The Anniversary of the Rolling Stones’ “Tattoo You” (1981)
Today is the 42nd anniversary of the release of the 1981 Rolling Stones album, Tattoo You.
I consider this the last truly great Rolling Stones album. When I was a sophomore in college, I bought it and wore the vinyl out. Neighbors used to bang on the walls. I’m not sure of they were keeping time or telling me to turn it down. I didn’t care. Some experiences are meant to be lived over the top.
There’s not a weak filler track on this entire album from start to finish. It’s loaded. Classic blues. Rock n’ roll the way it’s meant to be played and sung. Perhaps what really separates it from good to great is the album is laced with a meaty saxophone throughout. A near perfect listening experience. Great vocal harmonies and Jagger showing range like nothing since 1972’s brilliant Exile on Main Street. Indeed, this album is a throwback to the greatest Stones’ period 1968-72. However, there’s some fresh groundbreaking territory here too, after the Stones dabbled in disco and dance tracks in the lost period of the late 70s. It’s almost a comeback. Indeed, Tattoo You Side 2 seems to be an obvious attempt to marry classic rock with Motown, powered by the Stones’ unmistakable riffs that have become signature sounds of generations.
Oddly enough, “Start Me Up” on Side 1 is the only song I skipped. Overplayed, it’s the most commercially successful track on the album. “Start Me Up” still gets played at sports arenas, usually after timeouts at NBA games. It is timeless. That said, I most enjoyed rehearing the forgotten gems, the buried treasures, and the catalog of tracks that didn’t get much airplay back then and are largely unknown now. Anyone of these songs is as good as anything put out by any band today.
This morning, I saw a post from Michael Waters citing today’s anniversary date. I clicked on a song from Tattoo You, when -like a potato chip- that led to another and another until the entire bag of goodies was wolfed down in a swoop of hunger for more. An hour later, I was done. This was the first time I’d listened to Tattoo You all the way through in more than 30 years. It was like hearing the album for the first time. I guess I’d just forgotten how amazing this album was, and is. Such is the joy of great music. It was akin to “Waiting on a Friend,” and having a surprise party delivered.
I just had to share that.
