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Hairball

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Witness
Hot Stuff 9/10
Hand Of Fate 5/10
Cherry Oh Baby 6,5/10
Memory Motel 10/10

Hey Negrita 3/10
Melody minus 2/10
Fool To Cry 8,5/10
Crazy Mama 8,5/10

Is that a minus 2, as in a negative 2, as in -2 , as in two below zero for Melody?
Whether two below or two above, clearly you must not like it very much lol...

Yes, it is -2!

"Melody" and "Tops" are my two least liked Stones songs.

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Witness

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Hairball

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Witness
Hot Stuff 9/10
Hand Of Fate 5/10
Cherry Oh Baby 6,5/10
Memory Motel 10/10

Hey Negrita 3/10
Melody minus 2/10
Fool To Cry 8,5/10
Crazy Mama 8,5/10

Is that a minus 2, as in a negative 2, as in -2 , as in two below zero for Melody?
Whether two below or two above, clearly you must not like it very much lol...

Yes, it is -2!

"Melody" and "Tops" are my two least liked Stones songs.

Tops? Wow, I love that one.

"No Anchovies, Please"

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Elmo Lewis

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Witness

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Hairball

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Witness
Hot Stuff 9/10
Hand Of Fate 5/10
Cherry Oh Baby 6,5/10
Memory Motel 10/10

Hey Negrita 3/10
Melody minus 2/10
Fool To Cry 8,5/10
Crazy Mama 8,5/10

Is that a minus 2, as in a negative 2, as in -2 , as in two below zero for Melody?
Whether two below or two above, clearly you must not like it very much lol...

Yes, it is -2!

"Melody" and "Tops" are my two least liked Stones songs.

Tops? Wow, I love that one.

Maybe I love some other songs that you dont! (For instance, " Undercover of the Night".)

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Witness

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Elmo Lewis

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Witness

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Hairball

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Witness
Hot Stuff 9/10
Hand Of Fate 5/10
Cherry Oh Baby 6,5/10
Memory Motel 10/10

Hey Negrita 3/10
Melody minus 2/10
Fool To Cry 8,5/10
Crazy Mama 8,5/10

Is that a minus 2, as in a negative 2, as in -2 , as in two below zero for Melody?
Whether two below or two above, clearly you must not like it very much lol...

Yes, it is -2!

"Melody" and "Tops" are my two least liked Stones songs.

Tops? Wow, I love that one.

Maybe I love some other songs that you dont! (For instance, " Undercover of the Night".)

Fool To Cry miles the same 'Philly soul'-vein as Tops. I like both, but how come you prefer Fool To Cry?

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DandelionPowderman

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Witness

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Elmo Lewis

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Witness

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Hairball

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Witness
Hot Stuff 9/10
Hand Of Fate 5/10
Cherry Oh Baby 6,5/10
Memory Motel 10/10

Hey Negrita 3/10
Melody minus 2/10
Fool To Cry 8,5/10
Crazy Mama 8,5/10

Is that a minus 2, as in a negative 2, as in -2 , as in two below zero for Melody?
Whether two below or two above, clearly you must not like it very much lol...

Yes, it is -2!

"Melody" and "Tops" are my two least liked Stones songs.

Tops? Wow, I love that one.

Maybe I love some other songs that you dont! (For instance, " Undercover of the Night".)

Fool To Cry miles the same 'Philly soul'-vein as Tops. I like both, but how come you prefer Fool To Cry?

I simply experience those two songs as widely different.

I was first on my block to get it because the guy at the local record store knew what a big Stones fan I was. He had a copy especially for me. I took it home and played it right away. I told my mom I couldn't come to dinner because I had something very important to do.

I was disappointed on the first hearing, but the album has grown on me over the years. "Fool to Cry" is a beautiful soul ballad. I love "Hey Negrita."

I am probably the only person in the world who likes "Melody." It's an oddball barrel-house number, not typical fare for the Stones, but I like it for that reason. It was daring. And of course the great Billy Preston's piano playing is all over it.

It was an album of highs and lows. I don't think you can get much lower than their cover of "Cherry O Baby."

You're not the only one, Pietro

It might be their most professional record.
The sound is great, whether that's the engineering or the production.
Jagger's vocals are rich and varied. He was really working hard and hadn't begun to fall back on mannerisms.
The musicianship, especially from the session guitars, is brilliant.
They touched many genres and showed off their ability to play anything and make it themselves.

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Pietro
I am probably the only person in the world who likes "Melody."

You're not. Melody is absolutely the highlight of the album, and also a highlight in their catalogue of songs. I seem to remember having read somewhere that Billy Preston more than helped writing that song.

Black and Blue has always been a mixed bag to me. When it came out I appreciated it for being almost totally different from anything they had done before but most of the songs were somehow underwhelming. Hot STuff and Hey Negrita are interesting but don't really go off. Somehow similar to Dance on ER: you see the intention but it doesn't really work out. Like, they promise something they can't keep. Hand OF Fate and Crazy Mama are Stones by the numbers, rather filler material, and make me want to skip them even before the riffs are over. If Cherry Oh Baby was the best reggae they could play at that time I don't want to know about the alternatives. Somewhere in between there's Melody, which was what made me buy the album at some point, and the ballads, which outshine the other songs. Maybe not very typical Stones songs and certainly not what you expected from the Stones in the mid-70s anyway but they're good songs that also stand the test of time.

ANother funny thing for me about B&B is that the album grows in my memory when I don't listen to it for a while. Like, I remember it for what it could have been but not for what it is. Listening to it again brings me back to earth and makes me admit that the album simply isn't that good. LOL

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Witness

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Hairball

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Witness
Hot Stuff 9/10
Hand Of Fate 5/10
Cherry Oh Baby 6,5/10
Memory Motel 10/10

Hey Negrita 3/10
Melody minus 2/10
Fool To Cry 8,5/10
Crazy Mama 8,5/10

Is that a minus 2, as in a negative 2, as in -2 , as in two below zero for Melody?
Whether two below or two above, clearly you must not like it very much lol...

Yes, it is -2!

"Melody" and "Tops" are my two least liked Stones songs.

I thought that's what you meant, but wanted to be sure. Overall, I'd say your review is reasonable, fair, and accurate averaging out to about a 5 out of 10 (which is generous).
Easily one of their most forgettable albums of the '60's and '70's, and outside of Stones fans, most wouldn't even be able to name one single tune from it.

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

Gee, that's a real shame.

Lofl.

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doitywoik
Listening to it again brings me back to earth and makes me admit that the album simply isn't that good. LOL

As a whole no it isn't, and most people would agree, but there are definitely a couple of decent tunes.
I imagine if someone set up a poll here for the average Stones fan (not the cheerleaders) ranking all Stones albums up to 1981,
on average this would fall near the very bottom alongside Emotional Rescue and Satanic Majesties.

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

My first impression, buying it when it came out, was disappointment that it was only 8 tracks. I heard Hot Stuff in a department store and wondered if they were going straight disco. Then when I heard it it sounded disjointed. They had a couple great dance tunes, reflecting their time, and then a couple 'classic Stones' thrown in that seemed out of place, Hand of Fate, and Crazy Mama.

Hey Negrita is a fantastic, greasy, sexy, ultimate Stones track. Ronnie deserves a lot of love on this one. Cherry Oh Baby is clunky reggae at best. All in all an okay album at the time, not a great album.

Over the years I've learned to like it more, just because the songs are pretty good. It was their first album in a long time that didn't really have a stand out single.

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Pietro
I was first on my block to get it because the guy at the local record store knew what a big Stones fan I was. He had a copy especially for me. I took it home and played it right away. I told my mom I couldn't come to dinner because I had something very important to do.

I was disappointed on the first hearing, but the album has grown on me over the years. "Fool to Cry" is a beautiful soul ballad. I love "Hey Negrita."

I am probably the only person in the world who likes "Melody." It's an oddball barrel-house number, not typical fare for the Stones, but I like it for that reason. It was daring. And of course the great Billy Preston's piano playing is all over it.

It was an album of highs and lows. I don't think you can get much lower than their cover of "Cherry O Baby."

I think Melody is awesome.

Considering what they we know they left off in regard to Cherry Oh Baby, that song is a disappointment. The original, which they were quite honest to, is better. Some things should be left alone. But that's where they were at the time. So be it.

In its own context, I've always liked it. It's not SF or EOMS or LIB etc and yawn. So what. It is what it is.

If it was released today, what would people say?

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GasLightStreet

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Pietro
I was first on my block to get it because the guy at the local record store knew what a big Stones fan I was. He had a copy especially for me. I took it home and played it right away. I told my mom I couldn't come to dinner because I had something very important to do.

I was disappointed on the first hearing, but the album has grown on me over the years. "Fool to Cry" is a beautiful soul ballad. I love "Hey Negrita."

I am probably the only person in the world who likes "Melody." It's an oddball barrel-house number, not typical fare for the Stones, but I like it for that reason. It was daring. And of course the great Billy Preston's piano playing is all over it.

It was an album of highs and lows. I don't think you can get much lower than their cover of "Cherry O Baby."

I think Melody is awesome.

Considering what they we know they left off in regard to Cherry Oh Baby, that song is a disappointment. The original, which they were quite honest to, is better. Some things should be left alone. But that's where they were at the time. So be it.

In its own context, I've always liked it. It's not SF or EOMS or LIB etc and yawn. So what. It is what it is.

If it was released today, what would people say?

The greatest album since Tattoo You!

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treaclefingers

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GasLightStreet

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Pietro
I was first on my block to get it because the guy at the local record store knew what a big Stones fan I was. He had a copy especially for me. I took it home and played it right away. I told my mom I couldn't come to dinner because I had something very important to do.

I was disappointed on the first hearing, but the album has grown on me over the years. "Fool to Cry" is a beautiful soul ballad. I love "Hey Negrita."

I am probably the only person in the world who likes "Melody." It's an oddball barrel-house number, not typical fare for the Stones, but I like it for that reason. It was daring. And of course the great Billy Preston's piano playing is all over it.

It was an album of highs and lows. I don't think you can get much lower than their cover of "Cherry O Baby."

I think Melody is awesome.

Considering what they we know they left off in regard to Cherry Oh Baby, that song is a disappointment. The original, which they were quite honest to, is better. Some things should be left alone. But that's where they were at the time. So be it.

In its own context, I've always liked it. It's not SF or EOMS or LIB etc and yawn. So what. It is what it is.

If it was released today, what would people say?

The greatest album since Tattoo You!

That makes BLACK AND BLUE a fantastic classic! I knew it! I've known it all along!

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Pietro
I was first on my block to get it because the guy at the local record store knew what a big Stones fan I was. He had a copy especially for me. I took it home and played it right away. I told my mom I couldn't come to dinner because I had something very important to do.

I was disappointed on the first hearing, but the album has grown on me over the years. "Fool to Cry" is a beautiful soul ballad. I love "Hey Negrita."

I am probably the only person in the world who likes "Melody." It's an oddball barrel-house number, not typical fare for the Stones, but I like it for that reason. It was daring. And of course the great Billy Preston's piano playing is all over it.

It was an album of highs and lows. I don't think you can get much lower than their cover of "Cherry O Baby."

No, you're not the only one. I think "Melody" is the best song on the album and the only reason to listen to the album (with the addition of "Hand Of Fate").
I think the vocals are fantastic, Mick Jagger on his best, and the groove of the song is really cool. I like my Stones to sound like the Stones but with an odd, unexpected twist to it.
A really cool chill-out song.

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Hairball

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doitywoik
Listening to it again brings me back to earth and makes me admit that the album simply isn't that good. LOL

As a whole no it isn't, and most people would agree, but there are definitely a couple of decent tunes.
I imagine if someone set up a poll here for the average Stones fan (not the cheerleaders) ranking all Stones albums up to 1981,
on average this would fall near the very bottom alongside Emotional Rescue and Satanic Majesties.

Those two have a few really good tracks, though, especially TSMR. Black and Blue doesn't contain anything that rises above the level of OK. I tried really hard to like it when it came out, but sadly it's just not a good album. There have been sporadic signs of life over the years, but as far as I;m concerned its release marked the end of the Rolling Stones as a creative force.

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matxil

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Pietro
I was first on my block to get it because the guy at the local record store knew what a big Stones fan I was. He had a copy especially for me. I took it home and played it right away. I told my mom I couldn't come to dinner because I had something very important to do.

I was disappointed on the first hearing, but the album has grown on me over the years. "Fool to Cry" is a beautiful soul ballad. I love "Hey Negrita."

I am probably the only person in the world who likes "Melody." It's an oddball barrel-house number, not typical fare for the Stones, but I like it for that reason. It was daring. And of course the great Billy Preston's piano playing is all over it.

It was an album of highs and lows. I don't think you can get much lower than their cover of "Cherry O Baby."

No, you're not the only one. I think "Melody" is the best song on the album and the only reason to listen to the album (with the addition of "Hand Of Fate").
I think the vocals are fantastic, Mick Jagger on his best, and the groove of the song is really cool. I like my Stones to sound like the Stones but with an odd, unexpected twist to it.
A really cool chill-out song.

Add me to the "love Melody" list!

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blivet

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Hairball

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doitywoik
Listening to it again brings me back to earth and makes me admit that the album simply isn't that good. LOL

As a whole no it isn't, and most people would agree, but there are definitely a couple of decent tunes.
I imagine if someone set up a poll here for the average Stones fan (not the cheerleaders) ranking all Stones albums up to 1981,
on average this would fall near the very bottom alongside Emotional Rescue and Satanic Majesties.

Those two have a few really good tracks, though, especially TSMR. Black and Blue doesn't contain anything that rises above the level of OK. I tried really hard to like it when it came out, but sadly it's just not a good album. There have been sporadic signs of life over the years, but as far as I;m concerned its release marked the end of the Rolling Stones as a creative force.

Fair enough, but in defense of Black and Blue I'd say there's several tunes that rise above OK, but it's understandable how some would think the whole thing stinks.
There's certainly no landmark signature tunes the general public would know in the same way most other pre-1982 Stones albums do, so in that sense it's kind of an oddball footnote in their pre-'82 catalogue.
Satanic Majesties and Emotional both have a few great tunes, with the former most notably She's a Rainbow as far as the masses are concerned, and as for ER...well lets just say there's a couple of decent tunes.

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

Melody yeah .... hokum ....

Pity Frankie "Half Pint" Jaxon
isnt still around ta cut a version ..... would be hilarious ....



ROCKMAN

Glad to find out others like "Melody." I really thought I was the only one.

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GasLightStreet

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treaclefingers

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GasLightStreet

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Pietro
I was first on my block to get it because the guy at the local record store knew what a big Stones fan I was. He had a copy especially for me. I took it home and played it right away. I told my mom I couldn't come to dinner because I had something very important to do.

I was disappointed on the first hearing, but the album has grown on me over the years. "Fool to Cry" is a beautiful soul ballad. I love "Hey Negrita."

I am probably the only person in the world who likes "Melody." It's an oddball barrel-house number, not typical fare for the Stones, but I like it for that reason. It was daring. And of course the great Billy Preston's piano playing is all over it.

It was an album of highs and lows. I don't think you can get much lower than their cover of "Cherry O Baby."

I think Melody is awesome.

Considering what they we know they left off in regard to Cherry Oh Baby, that song is a disappointment. The original, which they were quite honest to, is better. Some things should be left alone. But that's where they were at the time. So be it.

In its own context, I've always liked it. It's not SF or EOMS or LIB etc and yawn. So what. It is what it is.

If it was released today, what would people say?

The greatest album since Tattoo You!

That makes BLACK AND BLUE a fantastic classic! I knew it! I've known it all along!

Totally agreed!

Fave Song, Memory Motel.

Runner up, Hey Negrita.

Jagger's vocal on Hand of Fate is sublime. For me right up there with his best ever singing.

Glad to find out others like "Melody." I really thought I was the only one.

You aint alone .... Love it ... great lyrics



ROCKMAN

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treaclefingers
The greatest album since Tattoo You!

Cool rating! That would be -3 for the whole album?

At any rate B&B seems to have a highlight for everyone. Like, a different highlight for everybody ...

Hot Stuff 9/10
Hand Of Fate 9/10
Cherry Oh Baby 2/10
Memory Motel 10/10

Hey Negrita 9/10
Melody 10/10
Fool To Cry 10/10
Crazy Mama 8/10

1976 was a great year in rock imo.. not the best of the decade, but much better than the balance of it.

Bob Seger has a preorder for a remaster of one of the best from that year on sale now. "Live Bullet" is a Great album, I went with the standard vinyl on this, can't wait to get it (again).

"Considered to be one of the best live albums of all-time, Bob Seger & The Silver Bullet Band’s ‘Live’ Bullet" was captured at Cobo Hall, Detroit, MI in September 1975. The album was released April 12, 1976 and helped to supercharge Bob Seger’s career. To mark the 45th anniversary, the album has been fully remastered from original analog master tapes and will be released in its original 2LP format."
[bobsegershop.com]

Rolling Stone's highest rated albums of 1976 has Black And Blue coming in at a respectable #4, and Seger's Live Bullet rounding out the top ten, of all genres.
Both rating higher than Hotel California, Blondie, etc.

Highest Rated Albums of 1976
[www.albumoftheyear.org]



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2021-04-28 16:46 by MisterDDDD.

Any outtakes from the sessions available. Would be very interesting.

Given the recent outtakes I've had to downgrade this album. In retrospect could have been much better, but as Keith stated it wasn't a real Stones album. Would be excited for a deluxe bonus with a hardcover of that wonderful photo session.

Given this was ranked #4 in RS, I can see why the punk rock movement took off the following year.

Hot Stuff 7/10
Hand Of Fate 7/10
Cherry Oh Baby 8/10
Memory Hotel 9/10

Hey Negrita 9/10
Melody 7/10
Fool To Cry 7/10 (always wished this rocked out or got reggaefied)
Crazy Mama 6/10