Sphinx's Music Blog - The Rolling Stones: Sticky Fingers
Hello readers - I hope you are all doing well and staying healthy.
This week, I am discussing what many believe to be the greatest album by The Rolling Stones (I would agree with those people by the way) - the 1971 classic - Sticky Fingers. Now before I go into my thoughts on this album, I want to quickly mention how I am tinkering with my outline of how I do my blog. I’m not going to go track by track anymore, but instead want to be a little more personal in my thoughts on the album, while also providing some fun history about the album’s creation.
From left to right: Charlie Watts (Drums), Mick Taylor (Guitar), Bill Wyman (Bass), Keith Richards (Guitar), Mick Jagger (Vocals)
With that being said, I want to share my true introduction into The Rolling Stones. I mean, the band and their music is ubiquitous, everyone knows (Can’t Get No) Satisfaction, Start Me Up, and many others, and probably heard them first on classic rock radio like I did. In my junior year of high school (2002), I asked for Christmas for their new greatest hits double album that came out, called 40 Licks. I was in love with the record, as I got to hear a lot of their other tracks that aren’t as common on the radio, songs like Street Fightin’ Man, Happy, and Emotional Rescue. It made me pursue their album collection, and with now nearly 50 years of music, I didn’t know where to start. So, I went to my dad’s extensive CD collection, and saw that he had Sticky Fingers…
...which, when you first look at that album cover, well, you’re staring at a man’s crotch. And, well, if you look hard enough, you can see something through those black jeans….Yikes! The album even had a fully functional zipper for the pants, and when you opened up the sleeve, it had a man in his tighty whities. The idea of this album cover came from the great pop artist Andy Warhol, and no, that is not Mick Jagger you are looking at, but a male model that was brought in by Warhol. Provocative! This is also the first record to have the now famous “tongue and lips” logo that represents the band.
This album even from its physical presentation gives you a true reflection of the band and their history - the bad boys of rock n’ roll. This album is actually the epitome of The Rolling Stones, which is why I was lucky to have picked it as my first record of theirs to explore. In fact, the reason why I’m writing this blog is to get my readers to try new music, and if you’ve ever been interested in checking out more of The Rolling Stones catalogue, start here.
This album has it all - hard rockers (Brown Sugar, Sway, Bitch), ballads (Wild Horses, Moonlight Mile), jam sessions (Can’t You Hear Me Knocking), Mississippi delta blues (You Gotta Move), honky tonk country (Dead Flowers), soul (I Got the Blues), East-Asian tones (Moonlight Mile), brass arrangements (Bitch), and orchestral arrangements (Moonlight Mile). And somehow they all fit cohesively into this album, none of them sound out of place. In addition, there are no filler tracks. While Brown Sugar and Wild Horses and some of their most famous songs, I absolutely love Sway, Bitch, and Moonlight Mile. These songs are recognized by fans of the band as being essential, and I couldn’t agree more. They help show the depth and maturity of the group as they evolve into their new decade of music.
Based on the different themes of the album, I like to think of it as their Americana album. Much of it was recorded in the States (Muscle Shoals Sound in Alabama to be exact), and the bluesy and country sound it has makes sense that it was recorded in the south.
One track of note that I want to bring up here - Brown Sugar - possibly their most famous song. It’s an amazing rocker, with a super famous and super catchy guitar riff. But even in high school, the lyrics always startled me. From a literal standpoint, it seems its talking about slavery/plantation days of slave girls getting raped by their masters as they enjoy that “Brown Sugar”. Yikes. But Jagger has claimed through the years that this isn’t the case - it’s a lot more ambiguous then I guess I’m giving it credit for. In addition, Jagger’s girlfriend at the time was black (Marsha Hunt), and is claimed to have co-written the tune. Does that make what’s being discussed alright to sing about? Not for me to say. But the sound of the song is great, and has a great sax solo by Bobby Keys.
Other themes of the album that help solidify the band’s raw and bad boy nature, is explicit drug use from tracks like Sister Morphine and Can’t You Hear Me Rocking, drinking, sex, tough relationships while on the road, and others. I have to say though - everybody on the album is at the top of their game. Mick Jagger sings better on this album than any other Stones album, his range is all over the place, and when he changes his voice for that southern twang is great too. Mick Taylor’s guitar solos are some of the most melodic you will ever hear, from The Rolling Stones or otherwise. Keith Richards riffs are perfect and some of the most famous, while Bill Wyman’s bass work is always overlooked even though it is the driving force of these tunes along with Charlie Watts drum beats.
This album is as rock and roll as one can get. Guitar heavy riffs, Jagger’s raw voice, the controversy in the lyrics, I mean hell, the album is called Sticky Fingers...gross. But man, it is so good, one of the greatest rocks records in history. And I love it.
TOP TRACKS: Brown Sugar, Wild Horses, Bitch, Moonlight Mile
Have opinions on this album, or The Rolling Stones in general? I’d love to chat about it! Send a message either on social media or on the Gamezilla Media discord. In addition, if you love gaming and movies, check out the five podcasts on Gamezilla Media, and consider being a patron on Patreon! You can find me on the Last Action Podcast or the Noobs and Dragons podcast.
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Sphinx