Some Girls Remastered

There's a major reason that Charlie Watts receives first billing on every song on "Some Girls". He propels the Stones, but he does it so subtly even when his drums are emphasized in the mix. Another major factor is that this record is the band's most pared-down music since "Beggars Banquet". So you hear the Stones really having to step up and show their brand of synergy. "Miss You", the tough disco single of a lonely man turned predator, is set to coherently-crafted music and becomes the runaway hit single of summer 1978. It's enlivened by Mick Jagger's nifty use of falsetto, Sugar Blue's blues harmonica delivery and Charlie Watts' insistent four on the floor backbeat. "Some Girls" itself acknowledges Mick's rundown as the womanizer he's been in the public eye. His stereotyping can be slightly exasperating but it somehow makes you wonder what he's put himself through. Again Sugar Blue shines on this slow-blues. The Stones do the best interpretation of a Temptations song they've ever done. They remake the lovely r&b ballad, "Imagination" by transforming it imaginatively into a driving rocker. "Far Away Eyes" is self-consciously goofy. Nevertheless, Mick takes chances with this complicated and amusing take on a preacher's phony promises. The humorous touches hit strongly with his country and western drawl. If he'd sung it straight, it wouldn't have worked. "Far Away Eyes' flirts closely into parody but you can't go wrong with that catchy chorus and newcomer Ronnie Wood puts in some powerful steel work. A favorite of mine. "Lies" and "Respectable" aren't exactly punk but they're compatible with punk for its velocity and feel. Mick was sure to be absorbing the NYC punk scene at this time. There aren't enough superlatives to describe the Stones' final troika of tunes on "Some Girls". But I'm going for it! "Before They Make Me Run" is Keith Richards featured track. It's country-rock in tone on the life he's observed and lived. He reflects on his upcoming trial for heroin possession in Toronto. The renegade that he is, Keith's never had anything against the vicarious. "Beast of Burden" is deeply introspective and felt. The power dynamic in which Mick has lived is him at his most vulnerable. It picks up where "Blue Turns To Grey" and "Sad Day" left off but has over ten years of growth in it. That guitar intro of Keith's and Charlie at the ready is topflight Rolling Stones. And the guitar weaving between Keith and Ronnie makes it obvious why Ronnie is the perfect fit. "Shattered" is a prime New York City anthem that gets at precisely the ambivalence so many residents feel and this would seem to include Mick himself. The Stones effortlessly adapt to New Wave textures. And with Charlie's pile-driving beat, the song brings any party to life. "Some Girls" is the jolt in the arm the Stones needed and they take it all the way to the modern day. This mostly urbanized album is where the band hangs easier and proves that they can no longer be labeled old hat. The dual guitar interplay, the cooking bass never in the way of the drums and the rhythmic lead vocals make simplicity a virtue. *Dedicated to Charles Robert Watts (1941-2021) - rock's greatest drummer and a classy person. RIP

The Rolling Stones' sixth studio album for their Rolling Stones Records label (distributed by Atlantic in the US and Canada and EMI elsewhere) entitled Some Girls was released in June of 1978. After the mixed response to 1976's Black and Blue and the tour which saw guitarist Keith Richards get arrested for heroin in 1977 (while recording a live album) and their engineer Keith Harwood perished in a car crash after mixing the live document Love You Live (also a great album). Richards, as well as lead singer Mick Jagger wrote many songs to prove that The Rolling Stones would come back big and this was the first full studio album with guitarist Ron Wood. Some Girls was recorded in late 1977 in France and mixed in New York with Mick and Keith producing and Chris Kimsey handling the recording and mixing. Bass player Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts played well on this album as well (as I found out when I first heard it in October, 1989 after borrowing the original Rolling Stones/Atlantic cassette and then acquiring it in November, 1989 on Rolling Stones/Columbia). We open with the #1 hit "Miss You" which is a disco rocker (unlike many disco songs, this had no strings nor synths) and features some harmonica by Sugar Blue and a nice sax solo by Mel Collins. Next is the rocker "When the Whip Comes Down" which just rocks and (like the track before it) had Mick, Keith and Woody all on electric guitars. Next is the band's reworking of The Temptations' "Just My Imagination" which the band turned a sappy ballad into a killer rocker with some modified lyrics from Mick and a key change. We follow with the controversial title track which is a bluesy rocker and just rocks (the lyrics may be Politically Incorrect but to Hell with politicians). We close side one with another rocker "Lies" which saw the band embrace the punk movement as well as the disco movement. We kick the second half off with the country number "Far Away Eyes" which had Mick mocking a southern man in the vocal and this is country done right with steel guitars and hillbilly accent done perfect. Then it's another punkish rocker "Respectable" which just rocks (was not a hit but it rules). Next is the Keith sung rocker "Before They Make Me Run" which is an excellent song sung by Keith. Next is the Top 10 hit rocker "Beast of Burden" which is a great song and would become a staple for the band. The band's ode to 1970s New York and punk scene "Shattered" closes the album and what a great middle finger to the punk rockers who thought The Rolling Stones were dinosaurs. The Some Girls album did very well hitting #1 making it the sixth Stones studio effort in a row to top Billboard (where it reigned for TWO WEEKS, remember Saturday Night Fever and Grease dominated 1978) and was the second Platinum album for the band (now their best selling US studio release at SIX MILLION). This remastered CD is excellent and it also has all original artwork restored and credits. In 2011, the album was expanded as a 2-CD set with more outtakes from the Some Girls sessions and some having new vocals added like "No Spare Parts" which its vocals were recorded in 2011 and is an awesome song. "Claudine" sounds like early Elvis but I dig it. "So Young" is a great rocker and has new Jagger vocals for this set. "Do You Really Think I Care" is another winner which has some country elements but a great song. "When You're Gone" follows and is a great bluesy rocker again with a new Mick Jagger vocal. "Don't Be a Stranger" is another catchy song with various different stylings like blues harmonica, reggae drumming and country and rock elements. "We Had it All" has Keith on vocals and was recorded in 1978 with Keith's vocal from the period and a nice ballad. "Tallahassee Lassie" is a great rocker". "I Love You Too Much" is another great rocker. "Keep Up Blues" is a great bluesy rocker. "You Win Again" has new vocals from Mick and Keith and is a great country rocker. "Petrol Blues" is a short blues but excellent way to close this reissue. The digipak comes with a booklet with story on album's creation and photos and credits. This album is highly recommended.

Good album!

I'm a big Rolling Stones fans, though I'm a poor one :) I opted to buy the two disc set to upgrade my single disc version as opposed to the box set that's available because I don't have the money to buy the bigger one or otherwise I probably would have gotten it. I've always liked this album. Back when I started buying full albums instead of Greatest Hits packages (once I got my first job etc) I bought this one and Dirty Work. I loved both cds.. I know Dirty Work isn't really as well loved among diehards but it was one of my first cassettes by them. Aside from GH type things. And it was also a new cassette. Usually I was playing catch up with my collection so I'd go with albums I knew more songs on, but Dirty Work and Some Girls only had one or two that were on the radio (at least at the time) so it was more of a gamble but I really did enjoy them. I really did enjoy the bonus songs as well. I like the artwork and the booklet that comes with it, though nice to have, should have included the lyrics to the album. It was basically the same artwork on the outside just expanded to give you info on who did what. While it was nice to have, I just wish they would include more articles on the making of as well as the lyrics. But i'm sure the box set is loaded with that stuff. So maybe someday. But this is a great album to have if you are like me and want more than just the standard album, which is remastered, but don't wish to spend the money on a box set. You get bonus songs etc. and the packaging is really well done (even though I don't like digipaks that much) so it's definitely worth looking into, as the price is phenomenal and you get the auto rip version of the album as well.

It's almost like a lost Stones album Great songs. Refreshing really. This review is strictly about the 2nd disc only. We all know Some Girls is a Stone classic. 2nd disc; Got some rockers. Got some blues ,country blues. Got a Keith from the heart tune. A pretty complete album. Got some mid tempo songs. I;m really satisfied and happy I purchased this expanded edition. If you;re a Stones fan you should buy it. I think you;ll be happy with it.

What else is there to say about SOME GIRLS? Almost every critic and the vast majority of fans recognize this album as one of the essential Stones albums; certainly SOME GIRLS is one of the top three Stones records of all time, and it's definitely my second favorite (the criminally underrated VOODOO LOUNGE is first in my affections). My ears aren't fine-tuned sufficiently to tell much difference between this version's sound quality and the previous one--they both sound good to me. The key difference, obviously, can be found in the new version's second disc: the bonus tracks, many of which have been widely available as bootlegs for decades. I must say that the majority of these previously unreleased tracks are pretty forgettable: it's pretty clear why Mick and the Boys opted not to include most of these tunes on SOME GIRLS or even EMOTIONAL RESCUE. Having said that, I must make mention of four wonderful tracks that well deserve your attention: "Claudine," one of the most biting satires in the Stones songbook, making its legit debut have more than 30 years of legal skirmishing; and the three amazing covers included, among them Keith's take on the late, lamented Dobie Grey's country classic "We Had It All." I'm glad that track is finally getting the love it deserves, but I was also blown away by the Stones' takes on the Hank Williams classic "You Win Again" (just tongue-in-cheek enough to be incredible) and even more impressed with "Tallahassee Lassie" (with handclaps by John Fogerty!). So should you buy this release? Chances are you already have a copy of SOME GIRLS somewhere if you're at all a Stones fan or at least the kind of rock fan who collects all the key records in the genre. If you don't already have the album, by all means buy this release; if you do already have it, the issue becomes whether or not you want to part with the money for four great extra tracks and eight mediocre ones. For this Stones nut, there's no question I had to have the "official" releases of the gems discussed above. Determine your personal commitment to the band and decide from there.

Above expectations. Mint condition item. Buy from the seller!

Excelente sonido, muy buena compra.