Let It Bleed (1969)
Moments of genius, moments of stupidity.
Grade: B
Sticky Fingers (1971)
I was a bit excited to discover this album in a nearby library, so that I could check it out and listen to the entire thing, knowing all the time I was mainly just using it as a means to get my kiss-a$$ review of “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” in print. It starts off with a signature riff, one of Keith’s best. And when I say best, I’m putting it in “Satisfaction” territory. It doesn’t stop there, though. Richards plays some amazing guitar while Jagger comes up with some nice lyrics and even goes Led Zeppelin for a while with his perfectly timed recitals of the song’s name in conjunction with Richard’s riff work. Ahhh…I feel better now. On to the rest of the album. Not a great album, but a good one. Other songs you might find interesting include “Brown Sugar” (although I’m rather sick of it) and “Bitch” (Which I don’t think I’ll EVER get sick of). Yes, there’s some cr@ppy filler and a cr@ppy-as-usual blues cover. So it’s pretty much half of a great album. Which is all you can really hope for these days.
(“Can’t You Hear Me Knocking”, “Bitch”)
Grade: B
Hot Rocks (1964-1971) (1986)
This could easily be an A+ if it was just comprised of better selections. As is, there’s loads of good music here, nothing truly revelatory but pretty d@mn good. Only “Heart Of Stone” and “As Tears Go By” make me wince.
(“Gimme Shelter”, “Street Fighting Man”)
Grade: A
Flashpoint (1991)
Doesn’t sound that bad, and I usually think that live albums tend to suck. Unfortunately, the song choices are somewhat suspect, and it IS a live one, so it’s not quite as good as it could be. If you love the Stones, you’re gonna buy it anyways. If you’re more of a casual fan, I’d recommend withholding purchase unless you spot it in a bargain bin in a few years.
Grade: C
Forty Licks (2002)
A very expansive greatest-hits package, this is separated into two cd’s worth of music. The first disc is a wonderful collection of some of the Stones’ best early-to-middle period songs. The second disc relies heavily on later material, and consequently suffers from the decline of the Stones in their later years. If you want to buy one Stones album, ‘Hot Rocks’ is the way to go. I’m sure there’s a later-period-only best-of out there somewhere that you could buy if you wanted a complete overview of their catalog. I personally find a lot of their later material embarrassing by their standards.
(“Street Fighting Man”, “Honky Tonk Women”)
Grade: B+
2010: Chock-full of too much goodness to resist.
Grade: A