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whitem8
A fantastic 70's album of rock n' roll, r and b, soul, gospel rock, funk, and blues... and sounds a lot better than GHS. The Glimmers do a damn fine job producing. Search out a good vinyl copy and hear it in its sonic glory. Opens with a subliminal archetype riff, with a heavily in sync rhythm section. Charlie's snare hits are rifle shots punctuating Bill's slap back bass. Trivial lyrics that wonderfully captures the life of a rocker on the road, "the girl in the bright blue hair..." They get going so hard and fast it practically barrels into a full tilt soul revue. Fantastic version of Ain't too Proud to Beg. Jagger gives the song more menace and anger; as if he actually would tear his hair out for one more dip into the well. Keith choruses with savage slabs that tear through with the perfect Stones' heroin chic swagger. You can see the ashtray and smell the ganja. The song cascades into a trance of guitars and growls until it lulls you into a meditative rock n' roll state. Then without a second of vinyl crackle the title track lifts the mood like a sticky fingered can opener.
I have always preferred Jagger's studio vocal on Its Only Rock n' Roll. The perfectly drawn out delivery that moves to a glorious coke addled mocking taunt. His slinky delivery spits in the eye of fame, yet thanks it for the weekends at Zuma Beach and warm nights in front of a Swiss Alp fireplace. Again, Keith slices at your ears with more glorious smack glistened raw riffs of ragged rock candy. I love how on the vinyl there is barely a pause between track 2 and 3. A glorious headphone experience. In a lot of ways Its Only Rock n' Roll is the natural full circle return to the glories of Exile on Main Street, yet with a more refined and calculated drive. Not better, but a natural progression from the road back to the Studio. They seem to sample what they loved best from Exile, into a more LA polished studio sound, balanced by their road grit and cocaine/smack circus. Till the Net Goodbye is perfect mid 70's rock ballad. Lovely acoustic guitars shimmer against Jagger's lovely drawl of sardonic romanticism. The production is layered with the intro folding into beautiful acoustic leads that crescendo into Nicky's beautiful piano stanzas. Then topped with the sublime decadent chorus of the Glimmers shining and swaying in a beautiful skeletal dance among dead rose petals and coke spoons. This is such a strange song with dread and romanticism with strange images of decayed movie theaters covered in Spanish moss where you drink potions of cider vinegar. Such a lovely ballad of excess, decay, and beauty.
Side one ends with the perfect rock epic. Its almost as if Jagger says, "yeah I listened to the Doors, I know how to write a rock epic with shimmering guitars, Berber jewelry, and blond lead guitar honey..." Such a gloriously jaded song of regret and sadness for a band that just spent the past few years living gypsy jetset Caligula escapades. The song just keeps building to one of Taylor's finest moments as the Stones' lead guitarist. He was robbed, as it is so clear his melodic musicianship probably created the foundation for this potboiler.
This was one of those perfect album experiences where you couldn't wait to turn to the other side, feeling the plastic disc spin from the palms of your hand until the it flipped over the other tongue. Hearing the needle lock into the groove and a few crackles until Keith pulses with a Jamaican ganja cloud of guitars. And just As soon as the refer cloud dissipates Keith comes storming through with his un-relentless guitar assault of Dance Little Sister. He lays out such a quintessential Stone's groove its easy to ignore the simple message of the song. That is another thing I love about this album, it is an album of grooves and atmosphere. The Stones shift the atmosphere from Jamaica, New York, back to the Southern Gospel revere. If You Really Want to Be My friend is A beautiful pleading gospel soul hybrid with more of Jagger's caustic love hate dance with romance and jungle sex. Never wanting to pay for it, but always getting a bill. Lovely vocal interplay with another very successful layered production. Jagger delivers a perfect mix of breathless passion and acerbic angst.
The hearse pulls out of the bayou and heads downtown to a small Smokey club. The corpse of the passion of If you Really Want to Be My Friend is thrown into the Delta and Jagger realizes that the whole ruse had him by the balls. A Dr. John styled romp full of swagger and juvenile nail scratches with lipstick. Could Jagger be singing about a lover? Another man? Bowie? Bianca? Or all the parasites he had the pleasure of rolling with between satin sheets and torn pillowcases? While the song seems trite and playful, it is a comedic blues diary that he would revisit, more successfully, on Some Girls. Then the second side ends with yet another side ending epic. This one is full on funk ala Curtis Mayfield. A song of drug addled paranoia and a jet set story of woe. Was Jagger singing about Lennon's tales of Nixon harassment, tapped phones and Green Card persecution? Mixed with Keith's dance with the law, tax exiles, and backstage parasites, it is a heady storm of rock funk. The Clavenet roils against Keith assertive funk riffs. Jagger sings as a sly and slithering 70's rock archetype. He owns it, and knows it. And then the song slowly reduces to a simmer, a heart beat that slows, until you are given a kiss goodnight. And its over. A wonderful ride through the Stones' life, loves, and battles. It is interesting to think how this album started as a road project that was going to be an album of covers on one side and live road souvenir on the other side. But when they got into the studio they were more inspired than they had any right to be. I love this album. It brings back great memories of discovering new Stones gems. And it is a great stoner album. Enough said.
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treaclefingersQuote
whitem8
I love this album. It brings back great memories of discovering new Stones gems. And it is a great stoner album. Enough said.
You clearly love this album...lovely description
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crholmstrom
I luv this record. Probably could've lived without "Short & Curlies" but "Time Waits for No One" more than makes up for that.
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Toru AQuote
treaclefingersQuote
whitem8
I love this album. It brings back great memories of discovering new Stones gems. And it is a great stoner album. Enough said.
You clearly love this album...lovely description
I have been keeping this poster since October 10th, 1974.
It's now hanging on the wall in my office. Clients sometimes get overwhelmed.
Anyway, I love this album. Especially, the brilliance of first three songs whould be passed on from generation to generation.
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bryanoakville
Very enjoyable album (GHS too). Highly suggest having a giggle - not too much - putting on some decent headphones, then both albums - one right after the other. Listen to the instruments fade in and out with a brief intro. then delay then swooping back in, swirlling around then to fade out , replaced by another round.
Wow (man ). Really fun. Really creative. Terrific production. Finally did this on a beach at Ocho Rios last year. So good I'm gonna do it again soon come.
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whitem8
Just to clarify, Its Only Rock n' Roll isn't my favorite Stones album that I love beyond reason. It was one of my first Stone's albums, and it captivated me. It was strange, rocking, and layered. And not a lot of it was played on the radio at the time, so it was very fresh and exciting. I just like writing sometimes about these things and like to be creative, but yeah, I do like the album! Like I said, it was as if they wanted to revisit Exile, but were more refined, had a lot of years on the road influencing them. And some very interesting ideas floating around that seemed to try to recapture aspects of Exile. The cover too! Love it! A beautiful piece, and a great story how Jagger poached the idea from Bowie. Bowie famously says.. "done wear a new pair of shows around Jagger!"
Toru, I also love that poster of yours! The size is beautiful. Where did you get it?
Quote
whitem8
A fantastic 70's album of rock n' roll, r and b, soul, gospel rock, funk, and blues... and sounds a lot better than GHS. The Glimmers do a damn fine job producing. Search out a good vinyl copy and hear it in its sonic glory. Opens with a subliminal archetype riff, with a heavily in sync rhythm section. Charlie's snare hits are rifle shots punctuating Bill's slap back bass. Trivial lyrics that wonderfully captures the life of a rocker on the road, "the girl in the bright blue hair..." They get going so hard and fast it practically barrels into a full tilt soul revue. Fantastic version of Ain't too Proud to Beg. Jagger gives the song more menace and anger; as if he actually would tear his hair out for one more dip into the well. Keith choruses with savage slabs that tear through with the perfect Stones' heroin chic swagger. You can see the ashtray and smell the ganja. The song cascades into a trance of guitars and growls until it lulls you into a meditative rock n' roll state. Then without a second of vinyl crackle the title track lifts the mood like a sticky fingered can opener.
I have always preferred Jagger's studio vocal on Its Only Rock n' Roll. The perfectly drawn out delivery that moves to a glorious coke addled mocking taunt. His slinky delivery spits in the eye of fame, yet thanks it for the weekends at Zuma Beach and warm nights in front of a Swiss Alp fireplace. Again, Keith slices at your ears with more glorious smack glistened raw riffs of ragged rock candy. I love how on the vinyl there is barely a pause between track 2 and 3. A glorious headphone experience. In a lot of ways Its Only Rock n' Roll is the natural full circle return to the glories of Exile on Main Street, yet with a more refined and calculated drive. Not better, but a natural progression from the road back to the Studio. They seem to sample what they loved best from Exile, into a more LA polished studio sound, balanced by their road grit and cocaine/smack circus. Till the Net Goodbye is perfect mid 70's rock ballad. Lovely acoustic guitars shimmer against Jagger's lovely drawl of sardonic romanticism. The production is layered with the intro folding into beautiful acoustic leads that crescendo into Nicky's beautiful piano stanzas. Then topped with the sublime decadent chorus of the Glimmers shining and swaying in a beautiful skeletal dance among dead rose petals and coke spoons. This is such a strange song with dread and romanticism with strange images of decayed movie theaters covered in Spanish moss where you drink potions of cider vinegar. Such a lovely ballad of excess, decay, and beauty.
Side one ends with the perfect rock epic. Its almost as if Jagger says, "yeah I listened to the Doors, I know how to write a rock epic with shimmering guitars, Berber jewelry, and blond lead guitar honey..." Such a gloriously jaded song of regret and sadness for a band that just spent the past few years living gypsy jetset Caligula escapades. The song just keeps building to one of Taylor's finest moments as the Stones' lead guitarist. He was robbed, as it is so clear his melodic musicianship probably created the foundation for this potboiler.
This was one of those perfect album experiences where you couldn't wait to turn to the other side, feeling the plastic disc spin from the palms of your hand until the it flipped over the other tongue. Hearing the needle lock into the groove and a few crackles until Keith pulses with a Jamaican ganja cloud of guitars. And just As soon as the refer cloud dissipates Keith comes storming through with his un-relentless guitar assault of Dance Little Sister. He lays out such a quintessential Stone's groove its easy to ignore the simple message of the song. That is another thing I love about this album, it is an album of grooves and atmosphere. The Stones shift the atmosphere from Jamaica, New York, back to the Southern Gospel revere. If You Really Want to Be My friend is A beautiful pleading gospel soul hybrid with more of Jagger's caustic love hate dance with romance and jungle sex. Never wanting to pay for it, but always getting a bill. Lovely vocal interplay with another very successful layered production. Jagger delivers a perfect mix of breathless passion and acerbic angst.
The hearse pulls out of the bayou and heads downtown to a small Smokey club. The corpse of the passion of If you Really Want to Be My Friend is thrown into the Delta and Jagger realizes that the whole ruse had him by the balls. A Dr. John styled romp full of swagger and juvenile nail scratches with lipstick. Could Jagger be singing about a lover? Another man? Bowie? Bianca? Or all the parasites he had the pleasure of rolling with between satin sheets and torn pillowcases? While the song seems trite and playful, it is a comedic blues diary that he would revisit, more successfully, on Some Girls. Then the second side ends with yet another side ending epic. This one is full on funk ala Curtis Mayfield. A song of drug addled paranoia and a jet set story of woe. Was Jagger singing about Lennon's tales of Nixon harassment, tapped phones and Green Card persecution? Mixed with Keith's dance with the law, tax exiles, and backstage parasites, it is a heady storm of rock funk. The Clavenet roils against Keith assertive funk riffs. Jagger sings as a sly and slithering 70's rock archetype. He owns it, and knows it. And then the song slowly reduces to a simmer, a heart beat that slows, until you are given a kiss goodnight. And its over. A wonderful ride through the Stones' life, loves, and battles. It is interesting to think how this album started as a road project that was going to be an album of covers on one side and live road souvenir on the other side. But when they got into the studio they were more inspired than they had any right to be. I love this album. It brings back great memories of discovering new Stones gems. And it is a great stoner album. Enough said.