Favourite Rolling Stones album

[mr_mister]

I'm not the most massive Stones fan, certainly compared to most of the contributors to the thread so far, LT seemingly excepted. I mean, I do like a lot of their music, and actually own 8 of their albums (I just had to check this), but wouldn't have them in the same bracket as The Kinks or The Who, much less The Beatles.

I think it's ironic they're so influential nowadays as they always struck me as absorbers of then-current trends rather than innovators of new ones. I mean Between The Buttons definitely sounds as if Mick had been listening to an awful lot of The Small Faces' & Kinks' more music hall-inspired stuff and Their Satanic Majesties Request is pretty much them trying on psychedelia for size and it proving an imperfect fit.

As to the question in hand I'm tempted to go for Let It Bleed because Gimme Shelter is a ****ing awesome opener by anyone's estimation and what follows nearly lives up to it, but going with the slightly greater consistency of Beggars Banquet. Street Fighting Man & Sympathy for the Devil both wonderfully evocative of the tumult of 68.

Yeah, Satanaic Majesty's request the most blatant example of jumping on a trend but they did it all through their career really. By the mid 70s they pretty much felt like an american band more than a british one

Still love them though despite being giant sell outs haha

 

[GIMH]

Yeah, Satanaic Majesty's request the most blatant example of jumping on a trend but they did it all through their career really. By the mid 70s they pretty much felt like an american band more than a british one

Still love them though despite being giant sell outs haha

As a counter point, their near-universally agreed peak (Beggars Banquet to Exile) came when they abandoned keeping up with what Beatles and co were doing and returned to their raw roots.

They were always better at being themselves.

 

[mr_mister]

true - i guess even something about their roots sits odd with me. the most british blokes ever adopting all the tropes of american blues music(as opposed to the kinks who remained british as crumpets til their dying day)

but then i'm probably being too critical here. i love the stones dont get me wrong it's just funny sometimes how much they wish they were american. like the lyrics of honkey tonk woman are so ridiculous haha.

 

[wpdavid]

Looks like I need to dig out Let it Bleed on Spotify some time soon. I do love Sticky Fingers but haven't warmed to Exile. Maybe the latter is one of those that grows on you after several listens.

Love that LT had no idea about Rolled Gold.
Sorry mate, but for our generation that was the album that you bought to get all of their singles up to the early 1970s.

 

[GIMH]

I'm not happy that Spark hasn't posted in this thread yet