Customer Reviews

Some Girls

5 star:		(166)
4 star:		(50)
3 star:		(34)
2 star:		(9)
1 star:		(13)

 

 

Some Girls was originally released June 9, 1978, it went to #1 in the US and #2 in the UK. This is their best selling album ever (>8,000,000 copies to date). Although the Stones seemed to be on somewhat of a female bashing kick (and certainly aroused intense ire among feminist groups) with their billboards for Black and Blue and the album cover for some Girls (which produced lawsuits and a revised cover), the sessions for Some Girls were the most productive the Band would ever have and saved the Stones from oblivion. The album included not only the superhit Miss You (their first #1 hit in 7 years), but Beast Of Burden (Keith's tender last love song to Anita Pallenberg), When The Whip Comes Down, Shattered, Before They Make Me Run, Respectable, and Just My Imagination. Most people know the music, so in my reviews I try to give you data on the sessions and interesting facts connected with the songs and the album. Here we go:

Interesting notes include:
.....the most famous story about Some Girls concerns the cut-out cover which originally had images of Lucille Ball, Raquel Welch, Farrah Fawcett, and Sophia Loren, all of whom threatened legal action, causing a revised cover to be released (both the original and revised covers from the original vinyl album are easily available on e-bay and in vinyl shops)
.....the original album cover was issued in 3 different color variations
.....Keith argued (and won) to have Start It Up removed from the album because he was afraid he had copied the main riff from the radio (it turned out it was his own licks he had heard)
.....when asked by a reporter why the name Some Girls had been chosen, Keith replied, "Because we can't remember their (freak)ing names!"
.....the first Stones disco mix was made by Bob Clearmountain from a tape of Miss You

The sessions for Some Girls were the most productive the Stones would ever have. They started in Paris Oct 10, 1977 and ended Mar 2, 1978 with final mixing at Atlantic Studios in New York Mar 15-31, 1978. The sessions were:
Oct 10 - Dec 21, 1977 at Pathe Marconi/EMI Studios in Paris
.....Miss You (Mick on guitar)
.....When The Whip Comes Down (Mick on guitar)
.....Just My Imagination (Mick on guitar)
.....Some Girls (Sugar Blue on harmonica, Keith on bass & acoustic, Ron on acoustic, Mick on guitar, Bill Wyman on synthesizer)
.....Lies (Mick on guitar)
.....Far Away Eyes (Mick & Keith on piano, Ron on pedal steel)
.....Respectable (Mick on guitar)
.....Beast Of Burden
.....Shattered (Ron on bass, pedal steel, and lead guitar)
Jan 5 - Mar 2, 1978 at Pathe Marconi/EMI Studios in Paris
.....Before They Make Me Run

Everything Is Turning To Gold was also recorded (it was released as a B side and special collections track).

Tracks from these sessions that were never released included the famous Claudine (which was never released because it was sure to cause litigation from Claudine Longet after she was reprieved from killing her boyfriend), plus Everlasting Is My Love, Covered In Bruises, Indian Girl, Misty Roads, Jah Is Not Dead, We Had It All, Fiji Gin, I Can't Help It, Do You Think I Care, The Way She Held Me Tight, I Need You, Let's Go Steady, Petrol, No Spare Parts, You Win Again, It's A Lie, It's All Wrong, Never Let Her Go, Never Make You Cry, Not The Way To Go, Biscuit Blues, Disco Music, When You're Gone, Angeline.

This information comes from "It's Only Rock And Roll: The Ultimate Guide To The Rolling Stones" by Karnbach and Bernson and from my own collection.

As a huge Rolling Stones fan I have to say I am disappointed in this remaster. It is one of my favorite Stones albums but this version on UMG is highly compressed with a major loss in any dynamic range it had.

Yes, the guitars are louder and even clearer in some cases and because of this, many of the songs seem to lose their swing. Oh, it rocks, alright, but the swing that was present in the Virgin issue of 'Respectable' is gone. The break in 'Miss You' (OOooohh ooohh, Everybody waits so loooong) loses it's impact as well as the vocals and Charlie's drums in 'Before They Make Me Run.' In the latter song, the drums used to kick and the chorus used to stand out from the rest of the recording, which it no longer does. The break at about 1:35 in 'Shattered' where the bass drum kicks in is a plodding mess and much clearer and listenable on the Virgin '94 issue. The record, as a whole, loses much of it's depth and warmness as a result.

Perhaps the biggest travesty, and I don't recall any other reviews mentioning this, but at the beginning of 'Beast Of Burden', Keith's guitar is in the right channel and in the left you hear an echoing or 'bleeding' effect of the guitar lines. It is plainly obvious on the Virgin issue and all previous issues of the recording. On the UMG this is all but GONE! Even when I isolated the left channel and turned it up it was close to inaudible. I put on the Virgin and it's very audible, even without much volume or isolation of the left channel.

If you want the issue that sounds better and sticks closer to the integrity of the original recording, seek out the '94 Virgin remaster and not this. If these sort of nuances are not an issue for you and just prefer loud guitars at the loss of any dynamic range, then by all means, fire away and pick up this UMG remaster. Those of you not familiar with the original recording will not notice a thing. Those of you who are familiar with it do not feel that an upgrade is necessary.

I'm really not sure how to grade this new Deluxe set. There's no way in the world I could ever give The Rolling Stones "Some Girls" anything less than 5 stars, but grading it as a deluxe package I'm not sure it is 5 stars. 12 bonus tracks from sessions that actually resulted in at least twice that many is a bit disappointing, but I have to say what they have included is great. "Claudine", "We Had It All" and "No Spare Parts" are all welcome additions to the official catalog. I can't understand however, the logic in not including great b-sides from this era like "Everything is Turning to Gold" and 12" mixes of "Miss You" etc.. The bonus disc is only 40 minutes long - there certainly was room!

I'm no audiophile; I own no fancy speaker systems or equipment, I don't know any of the lingo that goes along with sound quality, I don't own any vinyl, etc. I'm a casual music lover who still prefers to buy the CDs, but listens to the vast majority of my music on my iPod through $10-$20 headphones. And even I have to agree with what people are saying: the 1994 Virgin remaster by Bob Ludwig is better than this 2009 Universal remaster.

When I first bought this album a few months ago, it was the 2009 version. Right from the get-go, something about the sound quality hurt my ears; I don't blast my music very loud or often at all, but it actually gave me a bit of a headache listening to this album a few times. It just sounded too "bright," somehow, for lack of a better way to phrase it. Mind you, it's still a perfectly listenable CD.

So I finally bought the older 1994 version, and the difference is extremely subtle (to the point where I'm not sure if I can put my finger on the exact reasons), but to my untrained ears it sounds better than the 2009 version. It sounds more "full," more like the Stones I know. Sounds are perhaps less clear and crisp, but you know what? That's how I like my Stones. They're one of those bands who actually benefits from some "muddy" sound in their music, so to speak. It just gives them a certain atmosphere. I think the 2009 remasters cleaned up the recordings a little too much, and in doing so not only made a less pleasurable listening experience, but also lost a lot of that Stones feeling.

Conclusion: The 1994 Virgin CD is the way to go. Mind you, the 2009 UM version isn't the travesty a lot of people have made it out to be, but it's still a less satisfying listening experience, IMHO. I can't speak for any of the other 2009 remasters, but based on my 'Some Girls' experience, I'll continue to seek out the 1994 Virgin remasters.

Some Girls is the last album on which the Stones manage to get their act together for a full set and make good on their self-proclaimed status as greatest rock outfit in the world. Devoid of the filler that has become a staple of recent albums, Some Girls is the perfect distillation of the late '70s vibe, in which punk, rock and even disco, all vied for commercial and/or critical supremacy. In vintage Stones' fashion, Mick and Keith employed all the styles and more, to create a stunningly diverse, yet cohesive record. Apart from the fact that most of the songs are in the same key, Some Girls never stays in one place for very long. The striding disco of 'Miss You' quickly gives way to straight-ahead rock of 'When the whip comes down' which then moves to the soul classic 'Imagination.' However, the best is definitely saved for last. 'Beast of Burden' to this day remains a slow rock standard, while the unashamedly sleazy 'Shattered' shows the lads mugging and jibing at their best. Recorded in the prime of Richards' heroin addiction and topped off with a classic cover and sleeve, Some Girls sublimely documents the turbulent environment in which it was conceived.

All I want to say is these new Stones remasters are brittle...washed out...compressed...totally distorted and unlistenable. Do not buy these...stay with your Virgin Records versions...worst I have ever heard. I'm being liberal here folks...it's your money though. The artwork is shabby and on this cd they have basically edited Bill Wyman out of the band although he was still in the band. His photo is not shown with photos of the band in the booklet. Way to go Mick.

I remember well the orginal LP (that my brother brought home and said "don't let Dad hear this!") with the reversable sleeve to change the faces under the wigs. I love this recording and agree with most of the positive reviews here, however I'm writing this as 3 stars because I am deeply disappointed in the remastered version, and since most people looking at this CD are probably already familiar with these songs (unless they've been living in a cave without a radio for the last 25 years). The remastered version just sounds flat on everything from my Event studio monitors to the boom box in my garage. What happened to the let it bleed concept? Where is the air that gave the Stones such a great sound? It is there on my record, but not on this CD release. I think I'm going to find and play the record straight into the computer and make my own CD with NO remastering. Anyway 4 stars to the STones, -1 to those responsible for squashing the sound.

I have always loved this one. One of my 3 favorite Stones albums, along with "Sticky Fingers" and "Exile On Main Street". "Some Girls" has it all---the dance groove of "Miss You", the in your face rock of "When The Whip Comes Down", the humor of "Far Away Eyes". Every track is great.

But...

The comments on this site about the poor audio quality of the remaster are right on the money. Worst remastering job I have EVER heard. Just awful. A friend of mine had purchased the remaster and I listened to it, and then listened to the original Virgin release I have. I was amazed. The reviewers are absolutely right. Stick with the original here. Unfortunately, it is now very had to find.

As the 70's wound down, disco and punk music were the sounds du jour, going to a club had become an all night activity, nobody had heard of AIDS, the standard mode of dress was arguably as grotesque as it ever had been, and there was a huge party going on everywhere. At least that's the way I remember it.

The Rolling Stones were quite a few years removed from their last really great work, Keith Richards was staring life imprisonment straight in the eye, due to yet another drug bust, Mick and Bianca Jagger were on the outs, and every magazine you picked up contained a photograph of one, two, or all three of them attending some party, premiere, or otherwise notable event, looking wasted.

Amidst the confusion, Jagger and Richards were able to get their heads together enough to write and record "Some Girls," an album that incorporated the big mess that had become their lives, and also an album that helped define the musical mayhem of the times. There's no question that, above all, Mick Jagger has always been a shrewd businessman, and even with all that was happening, he obviously had his finger firmly on the pulse of the music - buying public.

"Some Girls" managed to ignite controversy as soon as it hit the racks, the title track's racy lyrics and the album cover providing that punch. "Miss You," the song that seemed to be playing every time you turned around, found the Stones venturing into the disco / dance arena, but armed (unlike the myriad of others who tried) with a song that had an edge to it. Somehow, they made it work. The song became a classic, not a relic. The punk - driven "Respectable" and especially "Shattered" ("go ahead, bite the Big Apple, don't mind the maggots") found the Stones in top shape, and, unlike many of the bands of the punk era, these guys actually knew how to play instruments. What a novel concept. "Beast Of Burden" and the band's cover of "Just My Imagination" became hits, although they were, in my opinion, two of the weaker tracks on the album.

I was happy to see other reviewers mention "Before They Make Me Run," Richards' autobiographical tale of his problems with the law. It is indeed a great song, and even more than that, it has always been an undiluted pleasure to hear Richards blow the dust out of his vocal chords and sing a little bit. (His mid - 80's solo release "Talk Is Cheap" is proof that Richards has a respectable Rock and Roll vocal style).

"Far Away Eyes," a song dismissed by a number of reviewers, is, to me, The Stones' brilliant satirical goof on both the generic country music style of the day and on media evangelists. True, much of The Stones' early work was country - influenced, but not by the generic country style of the 70's. Mick's way over-the-top vocals are hilarious, and the lyrics even better. (...all I had to do was send ten dollars to the Church Of The Sacred Bleeding Heart Of Jesus, located somewhere in Los Angeles, California and next week they'd say my prayer on the radio and all my dreams would come true.) Jagger must have been laughing as listeners wondered why The Stones hadn't been able to capture the smooth, quasi - country sound of "Honky Tonk Woman."

The remaining tracks are also solid, the band tight (Charlie Watts' drumming is particularly superb), the production and arrangements perfect for the sound the band needed.

Another interesting footnote is that The Stones, by 1978, were already considered to be among the old geezers of Rock. Their time had come and gone, according to a lot of experts. Imagine that - here we are, 22 years later and, while the albums may not be as frantically great as they once were, the Stones remain one of the few bands that can sell out a 50,000 seat stadium. Not only that, but Keith still plays with the enthusiasm of a teenager who just got his first guitar, and he seems to be in pretty good shape, for the shape he's in.

"Some Girls" is not in the same league as "Exile On Main Street", "Beggars Banquet", "Sticky Fingers," or "Let It Bleed." Few recordings are. It is, however, a strong album that captures, perfectly, a brief moment in time.

This was the first Rolling Stones album I ever purchased, when I was just a lad, and even today, it sounds as fresh and as raw as when I first heard it. It's the rare case of a record perfectly capturing its time, its place, and its creators, for posterity. In 1978 the band was struggling to remain relevant to fans of popular music; mellow California sounds from one side, disco pumping from New York and other urban locations, and punk rock from the band's native England were threatening to toss the Stones onto the ash-heap of rock history---and then, they put out this record! "Miss You" apes the Donna Summer/ABBA disco sound, and ups the ante by adding snarling, inner-city bite to its inexorable beats; "Shattered," "Lies" and "Respectable" shout down the Sex Pistols, revealing them as the one-trick ponies they really were; "Far Away Eyes" is a brilliant Nashville joke, so effective it is often played in honky-tonks to this day. The record pulsates with new energies, without sacrificing the band's own sound. Keith Richards and Ron Wood play guitar riffs so jagged they could tear your flesh; Charlie Watts, the finest drummer in rock, never loses the backbeat, even when asked to play a disco four-ono-the-floor; Bill Wyman's bass keeps the whole thing anchored. As a late-model example of the band's greatness, it may pale next to "Beggars Banquet" or "Sticky Fingers," but it puts their Eighties work to shame. It's a classic rock album, and a great document of the late Seventies. Buy it, play it, live it.