Massive Music List

We counted down the Stones’ complete 1970’s studio catalog, and now we take on the band’s output during the decadent decade of the 1980’s. This period found the Stones sometimes funky, sometimes fiery, but always feisty. Keep in mind, the countdown

The complete list to date.

The Last Five:

25. “Summer Romance” (from Emotional Rescue)

24. “Neighbours” (from Tattoo You)

23. “Sleep Tonight” (from Dirty Work)

22. “Black Limousine” (from Tattoo You)

21. “Almost Hear You Sigh” (from Steel Wheels)

20. “Harlem Shuffle”

From Dirty Work

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You can see how this old soul chestnut would appeal to the Stones as cover material. You’ve got a sumptuous groove and lyrics which lay on the sexual innuendo thick. I’m sure most casual fans assumed upon hearing it in 1986 that it was a Jagger/Richards original. At age 14, I know I did.

Starting off with a horror-movie opening and Mick Jagger’s lupine howl, the band quickly sinks its teeth into that groove and plays it straight and dirty. Jagger’s elastic voice seems to mimic the dance moves of the song, a performance full of barely-restrained sexual energy.

A cast of thousands joins in on backing vocals, including Tom Waits and Bobby Womack. It all added up to an unlikely Top 5 hit for the band, and a rare bright, happy spot in the mess of an album that was Dirty Work.

19. “She’s So Cold”

From Emotional Rescue

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The Stones were tight on this track. Keyed by a twitchy guitar riff and Charlie Watts’ crashing beat, “She’s So Cold” doesn’t try anything too fancy, but what it does try, it executes in spades. The guitar work is anything but showy, yet the restrained, subtle touches all serve the song well. The Ronnie Wood version of the group certainly has always been all about economy and impact, and this song is a prime example.

Nobody plays the frustrated, befuddled suitor better than Mick Jagger. That’s because, even when he can’t solve a reticent girl like the one in this song, he still can’t help but exude the confidence that lets you think the chase was still on. He’s also never been afraid to say exactly what he wants; “Put your hand on the heat” is about as unsubtle as it gets.

That formula has always served the group well: Jagger completely unhinged while the band stays in complete control. “She’s So Cold” may describe a frigid girl, but the song itself is like a heat-seeking missile.

18. “Blinded By Love”

From Steel Wheels

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The lilting acoustic guitars and fluttery melody take the listener back to some of the band’s pop gems of the 60’s, like “Ruby Tuesday” or “Lady Jane.” But Phil Beer’s fiddle and the Jagger/Richards harmonies are reminiscent of some of the band’s Gram Parsons’-inspired country forays in the early 70’s.

What’s great about “Blinded By Love” is how seamlessly these two disparate influences come together, creating a lovely amalgam that can best be described as a medieval hoedown. The track backs up Jagger’s lyrics about how men throughout history have been felled from their lofty heights by following romantic temptations rather than their better judgment.

That he adds Prince Charles to his list that includes Marc Antony and Cleopatra is a typical manifestation of mischievous Jagger wit. It’s just one more element to add to this endlessly fascinating track off Steel Wheels, an indication that the band’s creative engines were firing smoothly again after the fallow period of the mid-80’s.

17. “Dance (Pt. 1)”

From Emotional Rescue

LISTEN HERE  

“Get up, get out/Into something new.” Not only is that the main refrain of this, the opening track on 1980’s Emotional Rescue, but it also might as well be the rallying cry of The Rolling Stones throughout their career. Always unafraid to try new sounds, even at the risk of alienating longtime fans, the band forged into uncharted territory often.

“Dance (Pt. 1)” isn’t completely new ground; the band had dipped their foot into the waters of disco with their 1978 smash “Miss You,” but this song was more overtly courting that market, the rhythm more brazen and the beat more strobe-lighty. The song is more or less an instrumental save for Jagger’s opening rap and occasional exhortations. And it’s a damn effective one, shaking rumps with a minimum of effort.

Ronnie Wood got a co-writer credit from the Glimmer Twins, which, knowing their stinginess with such matters, likely means he was integral in the song’s creation. Good for Ronnie then, and good for the group for their ability to master yet another genre while still keeping it unmistakably the Stones.

16. “All The Way Down”

From Undercover

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Recalling a May/December romance with enough self-awareness to balance out his harsh words toward his former flame, Mick Jagger delivers an excellent performance of some clever and biting lyrics on “All The Way Down.” There are certainly some misogynistic overtones here, but Jagger also points his poison pen at himself.

The refrain skips right past innuendo into graphic territory, Mick belting out the chorus with a mixture of surprise, disdain, and admiration. As he looks back on the past, he admits that he was outfoxed by this more experienced player. But even more revelatory is when he brings the story up to the present and reveals how little has actually changed: “How the years rush on by/Birthdays, kids and suicides/But still I play the fool and strut/Still you’re a slut.” Ouch! And he yells that last line out with genuine hurt seeping in.

The crispness of the band’s performance is remarkable. They zip along, Watts spurring them before nimbly breaking into the reverie of the bridge. Just as quickly, they turn the pace back up into a full sprint with no sweat.

To me, Undercover, the 1983 album which contains this song, gets a bad rap. Maybe because “Undercover Of The Night,” the lead single, turned off some (not me though), I think that people didn’t give the album a fair shake and wrote it off as some kind of MTV-inspired excess at odds with the band’s history. If those people listened to the album now, I think they’d be surprised at the songs therein, songs like “All The Way Down,” that live up to the band’s raucously rocking legacy.

The complete list to date.

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