The Rolling Stones – Stripped Review

At some point, the all-time greats retrieve what they can of their beloved sound through a stripped-back set. The Rolling Stones left it a little late. Their studio work had been, up to this point, miserable at best. What followed was little better, but the band made it clear they were still a live attraction. Stripped makes this clear. Some of the all-time great songs to be found in the Mick Jagger-fronted group’s discography pulled into a softer, inevitably tender sound. Crucial to any successful acoustic adaptation, as Bob Dylan found with his MTV Unplugged performance that same year, is feeding the audience a tempo and tone they can recognise. You can change as much as you want about the vocal delivery, the instrumental arrangements, as long as they have a clear connection to the original. The Rolling Stones bring on that balance brilliantly with Stripped, adapting their best works to those acoustic-driven charms as though they were meant to sound this way all along.  

Catchy meets cool on Stripped, particularly with album opener Street Fighting Man. This is from a period where The Rolling Stones were finding themselves in search of new meaning. They do this by covering Like a Rolling Stone, a Dylan cover, which works because Jagger has a similar depth to his voice as the original songwriter. But it also works because The Rolling Stones feel like an opposite to Dylan around this time, despite both reconnecting with their hits for the sake of continuing to massage audience expectations. Dylan, at least, still detests doing so and will subvert what he can, when he can, while Jagger seems keen to play the hits and remain a pop superstar. You can hear that in their cover of Like a Rolling Stone, the occasional shout to get the crowd involved, failing as it does it’s still a strong rendition. Other efforts in the set are observations of The Rolling Stones’ longevity. Rarities which would otherwise be left off of the set, like The Spider and the Fly, are leaned into nicely.  

Beyond rarities and the shock of hearing stripped-back songs by one of the biggest rock and roll groups the world may ever see, there is a lot to love in the nuance Stripped provides. A few floating piano notes on Wild Horses is a delight to hear, while the vocal work from Jagger is nothing short of inspired. A little close to the studio version, but that’s a comment on the quality of his vocal strengths than an observation of the tempo similarities. Dead Flowers is a real standout too, overshadowing the preceding Let it Bleed performance thanks to its playful, bluesy tone and the dedication Jagger and the band make to reviving such a sound for themselves. They strayed far away from this tone in the past but, as Stripped proves, never lost their knack for such a sound.  

What could have been a nostalgia trip for the band is actually a considered and charm-filled effort from the group, a chance for Jagger and the band to explore their best works. It makes all the difference that their on-stage presence had rarely dwindled in this time. That’s what matters most to Stripped, irrespective of the new form or tone taken on the likes of Love in Vain or Sweet Virginia. Often mesmerising, always consistent, Stripped is a way of reconnecting with The Rolling Stones that some may have found impossible at the time of release. Jagger and the band were so far off the mark in the studio that it seemed nigh impossible they would ever regroup for a solid effort, let alone one so emotionally valuable and charming as this one. Love in Vain grasps that acoustic beauty better than most of the songs here. Latch onto it. Stripped is the gift that keeps on giving.