Just been grazing around the "Track Talk" threads for HD .

It would appear that every song is the best on the album .

Quote
maumau

Quote
StonedRambler
What's far more difficult IMHO is the question "Bridges to Babylon vs Hackney Diamonds".

I'd go for Hackney here at the moment, but surely some time needs to pass before you definitely can say how they compare

There's at least one point in favour of B2B: Keith's tunes on that versus Tell me straight. The latter is a sweet little song but nothing spectacular as the final 1-2 punch of Thief in the night and How can I stop, masterpieces.

Exactly.

I think HD doesn't really have highlights, but it's an overall balanced album, without anything really bad and without anything really spectacularly good. Get Close is weak and Bite My Head Off is silly, but one can listen to them.

ABB has Laugh, I Nearly Die as an absolute highlight and Oh No, Not You Again, is really fun, some other songs are sort of okay, but there are also some really bad ones on it (Neocon and Infamy especially). And for someone who very much likes all Keith's solo work, Keith's contributions to ABB are not very good.

Bridges to Babylon has Thief In The Night as an absolute highlight. Saint of Me is rather good. The rest of the album is okay, but there's a lot of filler.

Voodoo Lounge, pretty much all forgetable filler. Keith's contributions not very remarkable. Love Is Strong is alright, but hardly a highlight.

Steel Wheels, in lots of ways comparable to HD: nothing really bad on it, an album of acceptable compromises. Highlight: Slipping Away.

Dirty Work: oh well... (although One Hit is definitely a highlight).

Undercover: Definite highlights: Tie You Up and Feel On Baby. Good stuff like Undercover, Too Much Blood, Pretty Beat Up. She was Hot is ok. The rest should not have existed.

These are all the post Tattoo You albums. It's hard to say which one is "the best". Undercover, probably. For an overall friendly good feel, SW and HD are the best candidates. For something more edgy, I'd select Undercover without the bad songs or a collection of the highlights from the other albums (plus Doom and Gloom).

Quote
matxil

Quote
maumau

Quote
StonedRambler
What's far more difficult IMHO is the question "Bridges to Babylon vs Hackney Diamonds".

I'd go for Hackney here at the moment, but surely some time needs to pass before you definitely can say how they compare

There's at least one point in favour of B2B: Keith's tunes on that versus Tell me straight. The latter is a sweet little song but nothing spectacular as the final 1-2 punch of Thief in the night and How can I stop, masterpieces.

Exactly.

I think HD doesn't really have highlights, but it's an overall balanced album, without anything really bad and without anything really spectacularly good. Get Close is weak and Bite My Head Off is silly, but one can listen to them.

ABB has Laugh, I Nearly Die as an absolute highlight and Oh No, Not You Again, is really fun, some other songs are sort of okay, but there are also some really bad ones on it (Neocon and Infamy especially). And for someone who very much likes all Keith's solo work, Keith's contributions to ABB are not very good.

Bridges to Babylon has Thief In The Night as an absolute highlight. Saint of Me is rather good. The rest of the album is okay, but there's a lot of filler.

Voodoo Lounge, pretty much all forgetable filler. Keith's contributions not very remarkable. Love Is Strong is alright, but hardly a highlight.

Steel Wheels, in lots of ways comparable to HD: nothing really bad on it, an album of acceptable compromises. Highlight: Slipping Away.

Dirty Work: oh well... (although One Hit is definitely a highlight).

Undercover: Definite highlights: Tie You Up and Feel On Baby. Good stuff like Undercover, Too Much Blood, Pretty Beat Up. She was Hot is ok. The rest should not have existed.

These are all the post Tattoo You albums. It's hard to say which one is "the best". Undercover, probably. For an overall friendly good feel, SW and HD are the best candidates. For something more edgy, I'd select Undercover without the bad songs or a collection of the highlights from the other albums (plus Doom and Gloom).

I can't listen to Oh No, Not You Again (poorly played and not fun at all), and I find Bite My Head Off both well-played and good fun

Quote
josepi

Quote
Silver Dagger
Hackney Diamonds is like a long lost lover who you've pined over for many years but who suddenly walks through your door and returns to your life.

It was the exact opposite for me. I broke up with my gf of 3 years the day HD came out. It's already a heartbreaking, nostalgic album for me. The girl is caught in a cult and I just can't get her out. I gave up.

Either way works. It's a lot like Goats Head Soup in that regard.

Wow - sorry to read that josepi. Hope it all works out for you whatever happens. Keep yer pecker up.

Quote
treaclefingers

Quote
Silver Dagger
Hackney Diamonds is like a long lost lover who you've pined over for many years but who suddenly walks through your door and returns to your life.

nice. the wife might have a problem with that though!

Haha. She doesn't need to know!

Quote
DandelionPowderman

I can't listen to Oh No, Not You Again (poorly played and not fun at all), and I find Bite My Head Off both well-played and good fun

Well, to each his own of course.
Oh No, Not You Again is not polished, not overly organized, probably not very much worked on or thought about. It feels rather spontaneous and quickly done. That approach works well for a fun song like that. It has energy and a certain amateur "let's have fun" attitude to it. (One would almost say "punk").
Bite My Head Off is pretending to be "punk" (whatever that means) but I find it rather empty, not much going on except for a basic riff (oh, hang on, is that what "punk" means?). But admittedly, I find anyone trying to be "punk" nowadays a bit silly, whether it's those Greenday jokers or any poor sod with a mohawk and "**** the system" written on his leather jacket. Real anger you can find elsewhere but not in some late 70's nostalgia.

I once created my current order of released studio albums. 'Current' because the preferences can always change within certain limits. However, the numbers 26 and 25 will never get away from these places. Listed from the worst to the best album.

26. Their Satanic Majesties Request
25. Between the Buttons
24. Emotional Rescue
23. Aftermath (US)/Aftermath (EU)
22. Dirty Work
21. Undercover of the Night
20. Tattoo You
19. December's Children
18. Black and Blue
17. Hackney Diamonds
16. Steel Wheels
15. Bridges to Babylon
14. Voodoo Lounge
13. England's Newest Hitmakers (US)/The Rolling Stones (EU)
12. The Rolling Stones No. 2 (EU)/ The Rolling Stones, Now! (US)
11. 12 x 5 (US)/Around and Around (Germany)
10. Out of our Heads (EU)/Out of our Heads (US)
09. Blue & Lonesome
08. Some Girls
07. Goat's Head Soup
06. It's Only Rock'n Roll
05. A Bigger Bang
04. Let It Bleed
03. Beggar's Banquet
02. Sticky Fingers
01. Exile on Main Street



Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 2023-11-03 13:15 by RobertJohnson.

The Miss You-album must be rare. Never heard of it

Quote
DandelionPowderman
The Miss You-album must be rare. Never heard of it

Haha, you are right, me neither ...

And once again, I had to read that Thief in the night is a masterpiece...I need to go to Czechia, book a room and breathe some mountain air...

Quote
Bjorn
And once again, I had to read that Thief in the night is a masterpiece...I need to go to Czechia, book a room and breathe some mountain air...

Not a fan of that track, I presume?

The highlights for some is a turd for others, we can't find 2 same tracklists for VL or ABB here, everyone has his own opinions.

HD would have 100 different songs if it were up to the folks here, Mick's Demo 77 from his endless list would be the highlight for some or the worst song ever according to others.

Quote
Bjorn
And once again, I had to read that Thief in the night is a masterpiece...I need to go to Czechia, book a room and breathe some mountain air...

You're lucky. I am sure they have YouTube in Czechia too: [www.youtube.com]

Quote
Bjorn
And once again, I had to read that Thief in the night is a masterpiece...I need to go to Czechia, book a room and breathe some mountain air...

Also amazed by that, it's by far the weakest track on B2B for me.

Quote
matxil

Quote
DandelionPowderman

I can't listen to Oh No, Not You Again (poorly played and not fun at all), and I find Bite My Head Off both well-played and good fun

Well, to each his own of course.
Oh No, Not You Again is not polished, not overly organized, probably not very much worked on or thought about. It feels rather spontaneous and quickly done. That approach works well for a fun song like that. It has energy and a certain amateur "let's have fun" attitude to it. (One would almost say "punk").
Bite My Head Off is pretending to be "punk" (whatever that means) but I find it rather empty, not much going on except for a basic riff (oh, hang on, is that what "punk" means?). But admittedly, I find anyone trying to be "punk" nowadays a bit silly, whether it's those Greenday jokers or any poor sod with a mohawk and "**** the system" written on his leather jacket. Real anger you can find elsewhere but not in some late 70's nostalgia.

"oh no not you again" really sounds like some mediocre garage band. One can find that charming, in this case I just find it really poor and messy sounding.

Quote
StonedRambler

Quote
matxil

Quote
DandelionPowderman

I can't listen to Oh No, Not You Again (poorly played and not fun at all), and I find Bite My Head Off both well-played and good fun

Well, to each his own of course.
Oh No, Not You Again is not polished, not overly organized, probably not very much worked on or thought about. It feels rather spontaneous and quickly done. That approach works well for a fun song like that. It has energy and a certain amateur "let's have fun" attitude to it. (One would almost say "punk").
Bite My Head Off is pretending to be "punk" (whatever that means) but I find it rather empty, not much going on except for a basic riff (oh, hang on, is that what "punk" means?). But admittedly, I find anyone trying to be "punk" nowadays a bit silly, whether it's those Greenday jokers or any poor sod with a mohawk and "**** the system" written on his leather jacket. Real anger you can find elsewhere but not in some late 70's nostalgia.

"oh no not you again" really sounds like some mediocre garage band. One can find that charming, in this case I just find it really poor and messy sounding.

The rendition at the press conference of the tour kicked serious ass, though.

Quote
StonedRambler

Quote
Bjorn
And once again, I had to read that Thief in the night is a masterpiece...I need to go to Czechia, book a room and breathe some mountain air...

Also amazed by that, it's by far the weakest track on B2B for me.

Weakest track for a Stonesetti fanboy i supose.
This is Keith's delema, the music he loves and wants to make no longer cuts the mustard on a Stones album.
He must have been at loggerheads with himself for so long, the music he makes on Crosseyed Heart for his solo fans is a million miles away from what Stonesett fanboys yearn for.
He must have been in a weird place for a while now, playing music he probably grew out of a long time ago.

Quote
RobertJohnson
I once created my current order of released studio albums. 'Current' because the preferences can always change within certain limits. However, the numbers 26 and 25 will never get away from these places. Listed from the worst to the best album.

26. Their Satanic Majesties Request
25. Between the Buttons
24. Emotional Rescue
23. Aftermath
22. Dirty Work
21. Undercover of the Night
20. Tattoo You
19. December's Children
18. Black and Blue
17. Hackney Diamonds
16. Steel Wheels
15. Bridges to Babylon
14. Voodoo Lounge
13. England's Newest Hitmakers (US)/The Rolling Stones (EU)
12. The Rolling Stones No. 2 (EU)/ The Rolling Stones, Now! (US)
11. 12 x 5
10. Out of our Heads (EU)/Out of our Heads (US)
09. Blue & Lonesome
08. Some Girls
07. Goat's Head Soup
06. It's Only Rock'n Roll
05. A Bigger Bang
04. Let It Bleed
03. Beggar's Banquet
02. Sticky Fingers
01. Exile on Main Street

For me the post 1989 albums (not the absolute truth, just my opinion), from worst to best:

6. Steel Wheels
5. Bridges to Babylon
4.Voodoo Lounge
3. A Bigger Bang
2. Blue & Lonesome
1. Hackney Diamonds



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2023-11-02 19:40 by amg077.

Quote
amg077

Quote
RobertJohnson
I once created my current order of released studio albums. 'Current' because the preferences can always change within certain limits. However, the numbers 26 and 25 will never get away from these places. Listed from the worst to the best album.

26. Their Satanic Majesties Request
25. Between the Buttons
24. Emotional Rescue
23. Aftermath
22. Dirty Work
21. Undercover of the Night
20. Tattoo You
19. December's Children
18. Black and Blue
17. Hackney Diamonds
16. Steel Wheels
15. Bridges to Babylon
14. Voodoo Lounge
13. England's Newest Hitmakers (US)/The Rolling Stones (EU)
12. The Rolling Stones No. 2 (EU)/ The Rolling Stones, Now! (US)
11. 12 x 5
10. Out of our Heads (EU)/Out of our Heads (US)
09. Blue & Lonesome
08. Some Girls
07. Goat's Head Soup
06. It's Only Rock'n Roll
05. A Bigger Bang
04. Let It Bleed
03. Beggar's Banquet
02. Sticky Fingers
01. Exile on Main Street

For me the post 1989 albums (not the absolute truth, just my opinion), from worst to best:

5. Steel Wheels
4. Bridges to Babylon
3. A Bigger Bang
2. Blue & Lonesome
1. Hackney Diamonds

Wow, Voodoo Lounge isn't even recognized as a true album in your rankings!

Quote
StonedRambler

Quote
Bjorn
And once again, I had to read that Thief in the night is a masterpiece...I need to go to Czechia, book a room and breathe some mountain air...

Also amazed by that, it's by far the weakest track on B2B for me.

Try playing along with it on an acoustic guitar to get the "feel" of it. It's rather simple, just three plain chords (although probably Dandelion can correct me here, maybe there are all kinds of diminished chords involved, I don't know about that). It's not a song with technical fireworks, but there's something about the "rhythm", the "flow", the "cadence" (or whatever the word is), the chord changes just a bit later than you normally would, the interchange between main and backing vocals (very well done in the live version posted earlier), indeed, similar to what he does in solo stuff like Illusion, where main and backing vocals do some kind of "weaving".
It's no rocker (Mick's voice is better for rockers than Keith's) but it's such a gentle, quite-off-the-beat trance-like thing, hardly a song, more a "mood".
Of course, all of the above could also be considered a negative thing for some people.

Quote
matxil

Quote
StonedRambler

Quote
Bjorn
And once again, I had to read that Thief in the night is a masterpiece...I need to go to Czechia, book a room and breathe some mountain air...

Also amazed by that, it's by far the weakest track on B2B for me.

Try playing along with it on an acoustic guitar to get the "feel" of it. It's rather simple, just three plain chords (although probably Dandelion can correct me here, maybe there are all kinds of diminished chords involved, I don't know about that). It's not a song with technical fireworks, but there's something about the "rhythm", the "flow", the "cadence" (or whatever the word is), the chord changes just a bit later than you normally would, the interchange between main and backing vocals (very well done in the live version posted earlier), indeed, similar to what he does in solo stuff like Illusion, where main and backing vocals do some kind of "weaving".
It's no rocker (Mick's voice is better for rockers than Keith's) but it's such a gentle, quite-off-the-beat trance-like thing, hardly a song, more a "mood".
Of course, all of the above could also be considered a negative thing for some people.

It's like explaining quantum physics to Monkeys.

Quote
keefriffhards

Quote
matxil

Quote
StonedRambler

Quote
Bjorn
And once again, I had to read that Thief in the night is a masterpiece...I need to go to Czechia, book a room and breathe some mountain air...

Also amazed by that, it's by far the weakest track on B2B for me.

Try playing along with it on an acoustic guitar to get the "feel" of it. It's rather simple, just three plain chords (although probably Dandelion can correct me here, maybe there are all kinds of diminished chords involved, I don't know about that). It's not a song with technical fireworks, but there's something about the "rhythm", the "flow", the "cadence" (or whatever the word is), the chord changes just a bit later than you normally would, the interchange between main and backing vocals (very well done in the live version posted earlier), indeed, similar to what he does in solo stuff like Illusion, where main and backing vocals do some kind of "weaving".
It's no rocker (Mick's voice is better for rockers than Keith's) but it's such a gentle, quite-off-the-beat trance-like thing, hardly a song, more a "mood".
Of course, all of the above could also be considered a negative thing for some people.

It's like explaining quantum physics to Monkeys.

Gotta Get A Monkey Grip!

of course, to each one its course and the span of the Stones carreer has made their output so eclectic than anyone can make "one's own stones", lists of songs and album et cetera.

been a fan for over forty years and now that I'am 53 I have to admit that it is more likely for me to be in the mood for rootsy stuff like Crosseyed Heart than the energetic "I am still taking the pills" drive of most of Hackney.

But, in fact, I do enjoy most of it as a cohesive and fun album that has its own highlights.

Do not know if it is Watt to credit, but sure this album has its very own identity (also the sequence of the songs make sense). ABB is far less cohesive and, due to its lenght contains, imo, many more duds. That is why I seldom go back to it. I like to listen to albums, I am that old.

Also gems like LIND, the very highlight, is like, I do not know, underproduced, asking for more, to expand, to be bigger. Just my feel and speculation



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2023-11-02 19:26 by maumau.

Quote
treaclefingers

Quote
amg077

Quote
RobertJohnson
I once created my current order of released studio albums. 'Current' because the preferences can always change within certain limits. However, the numbers 26 and 25 will never get away from these places. Listed from the worst to the best album.

26. Their Satanic Majesties Request
25. Between the Buttons
24. Emotional Rescue
23. Aftermath
22. Dirty Work
21. Undercover of the Night
20. Tattoo You
19. December's Children
18. Black and Blue
17. Hackney Diamonds
16. Steel Wheels
15. Bridges to Babylon
14. Voodoo Lounge
13. England's Newest Hitmakers (US)/The Rolling Stones (EU)
12. The Rolling Stones No. 2 (EU)/ The Rolling Stones, Now! (US)
11. 12 x 5
10. Out of our Heads (EU)/Out of our Heads (US)
09. Blue & Lonesome
08. Some Girls
07. Goat's Head Soup
06. It's Only Rock'n Roll
05. A Bigger Bang
04. Let It Bleed
03. Beggar's Banquet
02. Sticky Fingers
01. Exile on Main Street

For me the post 1989 albums (not the absolute truth, just my opinion), from worst to best:

5. Steel Wheels
4. Bridges to Babylon
3. A Bigger Bang
2. Blue & Lonesome
1. Hackney Diamonds

Wow, Voodoo Lounge isn't even recognized as a true album in your rankings!

I forgot it, here it is:

6. Steel Wheels
5. Bridges to Babylon
4. Voodoo Lounge
3. A Bigger Bang
2. Blue & Lonesome
1. Hackney Diamonds

Quote
matxil

Quote
DandelionPowderman

I can't listen to Oh No, Not You Again (poorly played and not fun at all), and I find Bite My Head Off both well-played and good fun

Well, to each his own of course.
Oh No, Not You Again is not polished, not overly organized, probably not very much worked on or thought about. It feels rather spontaneous and quickly done. That approach works well for a fun song like that. It has energy and a certain amateur "let's have fun" attitude to it. (One would almost say "punk").
Bite My Head Off is pretending to be "punk" (whatever that means) but I find it rather empty, not much going on except for a basic riff (oh, hang on, is that what "punk" means?). But admittedly, I find anyone trying to be "punk" nowadays a bit silly, whether it's those Greenday jokers or any poor sod with a mohawk and "**** the system" written on his leather jacket. Real anger you can find elsewhere but not in some late 70's nostalgia.

Spurred by your post, I gave a listen to Oh No, Not You Again for the first time in a long while, certainly more than ten years at least, and found it much better than I remembered — a song stamped as dud by a number of the Stones fans.
That being said, punk was already firmly set in the realm of nostalgia in the year 2005, a movement some thirty years back from that time. And your “Greenday jokers” had been around over ten years by then.

To me, Oh No, Not You Again and Bite My Head Off are not remarkably different in that both tunes are retro-punk. As you point out in your post, punk is not so much a statement or an attitude as a mere style now. As such, you don’t have to take these songs seriously.

“It’s only punk-rock but I like it.”

Quote
keefriffhards

Quote
matxil

Quote
StonedRambler

Quote
Bjorn
And once again, I had to read that Thief in the night is a masterpiece...I need to go to Czechia, book a room and breathe some mountain air...

Also amazed by that, it's by far the weakest track on B2B for me.

Try playing along with it on an acoustic guitar to get the "feel" of it. It's rather simple, just three plain chords (although probably Dandelion can correct me here, maybe there are all kinds of diminished chords involved, I don't know about that). It's not a song with technical fireworks, but there's something about the "rhythm", the "flow", the "cadence" (or whatever the word is), the chord changes just a bit later than you normally would, the interchange between main and backing vocals (very well done in the live version posted earlier), indeed, similar to what he does in solo stuff like Illusion, where main and backing vocals do some kind of "weaving".
It's no rocker (Mick's voice is better for rockers than Keith's) but it's such a gentle, quite-off-the-beat trance-like thing, hardly a song, more a "mood".
Of course, all of the above could also be considered a negative thing for some people.

It's like explaining quantum physics to Monkeys.

No, it isn't.
And there's no need to be insulting.

The world chart (united world chart)
1 HD 386.000 equivalent sales
2. Blink.182.196.000 equivalent sales
3 Ive. 162.000
4 Drake 162.000

Quote
jp.M
The world chart (united world chart)
1 HD 386.000 equivalent sales
2. Blink.182.196.000 equivalent sales
3 Ive. 162.000
4 Drake 162.000

The information comes from Mediatraffic, an unoficial German site:
[www.mediatraffic.de]

That site has estimate sales or streams units, Hackney Dimonds numbers according to them is way too low in my opinion, we have some numbers for the first week:

USA: 101,000
Germany: +75,000
UK: 72,000
Japan: 28,000

The album moved over 276,000 only from 4 countries, it sold way more than 110,000 aditional sales worldwide, 2 times that at least, first week total must be close to 500,000 worldwide.

Quote
Spud
Just been grazing around the "Track Talk" threads for HD .

It would appear that every song is the best on the album .

no wonder
it's a solid album
the more you listen the better it gets

It's a damn solid album, that seems to be the consensus! But how about props to Mick (& Keith) for overall amazing vocals & lyrics! Superb throughout the entire album!