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THE
ROLLING STONES - STICKY FINGERS
When
the Technicolor dream of the 1960s finally ended, it was time to face the
reality of the new decade, especially for rock bands. The Beatles  bowed
out early, so their friendly rivals the Rolling Stones were left standing
to sit atop the throne. However, that is not to say things happened to the
band behind the scenes that could easily have caused them to go the
Beatles' way.
Former guitarist Brian Jones died mysteriously on July 3, 1969, and had
been replaced by Mick Taylor only a few songs into the sessions for LET IT
BLEED. December 6 of that year was the infamous Altamont free concert that
officially signified the dream of peace & love was over. But instead
of coming unglued, the Stones were merely softened (at least temporarily),
and thus encouraged to become more introspective. 1971's STICKY FINGERS
was certainly their lowest-key album yet, save for some obvious rockers.
That STICKY FINGERS manages to be a uniformly outstanding affair is a
wonder considering that the songs were recorded in different places at
different times, rather than going for a certain ambience in that one
studio. It also even had songs that were essentially outtakes, but went on
to become classics all the same. That is right, "Brown Sugar"
& "Wild Horses" had been recorded in Muscle Shoals, during
the Stones' infamous 1969 American Tour. That they stand as some of STICKY
FINGERS' hardest tracks comes as no surprise.
Yes, "Brown Sugar" became the Stones' sixth #1 hit in America in
spite of (or maybe because of) its questionable lyrics that were either
racist, sexist, drug-related...or all three. Still, even the most
politically correct listeners cannot deny that it is one of the Stones'
gloriously rocking tunes ever, especially with Keith Richards' most
inventive opening guitar riff until "Start Me Up". Jim Price
& Bobby Keys' horns still manage to cut through the aural hysteria
like a razor.
Even the considerably more subdued "Wild Horses" has a
pronounced edge to it, managing to sound heartwarming even with a vocal
from Mick Jagger that was probably rough from cigarettes & alcohol.
Sure, it only reached #28 & does not get the kind of airplay
"Brown Sugar" still does, yet "Wild Horses" showed the
Stones were still releasing quality singles at a time when AM Gold pop was
reigning supreme.
"Can't You Hear Me Knocking" is more like an embryonic song idea
that is just the launching pad for a 7-minute scorching jam that is not
unlike what Santana would have created on any of their first 3 albums.
The only other song on STICKY FINGERS that equals the madness of
"Brown Sugar" is "Bitch", once again with the horns
practically being the main reason why it rocks so hard. Of course, the
tendency is to assume a legendarily-chauvinistic band like the Stones is
creating yet another song about a bad little woman. But however, the song
basically is saying that life is a bitch, not a certain unnamed female. I
wonder if calling the song by this name was rather revolutionary for 1971
(considering the eventual controversy over 1973's "Star Star").
With a great part of STICKY FINGERS having been recorded at Mick Jagger's
house with the Stones' newly-built mobile unit, there you have the reason
why the album has a reputation of being one of their looser, less heavy
affairs. The aforementioned "Bitch" was recorded there, but
about everything else was more mellowed, yet uneasily so. "Sway"
has a menacing vibe to it even with a rhythm that invites the title action
rather than headbanging.
The Stones return to their blues roots with Reverend Gary Davis' "You
Gotta Move" which follows "Street Fighting Man"'s method of
creating an air of terror without an electric guitar in sight. Aerosmith's
recent cover has absolutely nothing on the Stones' take, showing that not
all white boys have soul, but a few have been blessed.
"I Got The Blues" is said to have been the song that inspired
Jon Bon Jovi to start writing songs, and maybe he knows something other
listeners do not because it is indeed one of the Stones' truly lost
classics. Sounding like a lost Stax outtake, the horns again come close to
stealing the show, alongside Billy Preston's trusty organ work. Oh, how
people like Otis Redding or Wilson Pickett could have tore this one up!
The drug exploits of the Stones in the 1970s (especially those of Keith
Richards) are foreshadowed eerily on "Sister Morphine", partly
inspired by Mick Jagger's then-girlfriend Marianne Faithfull's near-fatal
heroin overdose. One song that is openly scary & not afraid to be so,
even now, you may want to listen to this song only in the daytime, and
even better, it may scare you off drugs for good.
Towards the end of STICKY FINGERS, the nightmarish atmosphere somewhat
lifts on the final two tracks. "Dead Flowers" sends up
twang-heavy country music even as it manages to be a fine document of the
genre itself. I cannot find a song that has a major Keith Richards
influence (he had just begun to sing lead on a song or two per album), but
given his friendship with country-rock pioneer Gram Parsons, I can guess
this would be a reasonable antecedent. "Dead Flowers" also
manages to be yet another inventive way of telling a mistreating mate
where to go.
The sun then finally rises on the closing "Moonlight Mile",
which gives probably the best idea of the communal vibe that surrounded
STICKY FINGERS & would continue onto 1972's EXILE ON MAIN ST. The
strings & vocals may have been added later, but the rest of the music
was done live, and the warmth it all radiates is palpable. After a nearly
40-minute long musical bad dream (but a glorious one nevertheless),
"Moonlight Mile" is the song that helps you realize it was one
after all.
While the Beatles may have caved in before the decade was barely new, the
Rolling Stones proved to be just at the beginning of their superstar
period when STICKY FINGERS became their first #1 album in 6 years, and
also was the first in an enviable stretch of 8 consecutive albums to top
the charts. Some would say a few of those reached that position
undeservedly, but you certainly could not include STICKY FINGERS in that
category because it managed to rock like hell even when the menace was
more seductive than violent.
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