- Dirty Work (The Rolling Stones album)
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Dirty Work Studio album by The Rolling Stones Released 24 March 1986 Recorded 8 April – 17 June and 16 July – 17 August 1985 Genre Rock Length 40:03 Language English Label Rolling Stones/Columbia Records (initial release), Rolling Stones/Virgin (1st remaster), Universal Music (2nd remaster) Producer Steve Lillywhite and The Glimmer Twins The Rolling Stones chronology Undercover
(1983)Dirty Work
(1986)Steel Wheels
(1989)Singles from Dirty Work - "Harlem Shuffle"
Released: 28 February 1986 - "One Hit (To the Body)"
Released: 9 May 1986
Dirty Work is The Rolling Stones' 18th British and 20th American studio album. It was released on 24 March 1986 on the Rolling Stones label by CBS Records. Produced by Steve Lillywhite, the album was recorded during a period when relations between Mick Jagger and Keith Richards soured considerably, according to Richards' autobiography [1] Life, which was released October 26, 2010.[2] The album produced a hit for the Rolling Stones, their cover of "Harlem Shuffle", and featured a number of guest appearances, including contributions by Tom Waits, Patti Scialfa, Bobby Womack, and Jimmy Page on "One Hit (To the Body)".
In 1994 Dirty Work was remastered and reissued by Virgin Records, and again in 2009 by Universal Music.
Contents
Recording
The sessions for Dirty Work, the first album under the Rolling Stones' recording contract with CBS Records, began in April 1985 in Paris, running for two months before breaking for a short spell.[3] Mick Jagger had just released his first solo album, She's the Boss, much to Richards' annoyance, since the latter's first priority was the Rolling Stones and he was stung that Jagger was pursuing a career as a pop star.[citation needed] Jagger was often absent from the Dirty Work sessions while Richards recorded with Ronnie Wood, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts; Jagger's vocal parts were added later on.[citation needed] The divide between Jagger and Richards was on public view on 13 July 1985, when Jagger performed a solo set at Live Aid while Richards and Wood supported Bob Dylan's set on acoustic guitars.
Charlie Watts' involvement in the recording sessions was also limited; in 1994 Watts told Ed Bradley on 60 Minutes that during the 1980s he had been addicted to heroin and alcohol, and that this is why replacement drummers are credited on both Undercover and Dirty Work. Steve Jordan and Anton Fig play drums on some tracks; Ronnie Wood plays drums on "Sleep Tonight." Jagger would later cite Watts' personal state as one of the reasons he vetoed a tour in support of Dirty Work in 1986, preferring to start work on his second album, Primitive Cool.[citation needed]
Four of the album's eight original compositions are credited to Jagger/Richards/Wood and one to Jagger/Richards/Chuck Leavell. Only three are credited to Jagger/Richards, the lowest number on any Rolling Stones album since Out of Our Heads (1965). Dirty Work is the first Rolling Stones record to feature two tracks with Richards on lead vocals ("Too Rude" and "Sleep Tonight").
Following a further month of final recording in July and August 1985 (which saw guest appearances by Jimmy Page, Bobby Womack and Tom Waits), co-producer Steve Lillywhite supervised several weeks of mixing and the creation of 12-inch remixes. On 12 December, Ian Stewart, one of the Stones' founding members and their longtime pianist and road manager, died of a sudden heart attack at the age of 47. As a tribute, a hidden track of Stewart playing Big Bill Broonzy's "Key to the Highway" was added to close the album.
In March 1986, The Rolling Stones' cover of "Harlem Shuffle" (their first lead single from a studio album not to be a Jagger/Richards original since the earliest days) was released to a receptive audience, reaching #13 in the UK and #5 in the US, though it did not receive the same amount of exposure as previous hits.[citation needed] The follow-up single "One Hit (To the Body)" was a top 30 hit and featured a revealing video of Jagger and Richards seeming to trade blows.
Reception
Dirty Work was released a week after "Harlem Shuffle," reaching #4 in the UK and US (going platinum there), but the critical reaction was less than enthusiastic.[citation needed] Some reviewers felt the album was slight in places, with weak, generic songwriting from Richards and Wood and puzzlingly abrasive vocals from Jagger.[who?] Some felt Jagger was saving his best material for his solo records, though the critical reaction to those releases was muted as well.[citation needed] Dirty Work's critical standing has only marginally improved over the years, in part because it lacks any favorable hits or its lack of 70s style production.
However, in 1986, Robert Christgau called Dirty Work "a bracing and even challenging record [which] innovates without kowtowing to multi-platinum fashion or half-assed pretension. It's honest and makes you like it."[4] In 2004, Stylus Magazine's "On Second Thoughts" feature assessed the album as "a tattered, embarrassed triumph, by far the most interesting Stones album since Some Girls at every level: lyrical, conceptual, instrumental."[5] The re-evaluation of the album finds that despite its change of style to a then current 80s-style production and experimentation, the album features "the most venomous guitar sound of the Stones' career, and Jagger's most committed vocals."[5]
Artwork and packaging
The original vinyl release of Dirty Work came shrinkwrapped in dark red cellophane. Breaking with Rolling Stones tradition, Dirty Work was the first of their studio albums to contain a lyric sheet in the US, apparently at the insistence of then-distributor CBS Records. Also included was a comic strip, drawn inexpertly by Mick Jagger, called "Dirty Workout."[citation needed] who also pushed for the atypical colourful band-photo cover.[citation needed]
Professional ratings Review scores Source Rating Allmusic link Robert Christgau (A) link Rolling Stone link Track listing
- "One Hit (To the Body)" (Mick Jagger/Richards/Ronnie Wood) – 4:44
- "Fight" (Jagger/Richards/Wood) – 3:09
- "Harlem Shuffle" (Bob Relf/Ernest Nelson) – 3:23
- "Hold Back" (Jagger/Richards) – 3:53
- "Too Rude" (Lindon Roberts) – 3:11
- "Winning Ugly" (Jagger/Richards) – 4:32
- "Back to Zero" (Jagger/Richards/Leavell) – 4:00
- "Dirty Work" (Jagger/Richards/Wood) – 3:53
- "Had It with You" (Jagger/Richards/Wood) – 3:19
- "Sleep Tonight" (Jagger/Richards) – 5:10
An unlisted and uncredited excerpt from "Key to the Highway" (Big Bill Broonzy/Charles Segar – 0:33) closes the album. It was played by Ian Stewart, who died shortly after the recording sessions for the album had ended.
Outtakes and demo versions
The Dirty Work recording sessions took place at Pathe Marconi Studios in Paris, France, from 8 April to 17 June 1985 and RPM Studios, New York, from 16 July to 17 August 1985. Outtakes and demo versions from these sessions are available on various bootlegs, and include numbers like:
- "Strictly Memphis"
- "You're Too Much" (Keith Richards on vocal)
- "Treat Me Like a Fool" (Richards on vocal)
- "She Never Listens to Me" (Richards on vocal)
- "Loving You Is Sweeter Than Ever" (Hunter/Wonder)
- "Deep Love" (Richards on vocal)
- "What Am I Going to Do With Your Love"
- "Crushed Pearl" (Richards on vocal)
Personnel
- The Rolling Stones
- Mick Jagger – lead and backing vocals, harmonica
- Keith Richards – electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Too Rude" and "Sleep Tonight", piano
- Ronnie Wood – electric, acoustic and pedal steel guitar, backing vocals,, drums on "Sleep Tonight", tenor saxophone
- Charlie Watts – drums
- Bill Wyman – bass guitar and synthesizer
- Additional musicians
- Jimmy Cliff – backing vocals
- Dan Collette – trumpet
- Don Covay – backing vocals
- Beverly D'Angelo – backing vocals
- Anton Fig – shakers
- Chuck Leavell – keyboards
- Kirsty MacColl – backing vocals
- Dollette McDonald – backing vocals
- Ivan Neville – backing vocals, bass guitar, organ, synthesizer
- Jimmy Page – electric guitar on "One Hit (To the Body)"
- Janice Pendarvis – backing vocals
- Patti Scialfa – backing vocals
- Ian Stewart – piano
- Tom Waits – backing vocals
- Bobby Womack – backing vocals, electric guitar on "Back to Zero"
Chart positions
- Album
Year Chart Position 1986 UK Top 100 Albums 4[citation needed] 1986 The Billboard 200 4[citation needed] - Singles
Year Single Chart Position 1986 "Harlem Shuffle" The Billboard Hot 100 5[citation needed] 1986 "Harlem Shuffle" Mainstream Rock Tracks 2[citation needed] 1986 "Harlem Shuffle" Hot Dance Music/Club Play 4[citation needed] 1986 "Harlem Shuffle" Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Single Sales 5[citation needed] 1986 "Harlem Shuffle" UK Top 100 Singles 13[citation needed] 1986 "Winning Ugly" Mainstream Rock Tracks 10[citation needed] 1986 "One Hit (To the Body)" Mainstream Rock Tracks 3[citation needed] 1986 "One Hit (To the Body)" The Billboard Hot 100 28[citation needed] 1986 "One Hit (To the Body)" UK Top 100 Singles 80[citation needed] Certifications
Country Provider Certification
(sales thresholds)United States RIAA Platinum France SNEP Gold United Kingdom BPI Gold Germany IFPI Gold External links
Notes
- ^ Rich, Motoko (1 August 2007). "A Rolling Stone Prepares to Gather His Memories". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/08/01/books/01rich.html. Retrieved 6 March 2008.
- ^ Richards, Keith (2010). Life. Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 031603438X. OCLC 548642133.
- ^ Zentgraf, Nico. "The Complete Works of the Rolling Stones 1962-2008". http://www.nzentgraf.de/books/tcw/works1.htm. Retrieved 2008-03-20.
- ^ Christgau, Robert (15 April 1986). "Winning Ugly: An Essay on Dirty Work". Village Voice. http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/music/stones-86.php.
- ^ a b Soto, Alfred (September 2004). "On Second Thought: Rolling Stones - Dirty Work". Stylus Magazine. http://www.stylusmagazine.com/articles/on_second_thought/rolling-stones-dirty-work.htm.
The Rolling Stones UK studio albums
1964–1965- The Rolling Stones (1964)
- The Rolling Stones No. 2 (1965)
- Out of Our Heads (1965)
US studio albums
1964–1965- England's Newest Hit Makers (1964)
- 12 X 5 (1964)
- The Rolling Stones, Now! (1965)
- Out of Our Heads (1965)
- December's Children (And Everybody's) (1965)
Studio albums
1966–present- Aftermath (1966)
- Between the Buttons (1967)
- Their Satanic Majesties Request (1967)
- Beggars Banquet (1968)
- Let It Bleed (1969)
- Sticky Fingers (1971)
- Exile on Main St. (1972)
- Goats Head Soup (1973)
- It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (1974)
- Black and Blue (1976)
- Some Girls (1978)
- Emotional Rescue (1980)
- Tattoo You (1981)
- Undercover (1983)
- Dirty Work (1986)
- Steel Wheels (1989)
- Voodoo Lounge (1994)
- Bridges to Babylon (1997)
- A Bigger Bang (2005)
UK EPs - The Rolling Stones (1964)
- Five by Five (1964)
- Got Live If You Want It! (1965)
Live albums - Got Live If You Want It! (US only) (1966)
- Get Yer Ya-Yas Out! The Rolling Stones in Concert (1970)
- Love You Live (1977)
- "Still Life" (American Concert 1981) (1982)
- Flashpoint (1991)
- Stripped (1995)
- No Security (1998)
- Live Licks (2004)
- Shine a Light (2008)
Compilations - Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass) (1966)
- Flowers (US) (1967)
- Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2) (1969)
- Made in the Shade (1975)
- Time Waits for No One: Anthology 1971–1977 (1979)
- Sucking in the Seventies (1981)
- Rewind (1971–1984) (1984)
- Jump Back: The Best of The Rolling Stones (1993)
- Forty Licks (2002)
- Rarities 1971–2003 (2005)
Post-contract
ABKCO albums- Hot Rocks 1964–1971 (1971)
- More Hot Rocks (Big Hits & Fazed Cookies) (1972)
- Metamorphosis (1975)
- Singles Collection: The London Years (1989)
- The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus (1996)
- Singles 1963–1965 (2004)
- Singles 1965–1967 (2004)
- Singles 1968–1971 (2005)
- Rolled Gold: The Very Best of the Rolling Stones (2007)
Post-contract
Decca albums- Stone Age (1971)
- Gimme Shelter (1971)
- Milestones (1972)
- Rock 'n' Rolling Stones (1972)
- No Stone Unturned (1973)
- Rolled Gold: The Very Best of the Rolling Stones (1975)
- Solid Rock (1980)
- Slow Rollers (1981)
Miscellaneous albums - Jamming with Edward! (1972)
Box sets - The Rolling Stones Box Set (2009)
DVD releases - Stones at the Max (1992)
- The Rolling Stones: Voodoo Lounge Live (1995)
- Bridges to Babylon Tour '97–98 (1998)
- Four Flicks (2003)
- The Biggest Bang (2007)
Documentaries - Gimme Shelter (1970)
- Cocksucker Blues (1972)
- Ladies and Gentlemen: The Rolling Stones (1974)
- Let's Spend the Night Together (1983)
- 25x5 – The Continuing Adventures of the Rolling Stones (1989)
- Shine a Light (2008)
- Stones in Exile (2010)
Tours - British Tour 1963
- 1964 tours
- 1965 tours
- 1966 tours
- European Tour 1967
- American Tour 1969
- European Tour 1970
- UK Tour 1971
- American Tour 1972
- Pacific Tour 1973
- European Tour 1973
- Tour of the Americas '75
- Tour of Europe '76
- US Tour 1978
- American Tour 1981
- European Tour 1982
- Steel Wheels/Urban Jungle Tour
- Voodoo Lounge Tour
- Bridges to Babylon Tour
- No Security Tour
- Licks Tour
- A Bigger Bang Tour
Collaborators Producers and management Related articles The Rolling Stones album discography UK studio albums
1964–1967The Rolling Stones (1964) · The Rolling Stones No. 2 (1965) · Out of Our Heads (1965) · Aftermath (1966) · Between the Buttons (1967)
US studio albums
1964–1967England's Newest Hit Makers (1964) · 12 X 5 (1964) · The Rolling Stones, Now! (1965) · Out of Our Heads (1965) · December's Children (And Everybody's) (1965) · Aftermath (1966) · Between the Buttons (1967)
Studio albums
1967–presentTheir Satanic Majesties Request (1967) · Beggars Banquet (1968) · Let It Bleed (1969) · Sticky Fingers (1971) · Exile on Main St. (1972) · Goats Head Soup (1973) · It's Only Rock 'n Roll (1974) · Black and Blue (1976) · Some Girls (1978) · Emotional Rescue (1980) · Tattoo You (1981) · Undercover (1983) · Dirty Work (1986) · Steel Wheels (1989) · Voodoo Lounge (1994) · Bridges to Babylon (1997) · A Bigger Bang (2005)
UK EPs The Rolling Stones (1964) · Five by Five (1964) · Got Live If You Want It! (1965)
Live albums Got Live If You Want It! (US only) (1966) · Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out! The Rolling Stones in Concert (1970) · Love You Live (1977) · "Still Life" (American Concert 1981) (1982) · Flashpoint (1991) · Stripped (1995) · No Security (1998) · Live Licks (2004) · Shine a Light (2008)
Compilations Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass) (1966) · Flowers (US) (1967) · Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2) (1969) · Made in the Shade (1975) · Time Waits for No One: Anthology 1971–1977 (1979) · Sucking in the Seventies (1981) · Rewind (1971–1984) (1984) · Jump Back: The Best of The Rolling Stones (1993) · Forty Licks (2002) · Rarities 1971–2003 (2005) · The Rolling Stones Box Set (2009) · Exile on Main St. (Rarities Edition) (2010)
Post-contract
ABKCO albumsHot Rocks 1964–1971 (1971) · More Hot Rocks (Big Hits & Fazed Cookies) (1972) · Metamorphosis (1975) · Singles Collection: The London Years (1989) · The Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus (1996) · Singles 1963–1965 (2004) · Singles 1965–1967 (2004) · Singles 1968–1971 (2005) · Rolled Gold: The Very Best of the Rolling Stones (2007)
Post-contract
Decca albumsStone Age (1971) · Gimme Shelter (1971) · Milestones (1972) · Rock 'n' Rolling Stones (1972) · No Stone Unturned (1973) · Rolled Gold: The Very Best of the Rolling Stones (1975) · Solid Rock (1980) · Slow Rollers (1981)
Miscellaneous albums Live'r Than You'll Ever Be (1969) · Jamming with Edward! (1972)Categories:- 1986 albums
- Albums produced by Steve Lillywhite
- Albums produced by The Glimmer Twins
- English-language albums
- Rolling Stones Records albums
- The Rolling Stones albums
- Virgin Records albums
- Albums certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
- Albums certified gold by the British Phonographic Industry
- Albums certified gold by the Syndicat National de l'Édition Phonographique
- Albums certified gold by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry of the GCC
- "Harlem Shuffle"
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