I'll buy that range for "best," as well. My favorite is Let It Bleed.Originally Posted by davis
I'll buy that range for "best," as well. My favorite is Let It Bleed.
We're trying to build a monument to show that we were here
It won't be visible through the air
And there won't be any shade to cool the monument to prove that we were here. - Gene Parsons, 1973
Exile on Main Street is one of my favorite albums by anyone!
1. Aftermath
2. Satanic M
3. Sticky
4. Beggar's
I own only #1 & 2, and that indeed is enough of them for me. I had several other Stones albums in the 60s-70s, but they sure as hell didn't age well for me.
"My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician, and to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference"
President Harry S. Truman
Geezer wins. It is Aftermath. Man, it's just so cool!
I want to dynamite your mind with love tonight.
Undercover
Between the Buttons is another under-rated favorite.
I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart
I've never been able to comprehend how that can be anybody's favorite Stones record. It pretty much proves that these guys weren't ready for psychedelia. There's about three great songs, a couple good songs (one of which required Ace Frehley's help to make it sound good) and a whole bunch of bad filler, which they hadn't had on their a. If there was ever a record that proved The Stones weren't The Beatles, it was this one. Then again, maybe with a different producer, it would have been different.
And by "different producer", I mean any producer, as they pretty much did that one themselves. Maybe if they had an Andrew Loog Oldham or a Jimmy Miller to throw the hanger ons out of the studio and tell the band to quit futzing around and get down to business, maybe Satanic Majesties would have been a better record.
Really? You'd choose one of the "instant albums" that was thrown together by the US record company?
I had to look the track listing for that one. It's not bad, but again you've got the apparently obligatory and if you ask me totally superfluous cover tunes. She Said Yeah is probably best of the covers on that particular one (all the more remarkable when you realize it was co-written by a certain future Congressman).
Probably the best track on December's Children (And Everybody's) that's not on Hot Rocks is The Singer Not The Song, a gorgeous ballad. Come to think of it, Blue Turns To Grey and I'm Free are pretty good too. And then of course, you've got As Tears Go By and Get Off Of My Cloud, so you've probably got about half of a great album, one decent cover tune, and a bunch of "meh" covers (including a couple live tracks).
Speaking of Get Off Of My Cloud, Charlie oughta be knighted for his drumming on that track. I mean, that intro...O! My! GAWD!!!!! I think just about only (I Can't Get No) Satisfaction and maybe Paint It Black have better intros.
I've never actually heard that album, but I'm betting the best thing about it is the video for Undercover Of The Night (where Mick plays two roles, one of which gets kidnapped by Mick, the other helps the kidnapped Mick's girlfriend find him...then it all turns out to be a movie being watched by a couple teenagers on TV...well, the girl is trying to watch it, but the boy keeps changing the channel back to MTV so he can watch The Stones perform, then finally they start getting into the heavy petting, only for the guy to cock blocked by the girl's parents, arriving home from a cocktail party...wait a minute, didn't I already explain all this dren in another thread earlier this week?!)
Actually, She Was Hot was a pretty good tune too. That had an even sillier video, with this hot chick turning Mick into a pile of ashes through sheer sexiness.
Curious: what would you say the clunkers on Tattoo You are? That's a pretty solid, bad ass record, weird given it's a "best of the leftovers" collection thrown together so the band would have something to promote on the 1981 tour. Hard to believe that Start Me Up, Hang Fire, and Waiting On A Friend were literally rejects from earlier albums. I mean, you and I both are probably sick of hearing Start Me Up, but that intro, again, another insanely cool intro, and listen to that guitar tone!!!!
Even all eleven minutes of Going Home?! If there was ever a track that deserved to be edited, it's that one.
FOUR POSTS IN A ROW!
STIFLE, EDITH!
BTW, you suck at being confrontational, Chris.
"My choice early in life was either to be a piano player in a whorehouse or a politician, and to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference"
President Harry S. Truman
Then it's probably a good thing I'm not trying to be confrontational. I mean, who do I look over here? Jim Morrison?!
BTW, you suck at being confrontational, Chris.
I am not that big a fan of side 2 of the album. Side 1 was all solid, and "Waiting On A Friend" at the end of the album was a great little tune, but the first few tracks on that side did not do that much for me. That being said, it is a long time since I have listened to it, so maybe I need to go back and give it a refresher.
I'm with you here... Hand of fate, fool to cry, memory motel.... All the songs on this album work except hey negrita. And even thats not bad.
Still alive and well...
Well, "Hot Stuff" is nothing to write home about either. But then again, any of the funk or reggae songs they recorded fall flat for me. And post-Goat Heads Soup they went to that well way too many times.All the songs on this album work except hey negrita
I don't like country music, but I don't mean to denigrate those who do. And for the people who like country music, denigrate means 'put down.'- Bob Newhart
I confess to liking Hot Stuff... Cant get enough.
Still alive and well...
Hot Rocks (IMHO the double album was pretty much all you needed from the Stones..)
I love Hot Stuff.
'Hot Rocks' plays well, but there are a few surprising inclusions on it- 'Heart Of Stone' and 'Play With Fire', for instance, both strong tracks but bigger hits were left off, appearing only on the second volume. I recommend the extended 'Rolled Gold' CD, which is near perfect.
The best album overall has to be in that 1968-72 block. 'Let It Bleed' might be the one for me.
I enjoy most of their stuff to varying degrees though. 'Undercover' and 'Dirty Work' are the weak links in their catalogue without doubt, but neither are disasters- there are strong tracks on both. Both are let down by concessions to 80s sounds that they shouldn't have made. 'Steel Wheels' also suffers from that but the material is much better.
I wish they'd put out that '25x5' documentary on DVD/Blu-Ray. You can say it's outdated now as it's from the late 80s, but that fairly recent Scorsese one 'Crossfire Hurricane' (which I watched on TV) didn't bother with their last 30 odd years at all either.
I agree with the several other posts that nominate Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed, Get Yer Ya Yas Out, Sticky Fingers, and Exile On Main Street. I also would add (it's only been mentioned a few times) Goats Head Soup. Very underrated album.
The Big Four in my book as well.
Bob
I had to look Rolled Gold up, because I"m not familiar with that one. Some good tunes there, interesting choices too, like Yesterday's Papers and Have You Seen You Mother, Baby, Standing In The Shadows (two of my favorites). But I still maintain that Hot Rocks is possibly the best sequenced best of release ever.
And just so I don't sound like a poseur (as per Henchman 24, who loved ChangesOneBowie), one record I would mention, though clearly not "the best" or even close to it, it odes have one song that appears to be not available anywhere else. Flowers is another one of those "instant albums" that their US record company put out, effectively the Rolling Stones equivalent of Yesterday And Today, for instance, gathering together a gaggle of songs from singles, outtakes, and stuff that was left off the US releases of both Aftermath and Between The Buttons (it also manages to open with the exact same two songs as the US version of Between The Buttons...talk about exploiting your audience!).
One of the outtakes is a great song called Ride On, Baby, which I think is one of the most underrated tracks in the entire Stones catalog. And as I said, I believe this is the one and only place you can find it (well, I suppose you could probably buy the mp3 from Amazon, and avoid buying Let's Spend The Night Together and Ruby Tuesday again).
Before I'd made double figures 'Flowers' was my introduction to The Stones. 'Ride On Baby' was done by Chris Farlowe who had a hit with it. 'Sittin' On A Fence' on there was a hit for another Immediate Records act, Twice As Much. Both are great songs. The other 'exclusive' track on it was the cover of 'My Girl'- an oddity!
It does, however, beggar belief that their Decca catalogue is still such a sprawl.
I would have said that too, until I heard the English running order of Between the Buttons.
Last edited by rcarlberg; 04-02-2015 at 06:45 PM.
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