Today we have the Rolling Stones’ fourteen studio album It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll. Released in 1974, the album was met with mostly positive reviews and sold well. It is the last album to feature guitarist Mick Taylor, who joined the band in 1969 during the Let It Bleed sessions. He would be replaced by Ronnie Wood, who remains a member of the band to this day, in 1975.
Welp, we finished the full reviews for the Rolling Stones! They are easily the best band/musicians I've listened to this year thus far. The album run from Beggars Banquet to Exile on Main St. is nearly flawless and I listened to each of those four album at least eight times before reviewing them. I listened to Exile on Main St. about thirteen times before giving it only the third A+ of 2020 (out of over 300 albums). Despite this unprecedented amount of time and care placed on my reviews for those albums, I still strongly felt as if I were going through them too fast--I've never been so aware of the fact that most people had to wait a full year in between each of the albums. For those reasons, they deserve the title of "greatest rock'n'roll band" and I will probably listen to their music more than I listen to the Beatles.
I appreciate Taylor's guitar solos, but they've always seem a little out of place in the Stones' music. That, however, matters a lot less when the songwriting (on side two especially) is their worst in ten years. With Jagger's vocals being mostly half-assed and the mix on "It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)" failing to gracefully piece together all the separate takes, "Time Waits for No One" might be the best song because of the Taylor's lengthy solo that closes the song. "Fingerprint File" would come close if Jagger didn't render it unlistenable with his most whiny and self-indulgent vocal performance ever. B-
Because I was enjoying the band so much, I strongly considered continuing the full reviews on to Some Girls (1978), which is consistently ranked in the top 6 best Stones albums. However, I figured fourteen full album reviews was already pushing it, even for the second most famous/influential band of all time. (I'll mention what number Some Girls would rank on the list below when reviewing it on the Stones' discography page.)
Here's the ranking of the albums worth checking out (B+ or higher):
8. The Rolling Stones, Now! (1965):
Though the band was only very slowly increasing their output of original songs, they were continuing to make steps towards becoming the greatest rock'n'roll band on this album. Only reason it's not better than 12 X 5 is because the selection of cover songs isn't as solid. B+
7. 12 X 5 (1964):
When I look back at the best of the Stones' early songs, a lot of my favorites are on this album. It avoids the questionable covers that diminished their debut and introduces their first great original "Congratulations." B+
6. Between the Buttons (1967):
Their Satanic Majesties Request, Goats Head Soup, and this are the only albums from the band that they ventured away from straightforward rock'n'roll in a significant way. Of those three, Between the Buttons is the only one that's a true delight. Maybe "Ruby Tuesday" is a little overrated, but the rest of the album is underrated. B+
5. Sticky Fingers (1971):
If not Exile on Main St., this is generally ranked as the best Stones and it's not hard to see why--after four listens, I probably would have ranked it there too. However, while this might be the songwriting peak of the partnership of Jagger and Richards, there's a noticeable--not terrible but causing it to be placed fifth--lull in the middle of the album from the second half of "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" to "I Got the Blues" with the oasis being "Bitch." The album also, in general, fails to sound as appalling and ominous as it sets out to be. A-
4. Aftermath (1966):
Since I don't play guitar, this was the album where I first began appreciating Brian Jones's contributions to the band and, knowing what came after, his best contributions too: a perfect balance of exotic instruments and great rhythm guitar. I've always loved the original Stones' lineup which is one reason why it was easy for me to place this ahead of Sticky Fingers. My original review said that "not only do many of the originals sound better than the covers the Stones took so long to shed, but they've also liberated the Stones to expand their musical horizon by experimenting with different genres." I can't think of a better description of the Stones' first album of all original songs. A-
3. Beggars Banquet (1968):
When I originally reviewed this, it didn't seem right to give this an A because that would indicate that the best Stones album by 1968 was mostly an acoustic venture. It was only sometime into listening to Let It Bleed and I still found myself listening to it so often that I decided to bump this up one grade. People interested in getting into the Stones should start here if not earlier at Aftermath. A
2. Let It Bleed (1969):
Even after some ten listens, I nearly gave this an A- and one hour after I posted my review I strongly considered dropping the grade down before anyone noticed. It was great but the individual songs didn't seem strong enough to warrant an A. But the sum of this album is greater than its parts and Let It Bleed is consistently dense upon revisits in a way that very few albums are. A
1. Exile on Main St. (1972):
I pretty much covered everything on the original review that needs to be said about this album, but let me just reiterate that it would be best to warm up to the Stones elsewhere before listening to this. Even I need more time with this, but I anticipate that it will be ranked as either the first or second best album I've listened to this year (at least of the ones I've already heard). A+
Click here for the Stones' discography page, which has all my reviews and grades for them.