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Tyler: Peter, we’ve done Satanic Majesties.  We bowed to Some Girls, laid some mad love on Tattoo You, and drop-kicked Black and Blue.

Peter: It was obvious where to go next. Dirty Work.

It wasn’t a critical or commercial hit at the time and its reputation has not risen over time.

People don’t like this album.

Tyler: The only defender I could think of is rock critic legend Robert Christgau.

Peter: Yes! I just read his thing on it!

t was interesting to read his take.

Tyler: Christgau’s great.

Peter: Did you do the Dirty Work, Tyler? Did you listen to Dirty Work?

Tyler: I earned that.  I listened to this one a good four or five times.

Our bar ain’t high for Stones albums, not at this point, is it?  Basically, “Don’t be Black and Blue.  Be better than that.”

Peter: I was going to say something about the “Black and Blue Threshold.”

It clears it.

Should I have waited? Spoiler! I should have said spoiler!

Tyler: Oh, no, let’s be real.  This one is startlingly not bad.

They’re trying.

Peter: They really are!

Tyler: Mick is fired up throughout.  He’s not vamping or taking the piss.  He’s leaning into his snarl.

Peter: Yes, and that was noted in reviews at the time. It’s some of his “angriest” vocals?

Tyler: Agreed!  This is a very angry album.

Peter: The lyrics are pretty nasty at times, as well.

Buckle up, world!

It’s Dirty Work time.

Tyler: We’re gonna kick this shit off the right way.  With a parenthetical.

“One Hit (To The Body).”

Peter: I like this one.

It was the lead single. It only went to #28 in the US. That had to be disappointing.

Tyler: It’s lean.  Too much so for mid-‘80s rock radio?

Peter: Maybe.

Tyler: I dunno. It works pretty damn well as an album-opener.

Peter: I agree. We’re off to a good start.

Tyler: Now, can I imagine Mick Jagger in the middle of an actual fight?  No, I cannot.  Can I suspend that disbelief in the name of enjoying “Fight?”  Well, I’m trying.  This track is kinda fire.

Peter: It kicks the pace up a bit. It does cook along. I was thinking it was sort of a poor man’s “Rip This Joint.” Which isn’t a bad thing to be.

Tyler: “When The Whip Comes Down,” too, come to think of it.  Track-two gear-shifts.

“Fight” is by no means as good as those two classics.  But it ain’t bad!

Peter: Exactly. None of this is lazy. They’re trying.

Tyler: “Harlem Shuffle” time.

Peter: It was the second single off the album. It went to #5 in the US. I don’t remember hearing it at the time. I do know it from various compilations. I’m not a huge fan of it.

Tyler: Yeah, it doesn’t thrill me.  Feels forced.

There’s not much to it.  Mick continues to sound infuriated, which is particularly fascinating in the context of a silly do-the-dance song.

Peter: Normally I love do-the-dance songs!

Tell me about the dance!

I want to hear about the dance.

Okay, we don’t like this one.

Tyler: “Ya move it to the left, yeah, you go for yourself.  You move it to the right, yeah, if it takes all night.”  Pretty basic steps.

Peter: Next up?

“Hold Back.”

Tyler: Might qualify as filler.  But, it’s well-crafted filler.

Peter: It’s so loud! It’s just too darn loud.

It is well-crafted.

Tyler: Mick’s vocals, again, continue to sound so aggressive.

Peter: Exactly! Why is he yelling at me?

Tyler: It’s a little tiring, to be honest.  As positive as our vibes about Dirty Work appear to be, I do walk away from a listen feeling weary and a little agitated.

Peter: They had some stuff going on at the time. Mick and Keith were bickering in the press. Bill Wyman was marrying a child.

Tyler: Oh yeah, that old chestnut.  This era is right in the middle of that horrific “romance,” I see.

Peter: Charlie Watts was actually struggling with heroin addiction while this album was being recorded, as well.

So there was a lot going on.

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