Well, hows this one live?

I like it very much.Many people on this board don't but,I can't see the reason why other than the eighties sound of the studio version & the fact that it seems to be a modernized version of the Soul Survivor/It Must Be Hell guitar riff.They picked a pretty darn good song,their own by the way,to gain inspiration from.People like to complain about lyrics but,these lyrics are great & maybe somewhat prophetic.It was one of the highlights for me at the September 5,2002 show.

me too.
im a great fan of steel wheels...and also dirty work.
but im perhaps drunken and the only fan who likes these two albums :-)


-----------------------------------------------------
Oh, give me the beat, boys, and free my soul
I wanna get lost in your rock and roll and drift away

Don't like it. Rather hear Soul Survivor

NO!!!

Fake. Awful. Bad.

"Stuck between a rock and a hard place/
You better stop and put on a kind face"

As I've said elsewhere, "Sweet Neo Con" is neck and neck with this nonsense as lamest Stones song ever...I can't imagine what Jagger was thinking in either case.

Social and political thoughts worthy of a fourteen year old.

And yes, elsewhere "Steel Wheels" is and excellent album...

I heard it in 2002 in Boston. Not bad. I enjoyed it. Different.

Hate it.

I love Stones` songs with political message and this one - Rock And A Hard Place - sounds to me really good. And both the texts and the music are very nice, this is one of the bests songs of course in Steel Wheels.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2005-09-05 00:13 by Dobril.

Telek, you're not alone in really liking DW and SW!

Dear Reverend,

I sort-of understand your objection to the pseudo-political approach and that it might be a bit band-waggonish......BUT...

1) I do think the lyrics are good...'the fields of Eden....are full of trash'
- straight to the point and powerful imagery. cf the mawkish approach of whinging artists, eg Julian Lennon. I think Jagger's approach is more arresting/challenging. 'Rogue children...loaded dice' - another example.

2) Apart from the derivatory main riff the song is structured really well....especially like the role of the bass... in the progression up to the guitar break/drum break

3) Gusto and verve........closer in spirit to Lies than to VL/ABB approach.

4) Great Charlie throughout - and really creative/arresting drum bit in the middle - much more so than on I Go Wild, (which owed more to treatment of sound than to deftness of touch).

5) Infact all instrumentation throughout....and just a great climactic ending with vocals and everyone combining and competing to keep the driving urgency going.........esp. again Charlie.

SW was Charlie's last great testament in terms of consistent, distinctive character throughout an album. Not much outstanding on VL or B2B. Probably more so on ABB (but I've not heard it in full yet).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2005-09-05 02:54 by Four Stone Walls.

i love dw.

john scialfa

PLEASE GOD NO !!!

Nobody has to like this song but,some of these assessments are childish and fake.In fact,I don't hear anything childish or fake in the song.

just thinking about RAAHP brings back great memories from the 1989 tour!

No, no and no.

Four Stone Walls:

I certainly respect the attention and thought you've given this one, but...

I'm sorry, I just can't stand that track.

I think we agree that "Steel Wheels" is an underrated record: "Terrifying," "Continental Drift," "Hold On To Your Hat," and of course, "Slipping Away"--great tunes.

Yes please!, i want it!

Dera Reverend,

That's fine. I'm sorry you don't like the track too!

I think SW stands up as a very fresh and balanced album - their best since SG - and their last real 'band' album. Guitar-driven too.

I've heard ABB in full for first time today and share your overall assessment. The thing that struck me immediately about ABB is that it is drum- and vocal-driven: the guitars are often perfunctory. Not all tracks - but generally speaking. Comparisons with SG are absurd. That was a guitar album (and imo it had weaker guitars than most albums prior to it).

SW gets a bum rap from all the people who look at it in hindsight.

At the time, I was just glad to have it. After DW, it looked like the Stones were finished. I remember seeing a clip of Woody on Entertainment Tonight saying that's it, the Stones aren't speaking, it's over.

Steel Wheels was a comeback all right. Artistically, it doesn't rate with Let It Bleed, Aftermath, etc., but it was also experimental and bold. They were really working again.

There are some great songs on that album,but NOT Rock and a Hard Place.

It's just way too polished. It doesn't even sound like the Stones. It's like they were going for the Phil Collins fan base.

Awful.

Ronnie does a good job on RAAHP. Love the Live At The Max version where he's really at it.

Been done....... give me blue turns to grey or sway or coming down again!

"Well my heavy throbbers itchin' just to lay a solid rhythm down"