Tell Me :
Talk
I like A Bigger Band better than Bridges To Babylon.
I like A Bigger Bang better than Bridges To Babylon.
Said no one.
Ever.
STEEL WHEELS blew their worst album out of the water. STEEL WHEELS is equivalent to EXILE ON MAIN STREET compared to WE HAVE UGLY MUSIC AND UGLY CLOTHES aka DIRTY WORK.
Yet, aside from the usual fan boy 'but their worst is better than' blah blah blah you FAIL to list their actual worst album, DIRTY WORK, and their second worst album, TSMR.
Stones fan fail.
Can You Hear The Music is navel-gazing and Winter is not???
Yes.
On Winter Mick is mostly sounding like he adores his own voice, while on CYHTM they get the groove going with mystic sounds and travel into unknown territories, adding some beautiful harmonies and melodic passages – with excellent results, imo.
+1 I'd rate Steel Wheels as their biggest letdown. There'd been a truce, a tour was upcoming, and the album behind it was a neutered dud.
GHS is the hangover after the party that was Beggars through Exile. Keith was supposedly operating in diminished capacity, so the riffs weren't there.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-02-06 11:11 by ab.
Dirty Work is a great album IMHO, by far not their worst. TSMR is a joke album, but very interesting; it doesn't count as normal album anyway. I forgot IORR above, but then we have already six.
Winter is kitsch, but sometimes Stones kitsch works well. (Indian Girl is another example). I like the trance-loop-on-eternal-repeat feel of it, both the guitars as the voice as the lyrics. It's basically a jam. Mick and Keith stopped writing together as they used to, so it never got into a proper song, but still, as a jam it's better than most on the album (but obviously worse than anything on the previous album).
I can understand that feeling, and that's the way I'm listening to it as well.
But before we call Winter a masterpiece, we should put it in its proper context. It came out on a follow-up album to Exile – with Let It Loose, Shine A Light, Sweet Virginia, Sweet Black Angel and Loving Cup.
Compared to those songs, which in a way was the purpose of this thread (and the article), Winter falls flat.
Angie, however, is a perfect recording and a very well-written and performed song, imo – no matter whether I like it or not. It's simply on par quality-wise with the other ones I mentioned. IMO, of course.
Music is complicated, and I loved to read your post, hopkins, as I can relate to a lot of it! Of course it's about taste
I was young in 1986 and 1989, and I was already an abid Stones fan. But I also was marked by the bad taste-sounds of the times, whether I wanted to or not. That's why the synths and sequencers on Undercover, the gated reverb snares on DW or the light-weight production on SW didn't bother me too much at the time.
The sound of DW became too much after a while, though (except for Harlem Shuffle, Had It With You, Too Rude and Sleep Tonight, which are pretty timeless-sounding - oops that's 40 percent of the album, he he).
Everything can be improved, including the imagination in the bass playing on B&L. No disagreement there. After three-figures of spins on B&L I'm still very, very happy with it, though
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-02-06 12:14 by DandelionPowderman.
Yes, compared with the Big Four Winter falls flat, I agree. But so does the entire album with the exception of Angie. (Although I don't think Angie would have fitted really well on Exile).
Talk about your favorite band.
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Re: GHS Stones Most Biggest Letdown?
Posted by:
hopkins
()
Date: February 6, 2017 01:12
I'm a little surprised a lot of folks rate Silver Train so low as if it's not the good one. To me, that's what they do. That's it; I don't have to see the cute jump suit and eye shadow to let it rock my world; but just as a song as a sound; i could just listen to it all day long. I don't even care what the f he's talking about. It sounds right to me. "...ding dong...oh yeah..."
Now there's bang for the buck. They don't change a chord for the first minute. Why bother it's already there. The bell's rung. When they finally do go for a couple of quick changes, it's immediatley back to the first, which now feels like a chorus & everythings up a notch and nothing's changed. Don't change it on my account. I'm fine with it right there. They're generous with that short bridge; just icing on a completed cake. one line repeated twice and it's like the best bridge in rock history and the only one necessary haha. If it was on Exile on the 4th side it'd just be cruel; it would be too good to release. There'd be health warnings and all kinds of extra promo costs for stickers...some of the same fans who slag it would be praising it? If they were smart they'd cut a 12 inch single and make it three times as long! There's a few lurkers here and there during those years of releases that still are definitional stunners for me.
(ty Rocky tough but tender i always suspected you...
)
Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 2017-02-07 04:22 by hopkins.
Now there's bang for the buck. They don't change a chord for the first minute. Why bother it's already there. The bell's rung. When they finally do go for a couple of quick changes, it's immediatley back to the first, which now feels like a chorus & everythings up a notch and nothing's changed. Don't change it on my account. I'm fine with it right there. They're generous with that short bridge; just icing on a completed cake. one line repeated twice and it's like the best bridge in rock history and the only one necessary haha. If it was on Exile on the 4th side it'd just be cruel; it would be too good to release. There'd be health warnings and all kinds of extra promo costs for stickers...some of the same fans who slag it would be praising it? If they were smart they'd cut a 12 inch single and make it three times as long!
There's a few lurkers here and there during those years of releases that still are definitional stunners for me.(ty Rocky tough but tender i always suspected you...
)Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 2017-02-07 04:22 by hopkins.
Re: GHS Stones Most Biggest Letdown?
Posted by:
wonderboy
()
Date: February 6, 2017 01:12
I think they had run out of Mick/Keith songs. They wrote a whole bunch of tunes in the late 60s that they used on Exile but by the time they went into the studio to do this album they were starting from scratch again.
GHS feels to me like a Taylor-Jagger album. Jagger seems to have had more of a plan for the album. I think he would pull something out of Keith and then go work on it with Taylor. All speculation, of course, hopefully informed.
I agree it didn't help that Mr. Jimmy was on his way out.
And by this time they were completely rootless. The exile from Britain and the inability to fine a home really hurt them personally and professionally, imo.
GHS feels to me like a Taylor-Jagger album. Jagger seems to have had more of a plan for the album. I think he would pull something out of Keith and then go work on it with Taylor. All speculation, of course, hopefully informed.
I agree it didn't help that Mr. Jimmy was on his way out.
And by this time they were completely rootless. The exile from Britain and the inability to fine a home really hurt them personally and professionally, imo.
Re: GHS Stones Most Biggest Letdown?
Posted by:
HankM
()
Date: February 6, 2017 01:30
Sometimes after reading some comments on some threads here I have to scroll up and make sure I wasn't somehow hijacked and send over to some kind of fans of Justin Bieber, Sting or ballet music web site. I have to check that I am still on a "supposed" fans of the Rolling Stones message board... and when I see I am... I scratch my head and wonder
wtf?
wtf?Re: GHS Stones Most Biggest Letdown?
Posted by:
EddieByword
()
Date: February 6, 2017 01:57
Angie was the first Stones song I ever heard.....and then the colossal Heartbreaker.......how could I ever complain about a song that steered me towards a life time of fantastic listening and experiences with Stones...........(except Cardiff 1990 where I had a migraine all through - because of the earlier blazing hot sun)..........
That was a mighty hook and is why I call Angie - the mighty Angie.......(poetic I know,,,,,,,,,,,
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-02-06 03:31 by EddieByword.
That was a mighty hook and is why I call Angie - the mighty Angie.......(poetic I know,,,,,,,,,,,
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-02-06 03:31 by EddieByword.
Re: GHS Stones Most Biggest Letdown?
Posted by:
kish_stoned
()
Date: February 6, 2017 02:11
ITS good album more mellow than sticky and exile,love the album as it is and flows very nicely all the songs are diff from one another,if it was a new band fans would be raving about it. I LIKE IT. I LIKE IT,YES I DO.
Re: GHS Stones Most Biggest Letdown?
Posted by:
Toru A
()
Date: February 6, 2017 04:37
Am I the only one who thinks David Bowie's "Can You Hear Me" was inspired by "Can You Hear the Music" ?
Re: GHS Stones Most Biggest Letdown?
Posted by:
boogaloojef
()
Date: February 6, 2017 05:00
Quote
KRiffhardQuote
boogaloojef
The biggest letdowns for me were Black & Blue, Emotional Rescue and Bridges To Babylon
Maybe you haven't heard ABB!
I like A Bigger Band better than Bridges To Babylon.
Re: GHS Stones Most Biggest Letdown?
Posted by:
boogaloojef
()
Date: February 6, 2017 05:00
Quote
KRiffhardQuote
boogaloojef
The biggest letdowns for me were Black & Blue, Emotional Rescue and Bridges To Babylon
Maybe you haven't heard ABB!
I like A Bigger Bang better than Bridges To Babylon.
Re: GHS Stones Most Biggest Letdown?
Posted by:
mtaylor
()
Date: February 6, 2017 05:04
A great record, but not as good as the previous four ones.
But not at all, a big letdown.
It has good songs like Dancing with Mr. D, Star Star, Angie, Heartbreaker, Coming Down Again, Silver Train..... many songs were performed very well in the 1973 concerts, some of them highlights on Brussels Affair, one of the best "Live releases" ever.
Mick is singing very good, guitars are good, good keyboards, strings - you name it.
Certainly, thye band had its problems with drugs and celebrity life style.
But not at all, a big letdown.
It has good songs like Dancing with Mr. D, Star Star, Angie, Heartbreaker, Coming Down Again, Silver Train..... many songs were performed very well in the 1973 concerts, some of them highlights on Brussels Affair, one of the best "Live releases" ever.
Mick is singing very good, guitars are good, good keyboards, strings - you name it.
Certainly, thye band had its problems with drugs and celebrity life style.
Re: GHS Stones Most Biggest Letdown?
Posted by:
GasLightStreet
()
Date: February 6, 2017 06:06
Quote
HMS
No doubt about it, GHS is and will remain their weakest album. It´s just boring and toothless. Some of the songs are pure "MUZAK". Horrible compared to everything that came before and almost everything that came after. It would be easy to put the blame on Taylor, but it wasn´t Taylor alone who messed it up. All of them did. First of all, mediocre songwriting. Then sometimes ridiculous vocal delivery. Uh, so much went wrong, I could go on for an hour or two... Even the sequence of the songs is bad. They opened with the wrong track and closed with the wrong track.
Dancing With Mr. D --- 0/10
100 Years Ago --- 3/10
Coming Down Again --- 0/10
Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker) --- 10/10
Angie --- 1/10
Silver Train --- 3/10
Hide Your Love --- 10/10
Winter --- 1/10
Can You Hear The Music --- 2/10
Star Star --- 10/10
Said no one.
Ever.
Re: GHS Stones Most Biggest Letdown?
Posted by:
GasLightStreet
()
Date: February 6, 2017 06:10
Quote
tattersQuote
HMS
I expected great things when they "reunited" for Steel Wheels. But in fact it turned out to be one of their most disappointing albums.
The tension and anger of WWIII was good for the aggressive sound of DW.
Steel Wheels suffered from smoking the peace pipe.
Ah, they were in their mid-forties by that time. I might have been delusionally hoping against hope that they still had one more good one left in them, but seriously, what rock musician has ever really had anything of musical or lyrical importance left to say when they're 45 years old? It's all been said long before then.
STEEL WHEELS blew their worst album out of the water. STEEL WHEELS is equivalent to EXILE ON MAIN STREET compared to WE HAVE UGLY MUSIC AND UGLY CLOTHES aka DIRTY WORK.
Re: GHS Stones Most Biggest Letdown?
Posted by:
GasLightStreet
()
Date: February 6, 2017 06:12
Quote
Monsoon Ragoon
The 5 worst albums for me: GHS, ER, VL, BTB (both). But remember they're all still better than the best albums of most bands!
Yet, aside from the usual fan boy 'but their worst is better than' blah blah blah you FAIL to list their actual worst album, DIRTY WORK, and their second worst album, TSMR.
Stones fan fail.
Re: GHS Stones Most Biggest Letdown?
Posted by:
MileHigh
()
Date: February 6, 2017 07:52
It was a disappointment when it came out. However it has aged reasonably well, and Angie is a stellar song, period. It is perfectly crafted. However, look at the good songs like Star Star and Heartbreaker, they sound so wispy and thin for rockers. Compare the sound production on B*tch, for example, and imagine the same meatiness on Star Star and Heartbreaker. They would sound so much better like that.
Dancing with Mr. D is awful, and I fall asleep half way through the song every time I listen to it. Then there is the lazy decadence feel about the album, which does not help. Speaking of decadence and rolling eyes, they called Heartbreaker, "Do doo do do doo doo" or something like that. Give me a break!
For the post-81 modern Stones, what is the most listenable for me is to mine all of the albums for the interesting slow songs and ballads (except for Streets of Love.) You can turn that into a nice listenable experience, and you can see how the boys are trying to reach into some new areas because they are clearly bored with Rock'n'Roll at this point. For example, listen to the listless boring emotionless "Mixed Emotions" as a "rock" song. They clearly have no direction and no conviction.
Going back to GHS, it's the old cliche, if you knocked off the stinkers and found the good out-takes and finished them off, and if you had the "Stick Fingers" production and sound, then GHS would not have been a disappointment, it would have formed part of the "Big Six" (I always include GYYYO).
So, we can lament lost opportunities, and really enjoy half of the album for sure. The post-81 Stones are actually soft rockers and balladeers, you just have to mine the resource and manage it properly.
Dancing with Mr. D is awful, and I fall asleep half way through the song every time I listen to it. Then there is the lazy decadence feel about the album, which does not help. Speaking of decadence and rolling eyes, they called Heartbreaker, "Do doo do do doo doo" or something like that. Give me a break!
For the post-81 modern Stones, what is the most listenable for me is to mine all of the albums for the interesting slow songs and ballads (except for Streets of Love.) You can turn that into a nice listenable experience, and you can see how the boys are trying to reach into some new areas because they are clearly bored with Rock'n'Roll at this point. For example, listen to the listless boring emotionless "Mixed Emotions" as a "rock" song. They clearly have no direction and no conviction.
Going back to GHS, it's the old cliche, if you knocked off the stinkers and found the good out-takes and finished them off, and if you had the "Stick Fingers" production and sound, then GHS would not have been a disappointment, it would have formed part of the "Big Six" (I always include GYYYO).
So, we can lament lost opportunities, and really enjoy half of the album for sure. The post-81 Stones are actually soft rockers and balladeers, you just have to mine the resource and manage it properly.
Re: GHS Stones Most Biggest Letdown?
Posted by:
MileHigh
()
Date: February 6, 2017 08:14
Dancing With Mr. D 1/10 - I fell asleep.
100 Years Ago 7/10 - nice, something different.
Coming Down Again 5/10 - a lost opportunity, it could have been five times better if done properly
Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker) 8/10 - nice kick-a$$ rocker, but the sound is WAY too thin. Stop the self-indulgent crap with the title.
Angie 10/10 - perfection a la Stones. Note the recording dynamics are _there_. There is some meat on the bone.
Silver Train 7/10 - the Stones still shine thorough although the production is yet again weak and thin. It's different, and different is often good.
Hide Your Love 6/10 - okay, but this should have been on the chopping block to be replaced by something better
Winter 9/10 - If you "get" Winter it is amazing. Still suffering from somewhat weak production but the song shines, it really shines.
Can You Hear The Music 3/10 - yes interesting, yes chopping block. Very indulgent navel gazing. Yes you can make some different and never before heard of sounds, but for what and why?
Star Star 9/10 - yes yes yes but one more time, such thin and weak production with almost no punch and no bite. The song is great, the recording and production sucks. It sounds like the song was run over by a steam roller and is as flat as a pancake.
100 Years Ago 7/10 - nice, something different.
Coming Down Again 5/10 - a lost opportunity, it could have been five times better if done properly
Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker) 8/10 - nice kick-a$$ rocker, but the sound is WAY too thin. Stop the self-indulgent crap with the title.
Angie 10/10 - perfection a la Stones. Note the recording dynamics are _there_. There is some meat on the bone.
Silver Train 7/10 - the Stones still shine thorough although the production is yet again weak and thin. It's different, and different is often good.
Hide Your Love 6/10 - okay, but this should have been on the chopping block to be replaced by something better
Winter 9/10 - If you "get" Winter it is amazing. Still suffering from somewhat weak production but the song shines, it really shines.
Can You Hear The Music 3/10 - yes interesting, yes chopping block. Very indulgent navel gazing. Yes you can make some different and never before heard of sounds, but for what and why?
Star Star 9/10 - yes yes yes but one more time, such thin and weak production with almost no punch and no bite. The song is great, the recording and production sucks. It sounds like the song was run over by a steam roller and is as flat as a pancake.
Re: GHS Stones Most Biggest Letdown?
Posted by:
Witness
()
Date: February 6, 2017 09:36
Recently about BTB (US)
Followed by
Now, however:
Quote
HMS
Most unsatisfying Stones-album ever. Never liked the style and attitude of the album. US-version is slightly better thanks to LSTNT.
Let's Spend the Night Together 9/10
Yesterday's Papers 2/10
Ruby Tuesday 5/10
Connection 3/10
She Smiled Sweetly 2/10
Cool, Calm & Collected 0/10
All Sold Out 1/10
My Obsession 0/10
Who's Been Sleeping Here? 0/10
Complicated 0/10
Miss Amanda Jones 0/10
Something Happened to Me Yesterday 0/10
Followed by
Quote
HMSQuote
DandelionPowderman
Something Happened To Me Yesterday and All Sold Out are GREAT songwriting.
There are harmonies, cool bridges and unexpected stuff popping up. Why isn't that great?
It´s a pale carbon copy of the Kinks.
(Like almost everything on BT
I even like GHS better than BTB, although GHS is a hard taks to listen to without falling asleep.
Now, however:
Quote
HMS
No doubt about it, GHS is and will remain their weakest album. It´s just boring and toothless. Some of the songs are pure "MUZAK". Horrible compared to everything that came before and almost everything that came after. It would be easy to put the blame on Taylor, but it wasn´t Taylor alone who messed it up. All of them did. First of all, mediocre songwriting. Then sometimes ridiculous vocal delivery. Uh, so much went wrong, I could go on for an hour or two... Even the sequence of the songs is bad. They opened with the wrong track and closed with the wrong track.
Dancing With Mr. D --- 0/10
100 Years Ago --- 3/10
Coming Down Again --- 0/10
Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker) --- 10/10
Angie --- 1/10
Silver Train --- 3/10
Hide Your Love --- 10/10
Winter --- 1/10
Can You Hear The Music --- 2/10
Star Star --- 10/10
Re: GHS Stones Most Biggest Letdown?
Posted by:
DandelionPowderman
()
Date: February 6, 2017 10:22
Quote
MileHigh
Dancing With Mr. D 1/10 - I fell asleep.
100 Years Ago 7/10 - nice, something different.
Coming Down Again 5/10 - a lost opportunity, it could have been five times better if done properly
Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker) 8/10 - nice kick-a$$ rocker, but the sound is WAY too thin. Stop the self-indulgent crap with the title.
Angie 10/10 - perfection a la Stones. Note the recording dynamics are _there_. There is some meat on the bone.
Silver Train 7/10 - the Stones still shine thorough although the production is yet again weak and thin. It's different, and different is often good.
Hide Your Love 6/10 - okay, but this should have been on the chopping block to be replaced by something better
Winter 9/10 - If you "get" Winter it is amazing. Still suffering from somewhat weak production but the song shines, it really shines.
Can You Hear The Music 3/10 - yes interesting, yes chopping block. Very indulgent navel gazing. Yes you can make some different and never before heard of sounds, but for what and why?
Star Star 9/10 - yes yes yes but one more time, such thin and weak production with almost no punch and no bite. The song is great, the recording and production sucks. It sounds like the song was run over by a steam roller and is as flat as a pancake.
Can You Hear The Music is navel-gazing and Winter is not???
Re: GHS Stones Most Biggest Letdown?
Posted by:
hopkins
()
Date: February 6, 2017 10:42
Quote
DandelionPowdermanQuote
MileHigh
Dancing With Mr. D 1/10 - I fell asleep.
100 Years Ago 7/10 - nice, something different.
Coming Down Again 5/10 - a lost opportunity, it could have been five times better if done properly
Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker) 8/10 - nice kick-a$$ rocker, but the sound is WAY too thin. Stop the self-indulgent crap with the title.
Angie 10/10 - perfection a la Stones. Note the recording dynamics are _there_. There is some meat on the bone.
Silver Train 7/10 - the Stones still shine thorough although the production is yet again weak and thin. It's different, and different is often good.
Hide Your Love 6/10 - okay, but this should have been on the chopping block to be replaced by something better
Winter 9/10 - If you "get" Winter it is amazing. Still suffering from somewhat weak production but the song shines, it really shines.
Can You Hear The Music 3/10 - yes interesting, yes chopping block. Very indulgent navel gazing. Yes you can make some different and never before heard of sounds, but for what and why?
Star Star 9/10 - yes yes yes but one more time, such thin and weak production with almost no punch and no bite. The song is great, the recording and production sucks. It sounds like the song was run over by a steam roller and is as flat as a pancake.
Can You Hear The Music is navel-gazing and Winter is not???
Yes.
Re: GHS Stones Most Biggest Letdown?
Posted by:
DandelionPowderman
()
Date: February 6, 2017 10:45
Quote
hopkinsQuote
DandelionPowdermanQuote
MileHigh
Dancing With Mr. D 1/10 - I fell asleep.
100 Years Ago 7/10 - nice, something different.
Coming Down Again 5/10 - a lost opportunity, it could have been five times better if done properly
Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker) 8/10 - nice kick-a$$ rocker, but the sound is WAY too thin. Stop the self-indulgent crap with the title.
Angie 10/10 - perfection a la Stones. Note the recording dynamics are _there_. There is some meat on the bone.
Silver Train 7/10 - the Stones still shine thorough although the production is yet again weak and thin. It's different, and different is often good.
Hide Your Love 6/10 - okay, but this should have been on the chopping block to be replaced by something better
Winter 9/10 - If you "get" Winter it is amazing. Still suffering from somewhat weak production but the song shines, it really shines.
Can You Hear The Music 3/10 - yes interesting, yes chopping block. Very indulgent navel gazing. Yes you can make some different and never before heard of sounds, but for what and why?
Star Star 9/10 - yes yes yes but one more time, such thin and weak production with almost no punch and no bite. The song is great, the recording and production sucks. It sounds like the song was run over by a steam roller and is as flat as a pancake.
Can You Hear The Music is navel-gazing and Winter is not???
Yes.
On Winter Mick is mostly sounding like he adores his own voice, while on CYHTM they get the groove going with mystic sounds and travel into unknown territories, adding some beautiful harmonies and melodic passages – with excellent results, imo.
Re: GHS Stones Most Biggest Letdown?
Posted by:
rebelrebel
()
Date: February 6, 2017 10:57
Goats Head Soup is a masterpiece without qualification as far as I'm concerned.
Re: GHS Stones Most Biggest Letdown?
Posted by:
ab
()
Date: February 6, 2017 11:00
Quote
HMS
I expected great things when they "reunited" for Steel Wheels. But in fact it turned out to be one of their most disappointing albums.
The tension and anger of WWIII was good for the aggressive sound of DW.
Steel Wheels suffered from smoking the peace pipe.
+1 I'd rate Steel Wheels as their biggest letdown. There'd been a truce, a tour was upcoming, and the album behind it was a neutered dud.
GHS is the hangover after the party that was Beggars through Exile. Keith was supposedly operating in diminished capacity, so the riffs weren't there.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-02-06 11:11 by ab.
Re: GHS Stones Most Biggest Letdown?
Posted by:
Monsoon Ragoon
()
Date: February 6, 2017 11:09
Quote
GasLightStreetQuote
Monsoon Ragoon
The 5 worst albums for me: GHS, ER, VL, BTB (both). But remember they're all still better than the best albums of most bands!
Yet, aside from the usual fan boy 'but their worst is better than' blah blah blah you FAIL to list their actual worst album, DIRTY WORK, and their second worst album, TSMR.
Stones fan fail.
Dirty Work is a great album IMHO, by far not their worst. TSMR is a joke album, but very interesting; it doesn't count as normal album anyway. I forgot IORR above, but then we have already six.
Re: GHS Stones Most Biggest Letdown?
Posted by:
DandelionPowderman
()
Date: February 6, 2017 11:10
I never felt SW as a letdown. In fact, I was quite happy with DW as well – at the time when it came out, that is.
Of the newer albums, the only letdown for me was B2B. That has grown on me, while DW is (out) dated now. SW remains solid to my ears, and I'm one of the few who actually enjoy the production (except for the awful effects on Keith's guitar on a couple of numbers + Mick's guitar on Hearts For Sale).
Of the newer albums, the only letdown for me was B2B. That has grown on me, while DW is (out) dated now. SW remains solid to my ears, and I'm one of the few who actually enjoy the production (except for the awful effects on Keith's guitar on a couple of numbers + Mick's guitar on Hearts For Sale).
Re: GHS Stones Most Biggest Letdown?
Posted by:
matxil
()
Date: February 6, 2017 11:54
Quote
DandelionPowderman
[.....]
On Winter Mick is mostly sounding like he adores his own voice, while on CYHTM they get the groove going with mystic sounds and travel into unknown territories, adding some beautiful harmonies and melodic passages – with excellent results, imo.
Winter is kitsch, but sometimes Stones kitsch works well. (Indian Girl is another example). I like the trance-loop-on-eternal-repeat feel of it, both the guitars as the voice as the lyrics. It's basically a jam. Mick and Keith stopped writing together as they used to, so it never got into a proper song, but still, as a jam it's better than most on the album (but obviously worse than anything on the previous album).
Re: GHS Stones Most Biggest Letdown?
Posted by:
hopkins
()
Date: February 6, 2017 11:57
For me; and it's just a matter of personal taste; GHS is in another class worthy of respect even when imo it fails and falls a bit flat on a few...
...all a matter of taste; there's no right and wrong in a greater sense i don't think; it's what people enjoy and want to live with and fill the air up with in their personal spaces...so who could argue with that..
Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2017-02-09 07:28 by hopkins.
...all a matter of taste; there's no right and wrong in a greater sense i don't think; it's what people enjoy and want to live with and fill the air up with in their personal spaces...so who could argue with that..
Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2017-02-09 07:28 by hopkins.
Re: GHS Stones Most Biggest Letdown?
Posted by:
DandelionPowderman
()
Date: February 6, 2017 12:03
Quote
matxilQuote
DandelionPowderman
[.....]
On Winter Mick is mostly sounding like he adores his own voice, while on CYHTM they get the groove going with mystic sounds and travel into unknown territories, adding some beautiful harmonies and melodic passages – with excellent results, imo.
Winter is kitsch, but sometimes Stones kitsch works well. (Indian Girl is another example). I like the trance-loop-on-eternal-repeat feel of it, both the guitars as the voice as the lyrics. It's basically a jam. Mick and Keith stopped writing together as they used to, so it never got into a proper song, but still, as a jam it's better than most on the album (but obviously worse than anything on the previous album).
I can understand that feeling, and that's the way I'm listening to it as well.
But before we call Winter a masterpiece, we should put it in its proper context. It came out on a follow-up album to Exile – with Let It Loose, Shine A Light, Sweet Virginia, Sweet Black Angel and Loving Cup.
Compared to those songs, which in a way was the purpose of this thread (and the article), Winter falls flat.
Angie, however, is a perfect recording and a very well-written and performed song, imo – no matter whether I like it or not. It's simply on par quality-wise with the other ones I mentioned. IMO, of course.
Re: GHS Stones Most Biggest Letdown?
Posted by:
DandelionPowderman
()
Date: February 6, 2017 12:12
Quote
hopkins
For me; and it's just a matter of personal taste; I've no flag to plant on any hill nor battle cry; SW is just very useless and bad; Keith's song at the end is something I like; That's one of very almost completely dismissable ones for me. DW i honestly and innocently bought w pleasure and remember just staring at the cassette machine trying to convince myself that these were the guys on top of the heap and ahead of the curve; or even just turning in something with some middling ones, some super ones, and some not so good. It just hurt, physcially and sonically to listen to it; I tried to get past that into the songs and performances but I never took them very seriously after that and they worked hard to maintain that status as things dribbled out. GHS is very very good imo if compared to babylon or wheels...and i guess some others too, as a matter of personal utility in what floats my boat. GHS is in another class worthy of respect even when imo it fails and falls a big flat on a few...all a matter of taste; there's no right and wrong; it's what people enjoy and want to live with and fill the air up with in their personal spaces...so who could argue with that...for me their catalog encompasses some duds that I can't even call a letdown, because i stopped expecting anything really consistently stellar; when they are into it it shows and one can hear it and feel it; when it's fulfilling a contractural obligation and they're throwing some product together from their individual demos...well, this is why they don't release anything for a decade; the time in which another band, like them when they were starting...would have an entire important and influential career. I don't even think it's age or lack of talent or ability; i think its a by rote thing for them for a long time; They end up making more fair to poor ones than excellent ones in the long run and obsure their own importance. but fans have ears, even casual ones...and the ones truly legendary are so because they are brilliant and involved and evolving. this is not what they're into so much these last few or ten or twenty or thirty years. God it's been 28 years since SW? gosh. ABB had a couple I liked and i buzzed on all of it for the first week or so, but...they did this to themselves. that was the point behind my silly sarcasm about being super rich and not really 'needing' anything inresponse to Dandy...i'm no judge or jury and don't matter anyway but I think most of the latter day catalog not very involving, some of it kind of just uninspired; It must be hard living up to a legacy like they have and carrying it around on your back; DW was a complete letdown; i ab felt snookered; i had to strain to take them seriously after that one; The last time i can remember truly playing a new Stone album to death was over upon DW. I suspiciously stayed w them w VL and was encouraged. I think it's under-rated and thought several of them really really good. I had great hopes for Darryl too; i thought they really cared and put a lot of effort into it and i liked it; it would be discourteous to put that one down, tho not all bell ringers; who cares...it felt they were involved and inspired to me. after that nothing much; a few on ABB I liked but ten years later it's Back Of My Hand and RJ. Let Me Down Slow almost made it but there's one careless sloppy line so haphazardly lazy it shut me down from even that one. One More Shot and D&G were both great for me; I liked both of them a lot; I thought 'this stuff is super!' and was delighted. the new eoms tracks for the special release made me sick. i wanted to follow the river to a point deep enough where I could drown myself; i was almost ashamed. haha...B&L is marking time; they've so much talent they can't help to be fun on all the old blues stuff but none of it is as good as Little Red Rooster haha; i better just shut up...
Music is complicated, and I loved to read your post, hopkins, as I can relate to a lot of it! Of course it's about taste
I was young in 1986 and 1989, and I was already an abid Stones fan. But I also was marked by the bad taste-sounds of the times, whether I wanted to or not. That's why the synths and sequencers on Undercover, the gated reverb snares on DW or the light-weight production on SW didn't bother me too much at the time.
The sound of DW became too much after a while, though (except for Harlem Shuffle, Had It With You, Too Rude and Sleep Tonight, which are pretty timeless-sounding - oops that's 40 percent of the album, he he).
Everything can be improved, including the imagination in the bass playing on B&L. No disagreement there. After three-figures of spins on B&L I'm still very, very happy with it, though
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-02-06 12:14 by DandelionPowderman.
Re: GHS Stones Most Biggest Letdown?
Posted by:
tioms
()
Date: February 6, 2017 12:36
DandelionPowderman,
Why do you ALWAYS repeat over and over again?
But you free to do that.
But it becomes boring.
The main thing to listen for in Richards is not Clapton-type runs
but the way in which the riffs and rhythmized lead blend perfectly
into the new sound, and the way his soloing always heightens the
excitement of the performance.
– Jon Landau
Why do you ALWAYS repeat over and over again?
But you free to do that.
But it becomes boring.
The main thing to listen for in Richards is not Clapton-type runs
but the way in which the riffs and rhythmized lead blend perfectly
into the new sound, and the way his soloing always heightens the
excitement of the performance.
– Jon Landau
Re: GHS Stones Most Biggest Letdown?
Posted by:
hopkins
()
Date: February 6, 2017 12:46
.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-02-06 18:56 by hopkins.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-02-06 18:56 by hopkins.
Re: GHS Stones Most Biggest Letdown?
Posted by:
matxil
()
Date: February 6, 2017 12:49
Quote
DandelionPowdermanQuote
matxilQuote
DandelionPowderman
[.....]
On Winter Mick is mostly sounding like he adores his own voice, while on CYHTM they get the groove going with mystic sounds and travel into unknown territories, adding some beautiful harmonies and melodic passages – with excellent results, imo.
Winter is kitsch, but sometimes Stones kitsch works well. (Indian Girl is another example). I like the trance-loop-on-eternal-repeat feel of it, both the guitars as the voice as the lyrics. It's basically a jam. Mick and Keith stopped writing together as they used to, so it never got into a proper song, but still, as a jam it's better than most on the album (but obviously worse than anything on the previous album).
I can understand that feeling, and that's the way I'm listening to it as well.
But before we call Winter a masterpiece, we should put it in its proper context. It came out on a follow-up album to Exile – with Let It Loose, Shine A Light, Sweet Virginia, Sweet Black Angel and Loving Cup.
Compared to those songs, which in a way was the purpose of this thread (and the article), Winter falls flat.
Angie, however, is a perfect recording and a very well-written and performed song, imo – no matter whether I like it or not. It's simply on par quality-wise with the other ones I mentioned. IMO, of course.
Yes, compared with the Big Four Winter falls flat, I agree. But so does the entire album with the exception of Angie. (Although I don't think Angie would have fitted really well on Exile).
Re: GHS Stones Most Biggest Letdown?
Posted by:
hopkins
()
Date: February 6, 2017 12:52
.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2017-02-06 13:04 by hopkins.
Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2017-02-06 13:04 by hopkins.
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