For information about how to use this forum please check out forum help and policies.
Quote
WeLoveToPlayTheBlues
I often go between SF and LIB as being their best album. Sometimes it's TY. SF is outstanding.
Quote
kammpberg
Here's my take on Sticky Fingers - the greatest Stones album ever.....
Sticky Fingers – 1971 (US #1; UK#1)
Brown Sugar • Sway • Wild Horses • Can’t You Hear Me Knocking • You Gotta Move •
Bitch • I Got The Blues • Sister Morphine • Dead Flowers • Moonlight Mile
Stones Fan – *****
Casual Listener - *****
Sticky Fingers was the first album The Stones released on their own Rolling Stones Records label. It was also the first new studio album they released in the new decade and the first full studio album featuring Mick Taylor. The legendary artwork was done by Andy Warhol and consisted of a man in tight jeans (front and back of the cover), highlighted by an actual working Cort zipper. If one opened the front cover, underneath was a man in tight white underwear, not leaving much to the imagination. For the remastered CD’s, this image has been moved to the back cover, probably for it’s “shock” value. The inner sleeve photo showcased the band with their relatively new young guitarist and most importantly the first appearance of their Rolling Stones Records tongue logo. This was clearly a new beginning for The Stones in a new decade and they were definitely going for an impact. To this day, they have never bettered the artwork for an album (though Exile came close). So, how about the music?
Sticky Fingers starts off with Brown Sugar. Keith starts off with one of the greatest, most recognizable riffs in the history of rock. But that’s not enough, after four measures of this incredible riff, with Charlie playing along on the floor tom, in comes a completely different riff propelled by driving acoustic guitar and we’re off as only The Stones can do. Mick’s vocals, with Keith kicking in on harmony, are rock and roll perfection. After two verses in comes the solo, but instead of a typical lead guitar solo, they kick it to Bobby Keys for a classic sax solo. Then in comes the blistering chorus with Mick shaking the maracas. There’s so much sound and power. It’s an incredible experience, even to this day – 38 years later. In fact, with the possible exception of Gimme Shelter opening Let It Bleed, there is no better opening on any Stones album. The lyrics – sex trade, drug trade – it doesn’t really matter, they’re just great. When the coda reaches “Yea Yea Yea Whoo”, it’s ecstasy and to this day a highlight of any Stones show. At the end, when Charlie ends with a roll on the tom, you can hear someone in the studio say “yea”. Amen brother. Oh, this was also a #1 US and #2 UK single. Imagine that? A classic rock song actually going to number one – those sure were the days.
A second of quiet and Mick counts in a ferocious guitar lick and starts singing about that demon life that’s got you in it’s Sway. Mick’s vocals were so powerful in the 70’s partly because his voice was part of the music’s mix. It’s another instrument in the musical sound, as opposed to a voice on top of the instruments. It was hard to hear what he was singing, but it sounded so damn great. Sway’s a perfect example of that. It’s an incredibly powerful song, especially because of Mick Taylor’s fluid, melodic leads throughout. Especially at the end where the piano and Paul Buckmaster’s orchestral background take Taylor’s lead lines higher and higher. You literally feel yourself take off. Supposedly Keith doesn’t even play on Sway, which is amazing considering how powerful The Stones sound here. This isn’t just music, it’s an experience. The Stones never even tried to perform this live until their Bigger Bang tour. It was a definite thrill, but they didn’t really pull it off. Mick’s vocals were too center stage in the mix, and they just can’t play live like that anymore, if they ever could. Listen to Carla Olson and Mick Taylor’s live “Too Hot For Snakes” album for a phenomenal live version of Sway.
Wild Horses is next. This is simply one of the greatest ballads in the history of rock. Listen closely and the delicate, yet powerful textures literally grab your heartstrings. Taylor’s harmonic notes, simple lead lines and over flowingly magnificent 12 string acoustic guitar weaving, backed with Charlie’s tasteful drum fills create an overwhelmingly warm beautiful atmosphere over serious melancholy lyrics. The beautiful acoustic guitar solo backed by only acoustic guitars build up to a classic Charlie Watt’s drum fill which kick into the chorus. It’s explosively powerful, yet so delicate at the same time. Jagger’s vocal and lyrics have never been better. The whole song is a beautiful poem set to gorgeous music. Again, his voice is part of the mix, yet the lyrics are clear and incredibly touching. At 5:40, it’s a long ballad, but that says something about the times in which commercial consideration was not a priority. It was issued in the US as the 2nd single and it peaked at a paltry #28. The song is too perfect to edit for commercial concerns, and thankfully they didn’t. The Stones tried to make it a hit again for Stripped in 1995, to no avail. Ballads don’t come any better than this and as much as I love The Flying Burrito Bros, no cover version comes close either. One complaint though, why do the remastered CD versions (both Virgin and Universal delete the opening single guitar note).
After floating on Wild Horses, you’re jolted by one of the greatest riffs, Keith ever came up with…the opening to Can’t You Hear Me Knocking. Bill’s bass is up in the mix with Charlie’s drums and Mick is screaming all about what you got. This is some serious rock. Then the band stops for a beat and in comes that amazing riff for another verse, but the guitar now is never stopping in that right speaker. That rhythm guitar is truly blistering and the howling vocals, drums, keyboards are swirling together building up, orgasmically right up to the 2:45 mark when the song stops and completely changes….congas, sax solo, jazzy rhythm come in and this is a Santana type jam led by sax solo and then another beautiful lead solo by Mick Taylor. Charlie’s now jazzing it up, drum fills, cymbal splashes…the riff changes for another buildup. The guitar solo building up with the drums. Now horns are accenting. Another closing melody for the finale that ends on a single cymbal crash. At over 7 minutes, the Stones have never sounded like this. No one has... this is unique music. The Stones finally tried to play this live on their Licks tour and it was great fun. Woody is no Mick Taylor, but then again, neither is Mick Taylor anymore.
After all that’s come before, You Gotta Move comes on as a nice respite. This is true blues slide guitar heaven, a total porch sing-along. Mick sounds like he’s having a blast as is Keith singing along in the background with his slide guitar, propelled by simple bass drum and cymbal crashes. They’re having a great time and so is the listener. The Stones started playing this live in 1969 (two years before the album) and they tried it again in 1975 and 1976 (on Love You Live) and it was a highlight on that show too with Billy Preston singing along.
What a first side (at least on the old vinyl version). But it doesn’t let up. Bitch starts off the second side like Brown Sugar did the first. With a classic riff that most bands would kill to get once in their whole career, and a single snare shot, we’re off again. Mick’s vocals are so powerful throughout, that even he yells whoo. This time, we get the reverse of Brown Sugar. The horns run throughout most of the song, pushing and pulling, and accenting. The horns with the weaving riff constantly taking the song higher. And instead of a sax solo, we get one of the greatest guitar solos in the Stones canon. And the solo keeps going, weaving in and out with the horns taking it higher to the end when Jagger starts singing Hey Hey Yea. This is a boiling cauldron of sound and the only way to end it is by fading it away. Someone explain to me, how Bitch is not played daily by classic rock stations. Does it get any better than this? No!
After that onslaught, they take it down. I Got The Blues is blues heaven. Jagger’s vocals are way upfront, backed by horns that are faded up and down to tremendous effect. Keith sings harmony on the “Everynight” bridge and that sure makes you miss those days when they sang together in unique harmony like that. Then Billy Preston comes in an incredible gospel type organ solo that’s almost overwhelming but works so well. Then into the final verse again pushed by the horns and Jagger threatening to bust his brains out and tear his hear out. He is singing his song for you. The Stones finally burst this one live on the No Security tour (except for the 1971 Marquee show). It was fantastic live.
Instead of raising the pulse, The Stones take you deeper even further with Sister Morphine. Jagger singing to a strummed acoustic guitar with electric slide guitar leads coming out the right speaker. This is seriously moody, disturbing music set to dark lyrics. It’s a perfect match that gets heightened as the drums and bass pound in for the next verse and last through to the finale. This is now a powerful dark rock song with twitchy lead lines sinewing throughout, matched by eerie keyboard fills and powerful drum and bass driving the song to a faded out ending. Marianne Faithful’s version is terrific, but this is moody yet powerful rock music. This is adventurous, scary and challenging music that Spain wouldn’t even allow on their version of the album (replaced by a live version of Let It Rock – see the Rarities collection from 2005).
After that, we can use a pick me up and we get it with Dead Flowers. Opening with nice friendly guitar strums, piano up front in the mix, pedal steel note highlights and Jagger singing in a wonderful country manner, this is catchy as hell, sing-along country rock at it’s best. Great lyrics, fantastic “Take Me Down” lead in and “Send Me Dead Flowers” chorus, it’s hard to get this one out of your head. This one album track is better than virtually all the popular country music of today. It’s another song that should be a staple of classic rock radio, if not classic country rock.
After some piano flourishes at the end of Dead Flowers, we hear acoustic guitar strummed in the right speaker. Then in comes a tom tom fill, atmospheric sounds and Jagger singing so wonderfully, creating a completely enveloping sound to fill the whole room. Again, this is moody atmospheric music but not dark like Sister Morphine. This is complex, powerful and symphonic music. Jagger is riding down your Moonlight Mile and so are we. Again a build up with a guitar lick buildup in the left speaker, floor tom beating almost like a tribal festival building to a climax. In comes a fantastic string arrangement from Paul Buckmaster to take you higher and higher. Jagger singing building up and up and then suddenly when we think this song will explode, Jagger takes us down, slowly and delicately on the acoustic guitar, with the atmospherics surrounding the sound, piano notes, strings, electric sounds. This is absolutely transfixing music. But it’s not enough. Now we are slowly building higher and higher with electric guitar in the left speaker, Jagger crescending higher and higher again until he and we can’t go any further but to end on a final strings coda. This is symphonic, almost progressive music at its best. The Stones finally played this one live on their No Security tour too, and it was amazing as well. Moonlight Mile is a masterpiece and a perfect way to end Sticky Fingers.
Sticky Fingers is not only the greatest Rolling Stones album, it’s one of the greatest albums ever made by anyone. Listen to this album and you’ll understand why The Rolling Stones are the greatest rock band ever. The Stones can do so many styles of music and do all of them so well, better than almost everyone else. Sticky Fingers has a sampling of so many styles: hard rock, ballad, blues, country, and deep atmospheric almost symphonic touches. It’s got almost everything (no dance or funk, but that’s to come), and it’s all so top notch. The sequencing is perfect, taking you on a musical journey. Whether through headphones or blasting through a stereo at home or in the car, it doesn’t get much better than this. Sticky Fingers should be near the top of every best classic album list, and every home should have one. I’ve heard this album since 1971 and to this day, it’s amazing, not dating one iota. It simply doesn’t get any better….anywhere. Sticky Fingers peaked at #1 on both sides of the Atlantic and was a huge commercial success. It’s also one of only four Stones albums since 1967 in which The Stones have played every song live.
Ah, Sway is the first song I listened to after reading this post...a masterpiece.Quote
71Tele
Even though I slightly prefer Exile as an album, I think "Sway" might have to be my all time favorite Stones recording, if I had to pick one.
Quote
howled
Sticky Fingers is the last great album by the Stones IMO.
Quote
71Tele
Even though I slightly prefer Exile as an album, I think "Sway" might have to be my all time favorite Stones recording, if I had to pick one.