Over four decades, The Rolling Stones have defined rock’s aesthetic of excess while inspiring imitation, ridicule, and ridicule from imitators and critics alike. Yet they remain one of the most iconic rock bands; every guitarist imagines they could become Keith, every singer dreams to be Mick.
Hackney Diamonds, produced by Andrew Watt (who had also produced Miley Cyrus and Ozzy Osbourne’s later-career albums), reenergized Jagger-Richards collaboration.
The band’s early years
Throughout the 1970s, their popularity skyrocketed both domestically and abroad. Exile on Main Street was recorded at London’s Regent Sound Studios; known for leaking sound between instruments (in fact it had egg boxes placed upon its ceiling to absorb noise), this mono facility produced one of their greatest albums (Exile on Main Street).
Manager Andrew Loog Oldham guided The Rolling Stones away from the British Invasion and towards a more bluesy and overtly sexual sound in 1978 with their album Some Girls, meeting punk’s challenge (“When the Whip Comes Down”) while tapping into disco’s grooves with songs like “When the Whip Comes Down.” Resulting in one of that year’s finest albums.
Beggars Banquet was released following a period of relative inactivity from The Stones and immediately reached number three in both countries (UK – 3 and U.S.- 5 respectively). This album found them revisiting their blues roots, drawing inspiration from Muddy Waters who was an early influence. Their lead single, “Jumpin’ Jack Flash”, proved extremely popular.
The 1970s
As The Rolling Stones expanded, they started touring and recording outside of Britain. They became particularly fond of American rhythm and blues music and rock and roll, as well as jazz musician Miles Davis.
Mick Jagger came close to sounding more like a sharecropper from South Carolina than the British rock star he desired (though he developed a ridiculous Southern accent). Charlie Watts became obsessed with the Civil War; Keith Richards would consume nothing but Southern-made sour-mash whiskey while falling for Texas native honeys.
Goats Head Soup marked the Stones’ collaboration with producer Jimmy Miller, an individual with whom they had had an adversarial relationship due to his drug dependency and past battle. Miller helped them hone their unique sound by adding keyboardist Nicky Hopkins and guitarist Ian Stewart as members. Also on the record was their cover of Valentinos’ jump blues throwback “She’s a Rainbow”, although this song did not achieve widespread popularity like their previous single. This album further cemented their status as an alternative band to The Beatles both in America and Britain.
The 1980s
After The Stones’ dismal showing on 1981’s Dirty Work, many fans thought their career had come to an end. Their follow-up album Some Girls did even worse. Luckily, engineer Chris Kimsey kept recording in EMI Pathe-Marconi Studios; every false start, tentative run through, and near final draft were kept safely stored away for later listening pleasure.
This leftover from the Some Girls sessions is an uninspired, poorly performed boogie with amateur female vocals; nonetheless, it remains one of the more underrated Stones tracks from an otherwise misunderstood period.
The 1980s were an uproar as internal dramas among The Rolling Stones culminated in an all-out meltdown. Mick Jagger left to pursue solo work, Keith Richards often criticised Jagger and Charlie Watts battled heroin addiction – yet during these turbulent times, The Stones produced some incredible tracks despite these challenges – three albums after 1972’s Exile on Main St may not have sold well, but each had an infectious energy and promise that would cement their status as household names.
The 1990s
While other groups were dabbling with disco in the ’70s, The Stones stuck to what made them great: bluesy rock music that gets you moving! Here, they show their finest bluesy-boozy talent; this track builds to an epic crescendo that makes you want to keep the party going all night long!
“Exile on Main St.” album‘s fifth track sets the scene perfectly: it shows The Rolling Stones taking an innovative approach to blues reminiscent of their peers; yet still managing to deliver an enjoyable and effective rendition with Keith playing slide guitar and Ry Cooder providing his trademark ivory-thumping.
Few bands can last 50 years with the same members leading them, and The Rolling Stones deserve great credit for doing just that. Not only have they produced some incredible live shows over that time period but their music lives on in other bands’ music as a tribute to how far rock can travel and what the Stones meant to Generation X.