Keno's ROLLING STONES Web Site

STICKY FINGERS
 

Released - 1971, on Rolling Stones Records. Produced by Jimmy Miller.

Personnel:

Mick Jagger - Lead Vocals; Guitar; Percussion.
Keith Richards - Lead and Rhythm Guitars, Acoustic Guitar; Backing Vocals.
Mick Taylor - Lead and Rhythm Guitars, Acoustic and Slide Guitar.
Charlie Watts - Drums.
Bill Wyman - Bass; Piano.

Additional Personnel:

Nicky Hopkins, Bobby Keys, Billy Preston, Jim Price, Rocky Dijon, Ry Cooder, Jack Nitzche, Paul Buckmaster, Ian Stewart, Jim Dickenson.

(Click on song for lyrics and song personnel)

 

SONG

1998 RATING

2005 RATING

2018 RATING*
 
BROWN SUGAR

10.0

10.0 10.0
SWAY

  9.0

10.0 10.0
WILD HORSES 10.0 10.0 10.0
CAN'T YOU HEAR ME KNOCKING    9.0   9.8 10.0
YOU GOTTA MOVE   7.3   9.0 10.0
BITCH   7.5 10.0 10.0
I GOT THE BLUES   8.0 10.0 10.0
SISTER MORPHINE   6.0   8.4   9.0
DEAD FLOWERS  10.0  10.0  10.0
MOONLIGHT MILE

 10.0

 10.0  10.0
Ave. Rating

8.68

9.72

9.90

                                                

REVIEW

The strongest album ever put out by the Boys. Lots of great ballads found on here with "Wild Horses" and "Moonlight Mile" the two best. "Wild Horses" was first worked on by Keith Richards, but Mick Jagger wrote most of the song's lyrics in the end. "Moonlight Mile" is the Stones most underrated song, about both missing one's lover, and if you understand drug jive, it also has a second, hidden meaning to it, as most of the songs on this LP have a drug connection to them.  "Dead Flowers" is another one of these druggie songs, and It also goes down as their most splendid country ballad ever recorded.

Many Stones fans would rank "Sister Morphine" as one of this album's  best songs too, but not myself. For whatever reasons, it just never hit the spot for me. Bobby Keys blows the best sax that ever landed on a Stones song on "Brown Sugar", perhaps the best rocker on the album. "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" is another winner, it starts off with one of  Richards'  best ever acid guitar riffs and by the time it ends, Mick Taylor's guitar solo takes over with a fine, jazzy feel to it.

Sticky Fingers was Taylor's top all around effort with the Stones; his guitar is the main sound you hear on this LP, and his playing just shines all over the album. And what about Jagger? Well here on Sticky Fingers we just might hear his most solid all around vocal output, and that is a strong statement when you consider all of the great Stones albums he has sang on!

- Keno 1998

*Old Ratings vs. New Ratings

The oldest ratings that you see here are from back in 1998 when I first rated the album for this site. Since time does change one's point of view, I decided to listen to and rate the album again, doing so in late 2005. In October, 2018, 20 years after the first ratings were made, I rated all of the songs for a third time. Also note that I did not look at the old ratings from 1998 until after I placed my new ratings here in both 2005 and 2018.

To add your own review go here.

To listen to some sound clips from STICKY FINGERS or to buy it, click here: For the Deluxe Edition 2CD set: Sticky Fingers; or on Vinyl: Sticky Fingers

To read others reviews about this album, go here.

To see how Sticky Fingers' songs was voted on by fans, go here

Return to Stones Album Ratings

 

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