Sticky Fingers

The Mick Taylor years bought the Stones so much well deserved good will, it's kinda crazy when you think about it. They put out Black And Blue in 76 and everyone was willing to forget about it and come back for Some Girls. This might be the best collection of Stones tunes. Sway, Can't You Hear Me Knocking and Moonlight Mile are all-time bangers and who shines on all these songs? Mick Taylor. Hell yeah my dude.

This project has certainly challenged some of my assumptions about the Rolling Stones. I've never been a huge fan of Jagger's yelping. Never been electrified by an RS guitar solo. I contented myself with a simple rule: in principle, I like no more than seven Rolling Stones' song at any given time, although the seven could readily change. This was unfair and listening to Exile On Main Street and whichever other ones we've generated (this suggests an upcoming but) has given me humble pie for thought. They are surely a great rock n roll band. Charlie Watts is a great rock n roll drummer. Jagger and Richards are great rock n roll songwriters. And the other members are not without charm. But what are the limits of rock n roll. Country is within the limit of rock n roll, if it's kind of sloppy. Blues is within the limit of rock n roll, if it's kind of cynical. Even gospel is within the limit of rock n roll, if it sacrifices some of the light behind the eyes. It sounds like rock n roll is a broad church, but breadth is not length. You can explore the limits, but you can't do it indefinitely. And, if some of my assumptions have been challenged, I've learned some other, perhaps self-evident truths: the Rolling Stones spread out, but they don't stretch themselves. I've heard Their Satanic Majesty's Request and Beggars Banquet, but, even when they're experimenting, they can't be much other than the Rolling Stones. That needn't be a complaint, but here, I think, it probably is. Consistently, the Rolling Stones have been half-assed and half-cocked. Satisfied with a certain spontaneity. Or afraid of really putting in the effort. The arrangements and mixes are all cluttered. Some of the reviews here talk about the weaving together of leads and rhythm guitars, but I don't hear it. I hear two players happy to grind out their part to their own satisfaction. I think that is what everyone is doing, except Watts, who is the only one listening instead of just feeling. And it is worse when the song is genuinely great, rather than the by the numbers chugs that make up most of the work. I put on the Sundays version of Wild Horses just to be sure. The twelve string guitar on Sticky Fingers sounds better than any guitar on the Sundays cover, but the Sundays sound like a band recording a song in a studio working together. I don't know that anyone in the Stones studio really heard Richards's guitar at all. If they did, surely they would have given it more space, more clarity in the mix. The end of I Can Hear You Knocking shows they can do something clean and clear rather than ramshackle, but obviously they don't care. Andrew Eldritch points to Altamont as the moment that the innocence of rock n roll died. This album's writing bridges that event and what surely must have been a trauma for the Rolling Stones. But it doesn't seem to have changed them. They didn't tweak the lyrics of Brown Sugar. They didn't knuckle down and work tighter and more diligently. They continued on within the limit of rock n roll: sass, sex, and misogyny. The same old schtick of not caring. Maybe that was the traumatic response - rejection of responsibility for anything. Maybe rock n roll wasn't innocent, maybe it was just ignorant, petulant, or juvenile. Perhaps it's just silly. And that is the whole point of the Rolling Stones. But I think I've reached my limit. 2.5 It’s only in the last 15 years or so that I have acquired any interest at all in the Rolling Stones. When I was very young and encountering rock music for the first time - Nirvana, Pumpkins, Led Zepp, Hendrix etc - the Rolling Stones appeared to me as an almost comically feeble version of what I understood Rock music to be. The guitar playing sounded tame and conservative and polite even within the context of the late 60s/early 70s. The drums sloppy and idiotic. Jagger something like Mr Blobby for the Boomer generation - a widely recognised, harmless, two-dimensional clown figure. Tony Blair was a big Jagger fan, I was aware. There was absolutely nothing cool about the Stones. Now, in middle age, I realise that while almost all of these observations are perfectly true (Charlie Watts, like Ringo, is a brilliant, idiosyncratic drummer) I had missed the point of the Rolling Stones. They are a poor fit in a mythology of Rock music that privileges musical seriousness in the form of expression, experimentation and/or ‘authenticity’; that values artistic aloofness and even sometimes a sort of contempt for an audience. Insofar as there was a struggle for what rock music ‘means’ in the 60s/70s I think the Rolling Stones lost. The Beatles’ career is widely understood as embodying a Pilgrim’s Progress tale of how mere Pop music turned into ART! and therefore despite how they actually sounded - at any stage - they can be displayed proudly in a Rock pedigree - Metal bands love the Beatles. Not so with the Stones, who not only kept going - a steady advertisement for their own separateness from Rock music’s unfolding mythology - but kept being the same. This weekend I came across this observation in an interview with conductor/pianist Daniel Barenboim: ‘Wagner would have been impossible without Beethoven, and Beethoven would have been impossible without Mozart. But if you think of a line, then you must go Mozart, Beethoven, Schubert, Weber, Wagner... Schumann, also, even Liszt. It is all very connected. The only composer historically speaking who is unnecessary is Brahms. I’m not in any way meaning that the music is any less beautiful or less important, but historically speaking, if Brahms had not existed, music today would be exactly the same.’ I think the Stones are rather like that. Unnecessary - and there is the point of the Rolling Stones. The less serious I allow myself to take them; the less meaning I seek to ascribe to them, the better they seem to get. Sticky Fingers is my favourite Stones album not because any new expressive depths were plumbed, or because some lyrical theme found its highest expression here. Just because it is full of thrillingly fun, silly, memorable songs, brilliantly recorded. I am leaving Sister Morphine, po-faced, self-regarding, musically static, out of that account; it sucks. My favourite Stones song is here though - Sway - and it is the sound of the penny dropping for me on the Rolling Stones; Keith Richards doesn’t play guitar here - Mick Jagger does - no guitar hero was necessary. That’s not to say the intro of Can’t You Hear Me Knocking isn’t wonderful - like much of Brahms. 4/5

Sometimes, its as simple as putting one of the greatest frontmen along side one of the greatest guitarists of all time and everything else falls into place. Why dont all bands simply just do that? Damn you Simple Plan! Anyways, I dont really have time today to write a long review, but this is pretty obviously both a landmark album of its time, an album that influenced a TON of rock and roll in the future, and still stands the test of time all these years later as one of music's greatest albums. 5/5

Listened to this without distractions which led to the best nap I’ve had in my life

Sticky Licks

Wild Horses is the most iconic song since the Slow Horses theme.

Great album. Would have been 5 but Jagger's fake American country accent annoys me. High 4

The best Stones album, a masterpiece.

This is my favorite Rolling Stones album. It's the most varied in terms of genres of music and the Stones do each genre incredibly well here. I Got the Blues could be an Otis Redding song but the Stones manage to make it their very own song...probably because they wrote it. Sticky Finger is the sign of a band that knows what it wants to do on a song and are capable of executing their vision. It's remarkable to me they did Exile on Main Street after this, because it seems to me they wrote all of their hits here. Great album. Maybe a perfect album and if someone is interested in getting into the Stones then this is the album I would start with. It has enough songs they know and enough experimental songs to keep interesting. I recommend every song on here and this comes as a reminder the Stones truly love the blues. They don't want to cosplay as a blues band, as they at their heart are a blues band. The Stones at the peak of their powers.

2/5

One of their best albums, 9/10

It's just really self indulgent haha. It's fun. Every song works as its own thing, I just don't really see how it congeals into a full album. Shrug. Still had a good time

luc it

The first track is a banger, the rest is boring dad style blues rock.

This is just front to back bangers even if lyrically Brown Sugar is just fucking strange approach to taking about slavery

First, lol, that's a penis on the cover. Second, the more I listen to The Rolling Stones, the more I wonder if I actually liked them at any point or if, maybe, they just weren't all that good. More and more, I feel like I hallucinated any joy out of this band. Brown Sugar is fine, and the rest of this I just do not care for at all. If 1001 Albums is doing anything to me, it's turning me into a Certified Rolling Stones hater.

Excellent album

I had Aftermath 4 days ago and hated it, so I was a bit worried when I got Sticky Fingers. I saw tracks called "Bitch" and "I got the blues" and thought "here we go again". Anyway, I fucking loved it (despite the record-scratch opening lyrics). Feels like a band who found their voice, actual song ideas, and figured out how to have fun recording an album. IMO this album feels more at home next to Santana than The Beatles. Can't You Hear Me Knocking RULES. I like Dead Flowers more as a country song but the original still slaps.

Понравилось больше чем первый их альбом в этом челенже

I was never a big Stones guy; too many of their songs are long and repetitive, and Jagger's voice never really appealed to me. But there are some damn fine riffs here, and I can see why the band was as big as they were (are).

Great blues inflected songs. Some standouts for me were “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking”, “Sister Morphine”, and “Moonlight Mile” — maybe my favorite song of the album besides “Wild Horses” of course. A couple of the songs sounded very basic and like a billion other blues songs I’ve heard, but overall it was a pleasant listen.

Enjoyment: 7/10 Replayability: 7/10 Cohesion: 8/10 Flow/Pacing: 6/10 Artistic Merit: 8/10 Weighted Average: 7.2/10 Review: The consistency of this Stones album is noticeably better than the others I've listened to on here so far, but the highs are still high while the lows are still low. It'll get higher marks for now, but may be downgraded on a future re-listen. Liked Song(s): Brown Sugar, Wild Horses, Can't You Hear Me Knocking, I Got The Blues, Dead Flowers Disliked Song(s): You Gotta Move Recommend? Yes Heard Before? Partly

second best stones

Couple of hits here. Not a big Stonew fan. Suspect Jagger is one of those artists whose musicalbperformance was enhanced if you could see him perform.

🍆🍆🍆🍆

Pretty good rock, great guitar! 3.5/5

Ei nää biisit nyt vaan oo kovin hyviä. Vierivä kivi sammaloitui tällä kertaa.

NO. Tästä ois ainakin hienoo saaha vinskaversio, jossa vois ränkyttää vetskaria. Mut levynäkin hyvä. Selkeesti pändi on nähnyt sen verran maailmaa, että meno on ronskimpaa ajoittain. Eli väkevä nelkki, tuskin näistä rollareista vitkua saa tiristettyä vaikka mitä tekis. Hyvä meininki irtoo kyllä, mutta kliimaksi jää saavuttamatta.

Nykyään ehkä semi-kyseenalainen sanoma kyllä Brown Sugarissa, mutta kai se sitten oli aikansa tuotos. Sitä paitsi Cliftersin suomenkielinen käännös Hei Pepe on kyllä yhtä kyseenalainen. Ihan kova levy kyllä, tiukkaa rokettirollia ja tasapainottamassa on sitten Villihevosia ja muuta. Diggailen kyllä nimenomaan tämmösesta Rollareista, mutta silti jotain puuttuu että ihan vitskaan asti olis menty.

Cute

The stomping blues swagger of "Brown Sugar" is enough to distract from the questionable lyrics. That energy continues on "Sway", but there are some gorgeous strings that help the song soar. They slow down the pace with the legendary acoustic cut "Wild Horses" that is packed full of soul as Jagger sings his heart out. While I felt that the Stones felt like they were trying too hard to be American bluesmen on their previous record, they feel much more comfortable within themselves here. Take "I Got The Blues" for example. It sounds like an Otis Redding track that the group would worship, only it is fused with the raw rock and roll energy that makes the song their own and not an approximation of the music they love. I can now see why this band is still held in such high regard now after struggling to fully understand the hype for many years.

THE STONES HAVE PROVED ME WRONG! I love them for it and this is the best album I have heard from them yet. This record still has some of the things I dislike from them but I have accepted the fact that that is just them and what makes them popular. The past albums I have heard on this list by them felt less cohesive in the way an album should be and more like a collection of singles with filler in between. This album has no fluff and shows sides of the Stones I did not think was there and I love it. Fav tracks: Sway, Wild horses, Cant you hear me knocking, I got the blues, Sister morphine, and Moonlight Mile

It's clear how influential to music The Rolling Stones have been just with this album. So many sounds I hear in this album that span across different genres and artists. I don't think I've listened to a full Stones album before and it won't be my last.

Not my favorite Stones album but it’s obviously a classic! “Sway” and “Can You Hear Me Knocking” in particular are greats

I thought the bulge album was alright. Wild horses is nice

I didn't know the rolling stones had this much twang! I thought it was going to be more conventional rock. Listened to this twice through because I kept on getting distracted so it wasn't the most riveting listen so I know that that probably means that I should give it a two but I really liked the song about the horses, so! Likelihood that the members of this band lezzed out IMO: 2/5 I don't really see it here.

it's good time rock n roll babey

That a huge, huge album. I think the title sticky fingers doesn't really do justice with it because it sets a wrong tone for most of it. Maybe I'm wrong. I don't know. But I really love it. The first 4 songs run is generational. The rocking masterpiece of brown sugar followed by the nasty Swy. Moving to wild horses, one of the best songs ever made, and than to Can't you here me, one of the best reefs ever written. Then a small blusy interlude. To the sad Heavy blues of I got the blues. And another 3 song run for the ages. The forever mysterious Sister morphine with the incredible vocals from mick, two dead flowers, one of my favorite choruses in the Stones catalog. To another dark and mysterious closer. Live every time when listening to the Stones I have to mention Charlie What's incredible drumming. Master player he was. That's a magnificent record. Probably the strongest tracklist they ever cut. A 5? Yeah, I think so.

Love love love. Except that one song that sounds like spongebob

I’ve never been the biggest Stones fan, but I do enjoy some of their music, most of which come on the first half of this album. The second half is not nearly as enjoyable for me, but I can certainly understand why people love it. 3.5/5

sí.

Eén van de beste platen die ze gemaakt hebben. Monumentale nummers in een monumentale line-up

Brown Sugar did not age well Never realized the last 2/3rds of Can’t you hear me knocking was just a sesh - best part of the album A mix of jazz, rock, blues, soul, country and I bet a bunch of other genres. I can why it’s influential but it’s eclectic range doesn’t resonate with me as a cohesive listen thru.

First time listening through a Rolling Stones album in its entirety. “Is this band from the UK? This is the most American thing I’ve heard” was what I was thinking throughout the listen The range in the songs is really good. Some fast, some slow, some loud, some quiet. The sax track was awesome. This would hit at a bbq lol. I like that I can picture something in my head when I listen to this. Also interesting note that the album cover was created by Andy Warhol & Co. Although at this point I’m debating whether or not to allow myself to read the wiki of the album .. it’s biasing myself a little especially once I read the critical reception section Notable tracks: wild horses, can’t you hear me knocking, dead flowers, moonlight mile

The boys at their peak! So many whopper tunes, only You Gotta Move and the last 5 mins of Can't You Hear Me Knocking not for me

Some classic bluesy Stones.

I really really really don't like the rolling stones and I fear the amount of rolling stones left on this list

This is tough, because I want to give it a 4.5, but have to round up or down. I think I'm going 4, but only because I'm not really a Stones fan. If you are, it's probably a 5.

May be my favorite Stones record? I don't really like Sister Morphine but the rest of the tracks are quite good. Fantastic Side 1 and a bit of a letdown on Side 2 but what can you do.

Nice. In between a 3 and a 4. Liked sister morphine. Great instrumentals in it.

Wild horses and brown sugar are great songs. The rest plodding along pleasingly enough but a classic. Oh no it isnt!

Yet another album that would be better with anyone other than Mick Jagger singing.

4 out of 5. Banger of a Stones album and probably my favorite of theirs.

Ah, the one where the riff is nearly immortal and the lyric sheet should be in a museum with a warning placard. Spins: 1 Playlist Additions - Brown Sugar - Wild Horses - Can't You Hear Me Knocking - Dead Flowers

Not a huge stones guy but didn’t hate this.

Que si, que buen disco…pero hayvida más allá de Rolling Stones, Beatles, Elvis Costello, Bob Marley, etc…

Great album but doesn't reach the consistency of the greatest Stones albums. It does have Can't You Hear Me Knockin' which may be the best Stones song and Sway which may be my favorite.

favourite song: wild horses

Good Album. The Stones get back to basics, and it works.

j'ai pas la vision sur Brown sugar

Soundtrack for illicit activities

butt

Timely. I happen to be in a massive rediscovery phase of the Rolling Stones particularly, live in the 70's. Not for the songs, I know them all. But for the playing. The tightness of Charlie and Bill with the splashy sloppy deliver of Mick, Keith and Mick Taylor and Ronnie Wood. Awesome album.

Great album! My favourites were Wild Horses and Bitch

Really good Stones album, I'm guessing we get one more? Maybe 2? Brown Sugar with lyrics was eye opening. Wild Horses is one of my top Stones songs, maybe my favorite, overall maybe not all top tier though. I liked Dead Flowers and Can't You Hear Me

I remember being let down by our last Stones album, but this one brought me back on board again. I like the heavy blues influence we get here, especially with stuff like You Gotta Move and Moonlight Mile. Wild Horses is also forever a jam.

Really fun album, much better than the other stones album on here. Tons of creativity and an overall good vibe.

Their best album in my opinion. Never get sick of it.

Still sweet like honey

Easily my favorite Rolling Stones album. This is absolutely loaded with bangers including my personal favorite Stones song: "Wild Horses". This is their only album in my opinion that is on par with the best Beatles releases (Let It Bleed is close). Favorite track: Wild Horses 4.5/5

古い。ノスタルジアを感じますね。Brown Sugarはいつか聴いたことがあるかもしれない。 まあでも、マジでノスタルジー感じますよ。いや本当に そんだけ

I never really understood the adoration The Rolling Stones get. Their albums just don't cut it, they'll have hits for sure but lack a depth of quality songs, and this is a perfect example. I'll stick to their greatest hits.

The best Rolling Stones record so far. But it does not mean that it is somewhat exciting.

-Tracks longer than 3:59: A few -Long tracks interesting or special: It’s a mix. Can’t You Hear Me Knocking is an example of a song worthy of its length with its Santana-esque ending; but, as great of a song as it is, do we really need 5 minutes of Wild Horses? -Album shorter than 58 minutes: Yes (yay!) -Will listen to album again: Yes -Overall: You know how when you hear or read the word “cat” your default image of a cat pops in your head? When I hear or read the words The Rolling Stones the sound of this album is what I hear. This album delivers, even with its less well known songs; there are no skips. I love the judicious use of horns and its overall sound. This is one of those albums that even though I am very familiar with, I haven’t listened to in a long time and I am glad I was reminded how much I like it.

It's a good album.

8/10 Muy buen album. Empieza bien arriba y después se estabiliza, pero nunca baja

For my entire life I had this vague notion that I would like The Rolling Stones more than The Beatles, but, the more I have to listen to the full discography of The Rolling Stones on here, the more I realize that Brian Jones was THE ONLY reason they didn't suck. This album follows my scathing review of how Let It Bleed's "Gimme Shelter" is one of my favourite songs, yet the rest of the album is just bad, and this album just proves that was the last good song they ever did. Andy Warhol is also shit, f that hack.

The template for 70s hard rock, but don't let that dissuade you. This is the stones reaching their peak, this is Mick Taylor making his presence known, this is the Rolling Stones wholeheartedly embracing their influences both musical and otherwise. This is a praised masterpiece that still feels underrated amongst the other Stones masterpieces. I love it.

Relisten. The first track doesn't age well...to put it lightly...catchy as it is. But, this is still a super solid album with a fantastic cover to boot. Fav Tracks: "Wild Horses", "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" and "Bitch".

The Rolling Stones are one of those big names you all heard of but that don't seem to have real hardcore fans, at least in recent times. I expected it to be a bit harder than what I listened to, but I completely understand the appeal and the novelty the band brought when this album first came out. It's still up there with the beatles, but I will not dive deeper into the discography.

This album is thoroughly mediocre. I am surprised anyone cares about it considering it came out after actually good and innovative albums like Arthur and The White Album

Not my favorite from the Stones but still some bangers on here. That early fuzz tone is still to fucking kill for. Highlights: brown sugar, can't you hear me knocking

bitch and sister morphine stops this from 5.

★★★☆☆ This is probably the best Rolling Stones album I've heard so far. I still have the same problem I usually have with them: there are songs where I like what the band is doing, but Mick Jagger's voice and delivery just don't work for me. “Wild Horses” and “I Got the Blues” are good examples of songs I probably would've liked more with a different vocal. That said, this was a pretty consistent listen and flowed well as an album. “Sway” and “Sister Morphine” were probably the highlights, and there wasn't much here that I outright disliked. I rated every song individually and ended up with an average of 5.35/10. Factoring in the flow of the album, **5.5 feels right.** Still not enough to turn me into a Stones fan, but definitely a step up from the other albums I've heard. **3 stars.**

Its alright

4/5

Like most Rolling Stones albums there's really nothing going on here to grip me. It's very standard blues rock. Only good song is Wild Horses.

One of their best

7/10

My mixed feelings about The Rolling Stones continues with this album, at times I really get it and see what all the fuss is about (e.g. 'Can't You Hear Me Knocking') and at others I can't help but find them boring and a bit tiresome to listen to (e.g. 'I Got the Blues'). This is probably my favourite of theirs I've listened to so far, but I'm obviously missing something so many others get, because I just find it all a bit overhyped.

A couple songs liked, all are good but not ear-catching enough for me

This coincides perfectly with my recent foray into The Rolling Stones catalog. Great album.

besides wild horses it's just an alright batch of songs

Okay, the Stones again... Those average white blues fans who sind songs about evil women. Not their worst album and some really good songs, but overall I will never get the hype. Way too much of them on here, no doubt.

Some really nice blues-y sounds in parts, but I probably wouldn't regularly listen to.

I know wild horses and Brown sugar. but overall a decent album. won't listen to it again probably.

So good. Stones are one of the biggest bands in the world for a reason. 4.7

This is great! I grew up being taught The Rolling Stones created music “calculated to drive the kids to sex.” I don’t believe Mick Jagger ever actually said that, but even if he did, I don’t really care anymore. The music is great. And the kids should probably be having some more sex. 8/10 Most Excellent

Not bad y’know. Strong start, dips in the middle, strong end. Wild Horses probs my fave.

I used to think i didnt like rolling stones but turns out I just hadnt listened to this album. First half of the record is great. Sister morphine is great. Moonlight mile is great. All in all, great