Two more albums released by the Rolling Stones. The 1980s were a mystery for the Stones, and the growing fracture between Mick Jagger and Keith Richards exasperated their blurred focus.
The 1980s, New Wave, post-punk, electronic music, world beats and that MTV thing made stars overnight. The 1980s would also see Jagger and Richards making solo albums for the first time.
Undercover and Dirty Work are my least favorite Stones studio albums. That should alert you to my opinions about these albums. I haven’t listened to these albums in years, so I’ll take a listen or two to each, and report back. Let’s do this!
Undercover (1983)
“…what distinguishes Undercover is its bleak, nihilistic attitude — it’s teeming with sickness, with violence, kinky sex, and loathing dripping from almost every song.” – Allmusic.com
Hardly a resounding endorsement of an album. It’s one of the Stones widest variety of musical genres. It feels like the songs were written with MTV in mind.
Recorded November 1982 – August 1983, at Pathé Marconi (Boulogne Billancourt), Compass Point (Nassau, Bahamas) and the Hit Factory (New York, New York).
Produced by Jagger, Richards and Chris Kimsey.
The Rolling Stones:
Mick Jagger – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, harmonica
Keith Richards – rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals; lead vocals on “Wanna Hold You”; bass guitar on “Pretty Beat Up”
Ronnie Wood – rhythm and lead guitar, backing vocals; bass guitar on “Tie You Up” and “Wanna Hold You”
Bill Wyman – bass guitar, percussion; Yamaha piano on “Pretty Beat Up”
Charlie Watts – drums
Additional personnel
Chuck Leavell – keyboards
Ian Stewart – piano on “She Was Hot” and “Pretty Beat Up”, percussion
David Sanborn – saxophone
CHOPS – horns
Sly Dunbar – percussion
Moustapha Cissé – percussion
Ibrahima Coundoul – percussion
Martin Ditcham – percussion
Jim Barber – additional guitar on “Too Much Blood”
All songs Jagger/Richards, except “Pretty Beat Up” written by Jagger/Richards/Wood.
- “Undercover of the Night” 4:31 – This is the only song on the album I remember by name. The song screams Miami Vice and sounds very 1980s, which means dated. It’s like smelling someone cologne before they enter the room.
- “She Was Hot” 4:40 – Very average Stones song. I think she song has potential, just not much originality.
- “Tie You Up (The Pain of Love)” 4:16 – The music is not bad, more riffs from Richards bag of treats. The lyrics are rather juvenile.
- “Wanna Hold You” 3:52 – Keith & Ronnie having a rave. Richards singing lead, a drunken swagger kind of breezy song. No Mick Jagger in sight.
- “Feel on Baby” 5:03 – An Island vibe, punchy riff. Rather generic sounding.
- “Too Much Blood” 6:14 – The video is awful, Jagger should be ashamed. Even for him it’s too much. Too much blood, catchy title. Not really.
- “Pretty Beat Up” 4:03 features Stones roadie Jim Barber on lead and rhythm guitar. Jagger conducted the session with Watts, Wyman and Chuck Leavell. Richards and Woods might have overdubbed onto the basic track. Lyrics are forgettable. The music is undercooked and overproduced.
- “Too Tough” 3:52 – In the mold of “She’s So Cold” and “Shattered.” That’s not a compliment.
- “All the Way Down” 3:12 – Another prefab song from the Stones song generator. Not great, not awful, it’s just there.
- “It Must Be Hell” 5:03 – I’ve heard this riff before, the Stones are stealing from themselves.
Final thoughts
This is a very confusing album. It’s like a puzzle where none of the pieces fit. Musically, these songs sound like ideas, not finished songs, and most are not worthy of the Stones. If I were the record company I would have sent it back with a note: “Do you have anything left over from Exile on Main St.?” Keith said that Mick used his good ideas in his solo albums. His solo albums weren’t that memorable.
Dirty Work (1986)
Designed as a return to their rock & roll roots after several years of vague dance experiments, Dirty Work is hampered by uneven songs and undistinguished performances, as well as a slick, lightly synthesized production that instantly dates the album to the mid-’80s. – Allmusic.com
The review above is exactly how I felt about Undercover. Two underwhelming albums in a row. This was the decade of Jagger and Richards feuding, and record buyers got the worst of it. The Stones by numbers, following in their own footprints, instead of creativity, they settled for repeat. Unfortunately, they were not plagiarizing their best songs.
Recorded 5 April – 17 June and 16 July – 17 August 1985 at Pathé Marconi, Boulogne Billancourt RPM & Right Track (NYC)
Produced by Jagger, Richards and Steve Lillywhite. Engineered by Dave Jersey. Lillywhite was one of the most sought after young producers at the time (XTC, U2, Peter Gabriel, Talking Heads).
Four co-writing credits for Ronnie Wood! Perhaps with Jagger so focused on recording his first solo album, Richards turned to Wood to help generate ideas in the studio.
The Rolling Stones
Mick Jagger – lead and backing vocals, harmonica
Keith Richards – electric and acoustic guitars, piano, backing vocals; lead vocals on “Too Rude” and “Sleep Tonight”
Ronnie Wood – electric, acoustic and pedal steel guitar, bass guitar, tenor saxophone, backing vocals; drums on “Too Rude” and “Sleep Tonight”
Bill Wyman – bass guitar, synthesizer
Charlie Watts – drums
Additional personnel
Chuck Leavell – keyboards
Ivan Neville – backing vocals, bass guitar, organ, synthesizer
Jimmy Page – lead electric guitar on “One Hit (To the Body)”
Bobby Womack – backing vocals, electric guitar on “Back to Zero”
Philippe Saisse – keyboards
Anton Fig – drums, shakers
Steve Jordan – drums
John Regan – bass on “Winning Ugly”
Dan Collette – trumpet
Ian Stewart – piano on “Key to the Highway”
Marku Ribas – percussion
Jimmy Cliff, Don Covay, Beverly D’Angelo, Kirsty MacColl, Dolette McDonald, Janice Pendarvis, Patti Scialfa and Tom Waits – backing vocals
Besides Jagger’s absences, Charlie Watts was battling alcohol and heroin addiction issues, and missed a number of sessions. There were a lot of guest musicians in the mix for this album.
Sadly, this was the last album that Ian “Stu” Stewart would play on. He passed away suddenly from a heart attack.
- “One Hit (To the Body)” Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood 4:44 The music is okay, not really creative or unique. The lyrics are not interesting, and the video features too much preening.
- “Fight” Jagger, Richards, Wood 3:09 The Stones at their most generic. Richards or Wood reusing past Stones riffs.
- “Harlem Shuffle” Bob Relf, Ernest Nelson 3:23 The most interesting song on the album is a cover.
- “Hold Back” Jagger, Richards 3:53 There might be a song in this mess. The production is hopeful.
- “Too Rude” Lindon Roberts 3:11 Reggae, with way too much echo and no bass. According to notes, this is Richard’s and Wood alone in the studio.
- “Winning Ugly” Jagger, Richards 4:32 Mediocre
- “Back to Zero” Jagger, Richards, Chuck Leavell 4:00 The music has promise, perhaps the addition of Leavell. The lyrics are nothing special and Jagger shout/singing every song is annoying.
- “Dirty Work” Jagger, Richards, Wood 3:53 More of the same.
- “Had It with You” Jagger, Richards, Wood 3:19 From the creativity mold of “Shattered” and “She’s So Cold”
- “Sleep Tonight” Jagger, Richards Richards’ singing puts me to sleep.
Final thoughts
Where do I start? Dirty Work was the Stones first album under a new recording deal with Columbia Records. One would hope that they might have given the record company something commensurate with the advance the Stones received. Not so.
The Steve Lillywhite production matches the quality of the songwriting. Generic and without inspiration. This sounds like an album of leftovers without the hidden gem.
The two albums above represent the nadir of the Rolling Stones. The band had set their own bar high and were able to walk comfortably beneath it. Just showing up and jamming in the studio wasn’t working. The conflict between Jagger and Richards was certainly a factor, as was the competition of solo albums for the best material. Are these terrible albums? No. But they rank at or near the bottom of their discography.
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