I bought black and blue when it came out and never really liked it apart from a couple of tracks. I still feel this way even after all these years,i was wondering what everyone else thinks of this album.

I don't care much for Fool to Cry or Cherry Oh Baby, but I love the rest!

[thepowergoats.com]

one of best,with lots of diffrent music,ilove it

its not a bad album but its to short and has weak songs on it , but also has a couple of classics, strange album

Perhaps best way to describe it...strange album

Wish they could have recorded every album that way. So crisp and clean.
Love Hand of Fate, Hey Negrita, Crazy Mama, and Memory Motel. Imagine IORR with that kind of sound!

Hot Stuff, Hand of Fate, Hey Negrita, Crazy Mama - four of my favourite 70's tracks

[thepowergoats.com]

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TeaAtThree
Wish they could have recorded every album that way. So crisp and clean.
Love Hand of Fate, Hey Negrita, Crazy Mama, and Memory Motel. Imagine IORR with that kind of sound!

I agree! Anyone know why there is such a disparity in sound?

When was Its only RnR recorded? Late '73 early '74? Black n Blue, late '74??

luv it from start to finish. one of my fave stones records....

1. "Hot Stuff" - perhaps a precursor to the disco era but the lead guitar in the middle of the song is pretty stunning and definitely not disco-like.
2. "Hand of Fate" - Still think the main riff is striking and Mick’s vocals are some of his best to date.
3. "Cherry Oh Baby" - Caribbean influence starting to take hold, campy vocals, great percussion and some fine keyboard work as well.
4. "Memory Motel" - Balladesque, but some pretty fine lyrics as well, some classic vocals by Mick as well.
5. "Hey Negrita" - More Caribbean rhythms, interesting though sometimes nonsensical lyrics – a bit of a toss away song.
6. "Melody" - Sounds like a leftover from Exile or IORR, great keyboards.
7. "Fool to Cry" - Poignant lyrics, bit overdone – falsetto creeping in, again, fine keyboards – lots of them on this album – perhaps subbing for Keith being somewhat “unavailable”?
8. "Crazy Mama" – The best song on the album me thinks. Great riff, great vocals, surprised this one isn’t more popular on a wider level.

I think it's time to unearth my old thread

IORR




HMN

I started a similar thread not long ago and was surprised by the amount of passion some folks have for this rather water-treading effort. The Stones, minus their brilliant guitarist, could only muster five new Jagger/Richards songs (two others credited to them having really been written by Ronnie Wood and Billy Preston, respectively). Hand of Fate is a decent second-tier open G number, Fool To Cry has not aged very well, Cherry Oh Baby is Cherry Oh B-Side, and even the much-loved Memory Motel is lyrically subpar - sentimentality masquerading as deep feeling (though the Keith vocal redeems it somewhat). As for Melody, I just do NOT want to hear Billy Preston singing on a Stones album (nothing against Billy).

Love This Album ! Very diverse . Billy Preston got robbed though because Melody sure ain't Keith and Micks idea . And the lead on Hand Of Fate is stunning even if its not done by a Stone . Wayne Perkins I believe . Recorded well . Clean sound except for Crazy Mama which is a show-stopper .

i like the sound of the record.

and memory motel, melody, and fool to cry are in my top 20 rolling stones tracks.

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71Tele
I started a similar thread not long ago and was surprised by the amount of passion some folks have for this rather water-treading effort. The Stones, minus their brilliant guitarist, could only muster five new Jagger/Richards songs (two others credited to them having really been written by Ronnie Wood and Billy Preston, respectively). Hand of Fate is a decent second-tier open G number, Fool To Cry has not aged very well, Cherry Oh Baby is Cherry Oh B-Side, and even the much-loved Memory Motel is lyrically subpar - sentimentality masquerading as deep feeling (though the Keith vocal redeems it somewhat). As for Melody, I just do NOT want to hear Billy Preston singing on a Stones album (nothing against Billy).

well if yer gonna be nitpicky...

Very good album. Don't like the crao version of Cherry Oh Baby and Melody is boring. Otherwise great.

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StonesTod

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71Tele
I started a similar thread not long ago and was surprised by the amount of passion some folks have for this rather water-treading effort. The Stones, minus their brilliant guitarist, could only muster five new Jagger/Richards songs (two others credited to them having really been written by Ronnie Wood and Billy Preston, respectively). Hand of Fate is a decent second-tier open G number, Fool To Cry has not aged very well, Cherry Oh Baby is Cherry Oh B-Side, and even the much-loved Memory Motel is lyrically subpar - sentimentality masquerading as deep feeling (though the Keith vocal redeems it somewhat). As for Melody, I just do NOT want to hear Billy Preston singing on a Stones album (nothing against Billy).

well if yer gonna be nitpicky...

It's the Stones! Of course I'm gonna be nitpicky. I have been equally nitpicky in a positive way about Exile and Sticky Fingers.

recording and soundwise in the top 3 of all stones records.
sometimes i'f even say it's their best production.
2 more good songs and it would be an absolute classic...but still it remains an album i never really know quite where to put...strange album is good description!

My pat answer concerning my feelings about the album over the years is as follows: Though it may not be considered a classic Rolling Stones album, it is an underrated one. Translated, it means that I feel its a lot better than it is given credit for.
A lot of people over the years have pushed this idea that Some Girls was a comeback album by the band. It depends upon how you look at it philosophically. I don't think the band ever left. They always kept on rocking in their own way. The debate then becomes just how good they were doing it by this point in the band's career. They continued being a rock and roll band and not leaving the public eye by going out on tour with Ronnie Wood a year before the album was released. In this regard, the Stones never left. It just becomes a debate of whether you feel Wood did a good job after the departure of Taylor.
In my mind, the more important question of all isn't so much about the Black and Blue album. It's about the Some Girls album. Philosophically speaking, while the Some Girls album is a good album, it is overrrated in its importance to the band's history. Why? Because the Stones never left and therefore never required a comeback album to begin with.

I just feel the reggae songs dont fit and let it down.Im not saying they are not good songs i just feel they should be on another album

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72stones
My pat answer concerning my feelings about the album over the years is as follows: Though it may not be considered a classic Rolling Stones album, it is an underrated one. Translated, it means that I feel its a lot better than it is given credit for.
A lot of people over the years have pushed this idea that Some Girls was a comeback album by the band. It depends upon how you look at it philosophically. I don't think the band ever left. They always kept on rocking in their own way. The debate then becomes just how good they were doing it by this point in the band's career. They continued being a rock and roll band and not leaving the public eye by going out on tour with Ronnie Wood a year before the album was released. In this regard, the Stones never left. It just becomes a debate of whether you feel Wood did a good job after the departure of Taylor.
In my mind, the more important question of all isn't so much about the Black and Blue album. It's about the Some Girls album. Philosophically speaking, while the Some Girls album is a good album, it is overrrated in its importance to the band's history. Why? Because the Stones never left and therefore never required a comeback album to begin with.

I don't agree with your reasoning. I remember quite well when Some Girls came out. In fact, I was driving across the desert from Phoenix to LA to see Bob Dylan for the first time. The LA radio station had the album before it was released, and without any fanfare they played a cut about every half hour. It was fantastic! The band had been mired in a gradual decline for three straight albums. Keith Richards was in the worst shape ever around '76-'77 (on some of those 76 shows he was really scary, nodding off onstage). Their best instrumentalist had left in late '74. Some Girls was a completely fresh sound. From the uptempo songs to the twangy thrashy Fenders, it was a surprising comeback for the band. Yes, technically they had never really "left", but they certainly seemed as if they could "go" at any minute (there was even talk of replacing Richards), and suddenly they came out with this.

That's my interpretation, anyway.

Great album with great songs.
Very underrated.
Always loved it.

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Honestman
I think it's time to unearth my old thread

IORR

Yep, had this not too long ago. Hand of Fate and Crazy Mama make it worth the purchase price. Other tunes ain't bad, except for Hot Stuff. I have the album autographed.

I think it ranks low among Stones seventies albums, but Stones seventies albums rank pretty high.

I'm very fond of this album,wasn't that impressed when it first came out but it has matured very well.

Totally agree. Some Girls EXPLODED in the summer of '78 and really was the last major release where record stores would stack the vinyl and you could watch it sell. B&B is underrated but the Stones were definitely in a downward spiral.

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71Tele

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72stones
My pat answer concerning my feelings about the album over the years is as follows: Though it may not be considered a classic Rolling Stones album, it is an underrated one. Translated, it means that I feel its a lot better than it is given credit for.
A lot of people over the years have pushed this idea that Some Girls was a comeback album by the band. It depends upon how you look at it philosophically. I don't think the band ever left. They always kept on rocking in their own way. The debate then becomes just how good they were doing it by this point in the band's career. They continued being a rock and roll band and not leaving the public eye by going out on tour with Ronnie Wood a year before the album was released. In this regard, the Stones never left. It just becomes a debate of whether you feel Wood did a good job after the departure of Taylor.
In my mind, the more important question of all isn't so much about the Black and Blue album. It's about the Some Girls album. Philosophically speaking, while the Some Girls album is a good album, it is overrrated in its importance to the band's history. Why? Because the Stones never left and therefore never required a comeback album to begin with.

I don't agree with your reasoning. I remember quite well when Some Girls came out. In fact, I was driving across the desert from Phoenix to LA to see Bob Dylan for the first time. The LA radio station had the album before it was released, and without any fanfare they played a cut about every half hour. It was fantastic! The band had been mired in a gradual decline for three straight albums. Keith Richards was in the worst shape ever around '76-'77 (on some of those 76 shows he was really scary, nodding off onstage). Their best instrumentalist had left in late '74. Some Girls was a completely fresh sound. From the uptempo songs to the twangy thrashy Fenders, it was a surprising comeback for the band. Yes, technically they had never really "left", but they certainly seemed as if they could "go" at any minute (there was even talk of replacing Richards), and suddenly they came out with this.

That's my interpretation, anyway.

Some Girls EXPLODED in the summer of '78

YEAH '78 sure was a very dangerous year ta be a girl ....



ROCKMAN

daddy you're a fool to cry.

I love this album - even though I despise "Cherry".

I love this album. Not 'It's GREAT! Better than...' but I just love it, even though I don't care for Cherry and Melody so much and even Fool To Cry (on too many hits comps reason). But having seen some live videos and heard some live boots of them playing whatever - Fool To Cry for one - sort of changed how I listen to the songs now.

How Black And Blue should be listened to:

Hot Stuff
Hand Of Fate
Slave
Memory Motel
Worried About You
Hey Negrita
Fool To Cry
Crazy Mama