Album and tour, album and tour. We waited three years after the 'Undercover' record to be greeted with the lack-lustre 'Dirty Work'. Another three years gave us 'Steel Wheels' and the Rolling Stones marketing machine went into full gear, it was clear the tour was going to be huge, the album provided an excuse for the tour and was also billed as their comeback record. Keef and Mick work their way through twelve songs that encompass various aspects of The Stones. As a result, 'Steel Wheels' is surely an album a hard-core Stones fantatic would find hard to resist. As for the rest of the world, the Stones were back in the news, new comers to the group found 'Steel Wheels' to be palatable and fitting in with the groups legend. That's not to say that 'Steel Wheels' is amongst the bands very best work, because quite frankly, it isn't. There is little sense of danger and genuine excitement and at times, the sound and production of the record comes across as a little too contemporary to the day it was released and recorded. Still, we've a bunch of fine listenable songs. That's what counts at the end of the day, above any small quibbles about the sterile sound of the album, or the generally unimaginative song arrangements. 'Almost Hear You Sigh' is a genuinelly beautiful stones ballad, for example. The stones record songs befitting their age for 'Steel Wheels', 'Dirty Work' was possibly a little misguided in that respect.
'Continental Drift' links back to Brian Jones era stones, almost. A little eastern experimentation? Long-term Stones fans can't have missed such nods to the groups own past. Elsewhere, a semi-classic Stones rocker arrives with the storming 'Mixed Emotions'. The opening 'Sad Sad Sad' proved to the world that The Rolling Stones had stopped messing around and were back to straight forward, good-time rock'n'roll music. Solo albums from Mick and Keef had met with varying degrees of success before the arrival of 'Steel Wheels'. Basically, Keefs sold nowt but was well received by critics. Mick's was poorly received by critics, but was the more commercial work. Perhaps they do need each other, after all??
Sad Sad Sad / Mixed Emotions / Terrifying / Hold On To Your Hat / Hearts For Sale / Blinded By Love / Rock And A Hard Place / Can't Be Seen / Almost Hear You Sigh / Continental Drift / Break The Spell / Slipping Away
'Continental Drift' links back to Brian Jones era stones, almost. A little eastern experimentation? Long-term Stones fans can't have missed such nods to the groups own past. Elsewhere, a semi-classic Stones rocker arrives with the storming 'Mixed Emotions'. The opening 'Sad Sad Sad' proved to the world that The Rolling Stones had stopped messing around and were back to straight forward, good-time rock'n'roll music. Solo albums from Mick and Keef had met with varying degrees of success before the arrival of 'Steel Wheels'. Basically, Keefs sold nowt but was well received by critics. Mick's was poorly received by critics, but was the more commercial work. Perhaps they do need each other, after all??
Sad Sad Sad / Mixed Emotions / Terrifying / Hold On To Your Hat / Hearts For Sale / Blinded By Love / Rock And A Hard Place / Can't Be Seen / Almost Hear You Sigh / Continental Drift / Break The Spell / Slipping Away