I cant understand, why always the time between 1968-1972are most mentioned as their "golden era"

Well, it was a great time, but i like their earlier stuff most. from their first Album til "Aftermath!! All their great Hit-singles like Tell me, little red rooster, its all over, now, last time, cloud, paint it black etc.. This was the time the Stones done very very good recordings. Whats your opinion?
BTW--my favourite is " Empty heart"

under the boardwalk---down by the sea



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-02-15 10:58 by bv.

I love 1963 - 1968/9 and I think the Mick Taylor period in particular is very overrated. It's great of course but I still prefer the earlier band.

There's a sense of naivety in those earlier years that seemed to have been severely diluted by the 70's. It happens to most bands, degrees of sophistication make them lose a lot of their original spirit.

The old era is 1962-2009. I just love the Stones. They are my life!

in a nutshell it's because during that time all their albums were flawless and they replaced the beatles as the top rock band.

In my opinion the golden era is '77 to '83, they truly were at their best both live and in the studio in my opinion.

Mathijs

I would also go for 77 to 83 for my favorite era.

.....interesting take...and also maybe bittersweet as this is probably when the glimmers probably fractured their close friendship.

I think I havo to agree with you, I also find '68-'73 period the best but must because I started in '68, but for sure they where good before that ...what about "What A Shame", I'm A kingbee, 19th nervous, It's All Over Now", 2120 South Michigan Avenue, If You Need Me, Everybody Needs Somebody To Love, Heart of Stone, That's How Strong My Love Is and the whole Aftermath

__________________________

hmmm 1977-1983. well, i saw the stones in Anaheim in 1978--great show, missed the 1982 european tour , but Tattoo you is not Aftermath

Cuz it is quite objective that BB, LIB, Get yer ya yas out, Sticky Fingers and Exile are some of the best and most influential rock albums ever made by anyone

my favorite era is 77-79 actually but thats a matter of opinions

I guess it depends on your age and when you started with the Stones. The older you are the more you might dig the earlier stuff more than the more recent offerings.

I started in 1964 with Not Fade Away and for me from that time to the end of the Mick Taylor era is the best. However, I know that others will disagree, which is fine.....

My older brother will be 65 next month, he only love them till '66 and the first album the most, think he even don't know to recall a song from Beggars, Bleed or Sticky

__________________________

Quote
farawayeyes2
Cuz it is quite objective that BB, LIB, Get yer ya yas out, Sticky Fingers and Exile are some of the best and most influential rock albums ever made by anyone

Not to mention singles (JJF, SFM, HTW, and Brown Sugar) that are even better than the ones they released in the mid-60s.

Quote
Mathijs
In my opinion the golden era is '77 to '83, they truly were at their best both live and in the studio in my opinion.

Mathijs

It's your opinion that Undercover is a better album than Exile On Main Street?

yeah, I think there are thousands like him, but my brother---always a fan of the beatles, saw the stones 1998 in japan and said to me---"This was greatest show I ever seen

under the boardwalk---down by the sea

1968:
JUMPIN´ JACK FLASH / CHILD OF THE MOON
STREET FIGHTING MAN / NO EXPECTATIONS
"BEGGARS BANQUET"

1969:
HONKY TONK WOMEN / YOU CAN´T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT
"LET IT BLEED"

1970:
"GET YER YA-YA´S OUT!"

1971:
BROWN SUGAR / BITCH / LET IT ROCK
"STICKY FINGERS"
WILD HORSES / SWAY

1972:
TUMBLING DICE / SWEET BLACK ANGEL
"EXILE ON MAIN STREET"
HAPPY / ALL DOWN THE LINE

I became a Rolling Stones fan through my father who only owned some records from the 63-66 Brian-era. For a good few years, the group stopped and started with Brian Jones. I was unaware of Ronnie Wood and had not even heard of Mick Taylor. It was a slow process learning to listen to and appreciate anything post- Jumpin' Jack Flash. I can remember taking back Let It Bleed because I thought the songs were too long!

Now, however, I appreciate and enjoy all eras of the band. If push comes to shove though, then I guess I still like those early Brian-years the best. That great run of singles from Come On - Jumpin' Jack Flash is still hard to surpass.

Quote
Elmo
I guess it depends on your age and when you started with the Stones. The older you are the more you might dig the earlier stuff more than the more recent offerings.

That's right !
May be they reached their zenith at this period ?
May be the upper point of their performances on stage ??



I am a Frenchie ,as Mick affectionately called them in the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1977 .

With the benefit of hindsight that is now the period where their best loved work comes from. They became a rock band at the cutting edge of the business and were massively influential in everything they did. They also made four stupendous albums that still sound as good today as they did then.

My favorite period was 1963-1968. It was by far the most creative period for the Stones, as they ventured from Chicago blues to mellotron-inspired electronica. They became huge during this time with the parade of smashing hits, from Little Red Rooster to Street Fighting Man. In my mind, 1969-1972 can't compare to the brilliance and magic of 1963-1968.

For me Tattoo You is better than Aftermath.

It's this simple - from Jumpin' Jack Flash to Brown Sugar they were a great singles band with huge selling chart topping singles with great albums too. Their first translantic #1 album was Sticky Fingers, followed by Exile (and then Soup and their last being ER).

The SONGS and the maturity of the band as far as being a blues based rock band is best represented from Beggars through Exile.

Certainly after that they started to change into something else. When they did Some Girls it seemed to be a new chapter for the band of being awake. Where as 73-77 was a chapter of haze, 78-83 was Bright.

68-72 vs 78-83? Two entirely different bands, songs and their stylings yet alone sounds. Which era is better than the other? It just depends on where you sit with it. I've always been a bigger fan of the 78-83 era because that's when I was young and getting into what they were doing then. It's fresher and more relevant to and with me. But I easily recognise that the 68-72 era is their finest movement singles, album, songwriting and performance wise period.

Quote
Silver Dagger
With the benefit of hindsight that is now the period where their best loved work comes from. They became a rock band at the cutting edge of the business and were massively influential in everything they did. They also made four stupendous albums that still sound as good today as they did then.

Five stupendous albums, if you count Ya-Yas. Also, it was the events of 1969; Brian's death, Hyde Park, Altamont and the Gimme Shelter film, that forever put the word "legendary" in front of their name, as in, "The Legendary Rolling Stones".

If one looks at the various "golden eras" mentioned here with time frames like 1963-1968, 1969-1974 and 1977-1983 it becomes clear that every golden era did not last longer than app. 5-6 years after which the Stones obviously always needed some fresh blood or fresh wind to get their creative juices running again.

But wheres the fresh blood after 1983?

Quote
rootsman
1968:
JUMPIN´ JACK FLASH / CHILD OF THE MOON
STREET FIGHTING MAN / NO EXPECTATIONS
"BEGGARS BANQUET"

1969:
HONKY TONK WOMEN / YOU CAN´T ALWAYS GET WHAT YOU WANT
"LET IT BLEED"

1970:
"GET YER YA-YA´S OUT!"

1971:
BROWN SUGAR / BITCH / LET IT ROCK
"STICKY FINGERS"
WILD HORSES / SWAY

1972:
TUMBLING DICE / SWEET BLACK ANGEL
"EXILE ON MAIN STREET"
HAPPY / ALL DOWN THE LINE

exactly. Golden era because of great albums/singles and amazing live band.

Beggars Banquet, Let it Bleed, Sticky Fingers, Exile on Main Street.

Nuff said.

I think Havo makes a very good point. The Stones were certainly at their peak in terms of consistency during the 1968-72 period, yet the earlier period did represent a greater diversity of sounds and influences and even if not everything worked necessarily, many of their early songs have been grossly ignored. Steel Wheels and Voodoo Lounge seem to attract a much higher profile than Aftermath and Between The Buttons, despite the group appearing as pretty much a spent force by the 80s. I think much of this reason is due to the fact that the pre 68 material lacks sophistication.

Quote
tatters

Quote
Mathijs
In my opinion the golden era is '77 to '83, they truly were at their best both live and in the studio in my opinion.

Mathijs

It's your opinion that Undercover is a better album than Exile On Main Street?

That's a definitive no. But, Exile is Exile, an album so good it basically outranks any rock album. It set a standard that even the Stones could not match -or matched before.

But to be honest, I hardly ever play the album anymore. I crank it out loud 2 or 3 times a year, and then it reminds me again that it's the best ever rock album ever made. But I listen far, far more to the '77 to '84 period, and then not even so much the official albums. It's the Pathe Marconi outtakes from '77 to '79 and '82 to '84 that really gets me. It's the Chris Kimsey sound I just adore, and it features the band at its best musically -if you want to hear weaving listen to Wood and Richards in this period, and also at its most adventures, exploring anything between punk, rock, blues, disco and reggae. There really isn't a better live band to be found in the '77 to '83 period. The Pathe Marconi sessions are mostly recorded in a live setting.

I love the Boogie MkI sound, I love Charlie's Gretsch with China, I love Bill's grooving and walking bass, I love the coked sloppiness of Jagger.


Mathijs

Albums aside, I still believe their greatest era singles-wise, is from 1964-1969 – basically, their Decca years.

They may have went on to release the likes of Sticky Fingers and Exile On Main St, but that great run of singles that yielded such classics as The Last Time, Paint It, Black, Lets Spend The Night Together, We Love You, Jumpin’ Jack Flash, et al, is The Rolling Stones, IMO.

someone posted it on another thread in simlar words:

1963-1972 best band ever. untouchable.
1973 -1983 very good band
1984 - 2009 good and still better then most of the other crap...