Ironic that its regarded as a latter-day album, yet it was actually released at pretty much exactly the half way point in their recording career to date - and theyve only made four albums since.
For all it's faults, it marked the end of an era. The last album with Stu and the final one before they allowed themselves to morph into the Cohlisaurus we know today.
I suppose you could categorise the band's history into three convenient eras. The period up to Undercover in 1983 when they were truly a rock n roll band with a sense of purpose and direction. The period from 1989 to today when they became more of a corporate entity than anything else. The 1984-88 years could be seen as a period when they spent a few years evaluating their future and making tentative steps at envisioning a scenario where they ceased to exist as a band (German's book basically states that for a couple of years they effectively DID disband into 5 pieces from an administrative perspective). Dirty Work is the product of a band that existed in name only. Most of the songs are written by Keith & Woody, Jagger's involvement was minimal, Charlie was often absent as his demons were taking over and the whole album resembles a musical equivalent of a patchwork quilt with various guest musicians and roadies chipping in to get it shipshape.
It shows, although not always in a bad way. The tension and edginess absolutely drips through the grooves.