Customer Reviews

It's Only Rock 'N Roll

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

1974's "It's Only Rock N' Roll" was guitarist Mick Taylor's swan song with the Rolling Stones,and contains a more direct,energetic set of songs than its predecessor "Goats Head Soup",such as the title track,"If You Can't Rock Me","Dance Little Sister",and the cover of the Temptations "Ain't Too Proud To Beg"."Time Waits For No One" is worth the price for this trip.So is the remastering on this edition-this underrated gem no longer sounds muddy and with potato sacks covering the speakers,it now sounds crisp,in-your-face,crystal-clear,the way rock n' roll supposed to sound.Sure the packaging is the same as the Virgin,but Rolling Stones fans shouldn't hesitate to pick this reasonably priced reissue and throw the previous ones to the dogs!

Mick Taylor's departure from seven very successful years with the Stones was a fine point for all concerns. From "If You Can't Rock Me" through the title rack onto "Dance Little Sister" the band were still very much riding the crest of their classic,bottom heavy rock n roll sound. Nothing had really changed too much across high key Motown rave ups of "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" or countryish ballads such as "Till The Next Goodbye" or the yearning "If You Really Want To Be My Friend". But a change was coming. Perhaps all too aware of various changes that were occuring in the pop world the Stones were also looking past the blues and soul as their main influences and beginning to integrate elements of reggae and other things into their style. That Jamaican influence,which was than actually pretty new came to the surface most strong on "Luxary" as well as now and again in the rhythms of "Time Waits For No One and "Short And Curlies". In terms of the conclusion "Fingerprint File" ends the album with the bands first all out,bona fide funk number complete with chugging wah wah's and Mick's learing vocals at fine effect. This particular variation on the bands style would bubble more to the surface on the follow up album Black and Blue when Ron Wood joined the band. The fact that the band could integrate so many new musical experiments into their already locked down tight sound has the effect of adding to their status as being able to do what they do very well when they choose to do it.

4 and 1/2 Stars

A fair amount of people in rock and roll do not favor this album, and that is all well, because musical taste is subjective of course, as with any other art form; but I really would like to stress to new Rolling Stones fans that the previous albums, e.g. Sticky Fingers, Let It Bleed and Exile are all REALLY good albums. What we have with It's Only Rock and Roll is similar to what For Those About To Rock was to AC/DC fans. It's a great album - just not as good as what came before it.

There are some real gems here like "If You Can't Rock Me", "Ain't Too Proud To Beg" actually, the first side is really really good.
Uncut magazine (UK) slammed "Luxury" with one star, but I think it's a great track! It has the same sorta vibe that "Beast of Burden" had, just pure Stones spirit. I think the remaining tracks are really good too, almost like Stones relics for die hard fans e.g "Fingerprint File"

The production is pretty good too. Looking at this record in context is useful. At this point in the Stones history Keith was down and out on drugs. You can see how out of it Keith was in the video for "It's Only Rock and Roll". Mick Taylor I've read was also taking heroin too. Bill was making/had made a solo record and Charlie was chillaxed as always. Micky J was married and was like a celebrity, so he wasn't about all the time. So considering the circumstances this is really good.

Definitely pick this up. Great cover too. Would get a poster of it I could find one.

Of the 3 mid-seventies hit and miss Stones releases(Goats Head Soup and Black and Blue being the other two), It's Only Rock 'N Roll is head and shoulders above the others in terms of consistency and overall song quality. While its no comparison to their classic run(68-72), the album holds up well, I feel, even listening to today; but unfortunately, turned out to be Mick Taylor's final album cut with the band. If You Can't Rock Me starts things off right with a snare hit and kick from Charlie Watts and Mick Taylor's prodigous fretboard playing within a rock song that has a bit of funk interlaid, helped by Billy Preston's clavinet and the percussion beats of Ray Cooper. They cover the Temptations' Ain't Too Proud to Beg with a raggedy swagger, which also was released as a single, albeit not as successful as the Temp's version. Of Course, the title track turned out to be a catalyst in bringing Ronnie Wood into the equation of filling Mick Taylor's shoes once Woody's charter band, the Faces had collapsed around the parallel and much more successful solo career of their singer Rod Stewart. Its a cool tune despite the fact that its origins have nothing to do with the involvement of Keith or Charlie, as its written by Jagger and Wood, some eventual overdubs were made to the finished track. Nonetheless, it provided the Stones with another Top 20 single and helped to push the sell of the album.

Till the Next Goodbye begins with an acoustic guitar strumming a cool rhythm which culminates in piano, set to a number that has a slight country feel to it; its a bit lightweight though in its delivery. Time Waits for No One is somewhat of a period piece and is ultimately a showcase for Mick Taylor as it shows off his unbeatable guitar tone and sense of virtuosity; definitely a defining moment realized within a thoroughly original number. Luxury has a rock/reggae flavor that actually comes off pretty well and features some nice slide guitar bits from Taylor in there, driven by the human riff of Richards. Dance Little Sister is an old-fashioned Chuck Berry style rocker as only the Stones can do so well, and succeeds on these terms duly. If You Really Want to Be My Friend is the other ballad-like number although this is more of a soul style track which features the backing vocals of Blue Magic, a soul band from Philadelphia; its not a bad track and is one that I listen to occasionally, but its not the first track I want to hear, either. Short and Curlies is essentially filler on the record and its impression leaves a tongue in cheek reaction. Closing with Fingerprint File, a paranoid rock/funk number, the Stones tackle another style of music in their own way and Keith's guitar playing is invigorous on this tune, while Jagger plays the delusional, paranoid dude who thinks the FBI is watching him within the lyrics storyline. Its not particularly strong in that repsect, but musically, very intriguing.

It's Only Rock and Roll defintely gets 3 and a half stars for the being the best of the 3 mid-seventies era releases; there's an overall consistency(for the most part) on this one, and it just flows pretty well throughout.

I have the Cd from the 1990's(replacing the early original CD) and have in my hand the 2009 that I will listen to and see if indeed there is more sonic boom but the original CD was pretty good to my ears. Just listened to it and there is a difference in high end and more over-all louder volume.Is that good or bad? I wonder but this high end compression adds brightness.
Nice cover,, the beauty of Taylor's Time Waits For No One is worth the price alone.

I bought this album when it came out in 1974, and at the time, I liked it quite well. It's since lost much of its luster, but I still like listening to it from time to time. It represents the end of an era for the Rolling Stones, and it's kind of sad that the Mick Taylor years would close with such a lackluster musical effort by the band. Perhaps that is one of the reasons Mick Taylor left the band before the album was released.

It's Only Rock and Roll starts off with a bang. Three solid rockers, "If You Can't Rock Me," "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" and "It's Only Rock and Roll" break the album wide open with scorching vocals, great guitar work, and a rock solid rhythm section. The only problem is, it all stops there. The rest of the album starts to fall apart, and virtually stops running, like a car out of gas. "Fingerprint File" is fun, rocks good, but doesn't seem to capitalize on its potential. "Dance Little Sister" is also a good rock and roll ditty, but goes nowhere. And so the album goes, nowhere. Still, it is a fun album to rock to, not legendary, and certainly nowhere near the album Exile on Main Street or Some Girls are. But it also isn't their worst album, not by far. Seriously, It's Only Rock and Roll is worth the price just to hear the opening three songs in succession as loud as you can stand it. Great rocking awaits, if only briefly.

Hey, in 2009 no one, including this reviewer, NEEDS to comment on the fact that The Rolling Stones, pound for pound, have over forty plus years earned their place as the number one band in the rock `n' roll pantheon. Still, it is interesting to listen once again to the guys when they were at the height of their musical powers (and as high, most of the time, as Georgia pines). This album from the tail end of their most creative period , moreover, unlike let us say Bob Dylan who has produced more creative work for longer, is the `golden era" of the Stone Age. The album, however, is a little uneven in spots reflecting, I think, a certain exhaustion of material that they could call their totally their own unless the time when they owned a big chunk of rock 'n'roll in the late 1960s and early 1970s. The age of a more sedate music (at least technically) was approaching and I think there was some confusion about whether to embrace it or "spoof" it. Still the title track "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll"if only for the message makes their 'greatest hits' list, right? Add in the very germane (for the 1960s generation) "Time Waits For No One" and their cover of the old Temptations tune "To Proud To Beg" and this is a snappy little remastered album.

This is one of those early 70s Stones' works that sometimes get overlooked amid the adulation of the earlier masterpieces. At this time, Mick was busier being a celebrity party goer than a rocker. But he and the then-smacked out Keef still managed to come up with a decent album of songs. I'd never bothered to pay attention to this one before. I wasn't a big fan of the hit title track. But give this a listen and discover plenty of great material here. There are really no terrible Stones albums. When they are all gone, we will still be listening to this one, as all the others, as well.

A return to form, after the weak "Goat's Head Soup." Really, not a bad cut on the disc, although "Till the Next Goodbye" and "If You Really Want to Be My Friend" are not as well-written as the rest. Wonderfully muscular guitar tones abound throughout, and Mick's vocals are particularly strong. Guy Peelaert's classic cover art reflects the decadence still gloriously present in the Stones' music at the time - a must for fans of the band.

In my opinion this is one of the best rock and roll albums of all time. If you like pure Rolling Stones Rock and Roll this is for you.