Ok maybe it's average for the standards of the Stones, but still one of the top 30-40 albums if 1974 anyway. And not even a weak Stones entry (those would, to me, be Dirty Work, Undercover and Emotional Rescue). "If You Can't Rock Me" is pretty generic and would've barely made B-side for the same band in 1969. Christ, unreleased stuff from that era was better when it showed up on Metamorphisis. But as the era went for the Stones, some ballads were just ok filler- for instance, "Till the Next Goodbye." The title track's a good old singalong but nothing essential or mind blowing at all. Pretty formulaic in its description of rock formulas. That said, glam rock (petering out about 1974) was just that and the Stones smoked 99% of those ponces even on "IORR." "Time Waits for No One" may be all witchcraft and stardust before Stevie Nicks ever got really into that but it's totally redeemed by a lovely chorus and Mick Taylor's guitar pyrotechnics.

"Luxury" is pretty average, while "Short and Curlies" and "Dance Little Sister" are probably the laziest things on the entire album. But I like the raw enthusiasm behind "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" and "Fingerprint File" is a sweet funky finale. Now many find "If You Really Want to Be My Friend" boring, but it's one of my favourites on the album and one of my favourite post-Exile songs, specifically amongst ballads. It captures the lonely, soulful blues of "I Got the Blues" but better, plus who doesn't love that flanger guitar bit? Mick T. also rip roars on it with soloing while Mick J. puts in one of his all-time best vocal performances. It's over 6 minutes but not a second wasted, really driven home at the end especially. IORR feels like an album where the Stones were feeling out other genres, sometimes not really trying with their bread and butter and yet coming up with gold every once in a while. It's less hit-or-miss than B&B- IMO the superior record for its much more vicious rocking side recaptured- though not as striking as GHS. Verdict: B+ (Good but nothing more, nothing less).

So am i Charles Shaar Murray?

Anybody that can't still be knocked out by the GHS - IORR - BnB trilogy needs a new band.

Paranoid Android wrote on Feb 13^th, 2010 at 9:07am:



I said Christgau because he likes his A, A-, B ratings system.

You can be Lester Bangs.