Yes Steel Wheels was kind of made for purpose of comeback.
But Continental Drift, Rock and Hard Place and Sad Sad Sad are great, also Slipping Away and Almost Hear You Sigh are remarkable.

The album was lame, but the tour was great!
Was it a "magical" comeback? Perhaps so, but mainly due to the tour.

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

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Hairball
The album was lame, but the tour was great!
Was it a "magical" comeback? Perhaps so, but mainly due to the tour.

It's definitely not a great Stones album by any means but a lot of the songs felt fresh and the group felt revitalized, especially after UNDERCOVER and DIRTY WORK.

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JordyLicks96

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Hairball
The album was lame, but the tour was great!
Was it a "magical" comeback? Perhaps so, but mainly due to the tour.

It's definitely not a great Stones album by any means but a lot of the songs felt fresh and the group felt revitalized, especially after UNDERCOVER and DIRTY WORK.

You seem to be speaking from experience as if you were around at the time of it's release Jordy, but aren't you just 24? Is this something your dad told you?
From my experience the songs felt sterile and non-Stonesy - my friend and I were thrilled to have a new Stones album and had a listening party, but the party didn't last very long.
Yes there were/are a couple of decent tunes (Terrifying, Almost Hear You Sigh, Slipping Away), but hearing it when it was first released was for the most part sad, sad, sad!
Undercover was better imo, and a shame they never did tour with that album.

EDIT: As for Dirty Work, only liked Harlem Shuffle alot - then and now, and maybe Too Rude, but the Stones have never been that great with reggae imo.

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2019-11-02 23:36 by Hairball.

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Hairball

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JordyLicks96

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Hairball
The album was lame, but the tour was great!
Was it a "magical" comeback? Perhaps so, but mainly due to the tour.

It's definitely not a great Stones album by any means but a lot of the songs felt fresh and the group felt revitalized, especially after UNDERCOVER and DIRTY WORK.

You seem to be speaking from experience as if you were around at the time of it's release Jordy, but aren't you just 24? Is this something your dad told you?
From my experience the songs felt sterile and non-Stonesy - my friend and I were thrilled to have a new Stones album and had a listening party, but the party didn't last very long.
Yes there were/are a couple of decent tunes (Terrifying, Almost Hear You Sigh, Slipping Away), but hearing it when it was first released was for the most part sad, sad, sad!
Undercover was better imo, and a shame they never did tour with that album.

EDIT: As for Dirty Work, only liked Harlem Shuffle alot - then and now, and maybe Too Rude, but the Stones have never been that great with reggae imo.

I'm 23 lol. That's actually just my own opinion on how I feel about the album. My dad would agree with me, but that's something I've learned through my own listenings of the Stones catalogue. I mean UNDERCOVER and DIRTY WORK were not popular albums by any means and sub-par by Stones standards. Like I said, STEEL WHEELS in my opinion is not a great Stones album, but it feels like what it set out to accomplish and that was the feeling of a comeback, which continued on through the STEEL WHEELS/URBAN JUNGLE Tours.

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JordyLicks96
the songs felt fresh and the group felt revitalized

I would say the same about BEGGARS BANQUET and I wasn't yet born when "Brown Sugar" was released. I know Jordy is young, but fans form opinions whether they were there the first time around or not. It's part of being a fan.

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Rocky Dijon

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JordyLicks96
the songs felt fresh and the group felt revitalized

I would say the same about BEGGARS BANQUET and I wasn't yet born when "Brown Sugar" was released. I know Jordy is young, but fans form opinions whether they were there the first time around or not. It's part of being a fan.

Thanks Rocky. It would have been an absolute dream to live through the Stones during their prime, but the fact that I was born in 1996 and they're still around in my 20's makes me so happy. Their music means so much to me. I've seen them 3 times now and hopefully a couple times more.

Maybe that's why my views on this long-overdue new album are so positive. I've only gotten to experience a new Stones album on its release twice. It's not something I've gotten to enjoy like a lot of you have.

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JordyLicks96

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Hairball

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JordyLicks96

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Hairball
The album was lame, but the tour was great!
Was it a "magical" comeback? Perhaps so, but mainly due to the tour.

It's definitely not a great Stones album by any means but a lot of the songs felt fresh and the group felt revitalized, especially after UNDERCOVER and DIRTY WORK.

You seem to be speaking from experience as if you were around at the time of it's release Jordy, but aren't you just 24? Is this something your dad told you?
From my experience the songs felt sterile and non-Stonesy - my friend and I were thrilled to have a new Stones album and had a listening party, but the party didn't last very long.
Yes there were/are a couple of decent tunes (Terrifying, Almost Hear You Sigh, Slipping Away), but hearing it when it was first released was for the most part sad, sad, sad!
Undercover was better imo, and a shame they never did tour with that album.

EDIT: As for Dirty Work, only liked Harlem Shuffle alot - then and now, and maybe Too Rude, but the Stones have never been that great with reggae imo.

I'm 23 lol. That's actually just my own opinion on how I feel about the album. My dad would agree with me, but that's something I've learned through my own listenings of the Stones catalogue. I mean UNDERCOVER and DIRTY WORK were not popular albums by any means and sub-par by Stones standards. Like I said, STEEL WHEELS in my opinion is not a great Stones album, but it feels like what it set out to accomplish and that was the feeling of a comeback, which continued on through the STEEL WHEELS/URBAN JUNGLE Tours.

Only 23! It was the past tense wording which made it sound as if you were speaking from past experience of the period it was released, but I suppose I misread it.
Only 23! When I was that age, it was during the drought of live Stones shows , the year Dirty Work was released, and sandwiched between two of Micks crappy solo albums...a dreadful time to be a Stones fan really.
So goes without saying not much fun happening back in Stonesland in those days, so you might consider yourself lucky you didn't have to experience it all firsthand.

I still don't think the Steel Wheels album was a "magical comeback" to use your previous words, but yes it was a comeback of sorts. The dismal Dirty Work was released only three years prior, and the so-so Undercover just three years prior to that, so at least they were still releasing albums on a semi-regular basis back then unlike today. Even hitting walls back then didn't stop them! If it sucked, they released it anyways!
The REAL "magical comeback" (imo) was the fact they were going to tour again which they hadn't done in seven years - an eternity back then.

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2019-11-03 03:10 by Hairball.

That's so true. The gap between Stones tours seemed unbearable and yet, look at how productive they were: UNDERCOVER, SHE'S THE BOSS, DIRTY WORK, PRIMITIVE COOL, TALK IS CHEAP all before STEEL WHEELS. 30 years later it's the reverse.

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Hairball

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JordyLicks96

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Hairball

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JordyLicks96

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Hairball
The album was lame, but the tour was great!
Was it a "magical" comeback? Perhaps so, but mainly due to the tour.

It's definitely not a great Stones album by any means but a lot of the songs felt fresh and the group felt revitalized, especially after UNDERCOVER and DIRTY WORK.

You seem to be speaking from experience as if you were around at the time of it's release Jordy, but aren't you just 24? Is this something your dad told you?
From my experience the songs felt sterile and non-Stonesy - my friend and I were thrilled to have a new Stones album and had a listening party, but the party didn't last very long.
Yes there were/are a couple of decent tunes (Terrifying, Almost Hear You Sigh, Slipping Away), but hearing it when it was first released was for the most part sad, sad, sad!
Undercover was better imo, and a shame they never did tour with that album.

EDIT: As for Dirty Work, only liked Harlem Shuffle alot - then and now, and maybe Too Rude, but the Stones have never been that great with reggae imo.

I'm 23 lol. That's actually just my own opinion on how I feel about the album. My dad would agree with me, but that's something I've learned through my own listenings of the Stones catalogue. I mean UNDERCOVER and DIRTY WORK were not popular albums by any means and sub-par by Stones standards. Like I said, STEEL WHEELS in my opinion is not a great Stones album, but it feels like what it set out to accomplish and that was the feeling of a comeback, which continued on through the STEEL WHEELS/URBAN JUNGLE Tours.

Only 23! It was the past tense wording which made it sound as if you were speaking from past experience of the period it was released, but I suppose I misread it.
Only 23! When I was that age, it was during the drought of live Stones shows , the year Dirty Work was released, and sandwiched between two of Micks crappy solo albums...a dreadful time to be a Stones fan really.
So goes without saying not much fun happening back in Stonesland in those days, so you might consider yourself lucky you didn't have to experience it all firsthand.

I still don't think the Steel Wheels album was a "magical comeback" to use your previous words, but yes it was a comeback of sorts. The dismal Dirty Work was released only three years prior, and the so-so Undercover just three years prior to that, so at least they were still releasing albums on a semi-regular basis back then unlike today. Even hitting walls back then didn't stop them! If it sucked, they released it anyways!
The REAL "magical comeback" (imo) was the fact they were going to tour again which they hadn't done in seven years - an eternity back then.

It must have been amazing to see the Stones during the '89 tour. I think it was Mick who said before the '69 tour that they were more of the touring band, as opposed to The Beatles who had stopped touring for good in '66. Did you feel like the '89 tour was the end for the Stones? Like they had this "reunion" of sorts but after it was all said and done, they'd retire?

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JordyLicks96
Did you feel like the '89 tour was the end for the Stones? Like they had this "reunion" of sorts but after it was all said and done, they'd retire?

Sorry to jump in...Hairball and I are about the same age, so I can provide a frame of reference for back then. From what I recall, there was never any talk of the reunion being a one-time proposition...and if memory serves me (for what it's worth some thirty years later), I think they announced after the end of the Urban Jungle tour in '90 that they would in fact be back at some point. "Flashpoint" came out in April '91, along with the Highwire single, so I always felt the band was an ongoing concern at that time and would eventually return for another studio album and tour.

I must say, though, because I missed seeing them in '81, it was a long wait until '89, which would be the first time I would see them in concert. With no Internet back then, my friends and I initially expected an "Undercover" tour in '84, and perhaps a "Dirty Work" tour in '86...we didn't really know what was going on with the band, and picked up our news from Rolling Stone magazine articles and the like. When Mick did his solo thing in '88 (Keith too), I kind of felt that might be it, but in the back of my mind knew they would be leaving too much on the table ($$ and otherwise) to not come back...then came 1989.

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JordyLicks96
Did you feel like the '89 tour was the end for the Stones? Like they had this "reunion" of sorts but after it was all said and done, they'd retire?

No it didn't feel like the end at all. On the contrary, it felt like a new beginning. After all the bad vibes, they were back with a bang with a massive tour, and the future was bright again.
Sure enough, another album and another massive tour with Voodoo Lounge just a few years later. And following that, another new album and another massive tour with Bridges just another quick few years later.
And following that, no new album but a few new songs slapped on to Licks, and one of the best formatted tours ever seeing them playing clubs, theaters, arenas, and stadiums (I was fortunate to see quite a few that tour).
Hoping you get to see them again Jordy, and whether they ever release a new album or not doesn't matter much at this point, though it would be nice.
Rumours are strong that they'll be back touring again in 2020, while the thought of them releasing a new album isn't really a sure bet.


EDIT: Just saw Jah Paul's reply - I must have been typing while he was posting. Good to see we had a similar perspective regarding the Stones c.'89.
But for the sake of it, imagine if the Stones had announced a final tour in '89 ala The Who in 1982...well we know how that went. And the Eagles Farewell Tour...

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2019-11-03 07:38 by Hairball.

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Hairball

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JordyLicks96
Did you feel like the '89 tour was the end for the Stones? Like they had this "reunion" of sorts but after it was all said and done, they'd retire?

No it didn't feel like the end at all. On the contrary, it felt like a new beginning. After all the bad vibes, they were back with a bang with a massive tour, and the future was bright again.
Sure enough, another album and another massive tour with Voodoo Lounge just a few years later. And following that, another new album and another massive tour with Bridges just another quick few years later.
And following that, no new album but a few new songs slapped on to Licks, and one of the best formatted tours ever seeing them playing clubs, theaters, arenas, and stadiums (I was fortunate to see quite a few that tour).
Hoping you get to see them again Jordy, and whether they ever release a new album or not doesn't matter much at this point, though it would be nice.
Rumours are strong that they'll be back touring again in 2020, while the thought of them releasing a new album isn't really a sure bet.


EDIT: Just saw Jah Paul's reply - I must have been typing while he was posting. Good to see we had a similar perspective regarding the Stones c.'89.
But for the sake of it, imagine if the Stones had announced a final tour in '89 ala The Who in 1982...well we know how that went. And the Eagles Farewell Tour...

It's always great getting perspectives from other Stones fans! Seeing them for the third time this past August at MetLife Stadium was just another dream come true. My favorite Stones song is "Street Fighting Man" and the previous two times I saw them they didn't play it. Hearing those first notes of SFM when the show started, being performed before my very eyes in person, man, it was like I was transported into another dimension. I actually had a few tears in my eyes, finally being able to hear my favorite song of all time live.

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Hairball

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JordyLicks96
Did you feel like the '89 tour was the end for the Stones? Like they had this "reunion" of sorts but after it was all said and done, they'd retire?

No it didn't feel like the end at all. On the contrary, it felt like a new beginning. After all the bad vibes, they were back with a bang with a massive tour, and the future was bright again.
Sure enough, another album and another massive tour with Voodoo Lounge just a few years later. And following that, another new album and another massive tour with Bridges just another quick few years later.
And following that, no new album but a few new songs slapped on to Licks, and one of the best formatted tours ever seeing them playing clubs, theaters, arenas, and stadiums (I was fortunate to see quite a few that tour).
Hoping you get to see them again Jordy, and whether they ever release a new album or not doesn't matter much at this point, though it would be nice.
Rumours are strong that they'll be back touring again in 2020, while the thought of them releasing a new album isn't really a sure bet.

Yes, that's exactly the point. And even more importantly, this general positive vibe was not limited to hardcore Stones fans only. From all the observations I made back then, the Stones were finally taken serious again by the general "rock audience" which they increasingly lost in the years after "Tattoo You" (I say "increasingly" because this development started years earlier already, with generally as "weaker" considered albums like "Black And Blue" and "Emotional Rescue" - that's why "Some Girls", "Tattoo You" and finally "Steel Wheels" were so important to keep the ball in the game).

After "Steel Wheels" - the album and the world tour - the Stones were back in the game, an impression that was further fuelled by "Main Offender" and "Wandering Spirit" that raised the general expectation level for the follow-up to "Steel Wheels" tremendously. The positive vibe was only disturbed by Billy Wyman's departure and his statement in the vein that "this band has achieved everything it could possibly achieve" and that he saw no way for them to develop even further, obviously he meant the artistic aspect, not the commercial.

I rejected Wyman's statement as "rubbish" back then, but with hindsight now think he was right. Despite all the hopes after "Steel Wheels", artistically, it was a slow downwards spiral ever since, with albums that despite some occasional flashes of brilliance sounding increasingly uneven. But it's not only the albums of original material themselves they released after "Steel Wheels", it's also the sheer number of them that speaks volumes - just three in three decades now.

On the positive side, the release of "Blue And Lonesome" was the first time in many many years I experienced positive views from people outside of the Stones hardcore fan base on a recorded work again .



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2019-11-03 22:03 by retired_dog.

I consider Steel Wheels a good album which would have been great with 'Highwire' (imo a great first single),'Fancyman blues' and 'For your precious love'.
Highwire first single and then Mixed Emotions...i think that the general opinion about this album would have been different.

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KRiffhard
I consider Steel Wheels a good album which would have been great with 'Highwire' (imo a great first single),'Fancyman blues' and 'For your precious love'.
Highwire first single and then Mixed Emotions...i think that the general opinion about this album would have been different.

I second that!
You nailed it!

I thought SW was a good comeback-album. It was fresh, had some great songs and Mick and Keith were working together again.

Naturally, it didn't achieve the same success as SG, ER and TY sales-wise. It lacked a monster-hit.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2019-11-03 17:14 by DandelionPowderman.

I never felt that STEEL WHEELS was a "comeback album" - they never went away.

I don't recall anyone comparing DIRTY WORK and SW to TSMR/BB in terms of a "comeback", because that's about the same ridiculousness regarding the quality of the two albums - it's just what happened.

Nor did I think that it was a one time thing. What little was available, which was a lot back then in regard to context, like ROLLING STONE and the odd thing in a newspaper or some other magazine, like SPIN, to read about what they were doing (I recall SPIN magazine had a pretty good issue about the Stones in 1986 that really focused on the dramatic aspects of the band not touring and, although never saying it, as I recall, made it sound like the Stones were done).

When they played Mixed Emotions at the press conference, it sounded promising. It was pretty good, considering, and to this day I still like it. Some of the album is unlistenable but that's no surprise for their latter day albums.

When Start Me Up and Highwire hit the radio in 1991 it seemed as if they were staking a claim... but it faded really fast. By that fall, it was done with.

The biggest news that showed them wanting to continue was signing with Virgin.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2019-11-06 00:22 by GasLightStreet.

Steel Wheels was a success in the US, it was Top 10 during 4 months, 3 singles were #1 in the Rock Airplay Chart, the first single was a Top 5 hit, and it went Double Platinum after only 18 weeks.

Sadly, it was the last time the band was relevant in the US market.

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JordyLicks96

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Hairball
The album was lame, but the tour was great!
Was it a "magical" comeback? Perhaps so, but mainly due to the tour.

It's definitely not a great Stones album by any means but a lot of the songs felt fresh and the group felt revitalized, especially after UNDERCOVER and DIRTY WORK.

Hairball almost takes the words out of my mouth. The tour (in my case, Urban Jungle) did feel like a comeback. After all, the Stones had not toured for almost a decade, and the sound and playing was so much better than on the 82 tour of Europe (to be fair, the 82 Vienna show that I attended went down in history as a particularly off affair).

The album did not exactly feel "magical" when it came out. Too polished, too long, too much Stones by the numbers. I remember having trouble assembling 30 minutes of good songs for one side of a cassette for my car stereo. At the time of its release, it was rather Dirty Work that had a revitalized and rejuvenated feel to it after the lame and lacklustre Undercover and the good but polished Tattoo You: finally the Stones rough and rocking again. To my ears, DW stood the test of time much better than Undercover or SW. On my end (don't forget this was still pre-WWW and foreign publications were expensive and not so easy to come by), at least, WW III was not yet a topic in the press until many months or almost a year later, when Keith wanted to tour the album and Mick had better things to do and Keith started complaining. Disregarding the physical state of various band members at that time (much about which became known only later on anyway), it's a pity no such tour took place. It would have given us setlists containing much of U and DW, and the Undercover material might well have turned out better live than in the studio version. It would certainly not have been a retrospective tour like the later tours up to now.

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georgelicks
Steel Wheels was a success in the US, it was Top 10 during 4 months, 3 singles were #1 in the Rock Airplay Chart, the first single was a Top 5 hit, and it went Double Platinum after only 18 weeks.

Sadly, it was the last time the band was relevant in the US market.

slightly agree. voodoo lounge had some hype but seemed to die rather quickly

In 1989 MTV and VH-1 were their bitches.

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JordyLicks96

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Hairball

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Hairball

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JordyLicks96

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Hairball
The album was lame, but the tour was great!
Was it a "magical" comeback? Perhaps so, but mainly due to the tour.

It's definitely not a great Stones album by any means but a lot of the songs felt fresh and the group felt revitalized, especially after UNDERCOVER and DIRTY WORK.

You seem to be speaking from experience as if you were around at the time of it's release Jordy, but aren't you just 24? Is this something your dad told you?
From my experience the songs felt sterile and non-Stonesy - my friend and I were thrilled to have a new Stones album and had a listening party, but the party didn't last very long.
Yes there were/are a couple of decent tunes (Terrifying, Almost Hear You Sigh, Slipping Away), but hearing it when it was first released was for the most part sad, sad, sad!
Undercover was better imo, and a shame they never did tour with that album.

EDIT: As for Dirty Work, only liked Harlem Shuffle alot - then and now, and maybe Too Rude, but the Stones have never been that great with reggae imo.

I'm 23 lol. That's actually just my own opinion on how I feel about the album. My dad would agree with me, but that's something I've learned through my own listenings of the Stones catalogue. I mean UNDERCOVER and DIRTY WORK were not popular albums by any means and sub-par by Stones standards. Like I said, STEEL WHEELS in my opinion is not a great Stones album, but it feels like what it set out to accomplish and that was the feeling of a comeback, which continued on through the STEEL WHEELS/URBAN JUNGLE Tours.

Only 23! It was the past tense wording which made it sound as if you were speaking from past experience of the period it was released, but I suppose I misread it.
Only 23! When I was that age, it was during the drought of live Stones shows , the year Dirty Work was released, and sandwiched between two of Micks crappy solo albums...a dreadful time to be a Stones fan really.
So goes without saying not much fun happening back in Stonesland in those days, so you might consider yourself lucky you didn't have to experience it all firsthand.

I still don't think the Steel Wheels album was a "magical comeback" to use your previous words, but yes it was a comeback of sorts. The dismal Dirty Work was released only three years prior, and the so-so Undercover just three years prior to that, so at least they were still releasing albums on a semi-regular basis back then unlike today. Even hitting walls back then didn't stop them! If it sucked, they released it anyways!
The REAL "magical comeback" (imo) was the fact they were going to tour again which they hadn't done in seven years - an eternity back then.

It must have been amazing to see the Stones during the '89 tour. I think it was Mick who said before the '69 tour that they were more of the touring band, as opposed to The Beatles who had stopped touring for good in '66. Did you feel like the '89 tour was the end for the Stones? Like they had this "reunion" of sorts but after it was all said and done, they'd retire?

____________________________________________________



Steel Wheels I'll sum it up .. I lived it: ... It was a definite 'return' vibe ..at least for right then (not an official comeback vibe .. thankfully). SW didn't create a finality vibe or one off speculation from the people who saw it or the critics .. it created a 'here and now' vibe that was untouchable at that time. After seeing Steel Wheels We all thought .. well sure .. I guess it could be the final .. or... perhaps they could very easily continue? (and they did thankfully). Steel Wheels was the best concert I ever saw (and I've been to A LOT!). It was raw .. scary ..even a little dangerous ...not even so much the crowd (though ya had to be wary .. it was a Stones Show) .. I mean the show /stage was sort of dangerous. Explosions / Cannons at the start almost knocked people off their chairs up front .. sparks flew on the folks up front During Rock and a Hard Place etc ... Nobody saw anything like that before it. We all wondered how they were going to be now and what the show would be like. I remember being a little surprised it would be a night show in a stadium.

Steel Wheels blew us away -



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2019-11-03 20:28 by IanBillen.

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IanBillen
.. I mean the show /stage was sort of dangerous. Explosions / Cannons at the start almost knocked people off their chairs up front .. sparks flew on the folks up front During Rock and a Hard Place etc ... Nobody saw anything like that before it.

He speaks the truth. From the 2nd row center (Sec.C) the heat from the gas burners at the end of Continental Drift had me thinking my lashes and brows were going to singe. FOB's sitting in front of us left after Tumbling Dice leaving a clear unobstructed view. Those massive sparkler type pyro's at the beginning of JJF sent a piece of "flec" just below my left eye. I proudly showed off a burn a little bigger than a pencil point at work the next day. The sound was off the charts loud. Tinnitus lasted almost 36hrs. Totally Awesome and the experience of that stage and that show at Shea was even better than my first show opening night at the Vet.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2019-11-04 05:08 by nick.

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Hairball
The album was lame, but the tour was great!
Was it a "magical" comeback? Perhaps so, but mainly due to the tour.

It's definitely not a great Stones album by any means but a lot of the songs felt fresh and the group felt revitalized, especially after UNDERCOVER and DIRTY WORK.

You seem to be speaking from experience as if you were around at the time of it's release Jordy, but aren't you just 24? Is this something your dad told you?
From my experience the songs felt sterile and non-Stonesy - my friend and I were thrilled to have a new Stones album and had a listening party, but the party didn't last very long.
Yes there were/are a couple of decent tunes (Terrifying, Almost Hear You Sigh, Slipping Away), but hearing it when it was first released was for the most part sad, sad, sad!
Undercover was better imo, and a shame they never did tour with that album.

EDIT: As for Dirty Work, only liked Harlem Shuffle alot - then and now, and maybe Too Rude, but the Stones have never been that great with reggae imo.

I'm 23 lol. That's actually just my own opinion on how I feel about the album. My dad would agree with me, but that's something I've learned through my own listenings of the Stones catalogue. I mean UNDERCOVER and DIRTY WORK were not popular albums by any means and sub-par by Stones standards. Like I said, STEEL WHEELS in my opinion is not a great Stones album, but it feels like what it set out to accomplish and that was the feeling of a comeback, which continued on through the STEEL WHEELS/URBAN JUNGLE Tours.

Only 23! It was the past tense wording which made it sound as if you were speaking from past experience of the period it was released, but I suppose I misread it.
Only 23! When I was that age, it was during the drought of live Stones shows , the year Dirty Work was released, and sandwiched between two of Micks crappy solo albums...a dreadful time to be a Stones fan really.
So goes without saying not much fun happening back in Stonesland in those days, so you might consider yourself lucky you didn't have to experience it all firsthand.

I still don't think the Steel Wheels album was a "magical comeback" to use your previous words, but yes it was a comeback of sorts. The dismal Dirty Work was released only three years prior, and the so-so Undercover just three years prior to that, so at least they were still releasing albums on a semi-regular basis back then unlike today. Even hitting walls back then didn't stop them! If it sucked, they released it anyways!
The REAL "magical comeback" (imo) was the fact they were going to tour again which they hadn't done in seven years - an eternity back then.

It must have been amazing to see the Stones during the '89 tour. I think it was Mick who said before the '69 tour that they were more of the touring band, as opposed to The Beatles who had stopped touring for good in '66. Did you feel like the '89 tour was the end for the Stones? Like they had this "reunion" of sorts but after it was all said and done, they'd retire?

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Steel Wheels I'll sum it up .. I lived it: ... It was a definite 'return' vibe ..at least for right then (not an official comeback vibe .. thankfully). SW didn't create a finality vibe or one off speculation from the people who saw it or the critics .. it created a 'here and now' vibe that was untouchable at that time. After seeing Steel Wheels We all thought .. well sure .. I guess it could be the final .. or... perhaps they could very easily continue? (and they did thankfully). Steel Wheels was the best concert I ever saw (and I've been to A LOT!). It was raw .. scary ..even a little dangerous ...not even so much the crowd (though ya had to be wary .. it was a Stones Show) .. I mean the show /stage was sort of dangerous. Explosions / Cannons at the start almost knocked people off their chairs up front .. sparks flew on the folks up front During Rock and a Hard Place etc ... Nobody saw anything like that before it. We all wondered how they were going to be now and what the show would be like. I remember being a little surprised it would be a night show in a stadium.

Steel Wheels blew us away -

kiss and ACDC had already done the stuff you named

Steel Wheels was the regal topping off for the Greatest Rock and Roll Band of all time. The album was a return to form. A solid B plus after the excremental Dirty Work, and the pointless Undercover. It definitely wasn't their greatest album, but Steel Wheels was certainly their greatest collection of new material since Some Girls. The tour was an acknowledgment of their greatness. Even then you could see they were slipping just a bit. Enough that Steel Wheels should have been the crowning achievement to a long career, and the end of their touring and recording days.

Slipping Away should have been their goodbye song. It's perfect. I doubt a new album will come anywhere near close to Steel Wheels, or any of their great albums from the 70s and 60s. (Or the Tattoo You olio).

Hey Ian, love your recollections of the SW tour.

I was surprised/confused by one thing you mentioned though - are you suggesting that previously stadium gigs had only been in the afternoon, not at night?

I know there is lots of footage of the Stones in stadiums in the daylight (which always struck me as kind of odd) but I figured that was just long, light summer evenings.

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The album was lame, but the tour was great!
Was it a "magical" comeback? Perhaps so, but mainly due to the tour.

It's definitely not a great Stones album by any means but a lot of the songs felt fresh and the group felt revitalized, especially after UNDERCOVER and DIRTY WORK.

You seem to be speaking from experience as if you were around at the time of it's release Jordy, but aren't you just 24? Is this something your dad told you?
From my experience the songs felt sterile and non-Stonesy - my friend and I were thrilled to have a new Stones album and had a listening party, but the party didn't last very long.
Yes there were/are a couple of decent tunes (Terrifying, Almost Hear You Sigh, Slipping Away), but hearing it when it was first released was for the most part sad, sad, sad!
Undercover was better imo, and a shame they never did tour with that album.

EDIT: As for Dirty Work, only liked Harlem Shuffle alot - then and now, and maybe Too Rude, but the Stones have never been that great with reggae imo.

I'm 23 lol. That's actually just my own opinion on how I feel about the album. My dad would agree with me, but that's something I've learned through my own listenings of the Stones catalogue. I mean UNDERCOVER and DIRTY WORK were not popular albums by any means and sub-par by Stones standards. Like I said, STEEL WHEELS in my opinion is not a great Stones album, but it feels like what it set out to accomplish and that was the feeling of a comeback, which continued on through the STEEL WHEELS/URBAN JUNGLE Tours.

Only 23! It was the past tense wording which made it sound as if you were speaking from past experience of the period it was released, but I suppose I misread it.
Only 23! When I was that age, it was during the drought of live Stones shows , the year Dirty Work was released, and sandwiched between two of Micks crappy solo albums...a dreadful time to be a Stones fan really.
So goes without saying not much fun happening back in Stonesland in those days, so you might consider yourself lucky you didn't have to experience it all firsthand.

I still don't think the Steel Wheels album was a "magical comeback" to use your previous words, but yes it was a comeback of sorts. The dismal Dirty Work was released only three years prior, and the so-so Undercover just three years prior to that, so at least they were still releasing albums on a semi-regular basis back then unlike today. Even hitting walls back then didn't stop them! If it sucked, they released it anyways!
The REAL "magical comeback" (imo) was the fact they were going to tour again which they hadn't done in seven years - an eternity back then.

It must have been amazing to see the Stones during the '89 tour. I think it was Mick who said before the '69 tour that they were more of the touring band, as opposed to The Beatles who had stopped touring for good in '66. Did you feel like the '89 tour was the end for the Stones? Like they had this "reunion" of sorts but after it was all said and done, they'd retire?

At least Bill retired from the Stones although they (Mick and Keith) did not believe that until they wanted to start with Voodoo Lounge..... ;-).... and then found out that they needed another bass player.

Mr.Fancyman

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Hey Ian, love your recollections of the SW tour.

I was surprised/confused by one thing you mentioned though - are you suggesting that previously stadium gigs had only been in the afternoon, not at night?

I know there is lots of footage of the Stones in stadiums in the daylight (which always struck me as kind of odd) but I figured that was just long, light summer evenings.

Nope. Until the late 1980's most stadium shows took place in the afternoon. The lighting systems prior to that were not powerful enough to provide adequate stage lighting for a night time concert.

Thanks TandF, I didn't know that.

But what time did the Stones take to the stage at Knebworth 76? Like 11.30pm How did that lighting work?