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Name: Keno
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Subject: RE: Found it! Here it is...
Date: Thursday, December 20, 2018
Time: 4:39:19 AM
Remote Address: 97.107.69.29
Message ID: 319172
Parent ID: 319141
Thread ID: 319099
Thank goodness I found the original article that I wrote for them, I don't keep everything that I write for others, but this one I did. So here it is - minus the photos and minus the featured track that Nerve linked to at the end of each mini review, where it says "listen".
2 things to note... First, the order that I came up with here was the order that I had for the albums back when this article was first written (I don't have the original date, but it was written for their 50th anniversary, so I guess that was in 2012?... Also note that the title wasn't mine, it's how they titled the article. It always gets to me when I see people who comment at Yahoo News - and have no clue, and who know nothing about writing - who criticize a writer for the title for an article they wrote. Well unlike when a person writes a song, most of the time after we writers write an article for a newspaper or a online deal like what I wrote below for Nerve.com, the writer has nothing at all to do with the headline to the story - as that comes from the newspaper or site's editor, and not the person who wrote the article. Anyway, here it is - and while I wrote the entire article and the cool thing was that nothing was even edited out (very cool for any writer to see and very rare), no, I didn't come up with the title at all. The site had several such articles for other bands up on their site and all of them had the very same title - other than the band's name of course was changed for each one. Here is what I wrote:
Ranked: Rolling Stones Albums From Worst to Best
The author of Rolling Thru The Stones, webmaster of the longest running on-line Stones message board - Gasland, along with a Rolling Stones Web Site, takes a look at the band's catalog.
By Keno
The Rolling Stones are celebrating 50 years as a band this year, while releasing 2 new songs and playing a handful of shows. So let’s take a look back on the band’s many studio albums.
25) Dirty Work (1986)
In the 50 years the Stones have been around, they really have put out only one poor album, and that is Dirty Work. Things just weren't going well between Mick Jagger and the rest of the band while in the studio recording this one. Jagger was thinking of leaving the Stones and he seemed to put more effort into his solo album and that pissed off Keith Richards and the rest of the group. Plus Charlie Watts was fighting his heroin habit and missed many sessions. There isn’t one single Jagger/Richards song on this album that I can even call “very good”, but “One Hit to the Body” does comes close.
Listen: “One Hit to the Body”
24) Steel Wheels (1989)
Perhaps their most overrated album, just nothing to exciting on here. There are several weak songs on Steel Wheels that you will want to skip over, but “Mix Emotions" and "Rock in a Hard Place", are very nice indeed.
Listen: “Mix Emotions”
23) Metamorphosis (1975)
The most interesting of the Stones compilation albums, mainly because of all the unreleased songs recorded from 1964 through 1972 that you get to hear. The best one on Metamorphosis is the Bill Wyman’s penned “Downtown Suzie”, from 1968. “Jiving Sister Fanny” was another winner.
Listen: “Downtown Suzie”
22) Bridges to Babylon (1997)
Not their best album, but still not bad. “Saint of Me” might be the only great song on here, but there are several good ones, like “Low Down" and "Anybody Seen My Baby". The problem this LP had was too many different producers.
Listen: “Saint of Me”
21) Undercover (1983)
A very even album, the tracks flow together well, with the title cut the best one. "Wanna Hold You", sung by Keith Richards, sounds like a circa 1966 Beatles song, and I dig it! "Too Much Blood" on the other hand is one of the strangest songs ever written by Jagger/Richards, you expect these kinds of lyrics from Alice Cooper perhaps. But overall this album is the type of release you expect from the Stones.
Listen: "Undercover of the Night"
20) Emotional Rescue (1980)
“Emotional Rescue” is the best song on Emotional Rescue, with the playful "She's So Cold" also excellent. But beware; this one contains the dreaded "Indian Girl", too.
Listen: “Emotional Rescue”
19) Black and Blue (1976)
This album sounds somewhat different for the Stones, mainly because several of the songs on here were taken from audition outtakes recorded when the band was looking around for a replacement for Mick Taylor, and three of those guitarists who tried out, Harvey Mandel, Wayne Perkins, and Ron Wood, all had their lead guitar playing used on several tracks (of course, Wood ended up getting the job in the band). The one thing Black ‘n Blue is missing was Keith Richards’ trademark Stones guitar sound, it shows up on only one song, “Crazy Mama”, and that is the best sounding song out of the disc’s seven numbers.
Listen: “Crazy Mama”
18) Tattoo You (1981)
An album that was put together in pieces, mainly from old, rejected, or just forgotten outtakes from the 1970s, yet it all turned out not too bad. One track from the early ‘70s, “Waiting on a Friend”, is tops, it’s one of the songs the Stones just forgot about after a few early takes. Sure glad they rediscovered it a few years later. Just as good a song is “Start Me Up”, which was at first recorded in 1975 as reggae tune.
Listen: “Waiting on a Friend”
17) December's Children (US only release,1965)
This one was the band’s third US release in 1965, as their record company and fans just could not get enough of their music. Brian Jones’ 12 string lead guitar on “Get Off of my Cloud” is a riff you will never forget, while the excellent and mellow “As Tears Go By” only features the Glimmer Twins.
Listen: “Get Off of my Cloud”
16) 12 x 5 (US only release,1964)
The second album release in the US for the Stones, with lots of covers, including "It's All Over Now", which is full of energy! The best thing about 12x5 and all of their early ‘60s albums is it was just the 5 original Stones plus Ian "Stu" Stewart (who was actually an original Stone, too). But as a group, these boys knew how to play together in a grand way, and it shows on this LP.
Listen: "It's All Over Now"
15) Voodoo Lounge (1994)
This release almost has the feel of a comeback album, as if the Stones were saying, we might be growing a bit older, but we can still rock! Mick Jagger’s harmonica playing on “Love is Strong” is as special as it was when he played harp years earlier on “Midnight Rambler”, and the band’s playing is totally on fire on “I Go Wild”.
Listen: “Love is Strong”
14) Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967)
The one Stones album that just doesn’t sound like the Stones, but still, it’s excellent and well, far out! No, this wasn’t supposed to be the Stones answer to the Beatles Sgt Pepper, but yes it is psychedelic. Yet its most freaky sounding and best track, “2000 Light Years from Home”, with the spacey mellotron played by Brian Jones, at first wasn’t going to be included on the album. On “2000 Man”, Mick Jagger does a grand job of predicating the future in the lyrics on what kind of problems a married man some 30 year later on might face.
Listen: “2000 Light Years from Home”
13) Out of Our Heads (1965)
Seven of the twelve tunes on here are originals, with 3 of them, "Satisfaction", "The Last Time", and “Play with Fire", being top notch. "Satisfaction" was of course the song that the early Stones are best known for, thanks to Keith Richards’ fantastic guitar riff and Mick Jagger’s lyrics of immense frustration.
Listen: "(I can’t get no) Satisfaction"
12) The Rolling Stones, Now! (US only release,1965)
Another excellent early album, this one’s two best are “Heart of Stone”, and the cover of "Little Red Rooster", with Brian Jones sliding his guitar in a way white men just didn’t do up till this time. The best thing about The Rolling Stones, Now! is the guitar weaving between Jones and Keith Richards, the two started rock n roll guitar weaving and to this day no others have ever match them. Then you got Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts’ rhythm section to boot, which is second to none!
Listen: "Little Red Rooster"
11) Aftermath (1966)
If there was one album that could be pointed out as the one Brian Jones shinned the brightest on, it’s Aftermath. Jones plays at least 12 different instruments on this LP, including the sitar and tamboura on the early metal sounding "Paint It Black". But most of the other songs are on the mellow side, including Jones’ playing of the dulcimer on “Lady Jane”, and his marimbas on “Under My Thumb” made that one real smooth.
Listen: "Paint It Black"
10) Exile on Main Street (1972)
Since the day Exile on Main Street came out, I have been criticized by Stones fans for my reviews of this double album, the one LP so many Stones fans love most. I myself do have deep affection for five songs here ("Rocks Off”, Sweet Virginia"," Tumbling Dice", "Happy" and "Rip This Joint). Had Exile on Main Street been a single album and not allowed very weak filler songs like “Turd on the Run”, “Ventilator Blues”, and “Let it Loose” to be included, it would be a favorite Stones album of mine, too.
Listen: "Happy"
9) It's Only Rock 'n Roll (1974)
The last album made with Mick Taylor, even if the title cut, which is clearly its best song, was written by Taylor’s replacement, Ron Wood, who wasn’t even credited for writing the number. Another great one is “Till the Next Goodbye”, a ballad that many non-Stones fans don’t seem to know, but should.
Listen: “It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I like it)”
8) Between the Buttons (1967)
This one is something like Aftermath, with Brian Jones playing another 10 or so different instruments on it, a few which gave the Stones music a sound not heard on other rock songs of the day. "Ruby Tuesday" is one of those songs, with Jones’ magic recorder making the most beautiful of sounds. But of course there were your more “normal” Stones tunes, like "Lets Spend The Night Together", rocking and a rolling in only the way The Stones do.
Listen: "Ruby Tuesday"
7) England's Newest Hit Makers (US only release, 1964)
This was the Rolling Stones US debut and is a solid piece of work. All covers on here other than the Jagger/Richards song “Tell Me”, which is the album’s best song and showed rock fans that many more Jagger/Richard numbers would be headed their way soon.
Listen: “Tell Me”
6) A Bigger Bang (2005)
As of 2012, this is the last studio album put out by the Stones and it’s a dandy; these guys just don’t sound like a bunch of old men! Out of the many Stones albums, it took until this one was released in 2005 to become Mick Jagger’s best ever. Who even knew that Jagger played the slide guitar? He does so in fine fashion on the excellent blues tune “Back Of My Hand”, which he also adds a wonderful harp to. “Rough Justice” is another winner, but the thing about A Bigger Bang is that every song on here is nothing short of good.
Listen: “Back Of My Hand”
5) Goats Head Soup (1973)
Ask any hardnosed Rolling Stones fan which album is the band’s most underrated, and 9 out of 10 will tell you it’s this one. Other than the closing cut, the other 9 songs are as mellow as the Stones get, like “Angie”, which was a number 1 single. Plus no ditty can get mellower than “Winter”, with Mick Taylor’s wonderful guitars, this is one of the best songs to play on a cold day. Then "Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)" is partly based on true events, as the Stones take a rare moral stand on the plight of children. Goat’s Head Soup was the last Stones album produced by Jimmy Miller, too bad he didn’t stick around longer, because he knew how to get true greatness out of them, unlike anyone else.
Listen: “Winter”
4) Some Girls (1978)
The one Stones album that is grand thanks to Ron Wood, and boy does he shine on this one! With the exception of “Lies”, which is your average song, all the rest on here are excellent numbers, some with a country-rock feel. "Far Away Eyes" is a fantastic little country tune thanks to Wood's slide guitar. The bonus second CD you now get with Some Girls, which includes an extra 12 songs worked on but not released during the album’s 1978 (and earlier) sessions, is just as wonderful as the main LP, and it could have been a great stand- alone album had it been released as one.
Listen: “Far Away Eyes”
3) Beggars Banquet (1968)
The last full album with the band’s founder Brian Jones, who plays an excellent slide guitar on "No Expectations", but this album showed the gelling of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, with the Glimmer Twins making magic together on so many songs. Jagger wrote the lyrics to "Sympathy for the Devil", but it was Richards who changed around the beat of the song, which helped to make it so special. Yeah, that and also the “WhoWho/Woo-Woo” backing chant, which came about when Anita Pallenburg, who was in the recording booth with producer Jimmy Miller while the band was recording the song, heard Miller singing ‘who who” each time Mick would sing each verse of the song”, she then suggested that the Stones add that to the song, and they did, with fine results.
Listen: "Sympathy for the Devil"
2) Let It Bleed (1969)
Keith Richards hasn’t been known too much for his slide guitar playing, but on Let it Bleed you get to hear a lot of just that from him. This album includes Richards’ best all-around work, no question about it! Richards plays almost all of the guitars heard on here, as Let It Bleed was recorded during the time when Brian Jones was departing and Mick Taylor was arriving. Jones appears on 2 tracks playing autoharp and drums, while Taylor adds the only other guitars heard on the LP, on “Country Honk”, and on “Live with Me”. Every song on here is magnificent, it’s hard to pick the best one, but I’ll go with the title track, thanks to the great boogie-woogie piano playing by Ian "Stu" Stewart.
Listen: “Let It Bleed”
1) Sticky Fingers (1971)
The Stones delivered a true masterpiece to their fans with Sticky Fingers. “Brown Sugar” is an explosion of superior sounds, in part thanks to Bobby Keys’ fantastic sax! Some beautiful ballads are also found on here, including "Wild Horses", and "Moonlight Mile", which is clearly their all-time most underrated song. “Sway” is another winner, telling the tale of what it’s like to live the life of a true rolling stone. Then you have the country-rock "Dead Flowers", if you understand what “dead flowers” means in drug jive, than you understand what this number is about. No question, the lyrics to Sticky Fingers’ songs contained more hidden drug references than any of their other albums. But damn, when this subject matter was handled from the Stones point of view, did it make for the best of tunes!
Listen: "Moonlight Mile"
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