title track is also obnoxious, mixing chauvinism and racism. There are a handful of worthwhile songs, especially the cover of 'Just My Imagination (Running Away From Me)' and the wonderful 'Beast of Burden'. A worrying sign is that Some Girls is often cited as one of the Rolling Stones' best post-Exile on Main Street albums; Mick Jagger stated that some of the group's albums from the mid 1970s were so bad they should have carried consumer warnings.
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Written 2001-2007, Graham Fyfe
