Rolling Stones: Sticky Fingers (1971)

Rolling Stones released the excellent "Sticky Fingers" on April 23, 1971. It's quite possible this is their very best album!?

By Martin Johannessen

The album was recorded at Muscle Shoals Sound in Alabama, and Olympic Studios and Trident Studios in London, with Jimmy Miller as the producer and Glyn Johns as the sound engineer.

Jimmy Miller produced both earlier and later albums with the Rolling Stones. Glyn Johns had also worked with the band as well as artists like Led Zeppelin and The Beatles. It took almost a year to complete the album, and it is said to have cost $100,000.

The iconic cover, created by Andy Warhol, is as legendary as the band and the album.

New Label, New Logo, New Guitarist
This was the first album on their own Rolling Stones Records. It was also the first album without Brian Jones, who died in 1969. And it's the first one with Mick Taylor as a full-fledged member. He was an important addition to the band, writes Keith Richards in the autobiography "Life" (2010):

"Mick Taylor being in the band on that '69 tour certainly sealed the Stones together again. So we did 'Sticky Fingers' with him. And the music changed - almost unconsciously. You write with Mick Taylor in mind, maybe without realizing it, knowing he can come up with something different."

The new logo, the one with the tongue, you know, was created by the graphic designer John Pasche. He is said to have received £50 for the job. Jagger says:

"I was looking for a logo when we started Rolling Stones Records. I had this calendar on my wall, it was an Indian calendar, which you’ll see in Indian grocery stores, and it’s the goddess Kali, which is the very serious goddess of carnage and so forth. And she has, apart from her body, this tongue that sticks out. So I took that to John Pasche and he 'modernised' it somewhat."

Read the Story of the Epic Tongue: Rolling Stones Tongue & Lips

Songwriting and Collaborations
Most of it was written by Jagger/Richards. They co-wrote "Sister Morphine" with Marianne Faithfull, and the cover song "You Gotta Move" is actually an old spiritual song adapted by Fred McDowell and Gary Davis. The song had already been on the setlist for a while.

On "Sister Morphine," they are joined by Ry Cooder on slide guitar. He had debuted as a solo artist in 1970 but had previously played banjo with Bill Monroe in the 60s, and guitar, bass, and percussion on Captain Beefheart's debut album in 1967.

But the new guitarist was in mind when the album was written, according to Keef:

"Some of the 'Sticky Fingers' compositions were rooted in the fact that I knew Taylor was going to pull something great."

More Piano Players Than Guitarists
Rolling Stones er jo et gitar-band. Men hele seks pianister er med på plata; Jim Dickinson spiller piano på “Wild Horses”. Nicky Hopkins spiller piano på “Sway” og “Can't You Hear Me Knocking". Jack Nitzsche spiller piano på “Sister Morphine”. Billy Preston spiller orgel på “Can't You Hear Me Knocking" og “I Got the Blues”. Ian Stewart spiller piano på “Brown Sugar” og “Dead Flowers. Og Jim Price spiller trompet og piano på “I Got the Blues” og “Moonlight Mile” (Bill Wyman spiller også elektrisk piano på denne).

En annen gjest og venn av bandet er Bobby Keys som spiller saksofon på fire av låtene. Han hadde tidligere spilt med artister som Joe Cocker, George Harrison og B.B. King.

Se “Dead Flowers” live på The Marquee i 1971 below.

The Perfect Stones Album

In my ears, "Sticky Fingers" is the perfect Stones album. Everything is good. Everything is cool. Everything is tough. It's like a return to basics.

As mentioned, it took a long time to get the album done. Their deal with Decca had expired, and they had started their own label. Brian Jones was dead, and Mick Taylor was new. And even though they had made around a billion dollars, the band was practically broke.

So, there was no guarantee it would be a success. But it was, with top spots in the USA, England, Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Norway. Not bad at all!

The Singles

"Brown Sugar" was released as a single the week before the album hit the shelves and went straight to the top of the charts in the USA, and reached second place in England. "Wild Horses" was also released as a single in the USA, but it only reached 28th place.

Watch "Brown Sugar" performed live at the Marquee Club in 1971 below.

Regarding "Wild Horses," Mick Jagger says: "I love country music, but I find it very hard to take it seriously. I also think a lot of country music is sung with the tongue in cheek, so I do it tongue in cheek."

In many ways, "Sticky Fingers" was the beginning of what we know them as today; The biggest rock 'n' roll brand on the planet!

Watch "I Got The Blues" performed live at The Marquee Club in 1971 below.

Rock 'n' roll didn't get any tougher than this in the early 70s, and it's just as cool today.