The Rolling Stones: Tattoo You - 1981

 

"The thing with Tattoo You wasn't that we'd stopped writing new stuff, it was a question of time. We'd agreed we were going to go out on the road and we wanted to tour behind a record. There was no time to make a whole new album and make the start of the tour." - Keith Richards

This was a not a "new" album from The Rolling Stones in that it was a collection of rejected songs that had been recorded for possible use on earlier albums, dating as far back as 1972. Having said that, they are all tracks of a high quality.

In my view, there is not a duff track on there and all of them would have considerably enhanced the albums they were initially recorded for. 

Let's make a dead man.....  

The album's stonking, riff-based opener, Start Me Up, dated from the sessions for 1978's Some Girls and apparently started life as a laid-back reggae skanking number. Thankfully it changed over time otherwise we would never have had that riff. It subsequently became an iconic, much-played Stones track used either at the opening or closing of live shows, and, of course, in inspiring the dead to shoot their load....

The lively rocker Hang Fire dates from the same sessions and is probably the weakest track on the album  - an upbeat, almost punky rocker with some trite lyrics about nobody working hard enough in the UK. A millionaire rock star moaning that "nothing ever gets done". Hmmm. Jagger repeated the sentiment on his 1987 solo album Primitive Cool with the equally irritating song Let's Work. It's all very well slagging off society, but not if you are not a part of everyday life. 

Slave is truly wonderful and dated from 1976's Black And Blue sessions. It is a veritable tour de force - bluesy, rocky, rhythmic, featuring a great Jagger vocal and some excellent saxophone from jazzer Sonny Rollins too. A true high point. It would have raised the standard of Black And Blue no end, wouldn't it? Incidentally, the original album had the track running at about three and a half minutes, now we get six and a half, which is infinitely superior. 

Keith Richards' saucy rocker Little T & A comes from 1979's Emotional Rescue sessions. It is ok, more than catchy enough, but, as with many of Keith's songs, it just sort of rambles gently and croakily along, despite its leery, lusty Rod Stewart-esque references to "tits and ass". 

From the Some Girls sessions came a wonderful, vibrant harmonica-drenched blues boogie, Black Limousine. It was another obvious high point of the album. Once more, this song appearing on Some Girls would have certainly changed the feel of that album considerably. The song had been knocking around in one form or another since the early seventies, apparently. 

Another one from 1979 is the frantic vocal attack of a number, Neighbours. The repeated title is a bit off-putting and raucous and while it seems lyrically bland, it has a breakneck punky appeal, a good vocal and an excellent Bobby Keys saxophone at the end. It just doesn't sound like a Stones track to me, though, and never has done. 

Worried About You was also from the Black And Blue sessions and is a beautiful build-up ballad, featuring some impressive piano from Billy Preston and a throbbing bassline. Jagger's vocal is top notch on this too, going all falsetto at one point. Imagine Black And Blue with this and Slave on it. What an album that would have been. Incidentally, Wayne Perkins is on guitar, from the time when he was in pole position to take Mick Taylor's place. 

Taylor notably features on a rocking and soulful number, Tops, that dates from 1972, one of the earliest recording tracks included here. He also attempted, legally, (and failed - unsurprisingly) to claim credit for some of the lyrical content. The beguiling, mysterious Heaven is one of those seductive Jagger "solo" numbers dating from 1979 with some hypnotic percussion and a "phasey" deliberately muffled vocal. It is a remarkably addictive piece of work and worthy of repeated listens. Richards and Wood don't feature on it, however, having arrived too late for the sessions. 

From the same sessions as Heaven, No Use In Crying is a slow-paced, bluesy ballad with one of those instantly recognisable Jagger vocals. Has a bit of a feeling of automatic pilot about it, though. 

Waiting On A Friend is a fetching and summery number that dated from 1972, like Tops, from The Goat's Head Soup Jamaica sessions, and is also excellent, featuring some superb Latin-tinged, saxophone groove. It is simply a great Stones track. I'm amazed that it had laid idle for so long. 

In conclusion, although not a "new" album, it certainly plays like one, to be fair, and doesn't seem like a collection of cast offs. It is by far the superior to Emotional Rescue and Undercover. It is a good album in its own right, for sure.