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Tyler: Peter, Black and Blue isn’t one of the Stones’ most-heralded albums.  What draws you to it?

Peter: Well, the last time I picked an album for us to discuss it was the Stones ‘67 “answer to Sgt. Pepper” Their Satanic Majesties Request. I am a fan of that album and in our talk I asserted that it was probably better than Black and Blue. I thought it would be fun to do Black and Blue next to see how it compares. TSMR was new to you. Were you familiar with Black and Blue?

Tyler: I wasn’t.  I mean, I was aware of it—it’s one of those albums that, to the untrained eye, gets caught in a bit of a mishmash between Exile On Main St. and Some Girls.  I knew of it, as I know of Goat’s Head Soup and It’s Only Rock ‘N Roll, but I hadn’t heard almost any of it before now.

Peter: Yeah it’s part of that trilogy of not great Stones albums from the mid 70s. I probably bought it in the late 90s. And was very disappointed at the time. Lol. It was interesting to revisit it. I tried to hear it with fresh ears.

Tyler:  I’ll tell you, it feels like a transitional album.

Peter: It’s a rebuilding year!

Kicking it off, the album’s opener, “Hot Stuff,” is very lazy garbage. They were auditioning replacements for Mick Taylor when they were recording this album so there are a bunch of different lead guitarists on here. Harvey Mandel of Canned Heat is on lead guitar on this one, and his solos are the best thing about a very boring disco jam. It goes on forever. And it’s just not very good.

Tyler: Man alive, you’re reading my mind.  The solos are good.  The rest of the song is not.

It’s not a full song.

Peter: It’s not.

Tyler: It did not ramp up my anticipation for what was to follow.  “Hot stuff,” over and over and over.  Very lazy indeed.

Peter: I assume Mick is improvising some of the vocals. I hope he is anyway

Tyler: And they led off an album with it!

Peter: Not a good sign! “Hand of Fate” is next. It’s definitely an improvement after “Hot Stuff.” I had a bootleg of the Stones’ 1976 European tour at some point, and the live version of this was great. The studio version doesn’t feel very energetic. It’s “low energy!” Mick & Keith are producing here and they could have used another set of ears on this one. It’s a good song, but the studio version doesn’t do it justice.

Tyler: Yeah, the first few bars of “Hand of Fate” brought some relief.  It never really takes off, as you’re saying, but, hell, it’s a complete piece of work. I’m not surprised that it was a killer live.

Peter: Yeah, good solo. The guitars are so subdued though. They should be crunchy! This is a rock and roll song! It’s all very gauzy.

Tyler: There’s a void in the production of this whole album that I can’t quite nail down in words.  It’s a little…empty?

I suppose most voids are pretty empty.

Peter: I agree. The production is not good. It’s kind of all over the place. It’s like an odds and sods collection.

Tyler: “Cherry Oh Baby,” man.  This is some bad, bad, bad music right here.

Minstrelsy!

When Mick goes full country parody in “Far Away Eyes,” it’s lousy, but here his reggae delivery is some blackface action from who sounds like somebody who just heard their first Bob Marley single and thinks that Jamaica sound is hot shit.

Too much?

Peter: Maybe not. I’m trying to process it. I did think of it like “Far Away Eyes” or one of his other “voices.” But, maybe this one is different. Hmm…

Tyler: I might be leaning a little into it here.  Either way, though, it sounds dumb.

Peter: I mean there’s a lot of cultural appropriation in the Stones brand. Is that the right term?

Tyler: Hey, that’s a damn good point.

Peter: The Stones do reggae! I know what you’re saying. One of Mick’s voices. It’s a cover of what I assume is a much better version of the song. I should check out the original. I used to skip so many of these songs.

Tyler: I didn’t know it was a cover!  Goes to show where my rants get me.

Peter: “Memory Motel” is next. Some people like this song. There’s a live version with Dave Matthews out there. They play it live a lot in the modern era. I do not like this song. These are some of the lyrics:

Hannah baby was a honey of a girl

Her eyes were hazel

And her teeth were slightly curved

Her teeth were slightly curved? What is she, a vampire? I honestly don’t know what image “Her teeth were slightly curved” is supposed to conjure in my mind.

Tyler: Fucking thank you.  It makes no sense!

I wasn’t a fan of this one, either.  It’s maudlin and endless.  The only thing I like is when Keith sings.

Peter: Yeah, that bit is good.

There are two guitar parts on this song and neither is played by a Rolling Stone. Is there any other Stones song that has multiple guitar parts, and none of them are played by a Rolling Stone or future Rolling Stone? I haven’t looked it up, but I doubt it.

“It’s maudlin and endless,” sums it up pretty well!

Tyler: I also never quite buy it when Mick delivers a lyric about having or playing a guitar.

These guys wrote these words on the back of a cocktail napkin or something.

Peter: Strangely, it’s a low-key fan favorite.

Tyler: I’ll be damned.  Well, more power to you, “Memory Motel” fans.

Should we be offended by “Hey Negrita?” Is that a legitimate name in the title? Is it a Spanish word?

Peter: Yes, I thought of that too. I didn’t want to make a thing of it if it’s just like a Spanish word. Lol.

Tyler: It’s too bad.  It’s one of the funkier tracks on the album.  I don’t need Mick singing about his own “sweet ass,” and the song is repetitive and long, but it at least has some moxie to it.

Peter: It’s a great riff. There was a version of this on that bootleg I had from the 1976 tour of Europe and it was pretty great live.

“Hey Negrita” is “inspired” by Ron Wood, which I’m 100% sure means he wrote the guitar riff (and possibly a lot more of the song). I wrote that before checking the Wikipedia page, and, fact check, it’s true!

Tyler: I try not to live in “should have” and “if I’d” and general regret, but never seeing the Stones live sure feels unfortunate.

Peter: Yeah. I think that mid ’70s version of them would have been incredible.

Tyler: Hot damn, yeah.

Have you seen them?

Peter: No. I don’t know if I’d like the modern version… I mean, I’d like it, but that ’70s version with the rough edges is what I’d really like to have experienced.

Tyler: Yeah, that’d be the good shit right there.

Peter: Listening to this album again in preparation for our talk, “Melody” was a song I didn’t really remember. I don’t know. I can see why I skipped it. Maybe some people like this sort of thing? It’s got more energy than a lot of songs on this album. They seem invested here, which is something. It’s a jazzy vamp. It’s better than some of the stuff on this album?

Tyler: Yeah, it’s pretty dumb, but it’s got character.  That said, using the word “melody” as a hook is a real dunce-cap move.

Don’t get me wrong, though—I definitely agree that it’s at least mid-tier Black and Blue.

Peter: This one’s “inspired” by Billy Preston, which, again (probably), means he wrote most of it. It’s fine. Mick and Keith were busy! They couldn’t be bothered writing songs!

Tyler: Billy!

Peter: Anybody else guest on both a Beatles and Stones record?

Tyler: Clapton ever guest on a Stones album?

Peter: I was just wondering that. Ha!

Tyler: I hope not.

Peter: Maybe some session cellist.

“Fool To Cry” is next. It sucks. I hate this song. Keith once fell asleep onstage while playing “Fool To Cry.” He was also probably high on heroin, but still. Mick’s delivery (as I mentioned earlier) reminds me of his singing on “Memory Motel.”

Tyler: Yeah.  This song is lousy.  I can’t stand the hook, I can’t stand how it’s sung, I can’t fathom the idea of mid-‘70s Mick as a dad, and all in all find no reward in anything about it.

Peter: Agreed! It’s trash.

Tyler: Now, here we go, because “Crazy Mama” is suddenly straight fire.  How is this song buried on this album?

It’s the last track!  Nobody makes it that far through Black and Blue!

My only complaint is that it’s got the faintest air of that “Hot Legs” canned Rod Stewart post-art sound.

Peter: Ha! “Crazy Mama” is another one I didn’t remember, but, honestly, it’s not bad! Maybe I hated “Fool To Cry” so much I just never finished the album? It’s good. I like it.

Tyler: It’s solid, right?  I’m not hearing things here?  I may well be enjoying the sheer sense of relief that comes with freedom from “Fool To Cry.”

Peter: It’s one of maybe three I’d save from this album?

Tyler: Yeah, it’s slim pickings.

I think our conclusion is clear. The Rolling Stones’ Black and Blue: not good.

Not great?

Peter: So, Black and Blue vs. Their Satanic Majesties Request. What’s your verdict?

I know you thought TSMR was lazy and self-indulgent (at times), but, to me, B&B is way worse.

Tyler: Oh, definitely.  TSMR had color and vibrancy.  B&B is a sloppy drab mess.

Peter: To me this album just reeks of rock god ennui. They were too busy being the Rolling Stones to write and record an album so they just slapped together a bunch of rehearsal material and called it good. This album was not a critical success, and that, tied with the rise of punk, disco, and new wave (and Keith’s heroin bust), led to the Stones recording Some Girls. For that, we can be grateful.

Tyler: 100%.

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