The Stones Take on NYC

By 1976, the Rolling Stones' popularity was in decline as the music industry was dominated by disco and newer rock bands. In addition, the punk rock movement was an emerging cultural force in the UK.

So Mick Jagger and Keith Richards (but mostly Mick since Keith was in a lot of legal trouble) decided to write and create an album in response to the younger generation, while still remaining true to the classic Stones sound. The result was the album Some Girls, released on this date in 1978.

Jagger said of Some Girls: “The inspiration for Some Girls was really based in New York and the ways of the town. I think that gave it an extra spur and hardness. And then, of course, there was the punk thing that had started in 1976. Punk and disco were going on at the same time.”

Another important factor for the band’s reinvigoration was the addition of Ronnie Wood to the line-up. It was the first album recorded with him as a full member. Wood brought an unconventional use of guitar that meshed well with Richards.

The album kicks off with the amazing “Miss You”, a funky, groovy track written by Jagger with keyboardist Billy Preston in 1977. The disco influence is strong on this one, with four-to-the-floor and as Charlie Watts describes it “the Philadelphia-style drumming”. They even released a dance remix, called the “Special Disco Version”.

One of the Stones more underrated tracks of all-time, the music on the second song, “When The Whip Comes Down” is as close to punk music as you’ll get from the Stones with lyrics that deal openly with the perspective of a gay prostitute working the streets of New York City.

I won’t go track for track the whole way through, but the deconstructed version of The Temptations’ “Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)” is spectacular and an underrated cover song in the pantheon of cover songs.

The one that doesn’t really “fit” into the context of the album is the Gram Parsons-inspired “Far Aways Eyes”. While the Stones have always been a fan of country music, the track, which kicks off the second side of the vinyl album, brings the mood down a bit.

That doesn’t last long as the kicked-up, punk-ish “Respectable” kicks the doors down to the country honky-tonk. It’s punk meeting Chuck Berry and it’s damn good.

The album ends with two classics: “Beast of Burden” and “Shattered”.

“Beast of Burden” is a mid-tempo groove of a song that shines the light on the dual guitar playing of Richards and Wood (neither taking lead) and the spectacular drumming of Charlie Watts.

“Shattered” on the other hand is their final take on punk rock. Jagger incorporates lyrics sung in sprechgesang which means “spoken singing” and is heavily influenced by New York City in the 1970s and the English punk movement. There’s a frenetic energy to it, closing out one of the best Stones albums of all-time.

It’s an album by a band that found its way again and proved that they were still relevant and capable of great music. If you’ve forgotten about it or simply never listened to it, go check it out now!