I picked my 23 year old daughter up at the airport last night. I was listening to Steel Wheels, (which I have never really cared for) and my daughter wanted to know who the band was. She liked the song Hold on to your Hat but thought the rest was boring. She felt that the Stones sounded like a bunch of old guys trying to come to grips with their age.

I thought about it and it seems to me that she was pretty much dead on. This also seems like a more personal disc vs. others they have done. Mick seems to open up on this one. I listened to again this morning and I am starting to view it differently.

I also found it a little sad that a 23 year old couldn';t reconize the Stones and really didn't know much about them. I have obviously failed her. (Maybe Demon is right, I should be killed

I know we've probably covered it but what are thoughts on Steel Wheels?

Keith of course is completely straight

They got it dead to rights with "Sad, Sad, Sad" but the rest is shakey.

The good songs were to glossily produced (Rock In A Hard Place, Mixed Emotions, Hear You Sigh) though that WAS the style of the era. Bad songs like "'Hat" just rely on bombast to put them over. And "Continental Drift" put a stake right thru the heart of side two.

I say this though I admit, I haven't listened to the album in eons (rather just the hits from 40 Licks, etc.)

I know how you feel. I have a 10year old and 14 year old. Both have been to Stones concerts and they love the Band. Voodoo Lounge was what I turned them on and TATOO YOU...after that it was Sticky Fingers and Let it Bleed... these records are still very relevant today. They are Funky, cool lyrics, great ballads and of course the hits. Don't give up she will come around to them. Maybe, Steel Wheels is a record that has to grow on you over time where the other ones have songs with the potential of immediate impact which could leed to a couriosity of the rest of the bands catalog. Now, my kids love the old old songs.. out of time, heart of stone, satisfaction etc. However my 10 year olds fav is WILD HORSES and my 15 year olds fav is YOU GOT THE SILVER. If you have a chance take her to a show....get DADDY and daughter show.. and just watch her face grow with smiles as the BAND PLAYS ON!

Sorry my grammer sucks. I meant a GREAT daddy and Daughter day not "get Daddy and daughter show".

My 11 year old son likes Take it or Leave it, Stupid Girl (of course) and doncha bother me. I think it's an age thing with my duaghter...23 years old. Hip Hop, Rap and R&B. She thinks she has "street cred" becasue she lives in NYC .

Steel Wheels is poorly produced. I have the "clean" sound of it. Even Hearts for Sale could have been really nasty but it seems to clean. Still I'm looking at the lyrical content of the disc differently.

Keith of course is completely straight

Agree this is a poorly-produced disc. Sounds at times like some of Mick's solo stuff.

Much better to introduce the youngsters to the neglected classic Dirty Work ( I know you like this one Cafaro!):

"Don't matter if you ain't so good looking
If you ain't sharp as a blade
Don't be afraid
Don't hold back"

karl

I like it very much, and I'm also 23 like Cafaro's daughter. But it produced too slickly. VL and B2B holds up way better then SW I think.

BTW: I don't agree that they sound like a bunch of old guys trying to come to grips with their age. Not at all. It's some good songs, but as I said: VL and B2B are way better......


JumpingKentFlash

For a person who is facing a capital punishment you sound quite relaxed, cafaro!

But I still have mixed emotions about Steel Wheels.. I haven't dared to give it another listen for many years.. Maybe I should. But I remember how much that album was waited! And in that hype (a tour coming on)), it really sounded so much better (fresh, inspiring) than Dirty Work and Undercover at the day of its release.. a real 'come back' to the form..But it hasn't aged very well - or that what I have always thought. Maybe I'm wrong..

- Doxa

Doxa,
I'm relaxed bacuase I've lived a good life. Seen the Greatest Rock and Roll Band in the World a few times. Have a lot of good friends, great family,so I figure it's better to go via capital punishment than to just have my body explode while driving to dinner from past abuses of the late 70s and 80s.

I can see what my daughter meant by the "old guys" remark becuase if you listen to Almost Heawr you Sigh, Rock In A Hard Place and Slippin Away..it sounds like the singer is weary and worried about getting old and being left behind. Even Mixed Emotions echos some of that.

Keith of course is completely straight

I never really adored SW
Talking about 23-year old girls, my girlfriend is 25. Not a rock fan, and not a Stones fan at all. When I met her, she said she didn't know the Stones, but the fact is she likes quite a bunch of songs.

She knew about half the songs featured on 40 Licks (yes, I started her education slowly), but for a lot of the songs she knew, she had no idea it was the Stones (Anybody Seen... - Wild horses etc.)

In fact she's more into the ballads (Fool to cry - Worried about you - Wild horses - Angie) and the big hits (Start me Up, Miss You)

Still, she's sincerely looking forward to seeing them on stage during the next tour, which is a big satisfaction for me



[doctorstonesblog.blogspot.com]

as I am reading all these posts on this issue. I think its a great post. because for us hard core fans who bitch about the set-lists.. I can almost understand why the Stones do bring out the warhorses when they do. I believe with Radioplay and tv ads etc... it is those songs that the fimiliarity of the Stones get to reach the younger audience and allows the Stones to reach them. I mean after seeing Zeppelin ( not comparing....I know.. dont go there lol ) I loved hearing Stairway... but that lead or Led me the third album ( MY FAV ) and now Tangerine and Since Ive been loving you are my fav songs... So, for me it was the warhorses that lead me to the rest of the catalog....So, I guess that could be a reason why the stones play the horses as much as they do. I dont know just my opinion.. but great topic to think about! "How can the Stones reach Cafaro's 23 y/o daughter" and make a fan out of her?????

Well,
I don't know if the Stones care about reaching new 23 year old fans (except for groupie purposes). But like you say...what songs could turn on a 23 year old who listens to Usher, BLack Eyed Peas, and white bands that wear skull caps?

Start Me up? Gimmie Shelter? Miss You? She Thought that Hold On To Your HAt was cool baecause it was loud and hard. I don;t know if Satisfaction or JJF will do it. She thought Aerosmith was ok but didn;t know any of the old stuff.

Keith of course is completely straight

Aerosmith is a great band ( no comparing again... I know I know ),However they are more POP culture oriented... not as dark. Plus steven's daughter has been on Teenbeat mag and all the teenage pop crap... so your daughter has been exposed to more of them than the stones.... Plus The Stones are still concidered bad-boys the pop culture.. ie: smoking on stage and crap like that. To the fans and fans to come that is a really cool aspect of who they are.. its getting them ( kids or younger adults ) that is the harder issue due to the POP culture factor... I don't know... sounds good but the again its not lunchtime and I am on my 5th cup of coffee..lol

Hey here is an idea.... try the cool movie appoach. Get her ( if she doesnt have them ) Cool movies which feature a Stones song in them ie : Interview with a Vampire ( last song is SFTD ) or the Densel Washington movie where the Spirit jumps from person to person and they sind TIME IS ON MY SIDE through out... there are others where Stones music is used in really cool situations. I dont know, I have to refill my cup

Whoopie Goldbergs early movie... funny as hell...called. JUMPIN JACK FLASH!!!

Whoopie Goldbergs early movie... funny as hell...called. JUMPIN JACK FLASH!!!

Good Idea....she knows Casino and GoodFellas and Stones songs are in those. SOmeone posted a while back that the Stones wouldn't make it if they were a "new " band today and with their recent releases, I must agree. I just don't see a lot of 23 year olds buying Exile.

Take it easy on the coffee.....that stuff will kil ya

Keith of course is completely straight

I think if the Stones would start now, they probably had a chance.
Because now (retro) Rock seems to be in again. Just look at bands like The Libertines, The Kings Of Leon, Franz Ferdinand, The Thrills,...
Ok - they are sucessfull because theere has been Rock before them, but generally speaking, if any band would release an album like Some Girls, Sticky Fingers or Exile now I think it would be a success.

Don't you think that the time for a new Stones album is right now? All these new bands say that they are influenced by the Stones - that should make some younger people aware of the Stones' music. And if the new album is a bit more back to the roots and well promoted- it could sell really good.
Somehow we are lucky now - because Mick is always trying to be "in" - it's "in" now to be retro :-)

Sorry, I got off topic now.
My favourites on Steel Wheels are the slower numbers, Blinded By Love, Almost Hear You Sigh, Slippin Away, Can't Be Seen. Sad Sad Sad is somehow cool to - I don't care much for the other songs. There's one song I can't stand: Break The Spell.

Cafaro, has your daughter ever been to Europe - can you tell her she's very welcome to stay with me in Vienna - perhaps I can convince her that not only her dad and some old men like the Stones, but also some young people ;-)

Break the Spell is one of the two redeeming songs on the album; the other being AHYS.

A weak album, let's be honest. We rooted like hell for it after a 6 year hiatus and we were disappointed as hell at the result.

Here's hoping an 8-year break is better than a 6-year bender....

"But like you say...what songs could turn on a 23 year old who listens to Usher, BLack Eyed Peas, and white bands that wear skull caps?"

Give it a few years. By the time she's 26 those acts will have either shot each other, OD'ed or gotten roles on bad TV sitcoms. She'll come around.

We had this discussion in the staffroom at
work recently. Being in Toronto, most of us
had been at Sars Stock. The younger adults
by and large didn't relate to the Stones
at all, couldn't understand the fuss.
I tried to explain, they suffered
me gladly, but I could tell they
weren't convinced, tho they do
like some of the old hot rocks,
on cd................

I think that 80's sound so prevalent on SW has led to it getting a bad press as it's dated badly.

At the time, we thought we would never get a new Stones album again so when it arrived, with a tour to follow, it was a wonderful event.

I think about a third of it is excellent, a third good and a third weak.

What IS excellent is truly magnificent however.

Continental Drift is for me the greatest thing the Stones have done in the last 30 years.

Almost Hear You Sigh is a gorgeous song, as is Slipping Away.

it just hasn't aged well at all. the best testament is how often you have the urge to spin it - that urge hasn't hit me in at least 5 years.....

My daughter is only 8, and she enjoyed some of the performances on "Four Flicks".

Regarding the sound of Steel Wheels, it was the Last time the Stones teamed up with Cris Kimmsey. If you look back, starting with Some Girls, alwasy produced Stones albums that sonically sounded bright (with the exception of Undercover which for the most part is a very dense sounding album, similar to Exile in the mixing). Some Girls, Emotional, Tattoo and Steel Wheels all have the common thread, vocals not buried, guitars slightly "cleaner" sounding. Thatw as Kimmsey's touch.

Milo, NYC
It's no capital crime

"My daughter is only 8, and she enjoyed some of the performances on "Four Flicks"."

I suppose it is funny to see old grandpapas behaving like that... "Look honey, the guy aping the monkey in the front is the age of your grandpa.."

- Doxa