Audio CD review:
The Rolling Stones - It's Only Rock 'N Roll

The Rolling Stones - It's Only Rock 'N Roll

Band: The Rolling Stones Title: It's Only Rock 'N Roll Rating: Release Date: 26 July, 1994 Media: Audio CD Tracks: 1: If You Can't Rock Me 2: Ain't Too Proud To Beg 3: It's Only Rock 'N Roll (But I Like It) 4: Till The Next Goodbye 5: Time Waits For No One 6: Luxury 7: Dance Little Sister 8: If You Really Want To Be My Friend 9: Short And Curlies 10: Fingerprint File

Customer Reviews Bottom Of The Stones' Barrel : B + The "youth culture" the music had both stimulated and given voice to was clearly, and unsurprisingly, fragmenting as the '60s receded into memory. 1974 was a odd year for rock 'n' roll. A lot of important bands broke up that year - Jefferson Airplane, Traffic, Mott The Hoople, King Crimson, The Stooges, Byrds, Sly & The Family Stone, and even the New York Dolls, to name just a few that come to mind, all fell apart in the space of about a year (The Beach Boys stopped bothering to record, at least for several years, and embraced the past when their old label's collection of early-to-mid '60s hits reached # 1 in "Billboard"), as they either lost their sense of purpose or self-destructed. Concurrently, soul, with its direct yet artful emphasis on emotional expression and cathartic energy, also struggled as black music, after a remarkable period during which hit records both pushed the envelope in terms of musical innovation and challenged their audience with hard-hitting, often painful truths, became increasingly utilitarian (a phenomenon in the clubs, 'disco' would become part of the popular lexicon within a year or so), and all of a sudden legends like Aretha, Wilson Pickett, and James Brown seemed as unable to cope as their white counterparts. To borrow Gertrude Stein's remark, it seemed "there was no there there". Also in 1974, we witnessed the first big-money comeback/reunion tours: CSNY (hey, I bet they were still funkier than the Eagles) made what was still an unusual and plainly mercenary decision to play outdoor stadiums; Dylan returned, after eight long years, with The Band and rocked the same arenas The Stones and Led Zep had been filling since the turn of the decade. Before reaching my teens, I'd already seen a handful of my favorite bands live, starting with Creedence back in '71, but Bob Dylan/ The Band was the first show I attended at which nostalgia was palpable, at least in the crowd, which roared every time Bob bleated through his harmonica and politely sat on its hands during powerful sets by The Band, or when Dylan and The Band performed new material); Clapton, MIA since 1970's "Layla", and George Harrison (first ex-Beatle to tour) all 'returned' from someplace. Unless you looked through import bins for Eno albums, who could blame you for feeling nostalgic? Both AM and FM radio played tripe like Loggins & Messina, Seals & Crofts, Elton John, Barry White, and Bachman-Turner Speedwagon, as well as the aforementioned band named after the predatory, flesh-eating bird pictured on dollar bills. Free devolved into Bad Company, Jefferson Airplane crashed and mutated into the Starship. No one knew it yet, but third generation 'supergroups' like Firefall and Foreigner were just around the corner. Naturally there were brash new artists waiting to fill the void - Patti Smith, Ramones and Television were playing to small crowds and giving birth to the next wave at C. B. G. B's, while Britain's Roxy Music made fresh, smart and original music that could only have been made in the 1970s. The big groups, meaning the Who and the Stones, who somehow survived their first decade - something unprecedented in rock 'n' roll - flailed their arms and anxiously tried to re-assert their relevence. The Who offered bloated concept albums ("Quadrophenia"). As for the Stones, who had by comparison never really been preoccupied with themes of youth or adolescence, an inevitable self-conciousness permeated "It's Only Rock 'N Roll", making it one of their all-time weakest studio albums. . . During the previously year or two Keith Richards had been busted for heroin numerous times, and his ghostly presence on "Goats Head Soup" (1973), the final installment in the Stones' trilogy of impotence, hard drugs, decay, and soul survival, led some to wonder how long he might be around. ("Creem", the American rock 'n' roll magazine, had actually reported that Faces' Ron Wood may replace Keith for the '73 European tour should Keith's legal problems prohibit him from travelling freely). The Stones may sound weary on "Goats Head", but it's an honest expression of the band's spiritual crisis (Charlie even sounds exhausted, on first listen, thanks to a dry, muted mix that was unlikely to court many new young fans) and if it didn't outrock the New York Dolls' debut it remains a powerful and underrated album in the Stones' body of work. The Rolling Stones, having entered their second decade, may have been tired (Keith's guitar, for the first time, is not central to most of "Goats Head's" tracks, and Bill Wyman, increasingly alienated by the effects of Keith's addiction on the band, started to pull away, and plays bass on only three or four), yet "Goats Head Soup" certainly did offer some exquisite moments that reflected the band's willingness to take musical risks at the same time it both conveyed and dealt with the torpor threatening the Stones. If the band was fragmenting, so was the culture they spoke to. "Coming Down Again", "Winter", "Can You Hear The Music", "Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo" and "100 Years Ago" and the mournful hit "Angie" may not be rockers, but they're all great songs, reflective and searching, as well as - thanks to, especially, Mick Jagger's masterful vocals and as Mick Taylor's last collection of focused and inspired performances as a Rolling Stone - unique in the Stones' canon. Unfortunatly, as is the case with "Love Is Strong" from 1994's "Voodoo Lounge", "Dancing With Mr. D" was a rather underwhelming track to open a long-awaited Stones album, and one song placed up front can leave a strong impression that colors listeners' assessment of an entire album. When "It's Only Rock 'n Roll" came out many were relieved that you could hear Keith's guitar again (whew!), and that - now in their 30s! - the Stones could "still" rock, as tracks one and three explicitly remind us. But for the first time the Stones appear to be trying to recapture something, rather than moving forward (as they would on their next, more exploratory disc, "Black and Blue"). "It's Only Rock 'n Roll", on one level, is a pale version of the early '70s Stones' classics, minus the horns and with hints of soon-renewed vitality thanks to tentative forays into funk and Philly soul. And sure, it rocks, but you sense a strain, like their hearts aren't in it. The title track, perhaps the dinstinguised exception thanks to an understated and subtle performance, chugs along with a funky and unforced groove, dense with overdubbed guitars and Ian Stewart's marvelous piano, its pensive, laconic lyrics expressing a sense of distance from their ever-growing audience. And as the first single to be excerpted from the album it offers a glimpse into the band's future, for it was evidently written by (sorry, the liner notes say "inspired by" which means no royalties) one Ron Wood during sessions for his first solo album earlier in the year "Ive Got My Own Album To Do", which had been a virtual collaboration with Keith (and included two new Jagger/Richards songs) as well as featuring performances by both Micks, Jagger and Taylor. Five short minutes, and I like it, a lot more than the anthemic Chuck Berry throwback it would later become once it took its place as a concert staple. One notices the bass is played by Willy Weeks (from Wood's solo album). Elsewhere, Mick Taylor, the latest to express his frustration - and deepening addiction - by not showing up to some of IORR's Munich recording sessions, adds fills and solos that sound pretty and out of place, expecially his overly linear solo that decorates "Time Waits For No One". "Til The Next Goodbye" is an acceptable ballad that might sound fresher if "Angie" hadn't come out the year before. Even a solid rocker like "Dance Little Sister", which should rip, comes off as slightly pallid thanks to a lumpy mix that mars the whole album. The record (which marks the first time the Stones produced themselves since "Satanic" in '67) has a grey film over it, and it finally seems both overworked and underdeveloped. I never much cared for "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" (a listenable but uninspired filler track reminiscent of second rate J. Geils Band, utterly lacking the life and power of their next attempt at a Temptations cover, "Imagination"). The nearly seven-minute finale, "Fingerprint File", to its credit, tries to make a timely statement, but falls flat as both drama (it's no "Midnight Rambler") and musically, in comparison to their next album's unforced excercise in hard funk, the Meters/J. B. 's inspired "Hot Stuff" which asserts itself from the the start with Keith's chicken-scratch riffs and Charlie's authoritative drumming. "Fingerprint File" closes out a long album with Mick trying too hard, and his vocals are sometimes affected, for the first if not last time in his career. Aside from the title track, there are other strong moments: the kickass opener 'If You Can't Rock Me' (with Keith on bass and guitars), and the gorgeous Philly soul ballad (with its cinematic imagery) 'If You Really Want To Be My Friend' are the other unequivocally successful cuts here. I also like the way they place Ian Stewart's boogie-woogie piano upfront in the mix for a change on the rollicking 'Short and Curlies', but it's still hard to ignore the throwaway lyrics. Sorry, "It's Only Rock 'n Roll" is certainly a decent rock album, but a confused - and drab sounding - Rolling Stones album. . The Descent Begins ", this album began the inevitable retreat from the demons that were needed to create the aforementioned masterpieces. After the undeniable brilliance of 69-72 era Stones albums like "Sticky Fingers" and "Exile On Main St. Gone were songs of real pain like "Sister Morphine" or real demonic alliance like "Sympathy For The Devil". On "IOR'NR" The Stones begin to fall into the creative pit by singing about being Rock Stars! This is not an underrated album. This is an album that starts the slide. Afterwards we get "Black & Blue", a patronizing nod towards music that just happens to be written by black performers. Only limeys could get away with that one. "Hey! let's do an album by all black guys!" Darling English fop, you've been doing that your whole career. Then "Some Girls" came along. After that The Rolling Stones were abducted by aliens and the dopllegangers that replaced them couldn't write a great rock song if you threatened to withhold their royalty check. Bottom line, Mick was more interested in going to Disco's at this time with Bianca. Keith was realizing his years of substance abuse were not going to stop plaguing him. And Mick taylor decided to exit stage right after receiving not an ounce of respect for his contributions to the Boys. He just was never one of them. "It's Only Rock 'N Roll". Sounds like an excuse doesn't it?. If It Can't Grab Me (Their Other Stuff Else Will) The title track is a classic (of course) and think my 2nd favorite is the funky "Fingerprint File". There are tunes I like on It's Only Rock-n-Roll but there's only a couple that I would call truly memorable. There's something about "Time Waits For No One" that just doesn't grab me. . . maybe it's Taylor's Santana-esque lead playing on this one? It doesn't sound right to me - and I am a Taylor fan, especially his solo on "Can't You Hear Me Knockin'" from Sticky Fingers. "If You Can't Rock Me" is. . . well, it's a rocker, and another good track. The rest of the CD is really pretty forgettable for me, in fact, I have trouble recalling how some of these sound and I just finished listening to it earlier today. IORR is worthy of a place in any Stones collection but I wouldn't call it vital or essential. . You can see a complete list of all The Rolling Stones discography, or go back to the The Rolling Stones tabs