Black and Blue

Certain Songs #2081: The Rolling Stones – “Fool To Cry”

April 10, 2021 by Jim Connelly

Album: Black and Blue
Year: 1976

. . .

Look, I know that it’s utterly indefensible that I don’t really like “Angie,” but I love the equally cloying “Fool To Cry.” But here we are, I guess: at the beginning of their decadent period, the Stones rockers became quite rote, and the slow ones seemed to take center stage. I’m sure it all has to do with the depths of Keith’s heroin addiction, which on one hand didn’t stop them from releasing albums at a faster pace than say, The Who, but on the other hand meant that Mick was firmly in control, proving that the Stones needed both at full capacity.

Certain Songs #2080: The Rolling Stones – “Memory Motel”

April 9, 2021 by Jim Connelly

Album: Black and Blue
Year: 1976

. . .

Black and Blue is a very divisive Rolling Stones album. Given that it’s only eight songs, they cover a lot of ground: rock, funk, reggae, soul, even jazzy blues. Not all of it is great: both “Melody” and “Cherry Oh Baby” are utter misfires and that’s 25% of the record right there. But “Hot Stuff” and “Hey Negrita” groove convincingly, “Crazy Mama” and “Hate of Fate” are better riff rockers than anything on the previous two records, and both of the soul ballads are up there with their greatest slow ones.

That said, I’m guessing that if you don’t love all 7:09 of “Memory Motel,” then you probably don’t like Black and Blue, but I’ve always been fascinated by it, which shocks me as much of anybody.

Certain Songs #2079: The Rolling Stones – “Hand of Fate”

April 8, 2021 by Jim Connelly

Album: Black and Blue
Year: 1976

. . .

I could have sworn that “Hand of Fate” was a single, because I absolutely remember hearing it all the time on the radio back in 1976, but while I guess it’s possible that KYNO played it, I probably heard it on Rock 96 FM, which was an important bridge for me from the AM to the FM worlds for a couple of years there. It’s definitely one of those songs I knew backwards and forwards long before I purchased any Stones albums.

Before we get into all of that, we should probably level-set. A lot was going on in the world of the Rolling Stones. For one thing, Mick Taylor gave his notice at the end of 1974, so when the Black and Blue sessions started in Munich, they were framed as almost auditions. Which must have been weird to Ron Wood, who played on the 1975 U.S. tour that happened in between the sessions, making the final choice seemingly inevitable, even if some of the auditions continued to happen in Montreux, after the tour.