The punk scene threatened to bury the Stones along with The Who and all the other so-called boring old farts, and to their credit, the band rose to the challenge. Some Girls is about as straight a guitar album as they ever made, and has rightfully retained its status as a favorite since its release.
That being said, it’s not a punk album per se, but with its nod to disco, it is a New York album. In the aftermath of the Son of Sam, multiple blackouts and the Yankees winning streak, Some Girls evokes a sweaty summer in the city like few others. “Miss You” retains some of the funk from Black And Blue, stretching it into a cool strut. “When The Whip Comes Down” crams suggestive lyrics under the same two chords for four minutes before another Motown classic, “Just My Imagination”, gets a similar two-chord treatment. The title track ran into trouble with its lyrics, but at least Mick isn’t taking himself too seriously. “Lies” closes a strong side in a nod to the Knickerbockers, an American garage response to the British Invasion, right down to the harmonies.
As proof that Mick was having a good old time, “Far Away Eyes” is perhaps one of the funniest songs they’ve ever done, and one of their most effective country pastiches since Beggars Banquet. “Respectable” is the closest they come to punk, and a truly fun track. Keith steps up for his one vocal, and statement of purpose, “Before They Make Me Run”. He may have kicked heroin, but he had to relearn his singing style. “Beast Of Burden” and “Shattered” were both big radio hits, and are probably playing somewhere right now, the former a slow one, the latter a tough jam with a rapped vocal.
One’s enjoyment of Some Girls will probably depend on how sick one is of those last two songs. Rest assured they do sound much better taken in context. It’s a strong album recorded well, especially the guitars and Charlie’s drums. The Stones threatened to get silly as they approached their forties, but at least they stayed fresh—and in Keith’s case, alive and healthy.
Since it had worked to some success with the Exile On Main St. reissue, the album was expanded 33 years after the fact, with a mix of outtakes and newly finished tracks. Some of the better candidates, of course, had already ended up on Tattoo You, but big points were made by finally releasing “Claudine”, the legendary bootlegged song about the former Mrs. Andy Williams. “So Young” had been a B-side in the Voodoo Lounge era, but everything else was known only to collectors. Of the “new” songs, “No Spare Parts” was the key track, a simple country lope without a trace of New York. Along the same lines, Keith nails the weepie cover of “We Had It All”, much better than Mick’s raspy take on “Tallahassee Lassie”. Likewise, “You Win Again” deserves a smoother touch than given here, at the expense of Ron Wood’s pedal steel—one of the few compliments we’ll ever give him. “I Love You Too Much” crosses the 1978 vibe with today’s vocals pretty well, and the disc ends with another brief joke, Mick on piano and singing the “Petrol Blues”. All together, the new stuff shows a different side of the band than the original album. If this method was the only way we’d get outtakes, so be it: better than keeping them hidden.
A Super Deluxe Edition added a DVD of promo clips, a book, and other ephemera, but left out an artifact that was instead released separately as a tie-in. Some Girls Live In Texas ‘78 presented just that—along with the band’s rough appearance on Saturday Night Live that year—on a DVD or Blu-ray, sometimes including a CD or LPs of the live portion; the CD was released on its own six years later. It’s a fun, trashy sounding show, the band supported only by Ian Stewart and Ian McLagan on keyboards, plus Doug Kershaw fiddles on “Far Away Eyes”. And boy, did they have a lot of songs with just two chords.
The Rolling Stones Some Girls (1978)—4
2011 Deluxe Edition: same as 1978, plus 12 extra tracks(Super Deluxe Edition also adds DVD)
The Rolling Stones Some Girls Live In Texas ‘78 (2017)—3½
wardo, what do you think of the outtakes? i, a brockton-raised stones nut, love them them. some girls disappointed me from the beginning. i liked it quite a bit, but i was forced to concede that darkness, released the week before, exceeded it. his wasn't because some girls did not have great songs, it was because i hated the production. i know it was striving for punk faux-diy but all i could hear were great riffs buried. these outtakes sound like the stones album i was hoping for in 78, and, oddly, make me like the hopelessly, to me, muffled originals sound better
ReplyDeleteTruth be told I haven't heard the 2011 version yet, outside of "No Spare Parts", which seemed kinda ordinary. But I'm hoping to pick it up in the next month or so ($$ being what it is) and I will update this post accordingly.
ReplyDeletei definitely think it is worth giving a listen. i kinda hate giving them the money, but the exile extras were so good that i decided to spring for this one too and i am not disappointed.
ReplyDeleteIn one of the most memorable experiences from my youth, I saw the band on this tour. July 4, 1978, Rich Stadium, Buffalo, NY. We were on the floor of the stadium, with our picnic lunches, surrounded by 72,000 others. It’s difficult to describe the visceral thrill of the entire day.
ReplyDeleteOpening were April Wine (which thrilled the Canadians who crossed the border); Journey (first time seeing them, up and coming with “Infinity”); and the Atlanta Rhythm Section (who were too mellow).
The stage was simple (giant lips, of course) and the band was supplemented only by Ian McLagan on electric keyboards and Ian Stewart on rather prominent piano. Of course, Jagger’s sheer stage presence carried the show. The most outrageous (or silly, depending on your point of view) moment was when Jagger decided to simulate an “expression of affection” on Ron Wood that used to be illegal in several states. He then dragged him across the stage. Wood had a grin on his face which suggested that this was a just another typical day.
The album had only been released a month earlier, so a lot of people were unfamiliar with it. I initially thought it was only five new songs, but they did eight. They skipped the most controversial ones, the title track and “Before They Make Me Run”. (Mick alluded to Keith’s situation by saying “this was the closest we could get [to Canada]). They opened with “Let it Rock” and included “Sweet Little Sixteen,” probably at Keith’s behest. They also dropped a bunch of early 70’s nuggets – “Tumbling Dice”, “Happy”, “All Down the Line”, and “Star Star”. That was my first exposure to that one (“Did they just SING what I thought they SANG?” Yup.) There was also a full band rendition of “Love in Vain”. A lot of folks were disappointed that only three “Hot Rocks” were performed, and NO encore! Nonetheless, for the total excitement of it all, I’d give it a ten.
A bootleg exists of the Buffalo show. It was probably recorded on a cassette player someone snuck into the stadium. Listening to the audio decades later, I’d rate the music alone a 7.5 out of 10, maybe an eight. The band sounds pretty loose. Jagger’s singing is a bit sloppy at times. Anyone who expected the fierce precision of 1969 would have been disappointed. If you weren’t there, you would probably want to seek out a different show from another tour.
ReplyDeleteI realize now that I never assessed the "Some Girls Live In Texas '78" album, so watch this space.
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