Word: guitars
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1980-1989
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...production, by Bob Clearmountain, is a bit too slick; on first listening, the styles just don't seem to jibe. Some songs sound like Graham Parker's guitar-led love letters, some like Lou Reed's wry, insightful epics, others like ethereal reggae. Yet repeated play reveals a unity: the "sounds" are all Garland Jeffreys...
...even in their declining years, the Stones are one of the most entertaining bands in the business. Musically they have branched out from their earlier rock and roll-rhythm and blues show to include salsa, mock country, and border-line disco. Their guitar sound has suffered a bit under the increasingly lackadaisical supervision of Keith Richards and Ron Wood, and the aged Bill Wyrhan has done little to improve his methodical bass playing. But Watts, now limiting himself to a snare, high-hat, and garbage can top, remains raw and on-the-mark. Jagger's singing has actually improved...
...When the Whip Comes Down," open the second side. On the former, Jagger tries for a vague Muddy Waters imitation and comes up a bit short, but he receives enthusiastic vocal backing from occasional Stones keyboardist Billy Preston. "When the Whip Comes Down" benefits from a propulsive rhythm guitar and bass line, but whoever played the lead barely distinguishes himself from the tenative style of a high school amateur. Other cuts include "Crazy Mama," a gritty "I-want-to-sleep-with-you-anyway" number and the overplayed "Beast of Burden...
...first album, Can't Buy a Thrill(1972), held some promise of transcending everyday pop. But the Latin beat of "Do It Again," the tight guitar work on "Reeling in the Years," seems, in retrospect, contrived and commercial. Now, the band members change from cut to cut, but it doesn't matter. As long as Becker and Fagen are at the helm, everything meshes, sounding like a jamming session between George Benson and the Doobie Brothers (they're even guilty of spawning the new Doobie sound...
...sitting in the studio, sipping Cuervo Gold, calling in friends for an occasional overdub, growing old and rich. And America eats it up. Easy rock with a pseudo-Latin chacha, the formula hits its peak. Even the fast songs sound slow, thanks to the preposterously uninspired dribble of the guitar solos...