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seitan
Undercover is the worst album they ever did. I would rather listen to Bridgest to Babylon, Bigger Bang, Dirty Work, - you name it. Undercover is Crap. It´s not guitar driven - in fact, guitars are buried in the mix and the drums dont sound like real drums at all, no natural sound whatsoever, - drums sound like beats from a mickey mouse computere game. Nintendo drums. It dont feel like the Stones album at all - it feels like eighties radio friendly whimpy Jagger solo album. No balls. Violence is childish and stupid - and this record dont have a violent sound, it´s not aggressive like previous albums - listen to Gimme Shelter or Live With Me if you want violent sounds. I threw this album out the window like a frisbee when I first heard it.

It lacks energy. You want guitar driven music - how about punk rock bands. Compare. If you want guitar driven music, then surely every other Stones album has more guitars than this one. Guitar should be loud in the mix - and those keyboards, oh my god - horrible.

The mix of the Undercover could had been better, especially when looking back - maybe it sounded fresh in 1983 though. Yet - it's allright, only that it could've been better. But I can't understand how you can say that Dirty Work, Steel Wheels or ABB is better sounding - those ones are absolutely horrible soundwise. ABB differs from the 2 first mentioned ones, as it's horrible in a different way; because it's digitally compressed to the extreme.

<<not guitar driven>>....if you listened closer, you'd hear that Ronnie and Keith does a fantastic job throughout the record. They're not that loud in the mix, but that's not a problem. It's a much bigger problem that they're not mixed completely out of the mix on some of their later records/concerts

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Palace Revolution 2000
Wanna Hold You - 6.5 (never really caught on with that one; it's also too long IMO)

On certain US LP pressings of Undercover, and on some German CD editions, Wanna Hold You was shortended. Not a favourite song of mine either.

I think the UC mix is reasonably good (better than TY and even SG), it just lacks bass - at least on listening to the CD release.

Although as I perviously mentioned, the UCotN drums (on vinyl) used to pound the speakers

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WeLoveYou
I think the UC mix is reasonably good (better than TY and even SG), it just lacks bass - at least on listening to the CD release.

Although as I perviously mentioned, the UCotN drums (on vinyl) used to pound the speakers

I think that some songs are really excellent sounding, like Undercover of The Night, especially the 12" version, Pretty Beat Up and Too Much Blood

But other songs like Wanna Hold You, Too Tough and All The Way Down doesn't really work.....mix-wise, that is. Especially the 2 last mentioned on there would had a very different feel if they had more "live sounding" guitars.

Oh no, not another "accidental masterpiece"!

Hannah Montana is more dangerous and rock n roll than this crap..and I hate Hannah Montana.

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seitan
Hannah Montana is more dangerous and rock n roll than this crap..and I hate Hannah Montana.

I hear you sometime comes as a man of peace; maybe later ?

DANGER:

Fantastic album, in my top 3 Stones albums. Raw, aggressive, dangerous, violence, sex. Yes, a bit dated, but so is Aftermath, Beggars and Exile. It sure is the best ever Jagger lead vocal album!

Undercover - 10. Fantastic vocals by Mick, great, great guitars. Might be best Ron Wood parts ever.
She Was Hot - 10. Again fantastic vocals, great piano, fantastic rocker.
Tie You Up - 10. More great vocals by Mick, great guitars, fantastic break.
Wanna Hold You - 4. Boring. Probably the worst Richards solo song, after the worst, incidentally.
Feel On Baby - 8. Great bass by Wyman, and the outtakes are even better. Lovely percussion, nice baking vocals.
Too Much Blood - 10. Best ever Stones dance track. Love the 12 inch even better, what a groove!
Pretty Beat Up - 10. I think it is one of my favourite Stones tracks ever. The vocals, the riff, the bass, and listen to that SAX!
Too Tough - 9. Great rocker, great vocal delivery.
All The Way Down - 9. Great chorus, great vocals, great guitars.
It Must Be Hell - 8. yeah it is the same riff as Honky Tonk and Soul Survivor, but it its good its good!

Mathijs

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Mathijs
Fantastic album, in my top 3 Stones albums. Raw, aggressive, dangerous, violence, sex. Yes, a bit dated, but so is Aftermath, Beggars and Exile. It sure is the best ever Jagger lead vocal album!

Undercover - 10. Fantastic vocals by Mick, great, great guitars. Might be best Ron Wood parts ever.
She Was Hot - 10. Again fantastic vocals, great piano, fantastic rocker.
Tie You Up - 10. More great vocals by Mick, great guitars, fantastic break.
Wanna Hold You - 4. Boring. Probably the worst Richards solo song, after the worst, incidentally.
Feel On Baby - 8. Great bass by Wyman, and the outtakes are even better. Lovely percussion, nice baking vocals.
Too Much Blood - 10. Best ever Stones dance track. Love the 12 inch even better, what a groove!
Pretty Beat Up - 10. I think it is one of my favourite Stones tracks ever. The vocals, the riff, the bass, and listen to that SAX!
Too Tough - 9. Great rocker, great vocal delivery.
All The Way Down - 9. Great chorus, great vocals, great guitars.
It Must Be Hell - 8. yeah it is the same riff as Honky Tonk and Soul Survivor, but it its good its good!

Mathijs

I admire your passion for this record but don't share it.

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Palace Revolution 2000


Is it the last real Stones record?

That was Beggars Banquet!

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Mathijs
Fantastic album, in my top 3 Stones albums. Raw, aggressive, dangerous, violence, sex. Yes, a bit dated, but so is Aftermath, Beggars and Exile. It sure is the best ever Jagger lead vocal album!

One of the most pathetic albums in musical history. I bet you like Huey Lewis & The News too and you love Beverly Hills Cop soundtrack, dont you ? ...and you wear Ski sport clothings and you have huge hairdo. Dont you ?

Where the analog synthesizers and the earliest drum machines of the ’60s and ’70s were intriguing new instruments in their own rights, the eighties radio friendly, sterile whimpy albums like Undercover tried to “improve” upon acoustic keyboards and drums, and wound up sounding artificial and pretentious.

Every era in the history of popular music has its resurgence as fans experience the inevitable midlife crisis and yearn to revisit the "glory days" of their youth. There are indeed '80s sounds worth recalling, including the groundbreaking work of indie punk bands and the pioneering music made by early hip-hop innovators.

However, - The fake “breathy” strings sound of a Yamaha DX-7 keyboard and gated Mickey Mouse snare drum sounds of Undercover era Stones - sorry I have to puke, - were tired five minutes after they were invented.

On Exile on Main Street and Beggars - it was real rock n roll, blues and country muisc - natural, real - and it still sounds great and ballsy to this day - there is nothing artificial about those albums.

The only good thing I could say about Undercover - if I really try hard to pretend that I'm deaf and stupid - is to say that Whoah - look at that music video !! Look at those yellow pants that Jagger was wearing and shoulder tops - yeah, I guess those Julian Temple videos were pioneering...as they were horrible.. Image has always been important in pop music, and in the birth of music television — and the trumpeting of style over musical content, - the video of "undercover of the night" may be the only thing worth of mentioning. People always say they remember the eighties videos, not the songs. No wonder - It all sucked.

The ’80s were a turbulent decade as the rich got richer and the poor hung on for dear life. Alternative punk bands railed against the political policies of neo nazis like Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher, while bores like Jagger had no real conscience about pandering to things like violence and sexism.

Go seitan, go!

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His Majesty
Go seitan, go!

yeah, the guy's on fire!

- Doxa

Undercover is from 1983 so it is not completely worthless like for exemple Dirty Work of 1986. I listened to Armatradings -86-album today, and that too is a total waste...

2 1 2 0

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KRiffhard

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Palace Revolution 2000


Is it the last real Stones record?

Yes. After Undercover started the parody of themselves.

I like the record, not their best for sure, but there is still a feeling of the Stones, so I would agree that it is the last real Stones record (Dirty WOrk being the record from the transition/ divorce process;-)

My ratings (1-10)


Undercover - 7 (too much 80's production, but ok)
She Was Hot - 5 (nice, but boring)
Tie You Up - 10 (re-discover this gem again recently)
Wanna Hold You - 7 (repetative, but nice)
Feel On Baby - 4 (so so)
Too Much Blood - 8 (dance track, love it)
Pretty Beat Up - 5 (ok)
Too Tough - 4 (should be on ABB ;=)
All The Way Down - 7 (ok)
It Must Be Hell - 3 (3 beacuse at least inspired Michael Jackson)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2012-02-22 01:04 by johnypar.

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Doxa

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His Majesty
Go seitan, go!

yeah, the guy's on fire!

- Doxa

Yeah! seitan rules the underworld!

(too much?!)

I thought it was kind of an odd-sounding record after two years on the road.
Of course I loved it then (and now). The guitars sound totally different than the 2-3 previous records. In that interview with Kimsey, he says he was pretty much told "go ahead, mix the entire thing." I don't think it's dated as much as some say, but you can hear bits of what's to come next (Dirty Work).

So I played Undecover last night.

And... during "Too Much Blood" I thought... there are no guitars on this track... except bass... none... well someone doing a very un-Stones funky one string thing... this is a Mick solo.

I wonder what Keith was thinking.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2012-02-22 09:11 by GravityBoy.

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GravityBoy
So I played Undecover last night.

And... during "Too Much Blood" I thought... there are no guitars on this track... except bass... none... this is a Mick solo.

Oh but there are guitars there, with some tensioned and suitable scratching/picking - great effect, IMO

Sorry I edited my post before you got in.

Yes, but that's not Ron or Keith playing that.

Mick: "It was just Charlie [Watts] and Bill [Wyman]. And one of our roadies called Jim Barber, he was playing guitar on it too"

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GravityBoy
Sorry I edited my post before you got in.

Yes, but that's not Ron or Keith playing that.

I don't know if it's Ron, Keith or Jim Barber. But I don't see why it matters who's doing it. Why should that fact change ones view of what one is hearing?

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GravityBoy
Mick: "It was just Charlie [Watts] and Bill [Wyman]. And one of our roadies called Jim Barber, he was playing guitar on it too"

Jim Barber is playing all of the guitars? Don't know if I believe that, Jagger's often wrong on these things, as he's thinking about who's playing before all the overdubs took place. But anyway - I don't see why it matters

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Erik_Snow

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GravityBoy
Sorry I edited my post before you got in.

Yes, but that's not Ron or Keith playing that.

I don't know if it's Ron, Keith or Jim Barber. But I don't see why it matters who's doing it. Why should that fact change ones view of what one is hearing?

Just another Stones song where guitars are marginalised.

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GravityBoy

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Erik_Snow

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GravityBoy
Sorry I edited my post before you got in.

Yes, but that's not Ron or Keith playing that.

I don't know if it's Ron, Keith or Jim Barber. But I don't see why it matters who's doing it. Why should that fact change ones view of what one is hearing?

Just another Stones song where guitars are marginalised.

I take it you don't care for songs like Memory Motel and I Just Wanna See His Face either ?

I'm just saying, you want to see where the cracks start then it's Mick solo stuff like this.

I can't believe that Keith was happy with the disco direction.

I think the comment above which most rings true for me is that they had gone so far away from anything with blues or country roots. So much artifice and production. I liked the title track as a one-off experiment kind of thing. I think it worked. But a whole album sounding like that - ugh. I really thought at the time that stuff like Too Much Blood, Pretty Beat Up and Tie You Up was hitting a new low. She was hot stuck safely to the tried-and-true formula that was already close to exhausted on tattoo You, and I Wanna Hold You was practically a throwaway from Keith. The videos were splashy and very 80s-MTV. Seemed very cool at the time, but have not aged well at all. I don't know if anyone else shares this view, but where was Keith during all this? Seems a very "Mick" album to me.

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71Tele
I don't know if anyone else shares this view, but where was Keith during all this? Seems a very "Mick" album to me.

Here's Keith during all this

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71Tele
I think the comment above which most rings true for me is that they had gone so far away from anything with blues or country roots. So much artifice and production.

What I like is that they dared to stray away from the tried and tested, been there and done it, blues and country roots. In that field they just didn't have to say, nor could they say anything anymore, as has been proven by each and every record since 1989. Every record since '89 is cliche Stones music, really nothing new, and lacking any danger and inspiration. Undercover is from a time when they where still a band that musically mattered, that had not yet involved yet into this Stones Tribute Nostalgia act. For that alone I admire the album.

Mathijs