I agree with the last post, except I think "Had it With You" is kind of a tired song with that exact Robert Johnson lift. "Aint it such a sad thing.........."

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jamesfdouglas
Here's how I rank the tracks on this album.

1. Had it With You. - it feels real, and rocks like a bitch.
2. One Hit. - this song rocks too. Could do without the b/u/singers. Nice work, Jimmy.
3. Harlem Shuffle - loved this song as a kid. I love the remix on the Collectables disc.
4. Sleep Tonight - Keith could still deliver a ballad with heartfelt efflection in the 80's.
5. Dirty Work - it would work better if Jagger sand it intead of inverting his own throat (like the rest of the songs).
6. Too Rude - it's here only because it's not as awful as the rest.
7. Fight - didn't they already re-hash Jumpin' Jack Flash on their last album (Too tough). The silly lyrics and honking/singing kill this otherwise mediocre track.
8. Hold Back - the riff is actually unappealing. Throwaway lyrics (pun quasi-intented. I won't listen to this song.
9. Winning Ugly - there was a Canadian horse racing show that used to come on Global TV on Saturdays when I was a kid. I always switched the channel quickly as I hated the stupid theme song. Guess what song it was? Bad Mick. Bad.
10. Back to Zero - arguably the worst track associated with any Rolling Stones related music on any group or solo record. That's including Let's Work and State of Shock. This song embarasses me as a fan.

not a bad summary and close to my opinion in most cases. winning ugly sounded slightly more listenable as released on the collectibles disc. and, i guess i'm among the minority that really is unimpressed with One Hit, which helped usher in the era of the "contrived, let's see if we can pretend to sound like a stones classic" tune....

bottom-line - why waste valuable listening time on DW when there is so much worthy music out there?

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T&A
bottom-line - why waste valuable listening time on DW when there is so much worthy music out there?

Hey man.... I'm with you there!

[thepowergoats.com]

I remember when there was a DW thread earlier this year and I think I listened to it - not constantly - for a grand total of 3 days before I couldn't take it anymore. Haven't listened to it since and don't really plan on it. So yeah...way more better music to listen to than Dirty Work.

<Back to Zero>

I think every guitar player loves the playing on this one, even though the song is a joke

Nice to hear that you favour Dirty Work as a track, Doxa. It has always been my favourite on this album too. This and the "ugly" comic artwork in Beavis-and-Butthead-style which I found quite funny at the time (and which - in a way - was mocking M. Jagger by presenting an ageing female fitness trainer).

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Doxa

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Bimmelzerbott
The song is crap like 97,5% on the album. It's good that it is forgotten.

I'd be interested to know the 2.5% that is not crap in this damned album - I show mine, what yours?

This is my positive day of the week

- Doxa

- One Hit
- Harlem Shuffle
- Sleep Tonight

I was never good in math. It's probably more than 2.5%

I agree!

"One Hit" in my book is one of their 'recent' best and would be a great concert opener....as well as a great theme for the beginning of some TV show or action movie.

Glad that I have some live recordings of it from '89, but it's a shame it didn't become a real hit.

Actually, I don't think they could or should try playing 'One Hit'. The last time they struggled through it was bad engouh - and they were almost 20 years younger.

Besides, there's so many wayy better stuff to mine from than any post-Tattoo You material.

[thepowergoats.com]

They must not have liked the album save Harlem Shuffle since it's the only song from that LP to get played live over the entire SW/UJ tours. They seem to be very sketchy about playing much post-Tattoo You with exception obviously to You Got Me Rocking, since that's been played for every tour since.

Which is a shame because there are some great songs that could be played. I guess the problem is the majority don't know them, will never know them so why bother. Another warhorses tour! Only BETTER this time!

Skipstone,

They played "ONE HIT (To The Body) on the Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle tour...I seen them play it at Shea Stadium...there's actually a clip of them playing it live on Youtube...if I remember correctly...it was bad.

On youtube...you have to search KEITH RICHARDS INTERVIEW 1986/ONE HIT (to The BodY) Tronto 1989...Yes you have to mispell TORONTO as TRONTO.


PECMAN



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-11-13 22:01 by Pecman.

Ahh, One Hit... the first truw lull of that Toronto show.
People looking around, feeling akward or not caring about it...

[thepowergoats.com]

Jamesfdouglas,

Were you at that show?...the Stones look and sound completely lost at the beginning of that song.

PECMAN

I wasn't at that one, no, but a LOT of my friends were. They said it ground to a halt. I've seen the vid and heard the boot. All signs point to a dead stop for it.
(I didn't get to see them until Dec 4th at the then-named Skydome)

[thepowergoats.com]

The title track off of Dirty Work is an awful, lifeless song and is definitely best left forgotten.


The points made in the topic should be applied to One Hit, cause that song actually deserves praise.

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it's_all_wrong
The title track off of Dirty Work is an awful, lifeless song and is definitely best left forgotten.


The points made in the topic should be applied to One Hit, cause that song actually deserves praise.

As far as "One Hit" goes, the first few seconds are very promising, especially Ron's acoustic - but the impression that is totally destroyed by the time Jagger with his maybe weakest and less soulful performance ever, appears... and when we got to the artificial chorus with that tasteless back-vox there is nothing left of The Rolling Stones, but we are in a deep mid-80's wannabe-hard rock stadion rock mud... Page's solo ices the cake - actually, the only thing that is naturally in the right place - Mick, Keith, Charlie, Bill & Ronnie not. I think what we are wittnessing there is the Stones being most lost since THEIR SATANIC MAJESTIES, and the famous compass of Keith absolutely being without direction. It is a sure indication that Keith could not carry the band anymore if Mick's mind and heart is not present, backing him up. The glory days of EXILE, and the time when his intuitions seemingly could not lead the band wrong, were long behind. If there is one aword to describe the decisions behind I would say it is "cheap" - trying to cope with the trends of the day - perhaps like trying to show for the younger hair bands of the day that The Stones can also rock and pose like hell. Actually, with SOME GIRLS album they succeed in proving their point and relevance, but with "One Hit" the results are very artificial - no true inspiration or heart in it - just the form, no substance. (Could it be the case that the band could much easier to relate themselves into the punks bands of the late seventies than to the posers and guitar gods of the 80's? Perhaps we should claim the musical climate and the times?).

We need to note that there is apparently quite a lot invested in the song - it opens up the album, and was later released as a single with a video behind it. But the band - rightly - understood that it is not the type of song to really push the album. Their weak efforts of to put the song into stage proves the point that the song is not the kind of song the band feels being home with.

Well, that was my two cents of why I don't see "One Hit" any kind of forgotten gem. I consider it nowadays a one more curiosity or failed attempt in their history, as I think of "Sing This All Together" - the band not really hitting the mark, but still interesting - like almost anything the band does - in its own terms

- Doxa



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-11-14 10:52 by Doxa.

I agree, but from the first chord of Fight, they are back on track imo.

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DandelionPowderman
I agree, but from the first chord of Fight, they are back on track imo.

Well, yeah! In fact, in their next album they started safely with that sort of stuff ("Sad Sad Sad" ) - and left their version of stadion rock this time to the flip side ("Rock and A Hard Place" )...

- Doxa



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2008-11-14 11:07 by Doxa.

To my knowledge they did not play One Hit on the Urban Jungle tour, only a few dates of the Steel Wheels tour.

And the version, albeit just a bit of it, I saw on TV from the MTV awards was not great by any means. In fact it was quite flat. I've since seen the entire clip and...it's flat.

The thing is, this is their first album to be so painfully low on any 'cool' or 'fun' factor, and their first to have (apart from a few diehards apparently) an absence of a fanbase. They never really returned either.

Undercover is the bridging middle child. Fogey-fans hate it, but it did strike a chord w/ Gen X. (I know many ladies in their mid-30's to early 40's who LOVE the title track, Too Much Blood, etc. In other words, while it alienated a lot of early fans, the album did fulfill it's purpose as mid-80's dance pop).

All other ablums fall in the pre 'Tattoo You' or 'post Steel Wheels' categories (Dirty Work justifyably discounted altogher). Post-Steel Wheels stuff could be played today to appease the die-hards, but we all know that it's pretty much forgettable, unimportant stuff that they do not need to bother with in any possible future shows. I'm not saying I don't like 3-4 tracks from the last 20 years (!), but really, those albums are merely pastiches for the given tour to play 'new stuff'.

[thepowergoats.com]

Jamesfdouglas, I find your insights interesting...It is true that UNDERCOVER and DIRTY WORK are kind of 'lost albums' in the sense that the rest of their material is much easier to categorize prior-TATTOO YOU contra post-STEEL WHEELS periods. I think the whole era from 1981/82 to STEEL WHEELS is quite difficult to 'grasp', or decide what to think about it, or how to rate it nowadays. Still, both UC and DW are attempts to drive the band into doing something new and different, the drive that lacks from post-SW albums, that are,like you said, more like pastishes to promote tours than genuine albums to make in the drive to express something.

I have a sketch theory that lot of the progress is to do with Jagger's interest. UNDERCOVER was Mick's last attempt to express himself using Stones as his main vehicle of expression, and for some reason, it didn't quite work out. DIRTY WORK was, it was said at the time, "Keith's album", and Jagger is seemingly absent - he didn't really caréd about the result - his mind was in his solo work at the time. With STEEL WHEELS Mick was involved again, but he seeemngly had decided that Stones was his 'nine to four' job if he wants to remain as a some kind of superstar, and he will do anything to NOT change anything in success receipt as he saw it was to be like - so musically The Stones turned out to be a Stones tribute band in the record. The results since SW tell the story that minimal energy is involved to get a good salary from the nine to four shift, as far as creativity is concerned.

- Doxa



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2008-11-14 21:44 by Doxa.

Apart from some outstanding songs from 89-05, I have to agree with most of what you said Doxa.

I like both the album and the song Dirty Work. One Hit, Fight, Hold Back, Dirty Work, Sleep Tonight - excellent. Hold Back is one of my top after the 70s favourites.

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Doxa
Jamesfdouglas, I find your insights interesting...It is true that UNDERCOVER and DIRTY WORK are kind of 'lost albums' in the sense that the rest of their material is much easier to categorize prior-TATTOO YOU contra post-STEEL WHEELS periods. I think the whole era from 1981/82 to STEEL WHEELS is quite difficult to 'grasp', or decide what to think about it, or how to rate it nowadays. Still, both UC and DW are attempts to drive the band into doing something new and different, the drive that lacks from post-SW albums, that are,like you said, more like pastishes to promote tours than genuine albums to make in the drive to express something.

I have a sketch theory that lot of the progress is to do with Jagger's interest. UNDERCOVER was Mick's last attempt to express himself using Stones as his main vehicle of expression, and for some reason, it didn't quite work out. DIRTY WORK was, it was said at the time, "Keith's album", and Jagger is seemingly absent - he didn't really caréd about the result - his mind was in his solo work at the time. With STEEL WHEELS Mick was involved again, but he seeemngly had decided that Stones was his 'nine to four' job if he wants to remain as a some kind of superstar, and he will do anything to NOT change anything in success receipt as he saw it was to be like - so musically The Stones turned out to be a Stones tribute band in the record. The results since SW tell the story that minimal energy is involved to get a good salary from the nine to four shift, as far as creativity is concerned.

- Doxa

You`re absolutely right Doxa , can you give us more detailed and penetrating explanations or reviews of laters albums? i`m serious.I like to read your posts.

I never listened to the entire Dirty Work CD/album...couldn't get past the CD/album cover.

If I remember correctly...1983-1988 was the lowest point/era of their career.
They lost their mojo during that span.

But...they came back with a vengance and they still keep a rockin' and a rollin'!

benon again, thanks for your nice words. I just happen to write by occasion.. sometimes when someone writes something I feel like comment or respond, sometimes I hear something I want to write about... you know, just based on total passion, not much sense or brains involved... but thanks... and I will be giving my reviews of anything Stones related, I promise you, no matter if it is liked or not..

- Doxa

I'm honored that you find my opnions intersting, Doxa.


[thepowergoats.com]

Don't stone me (pun intended), but I actually prefer the Steely Dan song "Dirty Work" to the Stones.

I find it a slight to Keith to call DW "his" album, just because he tried harder than Jagger to get an album done. It's neither's album, that might be the problem. It is also the only album in the Stones catalogue where Charlie is lost. Or absent. I think I prefer "Winning Ugly" over "One Hit". Agree with all others who say OHTTB sounds forced. Also where jamesdougles said it was the 1st album that sounded like no fun at all.

Now my memory banks are unfogging a little bit...

What I DO remember about the DW release was the "One Hit to the Body" MTV Video!

Like I mentioned, I never heard the whole release in it's entirety but what I did catch back in the mid 80's for this was on MTV as MTV was en-vogue back then....way before the days of Yo MTV raps and it's aired music videos.

The video was actually pretty good and made the song tolerable. It was like Mick and Keef were pseudo-beating the shift out of each other. Mick was still wearing eye liner and sported a Farrah Fawcett-ish hair style. At least he stopped doing that.

Well shoots....instead of just talking about the video...let's watch it!


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