The Magnificent Seven: Sticky Fingers
This is this sixth in a series of articles that looks at seven albums appreciated by the author. In terms of selection criteria: the albums must be most frequently listened to in their entirety. The albums must also have enormous personal relevance: they are corner stones. It may not be cool, but it is me.
#6
Sticky Fingers, The Rolling Stones
I feel like there isn’t much I can say about the content and form of this album that hasn’t been said already: the flawless transitions. The undulating waves that start in “Sway" and circle back again at 3:34 in "Moonlight Mile". The legend of Muscle Shoals. The embedded Side A Side B of "Can’t You Hear Me Knocking."
Gun to my head, this is my favorite Rolling Stones album. The journey is a little less epic than Exile, but it is still transporting, atmospheric, familiar in its twists and turns, a tight 46 minute odyssey. Soundtrack of drinking gin with my Dad, soundtrack of desire, soundtrack of heartbreak. Companion on New York City streets, in East African solitude, a palantír for the last 20 years, shifting but constant. As a kid I used to play with the zipper on the front cover of the record, oblivious to its meaning and brazen topography.
I think this album’s dynamism comes from its diversity. Peaks and valleys signify highs and lows, maybe indicating an inconsistent quality? Far from it. There are so many tones, so many shapes, a variety of paces. I’m sure producer friends can demystify it, but to me it’s pure sorcery. It is beyond atmospheric.
Mind bending that Exile came just over a year later, surely some of the most creative 385 days in the last fifty years (yes Beatles fans, get at me).
Writing about why I love this album is like writing about why I love my feet - they have always been there. Every now and then I look down at them and say ‘Wow, thanks for carrying me,’ but most of the time, they are just there. An essential part of who I am.
Key Tracks: “Sway" is my favorite Rolling Stones song, an almost impossible honor. I love its introspection and how it feels like trying to contain a chaos of emotions. To recognize the expanse of the album, I’d also pick "Can’t You Hear Me Knocking.” That guitar lick makes me feel invincible, the back beat and the voices behind it in encouragement. If you listen to this song and don’t start strutting, it’s too late to check your pulse, you’re already dead. And then, to end with "Moonlight Mile,” after “Dead Flowers”…profound.
Emma Impink appreciates wild horses.