Stones kick continues in Alcott household.
I know that Shine a Light is good because my wife came up to me the other day and asked, apropos of nothing, “So, like, are people as interested in the Rolling Stones as they are in the Beatles?” This is my wife who, generally, would rather gouge out her own eyes than talk about musicology. The question was so out of the blue that I thought for a moment she was talking about eBay sales. To which she said “No, I mean, do people, you know, talk about them the way they talk about the Beatles?” I said “You mean, do people generally recognize the scope of their musical statement the way they do with the Beatles?” To which she replied “Yeah, I guess.” Anyway, she was really impressed with Shine a Light, although she wanted Scorsese to pull back a little every once in a while to see the whole stage picture. And it’s true, the sheer relentlessness of the movie tends to make it an exhilarating and exhausting experience. Watching Mick Jagger leap and dance about for two hours feels like a workout.
My wife’s question got me curious, so I started surfing around the ‘net to see if there were any more-or-less serious musicological analyses of Stones music out there beyond, you know, “man, they’re awesome.” This seems to be a fairly typical site — highly opinionated, musicology-free, utterly enthusiastic. Keno’s list of Stones albums in order of preference, however, made me just about fall down and twitch on the floor. How could someone with such an obvious ardor for the band list Exile on Main St. at #10? And that’s just the tip of the iceberg.
Anyway, his list got me thinking about my list. And so, at the request of absolutely no one, here is my list of Rolling Stones albums in order of preference. And, as I am not a musicologist, this list is analytically useless.
Making matters worse, I have no opinion regarding all their early work from England’s Newest Hitmakers to Between the Buttons — I have all the records and enjoy them when they turn up on iTunes, but I honestly couldn’t tell you if “Little Red Rooster” is on 12×5 or Now! or if “Route 66” is on December’s Children or Out of Our Heads. This should probably disqualify me from making a list like thisat all.
1. Exile on Main St. — The high-water mark of their mature style and still their most complex, intriguing artistic statement.
2. Sticky Fingers — Almost as good as Exile on Main St.
3. Some Girls — Not as good as the first two, but twice as much fun as either.
4. Emotional Rescue — Almost as good as Some Girls — a hugely underrated album. Including the ridiculous title song.
5. A Bigger Bang — Kind of a cross between Exile and Some Girls — as considered as the former and as fun as the latter.
6. Black and Blue — The Stones most underrated album. I like everything on it except “Fool to Cry.”
7. Beggar’s Banquet — A great album, but I can’t stand “Jigsaw Puzzle.”
8. Let it Bleed — another great album, but I can’t stand “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” which is twice as long as “Jigsaw Puzzle.”
9. Dirty Work — No wait, this is the most underrated Stones album.
10. Tattoo You — Side 1 is absolutely killer. Side 2 tends to bore me.
11. Undercover — A perfectly decent Stones record, but I can’t stand “Too Much Blood.”
12. Steel Wheels — While there’s nothing I can’t stand on this record, there’s only a handful of songs I’m completely nuts for.
13. Goats Head Soup — Better than people give it credit for, but I can’t stand “Winter” and “Can You Hear the Music.”
14. It’s Only Rock n Roll — Not as good as Goats Head Soup. I can’t stand “Till the Next Time We Say Goodbye” and “Time Waits for No One.” Or “If You Really Want to Be My Friend.” What is it with the long titles on this album?
15. Aftermath — a perfectly decent album I can think of nothing in particular to say about.
16. Voodoo Lounge — Wow, out of 15 songs, I only really like 5 of them, and there are a stunning 5 I absolutely can’t stand.
17. Bridges to Babylon — Not as good as Voodoo Lounge. Wow, did I just say that?
18. Their Satanic Majesties Request — Well, what did you expect?