After a period of severe animosity between leaders Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, The Rolling Stones decided to bury the proverbial hatchet and get back to what they did best. The result was Steel Wheels, the 1989 album which proved a ringing return to form after a rough patch.
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The album also served as a template for Stones albums to follow, with its blend of hard and soft and the band’s willingness to dip into many different genres. Here are the five songs that we believe are the best of the batch.
5. “Can’t Be Seen”
Keith Richards used the time between the 1986 Stones album Dirty Work and Steel Wheels to release a solo album, Talk is Cheap. It received a lot of attention at the time for a song (“You Don’t Move Me”) that took several clear shots at Mick Jagger. But the album also received excellent reviews, and Richards seemed to carry the momentum of that experience into Steel Wheels, as both of the songs on which he sings lead on the record are excellent. This breezy rocker features that inimitable Richards’ rhythmic groove and some great harmonies from Bernard Fowler.
4. “Blinded by Love”
As mentioned above, the Stones started with Steel Wheels to use their albums to survey many different styles. They’d often choose the classic rockers for lead singles, but the album tracks allowed them to branch out. “Blinded by Love” is a good example of this phenomenon. Back in the mid-’60s, the band would often dip into the baroque pop that was very popular at the time, and this track, replete with mandolin, harmonium, and fiddle, recalls those songs. Mick Jagger sings a tale about heartbreak throughout history as a warning to those who might be thinking about diving headlong into romance.
3. “Sad Sad Sad”
It’s important to remember that the prior album to Steel Wheels in the Stones’ catalog was Dirty Work. That 1986 album was a disaster, as the poor relations between band members meant their hearts really weren’t into it. As a result, the opening track on Steel Wheels needed to be sharp, if nothing else than to encourage the band’s fans that order had been restored. “Sad Sad Sad” came through in that department and then some. Its upbeat vibe is just what the doctor ordered to flush out all the bad mojo of the previous record, and it stands on its own as an invigorating blast of energy.
2. “Mixed Emotions”
In the same way that “Sad Sad Sad” was important as the album’s opening song, “Mixed Emotions” needed to be just right as the lead single. The Stones were wise in that they not only came back with a jolt of old-fashioned rock and roll, but they also seemed to address the lingering tension between them. You can hear the song’s lyrics as a plea from one lover to another to put aside the past and any leftover reticence. But you can also hear the song as a group therapy session, allowing Jagger and Richards to vent their frustrations before coming together again.
1. “Slipping Away”
One of the best traditions of late-era Stones has been the practice of letting Keith Richards take center stage on the closing track with a dusky ballad. And he never did it any better than on “Slipping Away.” Because of the length of their careers and the unflagging energy of their live shows over the years, the Stones have always represented the notion of staying eternally young at heart. But on “Slipping Away,” Richards acknowledges in soulful fashion how the passing time inevitably engenders loss of hope or opportunity, and of love.
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