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Funny how opinions vary. I think Gunface is one of the best songs the Stones have done the past 15 years. Different and very guitar heavy.

I loathed Bridges. Still do. I think it's their worst album.

B2B is a great modern rock album....

<Funny how opinions vary. I think Gunface is one of the best songs the Stones have done the past 15 years. Different and very guitar heavy.>

I never liked the songs where Mick´s guitars are dominating. Does´t sound like the stones. Sad, Sad, Sad and Highwire are exeptions though.

How about Sway, that is another Mick guitar song.

I used to like it when it came out.
Than I thought it was their worst album, but still ok.

A couple of weeks ago I played it again and noted some tracks I used to dislike (Too Tight, Flip The Switch). This album also features a song hated by 90% of the stones fans, to me it was an immediate hit: Might As well Get Juiced.

SOM, OOC and Already were always my favorites.

This is a very intresting album... for a lot of reasons.

I hate Gunface too.
But every good album has a downer!

And there are so many good things to explore. Lowdown is a good one as well!
You can see that they worked hard on that album. Maybe too much production on 1 or 2 songs.

But there is still a lot of flesh on the bone!
I hardly know a new band that makes such a great CD. It was completely underrated!!

flip the switch is their best "rocker" since the undercover album

Hound Dog Wrote:
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> Funny how opinions vary. I think Gunface is one of
> the best songs the Stones have done the past 15
> years. Different and very guitar heavy.


I love the song too. It's very different from any other Stones song..perhaps because it is more Mick influenced. The chorus is very fresh and new...a combination of notes that impressed me, actually because they sounded like a new band for a second. The guitar's not much there except for a piercing slide solo by Ronnie which does a great job.

The whole album actually, I love. Although it was produced by everyone and their momma...I still appreciate the sound on it. It sounded more crisp and crunchier. ABB was okay..but sounded too slick and clean. Something about the mix on B2B on songs like "Low Down" "Saint of Me" "Out of Control" and "Too Tight" that sounded nice and rough. That's just me, I guess. I always skip over "Anybody Seen My Baby"--just doesn't do it for me. "Thief In The Night" is groove all the way.

Bridges to Babylon is a great album. It's full of ideas, originality and creativity. There are a couple of duff tunes, but Jagger was really pushing for the Stones to attempt new things with this release. It was quite contemporary compared to its predecessors. Saint Of Me and Out Of Control may have become cherished live numbers on the tour, but the album versions are mighty fine. It’s definitely an album I like to revisit from time to time.

Still love VOODOO LOUNGE and BRIDGES TO BABYLON. Rank them both much higher than STEEL WHEELS and certainly A BIGGER BANG. Also think MAIN OFFENDER and WANDERING SPIRIT are of equally high quality.

One more thing about B2B. THis album came out my junior year of college and all of my roommates literally got turned onto the Stones by this album. I can't tell you how much it got played in my house at school. Then I took my friends to see the show at Foxboro that year and they loved it, however since they liked B2B so much they wanted to hear more songs from it, although they do a bunch that night.

Still think however the production on Might as well Get Juiced is bad. Would love to hear Keith's version without the techno effects cause you can tell there is a cool blues tune barried behind that techno crap.

<How about Sway, that is another Mick guitar song.>

Mick Taylor Jagger's rythm guitar is great there. But he doesn't have that sound anymore. Sway and Gunface shouldn't be mentioned in the same sentence (oops, I just did it )

Hound Dog Wrote:
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>
> Still think however the production on Might as
> well Get Juiced is bad. Would love to hear Keith's
> version without the techno effects cause you can
> tell there is a cool blues tune barried behind
> that techno crap.

Is there a Keith version? This song is entirely Micks.

You can hear a snippet of Don Was' untampered production of "Juiced" from VH1's coverage of the BRIDGES TO BABYLON press conference at The Brooklyn Bridge. Its playing for a few seconds as the band is driving over the bridge in a '57 chevy. A real pity we don't have access to the full track. I also prefer the No-Biz mix of "Anybody Seen My Baby?" to the album version and likewise prefer the original "Sex Drive" (Dirty Hands Mix) only available on the Japanese Sony CD single to the remix edit that Virgin mistakenly (?) included on their FLASHPOINT reissue. From time to time, the band does make gaffes like this when it comes to picking the right version to release. I'd also kill to hear the slow soulful version of "It Won't Take Long" which was left in the vaults.

ifyacantrockme Wrote:
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>
> Unfortunately, many stones fans feel the band only
> really played and existed in the 70's early 80's
> and thus don't particularly buy or like the
> records they have put out after 'tattoo you'.
>
You might add the 60's to that.

While I think that the really good stuf the Stones made is the best that popular music produced, I think they have not made any really good albums after Tattoo You. Each album may have a few gems, but as albums they fail miserably or are mediocre at best. BtB was a horrible attempt to "do something else, be modern". The Stones are a rock 'n' roll band, and they should make rock 'n' roll, and not crap like anybody seen my love, or what have you. ABB was a good attempt, but should have been 8 songs long. Now it is filled with 8 mediocre to really bad songs and 8 reasonably good to brilliant songs.
Steel Wheels has a good feel to it, and experiments like Continental Drift have a rock feel to it. But is Rock and a Hard Place among the best Stones songs? Although some people argued at the time that Almost Hear You Sigh was the Angie of the 80's, (and Continental Drift a Sympathy of that decade), none of these songs seemed to last.
Voodoo Lounge is too long like ABB. If it had been 7 or 8 songs long, the album would have been great. Now it is mainly filler to fill a CD. To me Love is Strong is the last sexy song Mick and Keith produced, a really horny feel to it.
Dirty Work has one or two gems, but is hardly worth mentioning in their catalog. That leaves Undercover as their last real Stonesy album, wild, rough, sexy at times, but again with mainly mediocre songs.
Having said that: until 2003 I loved spending money on going to see them live and I did spend a few Euro's to see them in several European cities. Live they are beyond compare, even though they have taken on the disguise of a Vegas act. But a very good one at that. And hey, Elvis had some of his best performance at MGM The Grand in Vegas.

>> Is there a Keith version? <<

Hound Dog probably means the version Keith's said is in the cans,
which he says blows the album mix out of the water.

Bridges is a splendid powerful album - i don't get why one number is on there twice
(Already Over Me/Always Suffering - one or the other would be plenty for me) but other than that:
scenic grandeur at every turn

Thats it sssoul. Keith always talks about some killer version of the song he has. Keith lives about 5 minutes from me in CT, maybe I should break into his vaults one night, anyone want me to grab anything else.....

Ketihs songs on Bridges, You dont Have to mean it, Theif in the Night and How can I stop are ACE!

Been watching KNIGHTS OF PROSPERITY, Hound Dog? Well at least someone has...

Gaz,
I was referring to the 3 songs that Keef sang on the album...You Don't Have to Mean It, Thief in the Night, and How Can I Stop...I usually skip em all along with Juiced and Gunface. That is the only Stones album that I skip ANY songs on.

ifyacantrockme wrote:

"Unfortunately, many stones fans feel the band only really played and existed in the 70's early 80's and thus don't particularly buy or like the records they have put out after 'tattoo you'."

People like that can`t be called fans. The Stones are no "has-beens".

I have a liking for "Low Down". I have a disgust for "Flip the Switch" and "Gunface". I think "Anybody Seen My Baby" didn`t work live.

>> You Don't Have to Mean It, Thief in the Night and How Can I Stop are ACE! <<

yes they sure are

especially How Can I Stop: an latter-day masterpiece . . .

Its incredible how much this album divides the fans. Quite fascinating to read all the posts. My original question was more about why the songs have been neglected live on this tour. Maybe the band are as divided as we seem to be.

actually, I would consider "Lowdown" and "Gunface" to be very similar, like "Always Already Suffering Over Me." come to think of it, "Flip the Switch" and "Too Tight" are basically in the same niche as well. it's an album with a lot going for it but also too much going on--too many songs, too many producers, bassists, etc. The opposite, then, of ABB, which has not enough going on. Though it still has too many songs.

as for the question in the original post, I think either the band has accepted the most common, mindless rock critical narrative--that VL was a latter-day success in the classic rock mode and B2B was a bridge too far in terms of experimentalism and trend-watching. Or, they had a genuinely good feeling while making VL, regardless of the end product, and they don't remember B2B as fondly. (this version would ignore the fact that VL was made without their original bassist, so how good could the feeling be.) I agree that there must be some explanation for the perverse warhorse status of "YGMR." keith must just love playing it... funny that he doesn't seem to feel the same way about any of mick's signature tunes of the past 25 years.

I think Rolling Stones need an old school producer with no pretensions or ties to the current music climate. Write some tunes that have a melody, cut the jam or rap directions and do some soul and blues music. Also Keith Mick and Ronnie and of course Charlie have a wonderful take on Country music. Their acoustic stuff is so cool. Think back to Beggar's Banquet! DON"T TRY FOR A HIT!!!! Play Rolling Stones Music!!!!! Cheers Y'all!!!

Much better album than ABB (which is IMHO bad) .Perfect ,absolutely briliant , detailed production- ASMB is one of the best sounding Stones singles ever and i suppose with the biggest airplay ( 1994-2007 periode).Some boring songs (Allready over me,Gunface, Always suffering,You don`t have to mean it) and some great-Out of control , Saint of me, Lowdown , Flip the switch,ASMB,How can i stop-the best Keef`s post Little T&A song .ABB compared to BTB sounds like demo.