The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones are a problematic group. They're too obsessed with image, posing, and pouting. Look at their 1978 picture on a recent cover of Mojo; Mick has his customary pout, Keith is dressed in a pretty-boy red shirt, and they come across as the fashion victims they undoubtedly are. The standard of their lyrics dropped alarmingly in the 1980s, albeit 1994's "Voodoo Lounge" signalled a revival. They were never that great as a 1960s singles band - ok, they made a few classics, but a Stones "Greatest Hits" collection lacks the spark, melodic invention, and lyrical cleverness of similar compilations by the Beatles, Beach Boys, Kinks, Who, Small Faces, and the Byrds. In terms of music you won't find much of the adventurousness of musically-challenging groups such as the Grateful Dead, Quicksilver, The Yardbirds, Zeppelin or the progressive bands.

And then there is the subject of "politics". In the sixties the Stones were seen as standard-bearers for the "counter culture", and songs such as "Street Fighting Man" played to that image. Then there was all that satanic stuff - the "Jumping Jack Flash" video, "Monkey Man" etc. Finally we come to morals - most Stones songs are not exactly progressive in terms of sexual politics. They glorify rampant and random sex (for men with 13 year-old girls). Mick Jagger is also a very sharp businessman - a true Home Counties Tory.

Finally there is the feeling that they have simply gone on too long - they have released only two new albums since 1994, and have traded for years on their oldies. They can be seen as yet another nostalgia band.

And yet, and yet....the Stones may have made some sub-standard albums, but none of them are unlistenable and they have never cut a really duff track (unlike Dylan and The Beatles). Their run of albums from 1968's "Beggars Banquet" until 1974's "It's Only Rock'n'Roll" is unparallled in music for the sustained high quality throughout. There is a very personal magic in the way that Keith's (and Mick Taylor's) guitars produce a churning, thick-set rhythm and the way it plays against Charlie Watts' precise and clipped drumming and Bill's (or often Keith's) fluid bass underpinning.

Most people will acknowledge that Keith has written the finest riffs in rock and many of the greatest intros ("Honky Tonk Women", "Gimme Shelter", "Brown Sugar" etc.). There is also a constant textural interest, a fascinating and subtle interplay between various elements of their backing tracks, which makes their work endlessly playable. I must have played "Beggars Banquet" and "Exile On Main Street" nearly a thousand times each over the years; there are so many touches in the music which provide constant listening pleasure. I'm thinking of the muddy acoustic sounds on "Street Fighting Man", the build-up to the guitar solo on "Stray Cat Blues", the dark intensity of "Midnight Rambler", the strange lurching rhythmns of "Sway", the percussion on "Shake Your Hips" etc. etc. etc.

Moreover these albums show the Stones to be in love with American music - all the core forms are here, and all synthesised into that unique Stones grit. They write and perform great Country songs such as "Dead Flowers" and "Torn and Frayed". There's gospel throughout "Exile On Main Street" ("Just Wanna See His Face", "Shine A Light"). A folk influence occasionally comes through on "Beggars Banquet" in particular. And they have such a unique take on the blues, from the "purity" of "Prodigal Son", "Love In Vain", and "You've Got To Move" through to more quirky, angular works such as "Ventilator Blues".

Lyrically Mick is at the top of his game in this period. "Beggars Banquet" is a very sophisticated look at the landscape of 1968 and a study in detachment (see Simon Frith's excellent article in Greil Marcus' "Stranded" book on this), while a song such as "You Can't Always Get What You Want" has weight and high seriousness. The lyrics can be playful, ironic, funny, melancholic, and dark. Listen to "Shine A Light" if you think Jagger lacks compassion. And of course his singing is definitive - THE great non-voice of the last 50 years, meshing perfectly with the quirky, tense, and grinding flow of the music.

So what about other periods ? Pre-1968, it must be said that "Aftermath" is a great album, featuring "Going Home", which extends all their textural subtlety and tension over 11 minutes, and so is not only one of the first but one of the very best long tracks. Then there is "Play With Fire" from early 1965; this eerie comment on London class issues features harpsichord and acoustic guitar and came out well before The Beatles started diversifying on "Help". For its time it was the most advanced track recorded by a rock'n'roll band. Their first album (scandalously unavailable on CD) is a driving rush of raw blues and R'n'B, and is still possibly the greatest debut album ever made. I've never been that fond of "Satisfaction" - it strikes me as a petulant whinge with a dull riff - but "The Last Time", "Get Off My Cloud", "Paint It, Black" and "19th Nervous Breakdown" are loud, glorious, chaotic, full-on rockers and hence a joy forever. Finally their "pastoral" period offers many treasures, such as "Lady Jane" (a song of creepy, evil melancholy), "Back Street Girl", and "Ruby Tuesday".

So, while the Stones Greatest Hits don't match up to those of other bands, there are plenty of gems to be found in their pre-1968 output. But what about after "Exile" in 1972 ? Their next two albums, while not quite up to their peerless 1968-1972 period, are strong records that have stood up well over the years. "A Hundred Years Ago" is a complex song with a thrilling final section, "Star Star" is great Chuck Berry and great fun, while "It's Only Rock'n'Roll" has "Time Waits For No One" and "Fingerprint File", two great examples of the Stones bringing other 70s developments into their world. "Some Girls" from 1978 has several durable tracks; best of all is the remarkable "Shattered", which has Mick showing rare vulnerability to convincing effect.

And since then ? Their 1980s output was fairly minor but always entertaining (I can't help it - I just love the way they sound) - they have never released anything unlistenable. Their last three albums have been really terrific and unfairly ignored; lyrically they are at their most convincing on the slow, melancholic tunes such as "Out Of Tears" on "Voodoo Lounge", while the rockers and blues tracks are always a pleasure to hear. While they'll never make an "Exile On Main Street" again, they do make albums which stand up to repeated plays and have something to offer on virtually every track.

Summary :- yes, The Stones are poseurs, phonies, musically conservative (after 1968), and still have the cheek to play on into their 70s (oh, and Ron Wood has been sadly supressed - a waste of a fine talent). Yet they are still at the core of this wonderful rock'n'roll of ours, and are still "The Greatest Rock'n'Roll Band in the world".