Inspired as much by Keith’s kicking H and his acquisition of an MXR delay pedal as it was by Mick’s slumming around New York, horny as hell, Some Girls is commonly seen as the Stones’ last great album—and it is, though Tattoo You is certainly no slouch. The expanded lineup of the early- to mid-70s is gone. In its place is the core quintet, holed up in a Paris studio, laying it all down the line. Mick tosses off a few provocative poses and a few raunchy lyrics; but like everyone else here, his heart seems to be in the game. And while his bitchy kiss-offs (“Lies”; “Respectable”) bite, his bitchy laments (“Far Away Eyes”; “Beast of Burden”) walk a tighter emotional tightrope and succeed admirably. The album’s real heroes, though, are Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts, one of the more stout, yet one of the more relaxed, rhythm sections to hail from Dartford. Putting all this aside, Some Girls joins the ranks of the great Stones albums because it acts as a sort of two-way mirror: At their best, the band could always out-swing the musical trends they mimicked. This record is very much of its time (the punk and disco moves ensure that), but it reinforces the notion that the era could only ever hope to mirror a great Stones record.
Rating: A
