The Rolling Stones – Some Girls Review

Where does a band go after their perceived high? Hailed as the last great record from The Rolling Stones, the weighty talent of Some Girls lasts on. Was this their final shot of glory? Another soldier falling to the synth-heavy 1980s, as Bob Dylan did with Empire Burlesque. Not quite. Mick Jagger and company find their stylish changes and the afterglow of the Vietnam War of little interest this time around, and understandably so. Stagnation would set in if they repeated it, and Some Girls does well to pick up the jagged and almost heavenly-high expectations from the public. Disco was on the rise, The Rolling Stones were falling out of favour, not because of any internal trouble but such is the taste of listeners. Burn bright and fast or filter out. 

Going out of the peak with Some Girls is a monumental way to do it. Hear the classic structure rip through opener Miss You and the desire to get back to the fundamentals of rock is presented. Ronnie Wood marks his first appearance with The Stones as a permanent member and the evolution roars on. Some Girls has all the rage and anger present of a band knowing they are on borrowed time and heading back to their comfortable, original sound. Risk still presents itself and slight flourishes of the disco groove feel their way through the rhythm section – the bass work on Miss You is the clearest the band gets to this new wave.  

Its title track still lingers as a Lou Reed-like number, a hit back at the needs and wants of Italians, Americans and everywhere in between. It sounds like a list of controversial stereotypes. But the consistency in seeing those same expectations and diminutive putdowns on social media now has Some Girls settle as an experience of unchanged views of the wider world. It does not make it right, but it does mean The Rolling Stones were part of the popular trend which still lingers today. Yes, it was the best record The Stones had put out in years. It was also one of their last. Roaring qualities on Lies bring about a sense of immediate presence in the world around them, a connected piece of work which would later lose Jagger to David Bowie collaborations and solo endeavours.  

Hopeful country-styled occasions on Far Away Eyes present the essential route through Some Girls. It is a genre-blending powerhouse, a restless desire to put The Stones back on top at a time when the band looked to be in their final stages. Every stage has the essential appeal of Jagger and company whirring away as they did when they first began. Voodoo Lounge has been credited for the same sense of heading back to where the riches lie, but it is a credit to The Stones who tried and failed, solo and collectively after this record to reach a new sound. Some Girls feels like a soft farewell. Closer Shattered has the finality to it. The Stones were shattered by this time, but they would bounce back far sooner than expected – though the short-lived finality within is as tense and exciting now as it was back when the band looked like they were saying goodbye.