The Rolling Stones
It's Only Rock'N'Roll

THE REVIEW

From the masterpiece 'Exile On Main Street' onwards, the Rolling Stones moved to a point where they could operate without having to contend with the trends of the moment.

Essentially, it can be seen how much they wanted to stay true to the primary function of rock'n'roll, which is to produce music to dance to. What the Stones did was essentially first shape and then readjust the mechanics of R&B to meet their personal needs. They achieved this goal by focusing solely on the greatest mannerisms of the genre: rhythm, tension, energy. And this album achieves the purpose with subdued intelligence, highlighted by tracks like "Luxury" which represents how the Stones interpret reggae rhythm by transforming it into a neoclassic, "If You Really Want To Be My Friend", a brilliant excursion into the "ghetto", and "Fingerprint File" where every note of this reproduction elevates the song to Stones' quintessential rank.

The other tracks are typical Stones' works "polished to perfection" that render all those punk bands in 60s style like the New York Dolls useless and empty, whose only ambition was to be mistaken for the Stones. This album also includes two love songs with Jagger playing the role of the doe-eyed amateur singing "Angie", the embarrassing "Till The Next Goodbye" and the exquisite "Time Waits For No One" with its immortal line "Time can tear down a building or destroy a woman's face", by far the most convincing.

There's much more in this album than it seems at first listen.