With outfits that look like a dropped paint palette and a sound unbecoming of the band, The Rolling Stones fail to do much of anything on Dirty Work. Tensions were high, crucial members Charlie Watts and Bill Wyman were largely absent from the studio when it mattered most, so it should be no surprise that the album is a car crash. No wonder Keith Richards would depart, however briefly, to work on satisfying blues-rock solo albums. Dirty Work did do some good, at least, in that it affected Richards so sourly that he made Talk is Cheap. But Dirty Work, for all we can salvage a few parts, is a clear example of two great creatives at a crossroads. Time has vindicated Richards’ desire to remain a rock and roll outfit, but the pop music itch which Mick Jagger must occasionally scratch at like an open wound pushed the band too far into uncomfortable and occasionally embarrassing noise here. You can’t hear trouble in the first few notes, but it’s brewing.
That break between Jagger and Richards is clear on Dirty Work. Some songs sound like they’re committed to establishing the band’s blues rock brilliance further, like opener One Hit (To the Body), but there are moments where pop-minded Jagger wins out. It’s a brief, positive start for the album that listeners would do right to cling to. Everything after it is abysmal. For all the rightful knocks Dirty Work has taken, One Hit (To the Body) and its allegory of addiction is rather touching. Jagger has written stronger songs on the same topic but it’s a glimmer of hope in an otherwise miserable album. Fight is relatively harmless and follow-up Harlem Shuffle is just misguided, rather than offensively poor. Despite Watts and Wyman being absent for much of the recording, the instrumental quality of The Rolling Stones remains. That will always be the case no matter how far Jagger drifts into pop rock.
His writing is what breaks down Dirty Work. It’s not disgustingly bad work, but it reduces the quality wordplay The Rolling Stones were best known for to a desperately simple look at life in the band. What was once filled with contemplative, urgent commentaries is now struggling on the likes of Hold Back. No prize for guessing what that song is about, and what its conclusion is. Too Rude is the first real horror, though it sounds like a great achievement compared to the miserable, politically inclined and messy Winning Ugly. What Jagger says is not the problem, he clearly has a read on the public distrust of the times, but how he writes, the words he chooses, are a far cry from his greatest scribbles. It’s a real shame, because a song like Back to Zero serves as an example of what Jagger has always wanted from this shift to pop music, but has never managed, either with The Rolling Stones or in his miserable solo discography.
Had it been afforded some sharper writing and a little more creative freedom for Richards, Dirty Work could’ve been a massive success. It was never going to match up with the quality of the band in the 1970s, but times change and artists who refuse or fail to evolve with the times become dated by popular tones. Jagger must have argued this when Richards wanted to keep the blues rock fundamentals. Both come out as losers with Dirty Work, a lopsided album which, occasionally, has some excellent moments. The title track is neutered somewhat by the instrumental misdirection, but the guitar work from Richards and Ronnie Wood is well worth hearing. Little snippets of hope remain in Dirty Work, though it’s never enough to save the album.
