Tattoo You (1981) is considered the last really important album by The Rolling Stones. But that was not without a struggle, the recordings went so laboriously that the band eventually had to go back to material that had been on the shelf for years. The opener Start Me Up, for example, was once written by Keith Richards as a reggae song. When that didn't work after endless trying, it was successfully
… transformed into a rocker. The song would later serve as an opening number at concerts many more times. The first part of the album is characterized by delicious no-nonsense rock and roll and despite the 'second-hand' character of the material, the songs are catchy and urgent. On side b (the second part of the CD) there is a throttle with beautiful soul ballads like Worried About You and No Use In Crying. The closing track Waiting On A Friend, with beautiful sax work by 'jazz cat' Sonny Rollins, was one of the last big single hits by the Stones. (MS)more
