Freshers week seriously punishes your liver. Will write some more reviews once ive recovered
Freshers week seriously punishes your liver. Will write some more reviews once ive recovered
Member since:01.10.2003
Reviews:17
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An album best remembered for the Richards’ incredible opening riff, it is important to remember that 1971’s Sticky Fingers is not, however, all about Brown Sugar. Unquestionably the song is one of rock n’ rolls finest, but all too often Sticky Fingers’ subtle, quieter moments are forgotten. This album is one of the Stones’ best and stands its own against any of their other material.
Sticky Fingers marks an important period of change in the Stones’ music. Entering a new decade meant that the Stones would forever leave behind the pop tunes of the sixties and would follow in the bluesy footsteps of post 1968 Beggar’s Banquet and Let it Bleed. Sticky Fingers is a real blues rock n’ roll album. It is often compared and likened to Exile on Main Street and many people consider the latter an extended run of the former. It is true that the two albums are similar in musical styles and construction but whereas
Exile is relaxed and calm, Sticky Fingers is a tight and powerful package, full of confidence.
Here is a selection of some of the songs on the album.
Brown Sugar is my favourite Stones song, and as good an album starter as any. Richards’ riff really is amazing, so tight and controlled, the kind of sequence that every guitar player wishes he had thought of first! It has the same hard-hitting effect as All Right Now by Free, a sort of no-frills-attached style of playing that’s just down and dirty. Jagger’s lyrics are typically sexual and it doesn’t take a genius to work out the original title of the song. My favourite part is the saxophone solo. It’s played over the opening riff later on and sounds so blusey and cool. I’ve always wanted to work out how to play it but have never got round to it!
Second in is Sway. Immediately less powerful than the starter track, this song is often in the shadow of Brown Sugar. But Richards’ relentless riffing and some sweet touches from Mick Taylor make this an underrated classic. It has a sort of continuous dragging effect, and although less than four minutes in length, feels as though it is a lot longer.
Track three is Wild Horses, the best ballad to have been written under the name of Jagger/Richards. I recently learnt how to play this on guitar and was surprised at how good it sounded considering that the original had three acoustic guitars in it. This is a really touching and beautiful song, with some of the most delicate guitar playing ever written on it. Mick Taylor’s soloing is breathtaking, absolutely subtle and sublime but accenting the underlying acoustic at just the right moment with melodic bliss. I’ll admit, it’s brought tears to my eyes (sob!) before now and in my opinion is the finest playing that Taylor ever did for the Stones.
Can’t You Hear Me Knocking is a blues epic that spans over seven minutes of album space. Another great song, another set of great riffs from Keith Richards. Perhaps the highlight though is Mick Taylor’s excellent solo over saxophonist Bobby Keys shuffle-step groove which, thankfully, goes on for much of the last three minutes of the song!
Track five, and about time for a bit of county lickin’. Not my favourite song on the album, You Gotta Move nevertheless is an enjoyable experience, listening to Jagger’s scratchy vocals climb around some great slide guitar.
Track six, that which would have been track one of side two when the album was on vinyl, Bitch is superb. Yet another brilliant riff is the driving force behind the song along with some nice licks from Taylor backing things up. In its day it was viewed with some distaste, released as the flip side to the Brown Sugar single, this is a real beast of a song, with an even dirtier feeling than its A-side.
If not for Wild Horses and Brown Sugar, Sister Morphine would be my favourite song on the album. It is a dark ominous growl about heroin abuse, growing from a simple acoustic guitar into a crashing band performance. The electric guitar part sounds like the last wish of a dying man, whining with agony and suspense. It is the songs dramatic climbing/falling set-up that makes it so effective, stopping and starting like life and death.
Overall, a superb record. One of the Stones’ best, from perhaps their most creative and influential period as a band. Also a great album for newcomers to the Stones' music, as it is easy to get into the swing of things.
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Oct 4th, 2003
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