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I’ve been a bit rough on you lately, haven’t I? I’ve been writing something akin to a ‘loose interpretation’ of a rock column. But hey, sometimes it’s
best to get right to the root, to flesh out the moth-balls and dust bunnies
that have been hanging out in the closet we call the past and explore the
reasons why a genre exists, not just what exists within its confines. All that aside, I do hope you’ve enjoyed the last few columns, despite their straying quality from the subject that is the very essence of this column: rock and roll.
To move things back into the rawk category, let’s take a closer look at a
band that will forever embody the spirit, sound and look of what rock
and roll is truly all about. I’m talking, of course, about that leviathan act:
The Rolling Stones.
For me to have simply picked one album to review would have been impossible.
You can not define the Stones in a single moment in time, instead you
must explore the whole journey, the whole pie, as it were, because one slice
is not enough to cover a band that has rocked into its fifth decade! This is why I was so happy when Forty Licks was released a couple of years ago.
Forty Licks is a compilation, a best-of album that doesn’t claim to be a
best-of album. In essence, it’s all here, from “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” to “Jumpin’ Jack Flash;” from “Ruby Tuesday” to “Start Me Up.”
While this may not satisfy a long-standing Stones fan (because these are really just the “hits” and there isn’t anything on this album that you haven’t heard a
million times before) the convenience of having all of their best tracks in one place cannot be ignored, nor should it. After all, it’s the hits that have put them in that untouchable place of rock and roll royalty.
If you’re the type of fan that enjoys the radio releases most, or if
you’re looking to avoid spending the serious amounts of cash it would
take to own all of the original albums, Forty Licks will work for you.
And if you’re truly the lucky type, you should climb into your red ‘vette
convertible, crank the heck out of one of the better driving tunes that
this band has so graciously supplied (might I suggest either “The Last
Time” or “19th Nervous Breakdown”) throw that beast into gear and head out
into the great North American highway system with a head full of rawk and
bad ideas. Take it from me; there isn’t a better band for that first
powerful feeling of wind and music and freedom.
