Between 1968 and 1973, The Rolling Stones enjoyed a nearly unprecedented run of artistic success, releasing Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, Exile On Main St, and Goat’s Head Soup. But by the early/mid-70′s, Keith Richards’ drug problems were finally starting to get the best of him, and Mick Jagger began assuming more control of the day-to-day direction of the group. Throw in the fact that they were breaking in Ron Wood as a replacement for the vastly underrated Mick Taylor, and there are plenty of reasons why Black & Blue could be a disaster. It’s not, but neither is it one of their best albums.
So I ask you: is this a worthwhile album that sits unfairly near the rear of the Stones’ catalogue, or an album that merely suffers in comparison with the gems that came before it?
THUMBS UP: The best defense for Black & Blue might also be the simplest: it’s the Rolling Stones, dammit. This might not be the sharpest arrow in the band’s quiver, but it scores points for being different. The most noticeable departure from their general body of work is the tempo – here they’re moving at about 3/4′s their usual speed. ‘Fool To Cry’ was the requisite hit, but ‘Hey Negrita’ is the album’s best song – a savage, funky stomp that is unforgivably catchy. ‘Crazy Mama’ is vintage Stones – a snarling rocker that’s all about Miss Behavin’. This album features a few numbers that have a reggae inflectional and a handful of effective ballads, making it perhaps their most tropical album. Nobody would claim this is The Stones’ best, but if you’re looking for an album to play on a hot summer day, you could do a lot worse than Black & Blue.
THUMBS DOWN: Lester Bangs opined that “This is the first meaningless Stones album” but it’s hard to be too critical of Black & Blue. The album’s obvious shortcoming is that it doesn’t play to the group’s strengths, dominated as it is by ballads and reggae-lite that sounds 20,000 light years removed from the swamp gas of Exile On Main St. ‘Cherry Oh Baby’ is perhaps the most embarrassing song in the group’s storied history – a turgid, lifeless interpretation of reggae that highlighted Keith Richards’ waning influence within his own group. And finally (as if it didn’t have enough issues), Black & Blue is tainted by the stink of one of the most odious marketing campaigns in the history of popular music. A billboard on Sunset Strip featured a battered and bruised woman under the caption “I’m black and blue from the Rolling Stones and I love it.” Yuck.
[I know it's only rock and roll, but I don't know if I like it. What about you? All opinions welcomed...]
Tags: Black & Blue, The Rolling Stones
19 October 2008 at 9:10 am |
“I’m black and blue from the Rolling Stones and I love it.” Yuck.
I take it you wouldn’t like “Teenage Cave Man” by Randy Luck?
Were after good ole Randy Luck the tennage cave man hits is little lady friend she scream “there’s something about your fist that i can’t resist!”
oh and this album….
ZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzz…
19 October 2008 at 9:11 am |
Linky to Teenage Cave Man by Randy Luck for thhose so inclined…
http://www.divshare.com/download/5208804-cc1
20 October 2008 at 4:04 pm |
Big fan, big-big fan, but, thumbs down. Probably my least favorite stones album I own and I own probably 6 or 7.
Great, now I feel guilty.
20 October 2008 at 11:08 pm |
That’s OK. Mick and Keith will get over it eventually…
21 October 2008 at 12:00 pm |
the curly howard era of the three stooges was, hands down, my favorite.
in fact, it probably was preferred by most stooges fans, despite the best efforts of brother shemp and curly joe besser (the 3rd and final ’3rd’ stooge to star in short films).
this sentiment reminds me of the rolling stones, who’ve had their share of 5th members, most notably brian jones, mick taylor and ron wood.
now, the mick taylor stones are my favorite stones, hands down. as dk points out, their run from 1968 to 1973 has probably only been surpassed once (the beatles).
brian jones’ stones rate second in my mind; and if chart success counts for much, it had to be their most prolific era — quite an accomplishment for a band which has many.
all of which leaves the ron wood era rolling stones, clearly my least favorite.
their output has been hit & miss, with much more of the latter than the former. but the biggest reason they bring up the rear is simple: they suffer from steve-carlton-george-foreman-rod-stewart syndrome: they don’t know when to hang it up.
neither did the stooges, who — unlike the stones — kept going because they needed money.
so, going with this previously never-used analogy, BLACK & BLUE is the rolling stones’ equivalent of the stooges’ HOOFS & GOOFS, the first with joe besser as curly joe. and we all know what a classic that was.
22 October 2008 at 6:50 am |
Love this album. Gets me wet every time.
28 October 2008 at 4:54 pm |
Hey Negrita, what’s not to love?
28 October 2008 at 8:55 pm |
Cherry Oh Baby, my tummy hurts…
28 October 2008 at 9:03 pm |
“Cherry Oh Baby, my tummy hurts…”
Better than UB40′s toast-piercing version
30 October 2008 at 8:24 am |
I believe Furr just set the bar two inches off the ground…
19 May 2011 at 1:16 pm |
[...] the job, Mandel ended up on the tracks ‘Memory Motel’ and ‘Hot Stuff’ on Black & Blue. It’s a pretty weak legacy for a guitarist who rocked Woodstock, pioneered a new way to play [...]