Some Girls - Rolling Stones (The) (CD 1994)

The Rolling Stones.

Easily the longest-lasting hit-making outfit in musical history. As the fellas pass 40 years of making successful records and continue to wow crowds on another sell-out tour, it calls to mind one question that's vaguely troubled me recently.

How come The Stones don't move me?

I mean, it's not that I don't like them. Hell, I own "Forty Licks". I have that "Jump Back" compilation too. I've at various points owned not only the album I'm reviewing, but "Emotional Rescue" (on vinyl, to boot) and "Dirty Work".

Wait, I think I may have just answered my own question. Well, aside from the fact that everyone's musical tastes are unique (hey, I don't understand why there are people out there who don't love The Beatles...or U2), there's also the fact that my musical interest began to wax as the quality of The Stones' records (allegedly) waned. I mean, "Start Me Up" is a great song, but it's fairly overplayed. The one Stones song post-Seventies that I can say I truly love is "Out Of Tears". Anyway...

I'm supposed to be talking about "Some Girls", alternately described as "the last excellent Stones album" and "the Stones' disco album". I can't really make an assessment on the first charge-it *is* a good album, maybe even a great album, but I'm not enough of a Stones enthusiast to say anything so firmly. As far as disco, ummm...I think folks have a really warped idea of what "disco" was/is if they're calling this a disco album.

Of course, that label has a lot to do with the album's huge hit "Miss You". Yeah, it features a solid four-on-the-floor dance beat, and Mick pulls out the falsetto on occasion, but it's more of a dance/rock/blues thing than it is "disco". Hell, it's certainly more rockin' and aggressive than other songs of the era it's lumped with, like "Da Ya Think I'm Sexy" or "I Was Made For Lovin' You" (not an insult in the least, I love both those songs). And how many disco records are gonna pull a bluesy harmonica solo out like the one that closes this song? Besides, anyone who accused the Stones of bandwagon jumping by recording this song obviously didn't a) notice the Stones' reverence for black musical styles that's been evident since the beginning of their career, and b) didn't hear "Hot Stuff" a couple years before, a song that was an obvious starting point for this sound.

Anyway, I've devoted way too much space to one song. While "Miss You" is a certified classic, there are other worthy songs on this album, and the rest of the album is pretty much The Stones' standard blues-based rock attack. One thing that's definitely front-and-center on "Some Girls" is attitude. Songs like the pulsating "When The Whip Comes Down" and "Shattered" have a very aggressive energy to them. Folks who were around back then say it was the band responding to charges that they were becoming irrelevant in light of the burgeoning punk movement and The Stones' presence in upper-crust tabloid society. Mick and Bianca were hanging out at Studio 54, Keith was facing a lengthy bid for heroin possession (didn't he get his blood changed or something like that?) and Bill Wyman was probably squiring 7-year olds. I keed, of course, but there's definitely a sense of urgency that a lot of later Stones albums I've heard don't have.

There's also a definite sense of humor here. "Far Away Eyes" is a great song, although most folks would probably rather see it on a comedy album than a Stones album. Over a loping country melody (and with some serious drawling from Mick), we hear the story of a guy who meets the titular girl for a date and then sends money to a televangelist so his prayer for either another date with the far away-eyed girl or a different far away-eyed girl can be realized. It obviously takes the p*ss out of rednecks and redneck culture, and is definitely good for a giggle.

Going back to The Stones' reverence for black music, there's a solid cover of The Temptations' "Just My Imagination" here. It's fairly decent, although there's no way in hell it holds a candle to the sumptuous original. There's also "Beast Of Burden", a genuinely sexy song that I originally heard done by Bette Midler (ugh) in the mid-Eighties, and there's the obligatory Keith lead vocal "Before They Make Me Run". Keith's ragged, high pitched voice is perfect for this roaring rock song, featuring some feverish drumming from Charlie Watts and a walking bassline by Mr. "The Girlies I Like Are Underage" Wyman.

While there are some songs here that just sort of fade into the background ("Repectable" immediately comes to mind), most of these songs have at least one fairly distinguishing chracteristic-NOT always a good thing. The album's title track features some tight instrumetnal work by the band, as well as a semi-mumbled vocal from Mick, but might be most remembered for the line "black girls just wanna get f*cked all night", a line that drew the ire of Jesse Jackson, among many others, upon it's release in 1978. While I'm relatively sure there wasn't conscious malicious intent behind the line, it does kinda ruin what otherwise is a pretty good song.

So are The Stones one of those bands whose legend has far superceded the quality of their recorded output? I don't know. I'm still asking myself. While I'm certainly not in a rush to go out and buy a Rolling Stones album that I don't already have (ESPECIALLY a new one), there's no doubting that "Some Girls" is a definite classic album. The rockers are fiery and agressive, there's great playing throughout, Mick proves himself a great frontman (een if he doesn't do much actual singing), and "Miss You" is a certified classic.

Some guy advises you to pick this album up, although my gut tells me many of you already have.

"Some Girls" by The Rolling Stones

Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Repeat: "Miss You", "Far Away Eyes", "Before They Make Me Run"

Skip: "Respectable", "Some Girls"

Great Music to Play While: Marvelling at how gross The Stones look on the cover in those wigs.