Besides the music of The Rolling Stones, what I really also like about this album is the die-cut design, with the Rolling Stones' members faces alongside those of select female celebrities inserted into a copy of an old Valmor Products Corporation advertisement. The cover has the faces of celebrities like Lucille Ball, Liza Minnelli Farrah Fawcett among others. But sadly this idea bounced back on the band, as the members made the cover without due permission from Valmor.

The album was quickly re-issued with a redesigned cover that removed all the celebrities, replaced with black and punk style garish colours with the phrase Pardon our appearance – Cover under re-construction in the inner sleeve.  The color schemes of green, yellow, blue and pink varied on different markets. But it was a novel idea that makes it stand apart from their earlier albums.

Though I am not really obsessed with The Rolling Stones, a few of their songs strike out on my list of favorites and on this album too, a few highlights caught my attention. The bands sixth studio album for their Rolling Stones Records label (distributed by Atlantic in the US and Canada and EMI elsewhere) was released in June of 1978.

Despite a mixed response to 1976's ‘Black and Blue’ album and the tour thereafter which also saw guitarist Keith Richards get arrested for heroin in 1977 (while recording a live album) and losing their engineer Keith Harwood in a car crash, Richards and Mick Jagger wrote a lot of songs to bring the magic of The Rolling Stones back on course after the bad phase. It was also the first full studio album with guitarist Ron Wood, along with bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts.

Opening with the hit Miss You which is a disco rocker, you also have other rockers like When the Whip Comes Down which just rocks with lot of electric guitars, moving to The Temptations' ballad of Just My Imagination which the band turned into a killer rocker with some modified lyrics from Mick and a key change. The title track as many would know, brought in a load of controversy, but it rocks nevertheless. The song took on the topic of nationalities and race and the lyrics spoke of black women. One line went like "……Black girls just wanna get fucked all night…" which drew strong protests from various groups, many seeking a total ban on the song. Side A closes with the rocker Lies which saw the band embrace the punk movement as well as the disco movement.

Flip over and it’s a country twist with Far Away Eyes, to a bit of punk with Respectable, Before They Make Me Run to the topper of the album and a much loved favorite and also a Top 10 hit the rocker ballad Beast of Burden which is a great song and would become a staple for the band. The band closes the album with the punk influenced Shattered.  The album may not have many great tracks, but a listen to the entire album showcases the Rolling Stones hard rock sound that makes it a definitive Stones album and proves the Rolling Stones are truly the kings of classic rock music.

Rating: ****

Reviewed by: Verus Ferreira

Release date: 1978

Label: Warner Music