Coming in at number 8 on the Best of the 70's list is this 1972 double album from the Stones. It's cluttered and dirty sounding and is the purist mix of blues, R&B, and country the band would ever make. I have never been a big fan of this album. The Stones at their best are effortless and exhausting. They sound as though they aren't even trying, but after three or four songs you feel exhausted. They keep you going through an album with the occasional brilliant pop tune. What makes this album so tough is that it is 18 tracks and even the pop tunes here like "Tumbling Dice" are cluttered and grimy and don't really give you any escape from the mood of the album.
I have no doubt this is the tightest blend of music the Stones ever put together, but it's also the heaviest and 18 tracks is just more than I can handle.
One thing about this album is that Mick Jagger is quite subdued and so this can be a background music album, but really you have to be a dreary place to play this one.
Following the Rhapsody rating method I give it 3 out of 5 stars for Pretty Good.
I, too, have never been able to get into this album.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised by this review, because I always thought you really loved this album. Which of the Rolling Stones record in this run did you used to really love?
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