Do You Remember The Rolling Stones Record released in 1971 “Sticky Fingers”? January 21, 2025

 

 

 

Picture it. It’s 1971 and The Rolling Stones are one of, if not the biggest band in the world. Their three previous records, Their Satanic Majesties Request, Beggars Banquet and Let It Bleed, have soared up the album charts. At one point, Let It Bleed even demoted The Beatles Abbey Road on its way to the top of the UK Charts. But going into 1971, fans asked if they could keep their success going with their newest release, Sticky Fingers.

For the January (albeit late) edition of the Do You Remember Series, we’re looking at Sticky Fingers. This record was right in the middle of seven successful albums by The Rolling Stones. The following three records after Sticky Fingers include Exile On Main Street, Goats Head Soup and It’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll. Each record would produce more “classic” Stones songs that are still played today.

The record kicks off with one of the band’s most famous tunes, “Brown Sugar.” From the moment that the song starts, fans instantly recognize it. The song is one of the band’s best and is a great way to start. Keith Richards and Mick Taylor incorporate jumpy riffs that add a light feel to the song. Throughout the record, The Stones add additional instruments like horns and percussion. It’s exciting to hear when bands experiment and add different sounds to their albums. The use of the tenor sax to add a heavier sound to the foreground was an ingenious move by the group.

The second song, “Sway” takes a different approach than “Brown Sugar.” It’s slower, more bluesy and returns to the band’s influences. Drummer Charlie Watts goes heavy on his cymbals on this track which adds a heaviness to the background while the lyrics and foreground are more choppy and supported by strings towards the end. “Sway” possibly contains one of Taylor’s best solos during his time as a member of the band. Taylor’s tenure would only last three more years before he quit.

Track three is the beautiful ballad “Wild Horses.” Many bands including Guns N’ Roses and The Black Crowes have covered this spectacular song. The band paints a beautiful mental picture throughout the five-minute and 45-second tune. The typical “rock ballad” is a standout in this song. The acoustic strumming by Richards and Taylor acts as a 1-A and 1-B pair. This guitar duo became the staple for rock and roll bands to come. The quiet and relaxing feeling this song brings is inviting to what’s to come throughout the rest of the record. “Wild Horses” is a tune that steals the spotlight from the rest of the record and has fans hitting the repeat button over and over.

 

 

“Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” returns the band to regular rock and roll. The entire song is about seven minutes but the lyrics only last two minutes and 40 seconds. For the remaining time, the band jumps into a full jam. The jam features congas by Rocky Dijon, more saxophone, organ and percussion. To place the song around the halfway point of the record was a smart move by producer Jimmy Miller because it opens the back half of the record up to all sorts of new sounds and ideas that were introduced during this jam.

 

 

 

Songs five and six, “You Gotta Move” and “Bitch” are both good tunes that are still interlocked with classic blues and rock and roll. But, they both make way for “I Got the Blues.” Don’t let this slow-moving ballad fool you for the heavy-hitting tune that is it. Mick Jagger’s voice is excellent. The way that Jagger can sing lyrics that aren’t great and turn them into memorable masterpieces is a true art form that not many can do. Instead of a guitar solo, the band opted for an organ solo. On a rock and roll record, it’s rare for an organ solo but Billy Preston turned that short organ solo into the template for what those types of solos should be.

“Sister Morphine,” is the third to last song on the record. An eerie acoustic riff opens the track before Jagger sings the song. Ry Cooder is featured on slide guitar which adds the eerieness on this track. You can distinctly hear Cooder and bassist Bill Wyman throughout the song and their sounds mix well. When you add Richards and Taylor on acoustic guitars, The Rolling Stones’s wall of sound comes to life. By the two-and-a-half-minute mark, the band is in full form and delivers one of their best performances.

 

 

The record brings listeners to “Dead Flowers” which has the same jumpiness as “Brown Sugar.” It’s easy to singalong to and it’s great to hear Richards clearly on background vocals. While he doesn’t have the same distinctiveness as Jagger does, it’s still distinctive enough to know that’s the living legend. It’s a great song that helps bring the record to the final song.

“Moonlight Mile,” closes out the record. The track – which was featured in The Sopranos – features strings that help bring this song to the end. It’s only fitting that this track was featured in a hit TV series as it does sound like it belongs in a hit movie or is included in a musical score of some sort. At the end of the track where the music slowly gets quiet and reverts to getting louder before falling to a close was extremely unique. It had all the makings of a big dramatic ending for a spectacular record.

The Rolling Stones 1971 hit record, Sticky Fingers is a classic. It features classic tunes that have become concert staples of the band. Those songs are instantly recognizable. It’s easy to see why the band’s “Golden Age” featured seven hit records in a row from 1967 until 1974. Sticky Fingers was crafted right in the center of that era making it one of their best records in their discography.

 

Rating: 8/10

 

 

 

Tracklist:

1. Brown Sugar

2. Sway

3. Wild Horses

4. Can’t You Hear Me Knocking

5. You Gotta Move

6. Bitch

7. I Got the Blues

8. Sister Morphine

9. Dead Flowers

10. Moonlight Mile

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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