Thanks -- I'm glad you did this. I was in my mid-20s when "Dirty Work" was released and it came as something of a surprise because, from the tabloid gossip leading up to it, many of us thought there would never be another Stones album. Robert Christgau of the Village Voice ("The Dean of American Rock Critics") lowered his expectations and gave the album an "A" grade. (Well, he had a perverse/contrarian streak, but he was also realistic about what we could anticipate from this band by then.) As you point out, compared to what else was on commercial radio in 1986, "Dirty Work" hasn't actually dated as much as some of its contemporaries (from Wham! and Duran Duran to U2). And while that Annie Leibovitz cover photo features some regrettably '80s fashions and colors (oh, the teal! the crimson! the golden yellow!), I was there and that's exactly what the '80s looked like at the time. Steve Lilywhite knew what he was doing, and the recording itself isn't embarrassing (Charlie Watts does NOT have that dreaded, compressed "'80s drum sound"). Yes, the best tracks are probably the opener ("One Hit to the Body") and a vintage soul cover ("Harlem Shuffle"), but the energy level is consistently higher than the lethargic dullness of "Goats Head Soup" and "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll" from the previous decade. I stopped listening to the Stones by the time of "Steel Wheels," so I can't really say if "Dirty Work" is even their worst record of the last 40 years (1984-2024)...
Steel Wheels, Voodoo Lounge, Bridges to Babylon and A Bigger Bang are all far worse. Dirty Work is the last album of the old Stones--pretty played out, but still something there. Everything from Steel Wheels on is just completely out of gas, running on fumes and money, without a shred of what made them the greatest band ever. There's not a single song on those later albums that comes remotely close to the best of their 1965-74 genius era, and then lesser but still great 1975-85 era. They should have hung it up then.
This was the first Rolling Stones LP I ever bought, mainly due to hearing, and then buying, the single from this album, Harlem Shuffle. I actually enjoy every song on it and don’t have a problem with it at all. I would say the least enjoyable album is Black and Blue.
An eloquent defence, but by far their worst album for me. I still remember how disappointed I was when it came out - a Bob Dylan Self Portrait moment. It’s the weakness of the material and terrible vibe as much as the production.
It's tinny. I had in on high rotation when it came out. It's not as bad as everyone says, but it has a tinny sound. I still think it's better than Undercover, Steal Wheels, etc.
i love this album. I bought it when it was released when I was 14 and still think it's a great record. I agree, Jagger's vocals are amazing on this album....with that great growl and dynamics and I love the guitar work too. I don't think they made a better album after this one. This one has a great aggressive and rowdy feel which is what the Stones are about at their best. I think that 'one hit to the body' should have been the first single as hard Rock was big in that era and it would have fit right into what was popular on radio at the time....more than 'Harlem shuffle'. Also had they toured behind it,the album would have been a bigger success.
Unlike other Stones albums, there is little cohesion amongst the tracks on this album (even Undercover and Emotional Rescue have a cohesive sound). There are several tracks that truly feel like they're Mick's contribution or Keith's. It is noteworthy that few tracks are actually credited to Jagger/Richards! "One Hit" is a fantastic track - despite the fact the Jimmy Page is on lead guitar. "Hold Back" is one of my favorite all time tracks - but keep in mind I was a teenager when this album came out and the lyrics hit home to a kid in the 80s! "Sleep Tonight" and "Too Rude" are fantastic! And even the title track, "Dirty Work" is pretty cool! Overall, however, it just feels like a hodge podge of tracks at the end of the day - but overall "Their Satanic Majesties Request" is certainly the worst Stones album of all time!
Well, "Their Satanic Majesties Request" is a masterpiece in comparison to the deplorable crap they spat out throughout the period after 1978 to present date with "Blue & Lonesome" being the only listenable one. "Dirty Work" is of course the definitive tragic low point haha.
Disagree. Half the album is good including both of Keith’s tunes Too Rude and Sleep Tonight. The other half is mediocre at best. With that said, every Stones album has at least 5 quality songs.
I think their worst album is "BLUE AND LONESOME",nothink but blues-covers(and I like R&B!),but without the old energy, when they did "Manish boy"f.exp.! The most underrated album-imho-is UNDERCOVER,it´s full of energy,creativity and cool "sleazyness"and great videos (Undercover,She was hot,Too much blood)really fun to watch...!🤪
Satanic ist probably their worst it has Rainbow and 2000 light years and citadel and another land but everything else was minor. B & B is an excellent album, no filler, crazy mama is a great Rocker. also Hand of Fate. I like Dirty Work and prefer it to things like Undercover and Steel Wheels prefer
You started out great in mentioning Satanic Majesties Request and were dead on for me. Then you mentioned Black and Blue as having no filler and lost me. Eight song album with 2 unlistenable tracks - Melody and Cherry Baby. Hey Negrita isn’t much better. Two sappy ballads but Hand Of Fate is the best track. Crazy Mama is OK and Hot Stuff is repetitive disco
Lol. The album was a total mess. A mishmash of sub-Bowie Let's Dance-style synth-funk tracks (which were already horribly dated) interspersed with what sounded like weird rock-country nonsense. It was appropriately received at the time: their worst ever album! And then some.
I am beginning to like it more than I used to but I do still think it's flawed. A lot of it's outtakes leaked a few years ago and the album would have benefitted from it, songs like Strictly Memphis, Victor Hugo and Nobody's Perfect.
Not close. Not great but better than quite a few including the crummy Black And Blue, weak A Bigger Bang, Satanic Majesties Reauest, Englands Newest Hitmakers, Blue And Lonesome and the vastly overrated and obvious computer enhanced Jagger vocals on Hackney Diamonds
@@flyingburritobro68 Well, it's a subjective matter.......... hey man, you are, just like me, a Flying Burrito Brothers fan, aren't you? Really love that band (and a lot of other country-rock bands). I think that their three or four first albums are outstanding, the ones with Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman in the line up. But there are a few without them that are good too (Live in Amsterdam, the one with Country Gazette; Live in Tokyo; Sons of the Golden West and California Jukebox), not so great as when they had Gram and Chris in the lineup but a hell of a country-rock band. Have you ever listened to them? Greetings from Brazil!
Between The Buttons is unlistenable. I still cringe thinking of the tuba on "Something Happened To Me Yesterday." Satanic Majesties was actually a step up as far as I'm concerned.
Well, someone said that it could be released as a great EP, and it's right, I agree. There are four outstanding tracks in it: 2000 light years from home, She's a rainbow, 2000 man and Citadel. I love the 3D cover.
I love Dirty Work. ❤
One hit to the body is a really great song and dirty work is also a good song.
Dirty work is a very good album! “Had it with you “ is a fantastic Stones riff tune!
The band has been a lounge act since Tattoo You. They've been has beens for twice as long as they were a vital band.
Thanks -- I'm glad you did this. I was in my mid-20s when "Dirty Work" was released and it came as something of a surprise because, from the tabloid gossip leading up to it, many of us thought there would never be another Stones album. Robert Christgau of the Village Voice ("The Dean of American Rock Critics") lowered his expectations and gave the album an "A" grade. (Well, he had a perverse/contrarian streak, but he was also realistic about what we could anticipate from this band by then.) As you point out, compared to what else was on commercial radio in 1986, "Dirty Work" hasn't actually dated as much as some of its contemporaries (from Wham! and Duran Duran to U2). And while that Annie Leibovitz cover photo features some regrettably '80s fashions and colors (oh, the teal! the crimson! the golden yellow!), I was there and that's exactly what the '80s looked like at the time. Steve Lilywhite knew what he was doing, and the recording itself isn't embarrassing (Charlie Watts does NOT have that dreaded, compressed "'80s drum sound"). Yes, the best tracks are probably the opener ("One Hit to the Body") and a vintage soul cover ("Harlem Shuffle"), but the energy level is consistently higher than the lethargic dullness of "Goats Head Soup" and "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll" from the previous decade. I stopped listening to the Stones by the time of "Steel Wheels," so I can't really say if "Dirty Work" is even their worst record of the last 40 years (1984-2024)...
A bigger Bang is completely uninspired. Dirty Work is sometimes inspired, sometimes not. Same story with Under Cover: 5 good songs, 5 filler.
Steel Wheels, Voodoo Lounge, Bridges to Babylon and A Bigger Bang are all far worse. Dirty Work is the last album of the old Stones--pretty played out, but still something there. Everything from Steel Wheels on is just completely out of gas, running on fumes and money, without a shred of what made them the greatest band ever. There's not a single song on those later albums that comes remotely close to the best of their 1965-74 genius era, and then lesser but still great 1975-85 era. They should have hung it up then.
Emotional rescue,hands down the Stones do Disco music!
One hit to the Body is badass.
if this seems about some one on earth who liked the album ever since its out, I can only hope to be not the only one. all hits the spot.
This was the first Rolling Stones LP I ever bought, mainly due to hearing, and then buying, the single from this album, Harlem Shuffle. I actually enjoy every song on it and don’t have a problem with it at all. I would say the least enjoyable album is Black and Blue.
An eloquent defence, but by far their worst album for me. I still remember how disappointed I was when it came out - a Bob Dylan Self Portrait moment. It’s the weakness of the material and terrible vibe as much as the production.
It's tinny. I had in on high rotation when it came out. It's not as bad as everyone says, but it has a tinny sound. I still think it's better than Undercover, Steal Wheels, etc.
i love this album. I bought it when it was released when I was 14 and still think it's a great record. I agree, Jagger's vocals are amazing on this album....with that great growl and dynamics and I love the guitar work too. I don't think they made a better album after this one. This one has a great aggressive and rowdy feel which is what the Stones are about at their best. I think that 'one hit to the body' should have been the first single as hard Rock was big in that era and it would have fit right into what was popular on radio at the time....more than 'Harlem shuffle'. Also had they toured behind it,the album would have been a bigger success.
Another vote for One Hit to the Body.
Exile on mainstreet ❤
Black n blue very underrated
Fight is a great song!
No, it isn't.
What an amazigly coherent Keef!
It is one of the worst and there are quite a few to choose from. While Metamorphosis is not a proper album, it wins hands down.
Whichever album it may be, the Stones is worst album is still better than most artists' best
Don't be silly. You obviously haven't branched out musically if you think that.
Steel Wheels is their worst to me. Not bad, but boring.
Unlike other Stones albums, there is little cohesion amongst the tracks on this album (even Undercover and Emotional Rescue have a cohesive sound). There are several tracks that truly feel like they're Mick's contribution or Keith's. It is noteworthy that few tracks are actually credited to Jagger/Richards! "One Hit" is a fantastic track - despite the fact the Jimmy Page is on lead guitar. "Hold Back" is one of my favorite all time tracks - but keep in mind I was a teenager when this album came out and the lyrics hit home to a kid in the 80s! "Sleep Tonight" and "Too Rude" are fantastic! And even the title track, "Dirty Work" is pretty cool! Overall, however, it just feels like a hodge podge of tracks at the end of the day - but overall "Their Satanic Majesties Request" is certainly the worst Stones album of all time!
Well, "Their Satanic Majesties Request" is a masterpiece in comparison to the deplorable crap they spat out throughout the period after 1978 to present date with "Blue & Lonesome" being the only listenable one. "Dirty Work" is of course the definitive tragic low point haha.
Some Girls, and everything after it, is pure GARBAGE.
The song "Miss You" is basically Disco, and EVERYONE knows, DISCO SUCKS!!!
☮somos todos Stones; para sempre
winning ugly, back to zero, dirty work, fight, one hit, how is this a bad album.
Back to zero? That song is without a doubt the worst piece of rubbish the Stones ever did.
Disagree. Half the album is good including both of Keith’s tunes Too Rude and Sleep Tonight. The other half is mediocre at best. With that said, every Stones album has at least 5 quality songs.
I think their worst album is "BLUE AND LONESOME",nothink but blues-covers(and I like R&B!),but without the old energy,
when they did "Manish boy"f.exp.!
The most underrated album-imho-is UNDERCOVER,it´s full of energy,creativity and cool "sleazyness"and great videos
(Undercover,She was hot,Too much blood)really fun to watch...!🤪
Satanic ist probably their worst it has Rainbow and 2000 light years and citadel and another land but everything else was minor. B & B is an excellent album, no filler, crazy mama is a great Rocker. also Hand of Fate. I like Dirty Work and prefer it to things like Undercover and Steel Wheels
prefer
You started out great in mentioning Satanic Majesties Request and were dead on for me. Then you mentioned Black and Blue as having no filler and lost me. Eight song album with 2 unlistenable tracks - Melody and Cherry Baby. Hey Negrita isn’t much better. Two sappy ballads but Hand Of Fate is the best track. Crazy Mama is OK and Hot Stuff is repetitive disco
It does contain the last great Stones single,and video. One hit to the Body. That's it though. Nothing else.
GREAT ALBUM !!!!!
Robert Christgau gave it an A review
Lol. The album was a total mess. A mishmash of sub-Bowie Let's Dance-style synth-funk tracks (which were already horribly dated) interspersed with what sounded like weird rock-country nonsense. It was appropriately received at the time: their worst ever album! And then some.
well said.
NO.
I think A Bigger Bang is their worst. Super long album pretty much no standout songs
I like Dirty Work.
I am beginning to like it more than I used to but I do still think it's flawed. A lot of it's outtakes leaked a few years ago and the album would have benefitted from it, songs like Strictly Memphis, Victor Hugo and Nobody's Perfect.
Great rockin' album..
The worst.
Dirty Work is fine. Worst Stones album ist the second side of "Undercover". :)
Agree, my sister had Tattoo you, I saved up my hard earned pocket money to buy undercover, so dissapointed
Nope, Too Much Blood and All the Way Down are cool tunage
@@effdonahue6595She Was Hot is a straight up classic, too.
@@one_with_kevrything9825 yup! 👍
Voodoo Lounge is.
I agree that this was the Stones worst album.
Undercover is their worst album.
Not close. Not great but better than quite a few including the crummy Black And Blue, weak A Bigger Bang, Satanic Majesties Reauest, Englands Newest Hitmakers, Blue And Lonesome and the vastly overrated and obvious computer enhanced Jagger vocals on Hackney Diamonds
@@flyingburritobro68 Well, it's a subjective matter.......... hey man, you are, just like me, a Flying Burrito Brothers fan, aren't you? Really love that band (and a lot of other country-rock bands). I think that their three or four first albums are outstanding, the ones with Gram Parsons and Chris Hillman in the line up. But there are a few without them that are good too (Live in Amsterdam, the one with Country Gazette; Live in Tokyo; Sons of the Golden West and California Jukebox), not so great as when they had Gram and Chris in the lineup but a hell of a country-rock band. Have you ever listened to them? Greetings from Brazil!
I think Undercover is their best album after Some Girls (78).
Bridges to Babylon is the worst
Black & Blue is their worst. Not one good rocker on it. Hand of Fate & Crazy Mama, half assed rock n' roll at best.
I agree with you.
Hey Negrita, you forget one 🎉
Get yer ya yas is
Worst is “ Between the Buttons”.
Are you crazy? It's a masterwork!
Between The Buttons is unlistenable. I still cringe thinking of the tuba on "Something Happened To Me Yesterday." Satanic Majesties was actually a step up as far as I'm concerned.
Satanic Majesty's Request was their worst.
a great album...a very worthy reaction to sgt pepper.
no way - it was a rip of Sgt. Pepper, but it had some good tunes.
Well, someone said that it could be released as a great EP, and it's right, I agree. There are four outstanding tracks in it: 2000 light years from home, She's a rainbow, 2000 man and Citadel. I love the 3D cover.
Far from their worst album.
Sing This Song All Together* is the worst song on it however. Really brings the album down for me.
*Really, that 8+ minutes jam. 👎
Satanic majestic request is their worst album