I was reading stones LP reviews from their "Golden Period" late 60 early 70.
Poor Stones!!! Duaring all those 43 years there is allways a chorus of critics to tell them that they have "lost their previous magic in song writing".
Here is a link to Sticky Fingers review by Jon Landau from the June 1971 Rolling Stone issue.

[www.rollingstone.com]

and here are my favorite quotes:

As I listened to "Sticky Fingers," for the first time I thought "Brown Sugar" was good, but not that good. I certainly hoped it wasn't the best thing on the album. As it turns out, there are a few moments that surpass it but it still sets the tone for the album perfectly: middle-level Rolling Stones competence.

"Sway:" Vaguely reminiscent of "Stray Cat Blues" but not nearly so powerful.

"Wild Horses:" A good song with lots of good things in it that doesn't quite come off.

"I've Got the Blues:" In the tradition of the earlier R&B Imitations ... It's good as far as it goes, but lacks the feeling of the earlier imitations. It all seems pro forma.

"Sister Morphine:" I find it lyrically convincing, but labored to the point of being unlistenable musically. Perhaps that is part of the conception: obviously, a song about morphine should not be pleasant to hear.

"Moonlight Mile:" From "Brown Sugar" we had to wait all the way to here to get a masterpiece.

If Sticky Fingers suffers from any one thing it's its own self-defeating calculating nature. Its moments of openness and feeling are too few: its moments where I know I should be enjoying it but am not

[orangecow.org]