I know it’s only rock and roll but… had to happen, the Stones on my list.
For me, the band was at its best in the Mick Taylor years. While Keith Richards is undeniably great, and Charlie and Bill laid down a foundation upon which rock cathedrals were built, it was Taylor who took the band to new heights with his playing. This album is a classic example.
The cover concept was created by Andy Warhol. On the original release, the zipper worked and the belt buckle had perforations. No, the model did not go commando. He was a
Remember the days when album covers were special? When you not only received the album, you also got cool gimmicks like The Beatles Sgt. Peppers insert card containing a genuine Pepper mustache, sergeant stripes, badges, and the Sgt. Pepper band stand-up (with perforation for easy assembly!), Beatle pics suitable for framing in The White Album, and the trippy lenticular cover of Their Satanic Majesties Request from the Rolling Stones? Those were glory days (what were your favorite album gimmes?)
With Sticky Fingers, you got an operational zipper, and the classic songs Brown Sugar, Wild Horses, Can’t You Hear Me Knocking, Bitch, Sister Morphine, Dead Flowers, Moonlight Mile–– you get the drift. Great cheese, and lots of it.
Much of the album was recorded at the famous Muscle Shoals Sound Studios in Alabammy. The backstory of Moonlight Mile is that Keith had created a guitar riff on tape (he called it Japanese Thing). Mick Taylor worked with Jagger (playing acoustic guitar) on developing that riff into the song heard on the album. Taylor had the idea for strings. After all that creating, Taylor received no songwriting credit. It was another Jagger/Richards song in the publishing world.
The Glimmer Twins are notorious for being stingy with sharing credits. They even took credit for Robert Johnson’s Love In Vain Blues, which Mick and Keith claimed as their own when they recorded it as Love in Vain on Let It Bleed. The Johnson estate sued and won. The blues legend got his credit. Oh, those boys–– bad, bad, bad!