Ok, Here it goes. As has been requested, I’m starting the thread of my all time favorite album, by my all time favorite band. I’ve pretty much written in these forums all that I can say about this record. So, I’m copying what I posted some years back in the “Stones Album By Album” multipart thread. If I had more to say it would simply be...I’ll love it more as my days pass. That’s been the pattern since 1978. This will never change. I was excited upon release. I often weep uncontrollably when I play it now. I really do! Why? It was my first album purchase by this band on release day. I own 18 copies. When I play it now, I get transported back to that day. The weeping started a few years back. I’m not sure why? I suppose it’s because they’re getting older. I’m getting older. And, I long for those days again...the days that “Beast Of Burden” blared from my radio on 95.5 KLOS...”your Southern California rock & roll radio station.” *No format here folks. Go song by song, or anyway you like. Have fun! My post a few yrs back: “Thought I'd post here, what I posted in John Fell's/Some Girls vs. Tattoo You thread regarding my thoughts on Some Girls. My apologies if some have already had to read (or be bored by) this on that thread. I just thought since we've been on the subject: Love em' ALL......and these 2 are close for me. (Regarding SG vs. TY) However......"Some Girls" is my choice. I feel like the band broke new ground, and for them, that was no small feat at this stage. This was just an incredible statement for them. Instead of just flying in the face of what was popular at the time, they answered critics on the side of the punk movement that would relegate bands like them, The Who, Zeppelin and others as cultural dinosaurs. Remember, this record would be the first since Beggars Banquet that would feature, aside from a little electric piano and organ from Ian McClagan, a stand in on harmonica, a little sax on Miss You, and some conga work (Simon Kirke oddly enough) on Shattered..........justThe Stones......Those 5 members. "Miss You" was more than just an ode to disco. It was a totally stripped down disco beat, with none of the production associated with disco at the time, with a great blues melody. It was dance music....but uniquely Stones dance music. I personally, never tire of it. EDIT: I can't believe after all that writing.....the obvious, and one of the best songs ever, "Beast Of Burden", I missed. No excuse other than, it's greatness is just so obvious to me. That one melodic lick, worked up.....beautiful, and one of my favorite Mick vocals ever! The Rolling Stones interpretation of punk music became the greatest and most exciting and innovative sounding rock and roll I've ever heard to this point. SEE: Respectable, When The Whip Comes Down, Shattered, and Lies. "Some Girls", the title song. Just wow....a crazy arrangement and use of the steel guitar. A great blues number with lyrics to shock! "Before They Make Me Run" features the so very timely and personal lyrics of Keith, and ranks for me, in the trinity of "Silver" and "Happy"....of Keith tunes, with some fine guitar work by Ronnie Wood. "Far Away Eyes"......Bakersfield Country at its finest. Again, Ron Wood is amazing on this cut. Some very fine pedal steel. A rougher feeling than it's original, "Just My Imagination" ranks as one of, if not my favorite, cover of all time. The faster tempo, electric guitars and outstanding Jagger vocal, pay maximum tribute to this Motown classic. This record was a coming out party for Ron Wood. He was amazing, and his fingerprints are all over it. I think it's the best work of his career. Keith and Ronnie together on this record are so tight, to me it's the finest pairing on record, of Keith....and anyone. I just love the attitude in Mick's lyrics and vocals on this one. He plays more guitar than ever. The first Stones record with a real 3 guitar attack. This is the most lively, danceable, and slamming Stones record ever, none of it possible without that Wyman/Watts rhythm section. The Stones are.....to me....what this record feels, and how it makes me feel. At last......the album cover. I love and understand that Warhols Sticky Fingers is considered possibly the greatest album cover design ever, but this Corriston design is the one I cherish the most and have collected the most. This was the first Stones record that I bought on release day, when I was 13. It is the album that made the Stones mine! It is the most important to me. It's the one I play the most and feel the most connected to. I am as routine about listening to this record as just about anything else that I do in my life. I have the cd in my car, it's ripped to the hard drive in that same cars audio system. I have it on my iPod for the gym and the airplane. I have 14 issues on vinyl, 6 sealed and 8 that I listen to. I have about every digital version, and still listen to most of those. I have shirts with the cover art that I wear. I have Some Girls lip balm and Some Girls buttons. I have Some Girls everything, but most of all, I have Some Girls in my heart and my soul....constantly nurturing that "adolescent within", the place I like to visit the most. Yes.....I'm a total freak for the record. I love Tattoo You....but now you all know, it's "Some Girls" for me. I change my mind constantly.....is "Sticky Fingers", "Let It Bleed", "Aftermath", "Tattoo You", "Exile", "Rescue" the best? My favorite? In the end, I really think it's "Some Girls", the best and.........certainly my favorite, for many reasons. “
Here ya go @ohnothimagen .... surely @John Fell & the rest of the gang (you know who you are) will chime in. Newer folks, we’d love to hear ya!
I’ve only recently began to really appreciate Some Girls, since I bought it on vinyl (CBS US 1986 FWIW). Every digital version I’ve heard (including the Japan SACD) did very little for me. Man, they sound energised! Some class A tunes too. Clearly a really good period for them, which carried over into the subsequent tour, one that Ronnie Wood cites as one of his favourite. They really sound like they’re working as a unit, and Jagger seems to be having the time of his life.
A great album and a start of a great period of The Stones, imo. I don't know what exactly it is: the punk vibes, the fashion/style, or the way the band interacted with each other at the time, but the Some Girls-Tattoo You period is my favorite of the band's (I may even start with the '76 tour). I agree with @Clanceman about the cover art--it's my favorite Stones cover. It captures the feel of the album so well, and, at least in my mind, has a bit of the '50s retro vibe that I imagine was around during that time It's crazy to see how prolific the babd was at this point, too. All those bootlegged outtakes are amazing! They were just on fire at this time. If I were to change the album, I would have added the original 6 minute version of "Hang Fire" (or a shorter version with that same punk sound), taken out "Lies," and replaced "Far Away Eyes" with "Yellow Cab [Do You Think I Really Care?]." Maybe the disco version of "Miss You" would have been better too. And the 8-track version of "Beast of Burden." Haha I guess I would change a lot about the final sequence... Pretty much every song was edited quite a bit. Maybe they could have made a double album.
Some Girls was one of the first Stones albums I got into (had and loved YaYa's though), and I still love it. Much better than what came after it. I recall the 12" "Miss You" single that came out, it demonstrated that the Stones were willing to go head-to-head against the brashness of the Punk/New Wave movement that was trying to label them as out-dated "dinosaurs". The Stones, unlike many other established bands of the day, showed that they could hold their own against these threats. The die cut cover was interesting. Lucille Ball, Farrah Fawcett, Judy Garland, Raquel Welch, and Marilyn Monroe were later removed when those artists or their representatives didn't like being on a Stones album. I hope they regret it now! Also, the album was issued in different colours.
Currently I've got a Canadian Atlantic "Cover Under Reconstruction" pressing. The first copy of Some Girls I had was the 80's CBS reissue, I got that and the CBS Exile for Christmas in '89 (I've ranted -not raved- about the CBS Exile in other discussions so I'll spare y'all here!). Wasn't impressed with the sound of either. The Atlantics sound much better IMO, but having said that, I wish Some Girls has the sound production quality of Black And Blue. "Miss You", as I've mentioned before, is my first real memory of hearing music, hearing the song on the car radio when I was about two, pulling to the parking lot of Northgate Mall in Regina. To think "Miss You" was new song then! And I was still fairly new at the time as well!
I’m listening to Some Girls - Live in Texas right now. Jagger must have been on top of the world: finally he didn’t have to carry the whole operation. Now the energy was coming from the guitar players (step up Mr Wood), and they had the tunes to match. I mean they played the whole album during shows on the 1978 tour - when have they ever done that? And the band sounds like they don’t want to stop playing. I don’t want to turn this into a Keith v Mick thread, but I’ve always admired Mick for how he just got on with the job during Keith’s absence (and since actually). He doesn’t use interviews to slag off his lazy, self-indulgent song writing partner, unlike someone I could mention (and I bet there’s A LOT he could say...). He knows what he has to do to keep the show on the road and he just gets on with it. I admire his discipline.
Not quite every song- they gave the title track and "Before They Make Me Run" a miss but, still, eight outta ten. Compare that to the warhorse-laden setlists they play now. I readily admit Some Girls isn't one of my favourite Stones albums, but based on what I've heard of the '78 tour it was pretty awesome. I'd go song by song, to be honest, just to keep it in line with the other Stones album threads we've done lately. With a bonus mention of "Everything Is Turning To Gold" as a bonus mention, of course...
Mick is an excellent CEO. My only complaint about Some Girls is that they did not tour the UK with it. Does anyone else prefer side 2 to side 1?
Yeah. "Respectable," "Beast of Burden," and "Shattered" are almost daily listens, for me. In fact, I realigned my cartridge the other day and one of the first things I listened to was "Respectable" through the end (I had only meant to listen to the one track, but I kept it spinning).
Got my copy with the original cover on release day, it was my second Stones album. Played it so many times .. at some point I feared the vinyl could actually turn gray. Favourite track: Shattered. No matter how much I love it, I do play Black And Blue and Tattoo You more these days.
Count me as one who far prefers Side Two to Side One. But what I really want to know from this thread is a list of Clanceman's 18 copies of this album. This is probably a Top Five Stones album for me... "Sticky Fingers" and "Let it Bleed" rank 1 and 2. I have the following three copies of this album: (1) -- UK LP that I have been told is the FIRST PRESSING (but I don't know for sure)... STAMPERS include: A - 4 U (STERLING TJ) B 3 U (STERLING TJ) (2) -- U.S. LP STAMPERS: A: ST RS 784079 DDD (or DOD) (PR) STERLING B: ST RS 784080 HHH (PR) STERLING (3) -- ’94 Virgin Remaster redbook CD... Mini LP Limited Edition in hard plastic case. Alas, this album was really their last hurrah for me... I think they declined dramatically after this.
I apparently have the first pressing, which is funny, 'cause I would've sworn I secretly swapped out the better-looking disc that was in a "cover under construction" sleeve with the one that came in my celebrity sleeve, but maybe I'm forgetting. Discogs doesn't have my exact rynout groove infornation anywhere, though. Matrix / Runout (Side 1 runout): STERLING TJ ST RS 784079 CC 23467 (14) (PR) Matrix / Runout (Side 2 runout): STERLING TJ ST RS 784080 FF 23467-X (3) (PR) Side one on mine has 23467 (9) and side two has 23467-X (13). Then I have two Virgins in normal jewel cases, because the first one got scratched, then the deluxe 2-disc. I'm probably gonna succumb and buy this new vinyl box set, if it doesn't sell out during preorders.
Thanks for doing a thread on this album Clanceman. Some Girls is a good solid album and probably the last Stones album I would be desperate to keep if space was a problem (it is but I cannot blame the Stones for that). Came out in 78 and holds it's own against some great punk/new wave albums and Bob's Street Legal. As an aside one of my favourite records was that wonderful pink Miss You/ Faraway Eyes 12 inch which I think they should reissue on new 180gm pink vinyl (I am sure it would sell as a 4oth anniversary). I would be interested in which digital version folk think is best ( I have loads and love most of them - Virgin 94, Platinum, SHM -sacd from Japan etc).
There aren’t too many albums whose very best section comes at the end—Some Girls is one of them (“Before They Make Me Run,” “Beast of Burden,” “Shattered”).
i love some girls, close to my favourite stones album ... i don't see it as a come back album. To me Black an Blue was a great album, so there was nothing to come back from. Sure it's only Rock And Roll wasn't the best album they had ever made, but they had made a few by that stage, so it is to be expected that an album would stiff at some point.
Contrary to popular opinion, I think they were at their peak here. Love the album but I also think the Live in Texas DVD is their best live performance by far. Way better than the overrated Ya-Ya's. The studio album has a great cover song, a humorous country tune and a few all-time great Stone's originals. What more could you want?
I don't know if that's contrary or not- Some Girls is considered a peak point in the Stones career, for some fans the last peak. My problem with the album, as I've said in other Stones discussions, is that IMO they tried too hard to make a "good" Stones album again- as if to say, "Yeah, we know our last three albums weren't exactly up to snuff, here's one we know you'll like..." "Calculated" is a term I've heard describing Some Girls more than once; the album was basically constructed not to fail, and as a result some of it does seem sorta contrived to me. But what the hell, it worked!
