POO: Rolling Stones post-1978

I thought 78 was cheating so I went post-Tattoo You

i proudly(?) present a new award winning spotify playlist

Dirty Work: Best of Post-Tattoo You Rolling Stones

http://open.spotify.com/user/matthelgeson/playlist/6f4mxlNBAf7Qvqp2YawE18

Nice! Coincidental too, for "Slipping Away" finally hit me good last weekend.

haha i wondered what you'd think, i figured i might be light on undercover and dirty work for you

it was funny though, bridges to babylon ended up being the one that held up the worst by a mile, and i thought that was well received at the time

Undercover bores me tbh.

"Wanna Hold You" is my least favorite Keef of the period.

ah i thought that was ok

though in general keith in this whole era really seems to thrive on more gentle ballads

"Sleep Tonight" is my favorite Keith ballad, period.

Here is a track list from a road CDR-74 'Hot Rocks' that I made with tracks from 'Emotional Rescue' through 'Bridges to Babylon'. I thought it flowed pretty well and does show you could make a good long compilation of the Stones records that people think kinda suck.

She's So Cold
Emotional Rescue
Down in the Hole
Undercover of the Night
It Must Be Hell
Too Much Blood
Dirty Work
Sad Sad Sad
Mixed Emotions
Almost Hear You Sigh
Love Is Strong
The Worst
Brand New Car
Out of Control
Saint of Me
How Can I Stop

Couple takeaways:

Some of these later dance production numbers the Stones did work, the incorporated modern production stuff did blend quite well with the Stones grime. (probably Jagger tunes?)

Their most touching music is the ballads or low key tunes. In this stuff Jagger/Richards seems to be trying to catch that old soul vibe. Some of these tunes have had legs as other people have picked them up over the years, which is impressive. (probably Richards tunes? Obviously a few are as Keith sings them too.)

Alfred posted a similar list on his blog recently. stuck it in a spotify playlist - it slays

Yeah, I read that one too. There are other tunes too, they did a few weird kinda 'psych' tunes too on some of the later albums too. You could definitely compile some play lists based upon style a few different ways.

The reunited Allman Brothers did not do all that many studio albums (really only four), but the ones they did are better than you might think. I'm going to work on making a CDR74 of those tunes next.

No "Summer Romance," no cred!

https://humanizingthevacuum.wordpress.com/2018/07/01/you-trying-to-get-an-a-pass-best-rolling-stones-songs-1978-2005/

You could probably toss out one of the rockers on my list and put it back in. I'd probably cut 'Mixed Emotions' to put it in.

Good on Earl for recognizing "It Must Be Hell".

'Sparks Will Fly'

If I was to choose one album of theirs from the post-Some Girls period, then I'd choose A Bigger Bang just over Tattoo You.

I'm listening to Steel Wheels now (after running thru most of the other '70s & '80s albums). It's good! I bought the tape when it came out, but haven't heard the album in the intervening 30 yrs. (I don't recall what 13-yr-old me thought of the line, "I'm horny as a hog").

These are quality songs; the band sounds tight & focused; the production and songwriting are big and "commercial" in a pleasing, late-'80s way...

A goddamn lot of filler. The singles and "Slipping Away" and mayyyyybe "Terrifying," where they get a solid groove going in the outro.

"Almost Hear You Sigh" has some cool chord changes.

I thought it would be kinda embarrassing "suburban dads jamming in the rec room" rock, and I guess to a degree it is, but these songs are tight and hard, with solid riffs and playing that's "pro-level" without sounding too faceless & slick

Some nicely "sensitive" moments, too -- like "Never Hear You Sigh" and "Slipping Away"

(I concede that "Continental Drift" and "Break the Spell" are filler)

Still making my way thru their catalog... I didn't realize these guys' songs could be so cartoonish/horny/corny!

The lyrix of earlier songs like "Some Girls" and "Little T&A" seem to represent a sort of, er, "sexist" nadir... happily, by the time you get to Voodoo Lounge, Mick is more good-naturedly kicking off the album with:

Your love is strong, and you're so sweet
You make me hard, you make me weak

...and a few tracks later:

Ooh, I wanna f@#$ your sweet a$$

!!!!

TS: "She's So Cold" vs. "She Was Hot"

"Waiting on a Friend" by a mile
― James Blount (James Blount)

That's a great song, but even it has dodgy lyrics... "Bros before (literal) Ho's!"

(I'm not trying to "cancel" the Stones, btw -- I just didn't realize their lyrics were frequently so ridiculous)

right now i'm vibing to WINTER

LOL OOPS WRONG STONES THREAD

xxxp I think it is deliberately perverse to read the lyric of WoaF as "bros before hos"

Wanting to fuck a sweet ass is not sexist.

what if the ass were Jagger's?

Yeah that’s not sexist, just horny/corny!

(There are a few different categories at work here, sorry I didn’t make that more clear)

(“Dirty Work”)

for some loser
for some jerk
for some dumbass
yeah

There’s a noticeable dropoff at Bridges to Babylon (including to Mick’s voice, but I know that happens)... do that and A Bigger Bang have their fans?

Anyway, I’m pleased to discover how good they remained on record, into the ‘90s (and beyond?). Tattoo You is the only post-‘78 album that I love all the way through — but man, you could put together one hell of a 2CD comp of choice cuts from the others.

I haven't kept up with / saw no reason to keep up with post-'78 Stones, but I listened to A Bigger Bang a couple of times and was extremely surprised at how decent it was. With past Stones records, when the singles were rolled out (with the requisite hype), I just thought, meh, more dull-ass Stones shit; if "Harlem Shuffle" or "Has Anybody Seen My Baby?" is the lead single, there's little hope for anything great lurking elsewhere on the record. But "Rough Justice" and "Streets of Love" are...good. Very good, even.

Like a lot of Classic Rockers, the Stones had problems with CD Bloat. There's decent vinyl-length albums hidden in much of their later work.

Really good piece!: https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/the-rolling-stones-tattoo-you/

wow, "Heaven" might be a contender here, thank u shuffle play