Octo_Russ

Rolling Stones [Steel Wheels] 

This is my favourite Stones album, and it was the first one i ever listened to, i came late to the Rolling Stones, they weren't particularly a successful 'singles band' for me, so i didn't pick them up in the Seventies in the charts, i bought this album on cassette tape in 1993, and very quickly i liked it, i tried quite a number of other Stones albums too, but each one only has 2 or 3 worthy songs on it, this has a good half a dozen, and lots of different styles too, but it's that hard beat and edgy Rock i like about them, Jagger is the perfect singer for this type of Band, snarling and irreverent, apart from greatest hits packages, this is the place i would recommend anyone to start on their studio albums.

The Rolling Stones are probably the most enduring Rock Band on the planet, they recorded this album in 1989, the front cover artwork is excellent, showing power saw discs, i like this silver and black montage, with the Band name in silver-blue at the top, certain Stones albums are less than inspired visually, this is one of their very best.

It was so good to listen to this album today, reminds me why i like it so much, the tracks that especially impressed me were 4 & 6-7, the first half of the album is so excellent, real rockers in there, Jagger & Richards really know how to put music together, here's a synopsis of these three tracks,

4 Hold On To Your Hat - lovely guitar riffs right at the start, screaming guitar too, and that hard beat by Drummer Charlie Watts, with Mick Jagger in angry screaming mode, from beginning to end it never lets up, i like the words 'Don't give me no shit, don't give me no crap', Jagger in top form.

6 Blinded By Love - not one of the usual tracks that is my best, but on this listen i found it fantastic, Jagger's vocal delivery is almost comical in places, but so creative too, at the end of each line, Jagger strings out each word in a nice but silly melisma snarl, it's very much a track that has a Country influence, one of the instruments i newly notice is the fiddle [played by Phil Beer], it gives it a kind of Bluegrass feel, very effective.

7 Rock And A Hard Place - another hard rocker, with another superb riff, the chorus is even better, those guitars have an extra infectious riff, there's a counter-melody halfway through [2:07-2:36], and Jagger sings 'Guiding dream churches, with the silver spires, and our rogue children, are playing loaded dice', i also like the way there's a nice refrain [3:06-3:36], with Jagger and drummer Watts singing / playing a duet, and at the end the female gospel singers come in.

Here's 'Rock And A Hard Place' on YouTube.