| The Rolling Stones – Sway Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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As Mick Fleetwood observed several years ago, the Stones' latter-day pop-cultural image has diminished their accomplishments as an innovative, creative band. This tendency leaves many, who apparently don't like the band or most of its music, to belittle Mick and Keith, usually for not being as brilliantly virtuosic as Mick Taylor, not being as "great" as Led Zeppelin, and on and on. Of course, this misses the point that the Stones, even if you believe they peaked in the early '70s, created more standard-setting rock and roll in their first 10 years than most subsequent bands after decades in the business. Furthermore, how can one question or casually dismiss the quality of the Stones' lyrics when they, among few other peers (Lennon-McCartney, Dylan, Neil Young, Lou Reed) wrote the template of what rock lyrics could and should say? I can only conclude that people who make these statements haven't really listened. You want great rock lyrics? How 'bout "Paint it Black," "Mother's Little Helper," "Get Off My Cloud," "Brown Sugar," "Sympathy for the Devil," "Gimme Shelter," "Blinded by Rainbows" and "Moonlight Mile" ... just for starters, of course. Say what you will about Mick Jagger's image, but the man – along with Keith, of course – always had a way with words. |
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| The Rolling Stones – Sway Lyrics | 12 years ago |
|
As Mick Fleetwood observed several years ago, the Stones' latter-day pop-cultural image has diminished their accomplishments as an innovative, creative band. This tendency leaves many, who apparently don't like the band or most of its music, to belittle Mick and Keith, usually for not being as brilliantly virtuosic as Mick Taylor, not being as "great" as Led Zeppelin, and on and on. Of course, this misses the point that the Stones, even if you believe they peaked in the early '70s, created more standard-setting rock and roll in their first 10 years than most subsequent bands after decades in the business. Furthermore, how can one question or casually dismiss the quality of the Stones' lyrics when they, among few other peers (Lennon-McCartney, Dylan, Neil Young, Lou Reed) wrote the template of what rock lyrics could and should say? I can only conclude that people who make these statements haven't really listened. You want great rock lyrics? How 'bout "Paint it Black," "Mother's Little Helper," "Get Off My Cloud," "Brown Sugar," "Sympathy for the Devil," "Gimme Shelter," "Blinded by Rainbows" and "Moonlight Mile" ... just for starters, of course. Say what you will about Mick Jagger's image, but the man – along with Keith, of course – always had a way with words. |
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