Tweet
Black And Blue is not the worst Stones album but I'd argue it is their weakest in terms of songwriting, performance and production. Critics love to call it the "guitar audition album" where it's really a hangover album. Mick Taylor's input and playing is sorely missed here leaving Keith to work with studio musicians who play better than he does. No wonder as to why Ron Wood was chosen being a subpar guitarist who would take orders from Jagger as not what to play but how to play it. The songs are all over the map and not one really coalesces with the other leaving the listener a but perplexed as to why this album was so hastily made after their fabled 75 Tour. The other factor missing here with this album is the absence of Jimmy Miller who would never ever let the Stones record such tripe trash as Hot Stuff or Memory Motel.
Jagger himself was never really fond of this record claiming he disliked the mix (he also said pretty much the same on Exile and Goat's Head Soup) but after listening to this reissue and my utter hate for Steven Wilson after he butchered a few Jethro Tull albums outshines himself here. Richards sloppy phase shifted soloing in Hot Stuff is toned down as well was Charlie Watt's playing which never sounded like he actually played live with the band in the sessions or his drums were rerecorded with disastrous results: heavy cymbal crashes, too loud of a snare and the kick muddy with Wyman's bass playing (or whomever played bass on this shitty album). Wilson did an excellent job of cleaning that all up sort of reinventing this record into that full Stones sound not heard since Sticky Fingers. The real star on this record here has to be Billy Preston whom Wilson brought up the faders to where you can tell his contribution to this album was more than Jagger and Richards seems to give a shit about.
The Stones, like Schleppy Zep made record after record with garbage production when they were behind the board in order to save a few bucks. The Stones did try with absurd results hiring such asswipes like Chris Kimsey and that utter fucking hack Don Was but that downhill slide started with It's Only Rock 'n Roll and continued with Black And Blue; Some Girls production is utter shit as was most of what they did right up to the unlistenable Undercover. The Stones seemed to be content with their mediocre production values and robbed themselves of their potential in the late part of the seventies when Jimmy Miller left or was fired or did too much coke and heroin with Richards.
Black And Blue is not a memorable Stones album and I can see why they waited this long to bring in Steven Wilson to do his best to salvage just how bad it sounded as Richards become more like wallpaper in his own band. Give credit to Billy Preston and Wayne Perkins whose input goes way beyond their pay scale as Jagger ego trips all over this record while Keith snoozes halfway though it. Hard core Stones fans with a fondness for masochism will always praise this record but at the end of the day it's still shit.
Jagger himself was never really fond of this record claiming he disliked the mix (he also said pretty much the same on Exile and Goat's Head Soup) but after listening to this reissue and my utter hate for Steven Wilson after he butchered a few Jethro Tull albums outshines himself here. Richards sloppy phase shifted soloing in Hot Stuff is toned down as well was Charlie Watt's playing which never sounded like he actually played live with the band in the sessions or his drums were rerecorded with disastrous results: heavy cymbal crashes, too loud of a snare and the kick muddy with Wyman's bass playing (or whomever played bass on this shitty album). Wilson did an excellent job of cleaning that all up sort of reinventing this record into that full Stones sound not heard since Sticky Fingers. The real star on this record here has to be Billy Preston whom Wilson brought up the faders to where you can tell his contribution to this album was more than Jagger and Richards seems to give a shit about.
The Stones, like Schleppy Zep made record after record with garbage production when they were behind the board in order to save a few bucks. The Stones did try with absurd results hiring such asswipes like Chris Kimsey and that utter fucking hack Don Was but that downhill slide started with It's Only Rock 'n Roll and continued with Black And Blue; Some Girls production is utter shit as was most of what they did right up to the unlistenable Undercover. The Stones seemed to be content with their mediocre production values and robbed themselves of their potential in the late part of the seventies when Jimmy Miller left or was fired or did too much coke and heroin with Richards.
Black And Blue is not a memorable Stones album and I can see why they waited this long to bring in Steven Wilson to do his best to salvage just how bad it sounded as Richards become more like wallpaper in his own band. Give credit to Billy Preston and Wayne Perkins whose input goes way beyond their pay scale as Jagger ego trips all over this record while Keith snoozes halfway though it. Hard core Stones fans with a fondness for masochism will always praise this record but at the end of the day it's still shit.
American guitarist Wayne Perkins (center) performing with Smith, Perkins and Smith at the Roundhouse, Camden, London, 4th May 1972. (Photo by Michael Putland/Getty Images) By 1972, Perkins had started a trio with Steve and Tim Smith called Smith Perkins Smith, performing across Europe and the United Kingdom. While in London with his group, Perkins was recruited to perform a couple of tracks on “Catch a Fire” with reggae singer Bob Marley and his band, The Wailers.
Comment