Great Rock Albums of 1983: Rolling Stones- Undercover

 

If the Rolling Stones 1981 album "Tattoo You" was a move away from the band's disco albums (at least I thought so) of the late 1970s, then the 1983 "Undercover" album moved them even further away. Saying that, when I first heard the album's first single "Under Cover of the Night," I thought it was a bit of a dirge. It did take me a couple of listens to get used to it. By then, the second single, "She Was Hot" came out and was, in my humble opinion, much better than its predecessor. Unfortunately, memories of the song will be forever in twined with the cheesy video for it. That was one drawback with MTV, good songs could be ruined by bad videos that stick in your mind but anyway.

[caption id="attachment_3331" align="aligncenter" width="300"] A shot from the video for "She Was Hot." Cheesy or not?[/caption]

One thing about the Rolling Stones over the decades was that if I didn't buy an album myself, someone I knew would and eventually I would listen to it. That's what happened with "Undercover." I listened to it and I liked it. "Undercover" takes the Rolling Stones even further back to their roots. This album is more hard rock than anything that they had put out in years, at least I thought that back in 1983. After the two singles are done and dusted at the beginning of the album, the third track, "Tie You Up" starts the hard rock off in earnest. And goes on that path for the next two songs. Then comes the track, "Too Much Blood," which for me is a song of two halves. At first, I thought the jazz infusion, with the horns was nicely done. Then somewhere in the middle, it begins sounding like a dance track making me think they hadn't totally gotten over the disco thing.

"Pretty Beat Up" also has horns and a bit of a rock/jazz fusion and the best part is that it doesn't become a dance tune anywhere I can hear. For me, the best is saved for last. "Undercover" goes out on a real high with the last three tracks. All of them are hard rockers and sound like the Stones of the 1960s that I grew up on. If anything, it is these closing songs that has kept me coming back to the album after so many years.

Track Listing:

1. Under Cover of the Night
2. She Was Hot
3. Tie You Up (The Pain of Love)
4. Wanna Hold You
5. Feel On Baby
6. Too Much Blood
7. Pretty Beat Up
8. Too Tough
9. All the Way Down
10. It Must Be Hell

[caption id="attachment_2295" align="aligncenter" width="374"] Rolling Stones[/caption]

Mick Jagger- vocals, harmonica, guitar

Keith Richards- guitar, lead vocals on "Wanna Hold You"

Ronnie Wood- guitar, backing vocals

Bill Wyman- bass, percussion, piano on "Pretty Beat Up"

Charlie Watts- drums

It has been said that "Undercover" is one of the weaker albums by the Rolling Stones. I never agreed with that or really cared, I just liked it.

Next post: John Cougar Mellencamp- Uh Huh

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Great Rock Albums of 1981: Rolling Stones- Tattoo You

Once again, the more astute among you may or may not have noticed that through my tours of both 1978 and 1980, I didn't visit the two albums released by the Rolling Stones in those years. To many, this might sound very strange because the Rolling Stones have been one of the stalwarts of rock for over half a century now. Throughout the 1960s and 7os they put out a huge number of songs and albums that will continue to live on throughout rock history. There are even some songs that would sound great metalised. So why didn't I visit the 1978 "Some Girls" album and the 1980 "Emotional Rescue?" For me, the answer is quite simple. I thought both of those albums were too disco for my liking. The 1981 album "Tattoo You," in my humble opinion took them back to their roots. The album sounded like the Stones of old and they finally remembered what had made them so great.

"Tattoo You" is a two part album in a sense. The first six songs are all cool rockers, the first of which is the big single "Start Me Up." When I first heard that song on the radio, I was convinced that the Rolling Stones had come back. Normally, I get concerned when the single opens an album because that's usually the ploy of one hit wonders but I have to say, it works well for "Tattoo You." That song is a good one to wake you up on a Wednesday morning. (Note: War Pigs by Black Sabbath is reserved for Monday mornings.) If you think that you can take a breath after "Start Me Up," you can't because "Hang Fire," the second track has the same effect. The next four songs all have the same effect and I love the hard blues rock sound of "Black Limousine." I don't know if it's Ronnie Wood or Keith Richards who play the solo on that song, but it is well done.

The remainder of the album goes into a more bluesier sound although not as hard as "Black Limousine." "Worried About You," "Tops" and "Heaven" are all in this vein  as is "No Use In Crying." These songs wind the album down to the more mellow closer "Waiting on a Friend" which seems to close the album out very well. I remember hearing that song blasting out of cafe juke boxes when I was in Toulon, France in May of 1982. What the album does accomplish for me is the fact that it's a massive improvement from the previous two.

Track Listing:

1. Start Me Up

2. Hang Fire

3. Slave

4. Little T & A

5. Black Limousine

6. Neighbours

7. Worried About You

8. Tops

9. Heaven

10. No Use in Crying

11. Waiting On a Friend

[caption id="attachment_2295" align="aligncenter" width="300"] Rolling Stones[/caption]

Mick Jagger- vocals

Keith Richards- guitar

Ronnie Wood- guitars

Bill Wyman- bass, synthesiser on "Heaven"

Charlie Watts- drums

After doing a little historical research, I was surprised to discover that the bulk of this album was out takes and previously unreleased material. Whatever the case, it worked and re-established the Rolling Stones as a serious force in rock.
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