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Rocky Dijon
I genuinely like Harlem Shuffle, Too Rude, Back To Zero, Dirty Work, Had It With YOu, and Sleep Tonight.

One Hit to the Body has great guitar work. Hold Back has a wonderful finish. The Winning Ugly 12" single is more interesting than the LP track. Fight has the same guitar break as on Too Tough on UNDERCOVER.

Those are the positive things I can say about the album.

Good points, Rocky. Especially the one with Fight/Too Tough. It annoyed me at the time. Still does...

It surely must be Ivan Neville on bass on Hold Back??

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DandelionPowderman

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Rocky Dijon
I genuinely like Harlem Shuffle, Too Rude, Back To Zero, Dirty Work, Had It With YOu, and Sleep Tonight.

One Hit to the Body has great guitar work. Hold Back has a wonderful finish. The Winning Ugly 12" single is more interesting than the LP track. Fight has the same guitar break as on Too Tough on UNDERCOVER.

Those are the positive things I can say about the album.

Good points, Rocky. Especially the one with Fight/Too Tough. It annoyed me at the time. Still does...

It surely must be Ivan Neville on bass on Hold Back??

Ivan Neville, Aaron's son, is playing bass. That one was a track we'd put down almost at the end of the sessions but never really considered, you know: Oh well, put that one on hold for another album. But Charlie's drums were SO strong and the arrangement was developed so well that all we needed really was to re-do the bass, because the sound wasn't up to par on it - we'd only done it as a kind of dub in Paris. So when Ivan walked in one night, it was, Hey, Ivan, get out there.
- Keith Richards, 1985

I like HS, OHTTB and TR. The rest is unlistenable to me.

Oh yeah, Sleep Tonight is also a nice song.

The cover says it all

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Thrylan
The cover says it all

Harlem Shuffle?

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Glammy
I like HS, OHTTB and TR. The rest is unlistenable to me.

I'll second those statements.

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DandelionPowderman

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Thrylan
The cover says it all

Harlem Shuffle?

Dig it, OH,...........god though, winning ugly, back to zero. How about a compilation of bad Mick/Chuck songs?

Win-naaaaaaaaanng, WIN-NAAAA-EEEE-NNNNNG Ug-lay-eeeee

Jack - If you like DW that is great. I just don't like the album.

I will go on record and admit to liking "Sleep Tonight".

hello friend. You want a reassessment? Well, here's mine from a while ago:

[montesnewblog.blogspot.com]

Always interesting to see this topic rear its head here every now and again. I'm with you - it's a great album to listen to!

Monte - A masterpiece? okay its probably not as bad as I make it out to be but a masterpiee NO!!! It has some merit One Hit, Harlem Shuffle and I forgot about Sleep Tonight which is Ok the rest I don't like Jagger does not sing well here and acts like he has had it with these guys. Many other players on the album as well. I don't know how much Charlie plays on it. Not a good album.

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MrMonte
hello friend. You want a reassessment? Well, here's mine from a while ago:

[montesnewblog.blogspot.com]

Always interesting to see this topic rear its head here every now and again. I'm with you - it's a great album to listen to!

I completely agree with pretty much EVERYTHING you said in this write up. You know who also agrees? Robert Christgau. He calls it "by FAR the most interesting album they made since Some Girls." I think it's way better than Undercover and a fascinating listen. Masterpiece might be taking it a bit far, since they already made so many that are indisputably so (including my personal favorite that people dispute regardless--Goats Head Soup, THE Stones album I'd have on a desert island!), but "accidental masterpiece" really sums it up nicely. I always liked it from the first time I heard it back in around 1989 or 1990 or so (can't recall at this point), but it's only gotten better with each phase I've had over time. The amount of times I've played it over the past 3 years have FAR outnumbered the overplayed Beggars thru Exile period, but that's also likely because of how much I overplayed those over the years. That said, spot-on review. It's nice to know you, Stylus Magazine, Robert Christgau and many others who have piped up on this thread amid the typical, unsurprising "what?! it SUCKS" type comments share my love (my love that's STRONG!) of this album. I love blasting it on vinyl, sometimes twice in a row. When have they EVER made an angrier album, before or after? And no matter how much people try to tear it down, I think it's their most genuine, lyrically. Of the entire canon. Over and out! --Karl

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slew
Monte - A masterpiece? okay its probably not as bad as I make it out to be but a masterpiee NO!!! It has some merit One Hit, Harlem Shuffle and I forgot about Sleep Tonight which is Ok the rest I don't like Jagger does not sing well here and acts like he has had it with these guys. Many other players on the album as well. I don't know how much Charlie plays on it. Not a good album.

Why is Jagger singing well on the 1972 tour, and not on DW? I never understood that...

I think his singing on tracks like Harlem Shuffle, One Hit, Dirty Work and Had it With You is excellent. On a few tracks he goes a bit over the top, but heck, it's Mick Jagger - same guy that sings "Hoy, beebah" on Tops

Jagger sounds uninspired not bad on DW I got the impression he'd rather be anywhere but singing with the Stones.

We have probably spent more time here discussing this turd than they ever spent recording it...

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slew
Monte - A masterpiece? okay its probably not as bad as I make it out to be but a masterpiee NO!!! It has some merit One Hit, Harlem Shuffle and I forgot about Sleep Tonight which is Ok the rest I don't like Jagger does not sing well here and acts like he has had it with these guys. Many other players on the album as well. I don't know how much Charlie plays on it. Not a good album.

Always doubt if it's Charlie playing on that uninspired monotone drums

__________________________

Does it deserve a reassessing? nope - I think Dirty Work is overrated, it's crap almost as horrible as Undercover, now, that's where they really lost the plot and created god awful crap, - the only descent use for Undercover and Dirty Work is to use them as a frisbees...Steel Wheels aint much better either, crapiola. Yuck.

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seitan
Does it deserve a reassessing? nope - I think Dirty Work is overrated, it's crap almost as horrible as Undercover, now, that's where they really lost the plot and created god awful crap, - the only descent use for Undercover and Dirty Work is to use them as a frisbees...Steel Wheels aint much better either, crapiola. Yuck.

i agree - except they really don't make very good frisbees either...they should have made them so they grip better.

Dirty Work is in fact their last great album after Tattoo you!
Better than Undercover and Steel wheels.
Better than "Voodoo L", "Bridges" and "Bigger Bang".
The whole work on DW is rough, dirty and angry.
I agree: They never have done such an angry album.
Doin' angry albums is much better for them as beeing stylish und uninspired or boring. And so it was in 1985!

Underrated? Not compared to the version of Dirty Work that was never released....

This was my review of Dirty Work from a few years ago:


Dirty Work – 1986 (US #4; UK#4)
One Hit (To The Body) • Fight • Harlem Shuffle • Hold Back • Too Rude •
Winning Ugly • Back To Zero • Dirty Work • Had It With You • Sleep Tonight

Stones Fan – **
Casual Listener - *


Dirty Work is a record of The Rolling Stones at their lowest, both artistically and commercially. It was supposed to be a new beginning on Columbia records. But as clearly documented on its horrible day-glow cover, Mick and Keith’s relationship was at rock bottom, and The Stones appear miserable. With Mick seemingly pre-occupied with his solo career (which was part of the new record contract), Keith and Woody take the helm, heavily aided by hot producer Steve Lillywhite. The fact that there’s two covers, two Keith lead vocals (for the first time ever), only three Jagger/Richards tunes and four Jagger/Richards/Woods tracks, all is clearly not good in the Stone’s camp. Interestingly, this was the first Stones album to print the lyrics, and they’re absolutely brutal in some cases.

The album opens with strummed acoustic guitars, suddenly sideswiped by the rawest, blood thirsting electric guitar chainsaw riffing possibly ever heard on a Stones record. Charlie and the band kick in extremely hard and powerfully. The lyrics match the brutality of the music as Jagger sings, “I don’t need no security, I just need me some peace” or “You did me some permanent harm, It’s hurting me”. Yet at the end “I can’t clean you out of my veins, it’s a life long addiction that has damaged my brain”. Along with it’s dark, angry video that at points looks like Jagger and Richards want to kill each other, One Hit (To The Body) is one of the most powerful, monster opening tracks The Stones have ever done.

The one / two punch literally continues with Fight, another brutal hard rock assault as Jagger screams “Gonna pulp you to a mass of bruises ‘cause that’s what you’re lookin’ for”. The Stones music has always been built around the guitar, but outside producer Steve Lillywhite created a massive drum sound on Dirty Work. The guitars are slashing away viciously here, but Charlie’s drums are equally big in the mix. These two opening tracks are not pretend. This is the Stones savagely attacking and with the matching lyrics, it’s a difficult, yet tremendously potent experience.

The Stones chose for the first time since the early 60’s, to release a cover as the lead single. Listening to the album, it was a wise choice as Harlem Shuffle (an old Bob and Earl song) is the only commercial track on the album, and it gave The Stones a hit, peaking at #5 in the States and #13 UK. Unfortunately the song is too slick and overproduced, and although The Stones substitute keyboards for the originals horns, they play it with little originality. Instead of “stonesifying” a cover, here they simply sound like a great cover band.

The Stones thrash back in with Hold Back, an overwhelming attack of hard rock and screaming vocals. Charlie’s drums are so loud and powerful, that it barely sounds like The Stones. It’s an uncompromising mess of loud, noisy mush that leads nowhere except as an onslaught. Jagger’s not holding back, but some dynamics and fine-tuning finesse are desperately needed here.

Keith takes his first lead vocal on the album on Too Rude, The Stones most authentic and successful take on reggae. Keith’s vocal as well as much of the musical interplay is heavily echoed, and although Charlie’s drums are again way upfront in the mix and powerful, this time it all comes together to great effect. Charlie’s echoed/repeated snare shots are super tasty, as are the guitar licks. Keith does a great live version of this on his solo shows.

After the wonderfully authentic vibe of Too Rude, side two’s opener comes on to jarring effect. Carried by a wonderful bass groove and Charlie’s loud snare (but little else from the drums – where’s the cymbals?), Winning Ugly is ruined by the heavy synth sound overlaying the track. Some nice guitar licks interweave throughout, and Jagger sings powerfully, but Winning Ugly sounds more ‘80’s Jagger solo than Rolling Stones, and is especially lost sounding amidst this hard rocking album. Today it especially sounds dated.

This problem is even worse on the next track Back To Zero. It’s a super funky vibe, carried by great plucking bass playing and Charlie’s dominating snare, aided by lots of percussion and echoed vocal effects. But the track is excessively noisy and has a feel that makes it more Jagger solo-like. Chuck Leavell gets a credit on this song, yet instead of organic piano, it’s the 80’s synth sound that sounds dated. The music needs to be toned down, with a warmer mix and natural sounding groove.

The title track Dirty Work instantly jars, as this sounds like classic hard rock Rolling Stones. Again, Charlie’s snare is so loud, it distracts, but the electric guitars are equally powerful here, including a super solo lead break. Jagger’s vocals are seething with anger as he scorns someone who lets others do the dirty work. It’s a great vocal performance matched by great music. The song pitters away at the end, but Dirty Work is a powerful track that makes a perfect threesome with One Hit and Fight.

Had It With You is a strange mixture. It initially has a nice rockabilly feel, but it’s played and sung way to hard. There’s a nice harp solo and a downright weird section, where the song stops to a slow crawl only to pick up to the original torrid pace. To make it more interesting, there’s no bass but any sense of feel and taste is lost due to the overwhelming snare sound and hard rock production, instead of a more natural organic groove. Had It With You has potential as a lost opportunity.

Keith takes his second vocal on Sleep Tonight. In the context of the proceeding album, the production is grand and more widescreen. This time, the large drum sound fits perfectly with the almost symphonic sound lead by glorious piano and soulful background vocals. Unlike most of the album, Sleep Tonight sounds organic and naturally soulful, though highly produced. This is genuine music with a beating heart and wonderfully heartfelt vocal by Keith. Sleep Tonight is the first time, although now it’s almost a tradition, in which Keith closes the album in crooning style. He’ll do even better next time.

After that highlight, we get a tasty remembrance of Ian Stewart boogying on piano on a hidden outro memorial to the lost Stones member. It’s a classy way to end a disjointed, jarring, mismatched, un-uniformed Stones album thankfully unlike any other. The dismal state of the fractured band fighting and overall bad-feelings are all here in this exceptionally loud production. There are still some great tracks here, although as an album, Dirty Work doesn’t work.

^ Thanks for the review.

Didn't realize that DW made it to #4 in the US & UK.

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Stoneage
We have probably spent more time here discussing this turd than they ever spent recording it...

Not probably....we have!

Always, always thought "One Hit" would be a great opener.