"IT'S NEW TO ME" WEEK (OCTOBER 20-26, 2013)
I don't remember the first Stones song I ever heard but I do remember the first Stones LP I bought: 1981's Tattoo You. When Some Girls came out in May 1978, I heard the songs on the radio but wouldn't have dared purchase the album for fear of what my parents might think ("I'm disappointed in you. That stuff will warp your mind, young man!"). Combining their traditional bluesy rock 'n' roll sound with the occasional touch of disco, the album was a commercial and critical success (except for maybe Lester Bangs over in Stereo Review - see below). It was a fairly big risk; if the album had flopped, the band's career might have ended prematurely. Over 30 years after the fact, I finally picked up a gently used copy. I can only assume that a Stones fan dumped off this copy when they picked up the 2011 Deluxe Edition. I love the title - if there's one constant in Stones songs, it's girls.
Update: In its 2020 list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time, Rolling Stone ranked Some Girls at #468.
Press of the time:
- Rolling Stone: "has more than its share of highs"
- Stereo Review: "those Same Old Stones Riffs and occasional bits looted from other (usually black) sources."
- Robert Christgau (A): "The Stones' best album since Exile on Main Street is also their easiest since Let It Bleed or before."
- High Fidelity: "both unexpected and revelatory"
- Trouser Press: "The final score? I'd go as far as an 85"
- Roadrunner: "it lacks what makes rock'n'roll truly great - vitality, inspiration, sting"
Album chart peaks:
- US Billboard Top 200: #1 (2 consecutive weeks, July 15 - 22, 1978)
- Billboard R&B: #46
- CashBox: #1 (2 consecutive weeks)
- Rolling Stone: #5
Tracks: I always liked the 3 big singles from this album: Miss You (#1), Beast Of Burden (#8), and, (shadoobie) my personal favorite, Shattered (#31). Of the remaining 7 tracks, the only skippable song is Far Away Eyes. The rest is typical Stones, including the energetic Respectable and the take on The Temptations' classic, Just My Imagination, which the Stones make their own.
Personal Memory Associated with this CD: In 2003, I finally saw the Stones live. Sadly, no tracks from this album were on the set list. I was disappointed that I didn't get to hear Shattered, but with 41 Top 40 hits, the band has an understandably tough job narrowing down set lists. At least I got to hear Gimme Shelter.
Let me try this again - forgot to HTML the link.
ReplyDeleteSo, this was your first listen to Some Girls? I had a lot of exposure to it back in the day thanks to my older brother. My full review can be found on my blog:
Martin's View: the Rolling Stones - Some Girls (35th anniversary)
Not my first listen, but I've only had that CD a few months so the first listen was in the summer. My older sibling (a sister) had John Denver and Frank Mills 8 track-tapes, so there wasn't any Stones music for me in the '70s except what was on the AM radio.
DeleteI win. My dad bought this one when it came out, with the original die cut sleeve. He loved the disco bounce fo "Miss You". When I bought my vinyl copy just a couple of years later, it was not die cut.
DeleteIn addition to those two vinyl copies, I have three copies of Some Girls on CD:
1986 CBS
2009 Universal Remaster
2011 Deluxe Edition with bonus disc
Like Mark, my first Rolling Stones album purchase was Tattoo You in 1981 - "Start Me Up" was huge and the whole album was actually surprisingly deep. My favorite Stones disc remains the dark, un-Stones likeUndercover from 1983.
Had two opportunities to see Mick and Keef and the rest of the geezers - the Steel Wheels tour in 1989 and Bridges To Babylon in 1997 - but ended up selling my tickets for twice what I paid for them (and I paid significantly more than face value) which still seems like the shrewder move.
Have to say I'm digging this "New To Me" theme - can't wait to see what comes next.
ReplyDeleteWithout trying to steal your idea or offering much in the way of reviews, here's a few Spotify links to albums and artists I've "discovered" that were "New To Me" over the past few months:
Bill LaBounty [1982] - Bill LaBounty
Touch [1979] - Touch
The Jones Girls [1979] - The Jones Girls
Home [2013] - Electro Deluxe (true, it's brand new but they have a back catalog, too)
Headquarters [2012] - Monkey House (pretty sure, you hipped me to this one, Mark)
Days Are Gone [2013] - Haim