Made in the Shade by the Rolling Stones (Vinyl record album review)

Album name: Made in the Shade

Group name: The Rolling Stones

Year: 1975

Number of discs: one

Label: Atlantic Records

Collection: Selman

Distinguishing characteristics:

Sticker: Promotional Copy / NOT FOR SALE

Buy it on Amazon: $79.99

My review

Level of familiarity before listening

I’ve previously reviewed Beggars Banquet, which was good but not great, and Some Girls, which was bad but not terrible.

I’m familiar with several of the songs on this Rolling Stones compilation record from the mid 1970s, covering their studio releases from the early 1970s, but as I mentioned previously, the Stones should have retired by December 1969.

What I expected

1970s rock.

What it was actually like

Brown Sugar is a bit of an obnoxious song and I’ve never cared for it, and it doesn’t help that it also features a saxophone solo, and as I’ve written before:

I want to stress that rock musicians really need to avoid using saxophone in their music. If you’re Charlie Parker, I want to hear your saxophone part, but in rock I just don’t think there’s a lot of use for it.

And on that note, Rip This Joint would actually be an outstanding song (have I mentioned that fast music is good?) if it would lose the saxophone, which totally doesn’t belong.

Angie is a great song and I think I never listened to it closely enough until now to realize how solid it is, particularly Jagger’s vocals, even though every time I imagine him singing, I have to think of his face, which is a bit of a downer. I felt similarly about Wild Horses, which had the most in common musically with Angie and the least in common with all the other songs on the compilation.

I love the guitar riff on Bitch, but hate everything else about it.

Grade

4/5: would listen again