Sticky Fingers

The Rolling Stones | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (May 5, 2009)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: UMe
• ASIN: B001WCN23W
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Music
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (316 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #673 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #22 in Music > Rock > Blues Rock
  • #67 in Music > Hard Rock & Metal

Track Listings

1. Brown Sugar

2. Sway

3. Wild Horses

4. Can't You Hear Me Knocking

5. You Gotta Move

6. Bitch

7. I Got the Blues

8. Sister Morphine

9. Dead Flowers

10. Moonlight Mile

Editorial Reviews

Rock 'N' Roll veterans' 1971 album, originally the first album for their own Rolling Stones Records imprint. Though the album was pieced together from various sessions, it remains one of their most iconic albums. 10 tracks including 'Brown Sugar', 'Bitch' and 'Wild Horses'.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

268 of 286 people found the following review helpful

2.0 out of 5 stars Music 5, Re-master 0 May 22, 2009

By BrownFingersDibbity

Format:Audio CD

I don't know why the previous posters are impressed with this re-master. Sticky Fingers is my personal favorite Stones album, and if you don't have it, get it, but I recommend you seek out the 1994 re-master on Virgin Records. This re-master distributed by UMD has compressed the top end, probably to hide tape hiss, and boosted the instruments up louder to near distortion levels. On headphones certain higher pitched sounds like the piano on Moonlight Mile are eardrum piercing, and the organ solo on I Got the Blues is particularly horrid sounding on headphones or open speakers. On open speakers, the overall poor quality is even more apparent. While certain sounds, particularly opening guitar riffs, stand out more than before, once the entire band kicks in, the compression leads to a dull thuddy sound, particularly in the drums. The one song that overall sounds better than before is ironically my least favorite - Sister Morphine. It now has a menacing quality that has been missing from previous CD masters, but it opens with a clumsy fade-in on the guitar, again probably to mask tape hiss. Perhaps the most disappointing part of this re-master is that one of my favorite moments in this album - the sudden surprising swell of strings near the end of Sway - is completely buried now.
Some have complained about a high end "harshness" to the Virgin re-masters but to me those are more open and crisp. If that's your taste, that's what you want. If you prefer a more bassy limited sound, you might prefer the new re-masters. As for me I will stick with what I have and not purchase any more UMD re-masters.

138 of 147 people found the following review helpful

1.0 out of 5 stars Re-mastering is crap October 5, 2009

By G. Fazio

Format:Audio CD

I have to agree with the other comments about the re-mastering here. I was quite surprised how hot it sounded. "Wild Horses" in particular, sounded like it was distorting at times. I checked my levels, and it wasn't my gear, so just out of curiousity, I opened the file in Logic to see what the waveform looked like. I knew without checking that it must have been a recent digital re-master, because it's hot as all hell, and clipping significantly on the choruses. Made me realise that for old 60s/70s music, I should really be looking for the 80s/90s cd versions I guess, or analogue. Really kind of sad, given that the 70s were so obsessed with recording quality, that all that love and care is being lost just for loudness, which you can get by turning up your amp or iPod anyway. Really don't get it... I thought the "loudness war" was limited to recent releases, quite saddened to see it's even being applied to re-masters of old music.

Great music, possibly The Stones' best album, but this is not the version to buy.

159 of 171 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the All-Time Greats August 22, 1999

By Patrick Farrelly

Format:Audio CD

Along with Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed and Exile On Main Street, this is arguably the greatest album ever by the world's greatest rock 'n roll band. This is the post-60's peace and love, nasty early 70's hard core drug inspired kick ass Stones at their pinnacle. Played out classics include "Brown Sugar," "Bitch" and "Wild Horses," but this album's deeper cuts are the true gems.

I dare you to keep the hair on your head from standing on end as you hear the opening chords to the epic "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" at full volume. Forget heavy metal - it just doesn't get any raunchier than this, or any better, as Keith and Mick Taylor go at it with a vengeance. Billy Preston guest stars with his classic afro organ sound on the bittersweet "I Got the Blues." Then hold on to your hats, turn down the lights and contemplate the mysteries of the Holy Trinity of "Sister Morphine," "Dead Flowers" and "Moonlight Mile," an incredible sequence of Mick, Keith, Mick Talyor and Ry Cooder genius that will leave you crying for more. Memorable and twisted lyrics, haunting guitars, classic Mick vocals and just pure greatness. These drug drenched masterpieces, not for the faint-hearted, could easily have provided an Abbey Road-like crescendo to the Stones' career. Fortunately for us, Keith somehow survived and the Stones went on to record "Exile," their last truly great album.

Warning: in a lame crowd, this is an instant party killer.

As a final note, the original vinyl album cover, designed by Andy Warhol, has a real zipper and is a collector's item.