![]() That's why prepared a list of songs that address psychological maladies, more-or-less directly. So, what does that mean for mental illness and the history of popular music? That delineations aren't always neat and tidy. That's why Hank Williams wrote "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," not "I'm Depressed And Also An Alcoholic." And why the Rolling Stones called it "Paint It, Black," not "Wantonly Projecting My Trauma." But music's an abstract, poetic artform, so the topic usually isn't approached literally. Thereby, people must have been singing about it since the beginning, right? An 80% batting average is tremendous for any band, and in this case, it represents a bona fide return to fighting form for a group that was on the verge of dropping to a lower division.As long as there have been humans, there has been music - as well as mental illness. Those tracks are certainly talking points, but the others are what keep us listening to Some Girls. "Far Away Eyes," similarly, is a parody of classic country (Bakersfield division) that, despite Wood's estimable pedal steel, comes off as more sendup than homage. The laconic title track just doesn't measure up musically even before we get to the lyrical aside about the sexual proclivities of Black and other women it's gratuitous and seems aimed simply to court controversy and in the process undermines the song's intended satire. With all of this going for it, Some Girls doesn't need gimmicks - still, it does have a couple and not to good effect. And "Beast of Burden" has a slinky, teasing strut that lets Jagger play the part of a male suffragette, misunderstood and slightly vulnerable, but still no pushover. The smoothly defiant "Before They Make Me Run" - which Richards reportedly recorded over five sleepless days - offers one of the guitarist's strongest vocal contributions to the Stones' catalog. ![]() ![]() Their soulful, slightly drawling take on the Temptations' "Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)" is aces, among the finest covers the Stones have put on record. The band isn't in blast furnace mode all the time here. There's an urgency, in other words, a cracking, ferocious one that we haven't heard from the Stones over, arguably, the better part of a decade. Watch the Rolling Stones' 'Miss You' Video And don't overlook the rhythm section of bassist Bill Wyman (on seven of the 10 tracks) and drummer Charlie Watts, who even in their "advanced" early 40s and late 30s, respectively, create a bedrock that lets their bandmates fire on all cylinders. On tracks such as "When the Whip Comes Down," "Lies," "Respectable" and especially the album-closing "Shattered," there's more snarl and bite in Mick Jagger's vocal performances while guitarists Keith Richards and Ron Wood fully realize their potency as a tandem, sounding like kids in a basement trying to squeeze one more song out before their parents shut them down for the night. It may sound like "dreaded" disco, but the hip-swaying song, with its meaty bass groove and Sugar Blue's sweet harmonica, sends up a flare that the Stones are revived and excited, if not re-staking the nefarious claim as the World's Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Band then certainly making a case that it belongs in the discussion.ĭisco may have given us "Miss You" but it's clear that punk rock - whose bands lambasted the Stones' bloat while stealing their attitude and licks - pushed the forebears this time. The throbbing dance gait of "Miss You" that kicks off Some Girls makes all reports of the band's demise seem overstated.
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