Surprising to see a list that ranks my favourites so highly. Beast Of Burden, Miss You, Emotional Rescue, Waiting On A Friend. “The all-ballad second half of Tattoo You is the Stones’ greatest on-record stretch of warmth and beauty.” I agree with that 100%.
http://www.vulture.com/2017/05/whats-the-best-rolling-stones-song-of-all-time.html
Tattoo You is an album I have never heard. Clearly I must remedy that.
With all the emphasis on their rocky, riffy stuff, I tend to forget that the Stones can write a fine ballad too.
The first side of Tattoo You is all rockers and a bit boring, but side two is wonderful, every track a gem.
Always loved that song. Nice to see it finally get some recognition.
If we are going for ballads I would put Out of Tears from Voodoo Lounge higher up the list than 164. A fine song. Most of my favourites are otherwise high up on the list. This must have been a real labour of love. Will study in greater depth when I get the time.
Many of the rankings are baffling. But it’s a list and mine would be different.
Well, dai. You know more about The Rolling Stones than anyone I know. What’s your top 373 in ascending order?
Ok
373 Cherry Oh Baby
Ah f*ck it, you know the rest …
Which raises a point. What is a Rolling Stones song? Cherry Oh Baby was written by Eric Donaldson not Jagger/Richards. The Stones recorded it but it is not their song.
This list is obviously one of Rolling Stones records not songs.
good point and the original is a fine record
They did one on Springsteen too. Didn’t agree much, but enjoyed the read.
Really enjoyed that. I’ve gathered all the Stones albums over thr years and, whilst I know some of them very well, there are plenty I know less so. What’s more, I’ve bought most of the albums since 1996, which is a sort of cut off point I use for actually remembering the title of album tracks. From 1978 to around 1986 I know all the words of any records I owned, between 1986 and 1996 I at least know the track names, but since then it’s all a bit of a blur, so some tracks that I think I don’t know can be familiar once I actually play them.
Either way, this list can trigger an exercise in reappraising some of their songs/albums. I’m quite dismissive of most UK bands outputs in the early sixties, other than The Beatles. The Stones, The Kinks and The Hollies first 2-3 albums are all very similar in my eyes. I had also dismissed Dirty Work, partly due to the awful version of Harlem Shuffle (I don’t care much for the song anyway), partly because there are very few artists who started off in the 60s who did anything in the mid-80s that wasn’t awful, but mainly due to the front cover, which looks like a Showaddywaddy tribute band, as outfitted by Don Johnson.
As with most lists, my opinion differs on quite a few songs, You’d Better Move On being the main one. It’s one of my favourite Stones tracks and in my opinion is way better than both of Arther Alexander’s (an artist who I also like) versions. But kudos to the bloke for doing it. In my post-ill health retirement I am strongly considering ranking all my albums per year (for no real reason apart from my borderline OCD) as I enjoyed compiling my top 112 for last year. This might give me the push I need!
Dirty Work needs to be dismissed. Harlem Shuffle is the best thing on it!
I really like One Hit To The Body – The 12″ single version is great!
Yes, I had to rub my eyes to make sure they were working properly when he started lamenting about how great Dirty Work was. I thought maybe there was another album they did, also called Dirty Work, that I had somehow missed.
There are similar wtf moments about Undercover, Goats Head Soup and Emotional Rescue tracks. I smell a reviewer whose first Stones purchases may have affected their judgment. I have similar blind spots for Still Life and GHS.
Leave Goats Head Soup alone!!!
It’s one of their best and half of Tattoo You was recorded at the same time. If any Stones album deserves the deluxe treatment it’s GHS.
You got me all wrong Tigs. I say it’s a blind spot only cos I don’t understand in what way it’s anything other than top 5 Stones album
Oh. I see. As you were.
Can I just say I really know fuck all about Rolling Stones Band other than that Tattoo You and Stripped are fantastic elpees.
(BTW ‘elpees’ was autocorrected to ‘elders’ before I put it right. Oh yes, so I did).
I like to think I knew my reggae. Seen a lot of bands, got a lot of stuff vocal, dub, still listen to it a lot and I have always thought the Stones are one of the few rock bands to successfully cross the divide. Keef has a deep love of the groove and it holds up. This guy bagging the stuff off Black and Blue (their finest sounding record) including the deep groove of Hey Negrita…well , well ..I’m gonna tan yo hide.
No Stones, no Keef, but talking of reggae… I’ve always considered Peter Tosh and Mick Jagger’s (You Gotta Walk) Don’t Look Back to be one the most joyful singles ever.
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pUrktHhuzzY
Yep, that’s a tune. I remember a version on a tape that Q gave away with a much longer run-out with Mick and Pete discussing at length how much walking had been done.
Remember that bit in Keef’s book where Peter Tosh and his crew had taken over his island retreat goats in the house as well?
There’s a goat in my house. The goat of your memory. The goat of the love you took from me.
Little Red Rooster at 224 ….. did someone at abkco commission this list?
Wouldn’t it be higher (and it should be MUCH higher) if that was the case?
It may illustrate what a lightweight I am on this subject, but my faves are Tattoo You closely followed by Some Girls. Exile only has one decent track for mine, but that’s taste for you. Even when it’s bad.
My fave is Tattoo You too (side 2 only). I always thought I was alone in that. Tattoo You plus 40 Licks is all I’ll ever need from them.