The Rolling Stones’ ‘most ambitious’ album after Some Girls still has listeners split

Fans of the legendary rock group The Rolling Stones have suggested one album is their “most ambitious” since a creative peak in the late 1970s.

Some Girls marked a critical return to form for the Mick Jagger-fronted group, releasing just two years after Black and Blue. Fans regarded Some Girls as their best album in years, though it would be some time before the band brought on another wave of solid hits as they did in 1978. Some listeners took to the r/RollingStones subreddit and shared their thoughts on what the “most ambitious” album after Some Girls was. Opinion was split on which it was, with the group’s most recent release, 2023’s Hackney Diamonds, suggested as the best piece of work the band has made since the late 1970s. Other listeners suggested a few spots from the 1980s showcased The Rolling Stones are their determined best.

One user asked: “Best album after Some Girls? Tricky one as I think they have several great albums after that period including Emotional Rescue, Tattoo You, Steel Wheels, and Voodoo Lounge. Personally, I love Voodoo Lounge, but to me it’s a tight choice between Emotional Rescue and Tattoo You. I think Tattoo You would take the number one spot.”

Some users agreed their best from the period to follow Some Girls was either Emotional Rescue or Tattoo You. One user wrote: “Probably Tattoo You, but Undercover is likely my favourite because it’s their most ambitious and interesting. I also really love Blue and Lonesome, Hackney Diamonds, and Emotional Rescue as complete works.

“But honestly, there’s stuff I really love on Voodoo Lounge, Bridges to Babylon, and A Bigger Bang too, I just wish they had cut them down some.” Another added: “Tattoo You followed by Emotional Rescue, agreed. Personally, I don’t think they’ve delivered a great album since Tattoo You. Some great songs on each album, but not a great album.”

A third suggested Hackney Diamonds, the band’s most recent release, was their best. They suggested: “Probably Tattoo You, but I still very much like Hackney Diamonds as well.” Another agreed, adding: “That felt like a real return to form, my favourite from them (not counting the Blues covers record) since the 90s.”

But not everyone found Hackney Diamonds all that appealing, with one detractor suggesting it was an album which comes up short. They wrote: “I respect going out at that age to make a record, but I think age has nothing to do with it.

“They could’ve gone and recorded a whole record in the vein of that acoustic Muddy Waters cover, but it just sounded like an uninspired impersonation of the Stones, the lyrics suffer more than ever and it’s just putting so much emphasis on trying to ‘rock,’ and that’s about it.”