CD Reviews

The Rolling Stones | Some Girls

Universal

By MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER | November 22, 2011

3.0 Stars

Hindsight demands each deluxe reissue of a Rolling Stones record be declared a masterpiece, despite the reality that for every flawless Let It Bleed there is a Steel Wheels stumble, with 1978's Some Girls falling somewhere in the middle of a spotty five-decade recording career. It came at a time of inner-turmoil. Keith Richards was facing jail for a Canadian heroin bust, defiantly detailed in his raucous outlaw theme "Before They Make Me Run." New styles of music were overtaking the late-'70s scene, namely punk and disco, neither of which were keen to welcome the Stones to the party. Mick Jagger crashed the latter genre, preening and posturing his way into Studio 54 with the instant mirrorball classic "Miss You." The postmodern take of "Shattered" is more camp than credible in retrospect, and "Far Away Eyes" fails at the tongue-in-cheek country that worked so well on Exile's "Sweet Virginia." Comparatively, tracks like the spirited "Respectable," the sneering "When the Whip Comes Down" and "Beast of Burden," (which runs neck and neck with "Wild Horses" as the supreme ballad by the band), are all worthy of classic distinction. "No Spare Parts," from the disc of extras, cements the period as Ronnie Wood's coming out party; on pedal-steel guitar he outshines the new vocals by Jagger, a questionable approach that nearly sabotages an otherwise solid abundance of outtakes. Much of the bonus material, like standouts "When You're Gone" and "Don't Be a Stranger," is as viable as what ended up on the original release. The sessions were wildly prolific, and the Stones mined its results for years to come, creating little else of value otherwise and entering the nostalgia-act phase of their career, effectively making Some Girls the last gasp of credible new music by the self-proclaimed World's Greatest Rock and Roll Band.

Rubblebucket | Omega La La
Although bands often sacrifice musical quality for the sake of maintaining a weirder image, Rubblebucket keep buzzing forward, as impressive as they are idiosyncratic.
CSS | La Liberacion
On their third album, Brazilian dance-rock quintet CSS (Cansei de Ser Sexy) make baby steps toward maturation, but old habits die hard.
Stephen Malkmus and the Jicks | Mirror Traffic
Malkmus solo has always alternated concise "song" records between collections of the Jicks' sprawling jams (Pig Lib, Real Emotional Trash), but Mirror Traffic is the first time he's tried to make a Jicks-as-band record digestible.
Tom Hambridge | Boom!
Roots rock is the new country and ex-Bostonian Tom Hambridge is the style's current MPV.
The Drums | Portamento
If the Mozzer himself is going to stay forever ensconced in his elder-statesman Vegas Era, then I'll gladly take this bold blond bout of Morrissey youth-worship wrapped nicely in 2011's garage-pop wave.
Wilco | The Whole Love
Wilco's evolution from Uncle Tupelo detritus to post-Americana thinking-man's jam band goes two steps back on their eighth studio album, and that's a good thing.
Wussy | Strawberry
Wussy's a brilliant Cincinnati four-piece for whom the local record shop turned into a label.
The Mars Volta | Noctourniquet
The Mars Volta sprang forth from the '90s avant-punk of At the Drive-In.
Screaming Females | Ugly
It's nice to know a woman as talented as singer-guitarist Marissa Paternoster was influenced by Our Band Could Be Your Life, despite Kim Gordon being the only woman in it.
Jack White | Blunderbuss
The White Stripes — the candy-coated, Delta blues-worshipping duo responsible for some of the 2000s' greatest rock albums — recently broke up.
Trans Am | What Day Is It Tonight? Trans Am Live, 1993 - 2008
Trans Am are distillers of guilty pleasures, mixing fat AOR riffs with sleazy electronic accents and a propulsive attitude typically reserved for arcade soundtracks. What Day Is It Tonight? covers the DC-area band’s 20-year history with high-quality, high-energy live cuts taken from their many tours.
Less

Topics: CD Reviews , Music, The Rolling Stones, The Rolling Stones, More

| More

Most Popular

The Current Issue

Table of Contents

Cover Archive

Masthead | Authors | Contact us

Blogs

Where To Follow Me
Talking Politics | March 24, 2013 at 11:09 AM

Mo Takes His Turn
March 21, 2013 at 12:59 PM

[Q&A] KMFDM's Sascha Konietzko on art, Columbine and having balls
On The Download | March 18, 2013 at 3:22 PM

See this film series: The Belmont World Film Series @ Studio Cinema in Belmont
Outside The Frame | March 18, 2013 at 11:00 AM

See this film: This is Spinal Tap [with post-film talk by expert from Acoustical Society of America] @ the Coolidge
March 17, 2013 at 12:00 PM

ARTICLES BY MICHAEL CHRISTOPHER

REX BROWN DELIVERS THE WORD ON PANTERA | March 20, 2013
“No holds barred” and “warts and all” are typical qualifiers when it comes to rock-and-roll memoirs, but rarely do they fulfill the promise.

PHOTOS: DEVOTCHKA AT THE HOUSE OF BLUES | March 13, 2013
DeVotchKa performs live at the House of Blues on March 9, 2013.

WHAT'S F'N NEXT? ALT-J | February 26, 2013
Bands that have taken home the United Kingdom's Mercury Prize in the past have included Suede, Pulp, Primal Scream, and Arctic Monkeys.

SHOUT OUT LOUDS | OPTICA | February 26, 2013
Stockholm's Shout Out Louds have always been a curious but consistent act.

WHAT'S F'N NEXT? CAVEMAN | February 20, 2013
Most people are probably sick to death of Brooklyn being a hipster's paradise where dinks with moustaches tatted on their fingers drive fixed-gear bikes to Williamsburg bars to pay $6.50 for a can of PBR.