Text: Angelos Kravaritis
On April 23, 1971, the album was released “Sticky Fingers” of Rolling Stones. It is a pivotal point in their discography, as it was the first album with the new guitarist Mick Taylor, replacing long-time band leader Brian Jones, who was fired in 1969 and found dead shortly after. It had been 16 months since their previous album, Let It Bleed, the Stones’ longest break between releases, and for all these reasons expectations were high, but so were the reservations of a large part of audience.
“Sticky Fingers” proves she was here to shake things up in the first place, from the cover alone, with the now-famous close-up of a man’s crotch in jeans and an actual, working zipper that captures the rebellious spirit of questioning values that characterized her time. Designed by the famous artist Andy Warhol the cover became a timeless symbol of the band’s bold and provocative image, especially after it was also combined with the now famous red lips and tongue logo, which made its first appearance on the album cover.
Musically, “Sticky Fingers” features some of the greatest guitar riffs of all time, two great ballads and all this in a framework that combines R&B, blues, soul, country and hot rock’n’roll. Remarkably, the album opens with the most morally offensive track ever to top the charts. The “Brown Sugar”, which in the spring of 1971 became the Stones’ first No. 1 hit in the US since “Honky Tonk Women” two years earlier, is a strange lyrical mash-up of taboo subjects such as slavery and sexual violence, which Mick Jagger himself summed up as “all bad things together.” But such is the power of Jagger’s riffs and performance that few paid attention to what the track was saying.
The “Sway” it’s classic Stones soul-rock and the solo at the end gives Mick Taylor a chance to make his mark on this debut. Jagger has long been a fantastic lyricist, as seen on songs like “19th Nervous Breakdown” or “Sympathy for the Devil,” but Sticky Fingers found him more mature and layered, delving into a wide range of subjects that they range from love and lust to social commentary and introspection. “Sway”, is a vaguely metaphysical love song about an unnamed woman. Songs like “Sister Morphine” and “Moonlight Mile” reveal a more introspective side of the band, exploring darker themes.
Of course it’s not just what he sings, but also how he sings it. By 1971, Jagger’s unique way of performing had already made him the ultimate rock frontman, and on “Sticky Fingers” he builds on that foundation and goes even further.
Probably the most beautiful song ever written by Jagger and Richards (with Gram Parsons), the “Wild Horses” stands out as a sweet, romantic country ballad. The lean, disciplined instrumentation and Jagger’s sensitive performance create a riveting effect that made the track one of their biggest all-time hits. The “Can’t You Hear Me Knocking” gives us over seven minutes of the Stones at their best. After the end of its first part, the song turns into an extended randomly recorded jam that is the best instrumental the Stones have ever done, which among other things features some amazing playing by saxophonist Bobby Keys.
The Stones then continue the tradition that wants them to do unique arrangements of songs, with the gospel standard “You Gotta Move”. Playing in a Delta blues style, the Stones treat the song with tender respect, modernizing it only slightly with the electric slide solo in the middle. “Bitch” that follows is a pure rock’n’roll track that rocks you from start to finish. Jagger enters his “Otis Redding phase” with the “I Got the Blues”a beautiful soul ballad in the style of Redding’s “I’ve been loving you so long”, recorded in 1966. Highlights of the track include brass accompaniment and a terrific Hammond solo from the ubiquitous Billy Preston.
The subject matter then gets darker with the “Sister Morphine”, written with Marianne Faithful, a haunting piece about heroin addiction, combining both a sense of bleakness and the nervous tension of an addict. It deals with the same issue “Dead Flowers”, but in the context of a country song that makes it much lighter than “Sister Morphine”. The album ends with perhaps the strangest and most unique recording in the entire Rolling Stones catalog. The “Moonlight Mile” it’s a heady mix of the exotic and the familiar, a song-mystagogy in the vein of The End by the Doors.
“Sticky Fingers” was a commercial success, but reviews were mostly lukewarm. Its value slowly began to emerge, as did its lasting importance and impact, so that it is now considered one of rock’s most important albums. Even decades after its release, the album continues to resonate with audiences around the world, capturing the essence of a bygone era while remaining remarkably timeless in its appeal. His influence can be heard in countless bands and artists who have been inspired by the endless creativity and uncompromising vision of the Rolling Stones.
