I bought the LP version of this album the DAY it was released and played it on my Technics turntable again and again. Now, 25 years later, listening to this newly-remastered CD version made me realize just how wonderfully produced the album was for its time. Maybe some of the songs aren't as memorable as those on BB, LIB or Exile, but one thing's undeniable--the sound quality never got better than this for the band. The 1980s would bring a lot of production opportunities that the band and its producers were probably right to try out at the time, but with mixed results. So this is (fittingly) the last great album of the 1970s Stones . . . That's right, since most of these tracks were written (and occasionally even recorded) in the 1970s, so if you've never heard anything from the album besides the 2 - 3 big hits, fear not. There's no "Undercover of the Night" or "Winning Ugly" types of filler here.

This is the real deal, and if you have the chance, listen with headphones to get the best audio experience for the band's best-sounding album. Bar none.

Tattoo You contains some raucous rock 'n roll and a couple of beautiful, soulful ballads. Although not considered to be amongst their very best albums, there is enough here to make it a worthwhile purchase.

The opener, Start Me Up, is the Stones at their high powered best with its killer riff and insistent rhythm, whilst the melodic Hang Fire with its impressive vocals comes a close second. These were big hits and can be found on many Stones compilations.

The bluesy Black Limousine and the reggae-influenced Slave aren't bad either, but ballads like Tops and Heaven fall somewhat beneath their high standards. This may be forgiven though, since the closing number, the poignant Waiting On A Friend sees them at their soulful best. It's a moving ballad on a par with earlier great moments such as Wild Horses and Dead Flowers from 1971s Sticky Fingers album.

Overall Tattoo You is thus an uneven work but the aforementioned highlights more than make up for the few tepid and uninspired ballads. I give it four stars but that is judging it by the high standards of their own work.

Although never less than the most visible of rock bands, the Stones were in the midst of a commercial resurgence that began with Some Girls in 1978. Tattoo You (1981) remains the last album of the Stones' classic period and for good reason. Not only does it contain their last true classic song in "Start Me Up" but it also has the tender "Waiting on a Friend", the melodic pop rock of "Hang Fire" and Keith's ode to his newfound love in the catchy "Little T&A". "Start Me Up" was unavoidable on the radio but it's highest charting position was number 2 for several weeks never quite hitting number 1. There was only one song during this time that received more airplay than "Start Me Up" and this song prevented it from topping the charts. Anyone know what it is? I'll tell you at the end.

Upon release the album was divided into a rock side and a ballad side and the first half contains some of the punchiest rockers the Stones have done but the ballad side contains a lot of material that we wouldn't normally get all in one place on a Stones record...and the ballads are gorgeous ("Worried About You", "Tops" and the ghostly "Heaven"). I remember not liking "Heaven" very much and one day in the summer, after a long day at the beach with my then girlfriend, we began our ride home. The sun was going down and we were driving in my convertible over the bridge that takes you over the water and back to 'civilization'. "Heaven" began to play and the whole atmosphere of the song just reflected the whole moment. The evening sun beating down upon the ocean as we crossed over it with the top down on a warm summer evening. That image is forever tattooed in my brain when I hear that song. It captured the moment as perfectly as any song could.

Critics of this release often cite that the material was a patchwork of leftovers and new songs that they put together for an album. This may be true but the Stones are not the first band to do this. Elo's "Do Ya" was written before ELO was even formed, Van Halen did "House of Pain" on 1984 when that song predated their first album in 1978. The list goes on...Hey, if you wrote the song, you deserve to use it. Sometimes the timing just isn't right.

That being said, if you're new to the Stones this is a good place to start. It's got more of an MOR feel to it than any of their other records and the main reason why casual fans seem to prefer it to their other recordings, even the classics. The Stones always had hits, but they were never as commercial on one recording as they were here. Commercial doesn't always mean 'better' but in this instance, it's timeless rock that they haven't been able to top since.

ANSWER: "Private Eyes" by Hall and Oates

Yeah, I know..but nobody ever said life was fair...

Tattoo You marked the end of an era for the Rolling Stones. It was their last U.S. #1 (it's not like everything since has flopped, though), and it's the nominal pick for "last great Stones album" - that is, when rock critics aren't praising Some Girls, which by the way is leagues ahead of Tattoo You. (then again, the several critics who today still consider this the "last great Stones album" seem to have conveniently forgotten they fell over each other to praise Steel Wheels, Voodoo Lounge and A Bigger Bang). But I don't consider this the "last great Stones album", for two reasons. One, the Stones have yet to enter a truly stagnant period - even the mid-'80s fiasco (how else would you explain the back-to-back releases of Undercover and Dirty Work) was at least partially recovered from with Steel Wheels (and totally saved with Voodoo Lounge), while the awful Bridges to Babylon was followed by the pretty good Bigger Bang. Another reason I don't consider this the last great Stones album is simply because I don't consider it great.

Not to say it's a wrtetched excuse for an album - there are five really good songs on this album. Slave is a fun jazzy reggae jam with Pete Townshend on backup vocals. In fact, I think it may be my favorite Stones reggae song (though the song Sweet Black Angel would probably argue if I said that, because that's a good reggae song too) - Luxury, You Don't Have to Mean it and Cherry Oh Baby can bite my derriere (saying rude words in French makes me feel sophisticated). Hang Fire is a frenzied, fun rockabilly blast of a song. Little T&A is a fun, perverted Chuck Berry boogie. And Neighbors is an enjoyable enough generic blues song. Oh, plus you have your two uberhits. I like the sleazy, riff-happy rocker Start Me Up as much as the next guy. But I also don't think it would be a crime to slow down its radio play by just a little bit. It's not like DJs everywhere are gonna be murdered in alleys because they didn't play Start Me Up for the 504,013 time, okay? I much prefer the melodic jazz/reggae ballad Waiting on a Friend, a sensitve song with a good sax solo. Easily the Stones' best song of the '80s.

Then we get to the bad stuff, and I'm not just talkin' about the ballad side, either. Black Lmousine is just some random half-thought-out blues jam with shrill high-pitched harmonica squeaks ruining every chance of it being potential potential entertainment. Heaven is probably my least favorite Stones original. Who wants to hear the Stones indulge themselves in an "atmospheric, shimmering bedroom song"? Eh, I don't. And what's with Mick's vocals? Let's just forget that song ever existed and move onto... the other three dull ballads! Tops, No Use in Crying and Worried About You aren't as bad as Heaven, but I still hate 'em all. Pretty much interchangable songs. Sorry, but it's true.

Oh, and this is little more than a collection of remixed outtakes. We'll go through the recording dates in chronological order, shall we? Waiting on a Friend dates back to 1970; Tops, 1972; Black Limo, 1973; Worried About You, 1974; Start Me Up and Slave, 1975; Hang Fire, Little T&A and No Use in Crying, 1979; Heaven and Neighbors, 1980. So it's just a bunch of warmed-up leftovers. Yeah, warmed-up leftovers are okay. At least you get something to eat. But wouldn't you rather a steak fresh off the barbeque?

Charlie Watts once said (and I'm paraphrasing) he has been with the Rolling Stones for 40 years but has worked about 10. Well, Tattoo You is the epitome of that quip. Over ten years of recordings mixed in with drugs, laziness, touring and debouchery produced one of the great albums of the group's catalog. There are various complaints about the album. Granted Mick Taylor got pissed about not being credited on the album. However as most Stones fans know the album has little if no, credits, and Taylor isn't the only one not getting the names placed in lights.

The album is a great rock and roll set. It was Start Me Up that made me a fan forever. There are others of course: "Have you ever heard those opening lines..you should leave this small town way behind..." (TOPS). I had known of them especially during the pre-MTV days of videos like Emotional Rescue and She's so Cold shown on TV's Show SOLID GOLD (Remember that?) But this album and its hit tune did it for me. Amazingly only three years later Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA became the last great Rock and Roll album.

By 1985 Rock and Roll died only to be pushed aside by a new generation and its new art form rap subsequently hip hop and the new dance music. Surely rock and roll continued in the forms of U2 and Oasis, but the Old Gods were gone from the front rows and now placed on the mantle of the respected Grandfathers of Rock. In 1986 the Stones were given the dreaded "Lifetime Achievement" award at the Grammys (given to them no less by Pete Townsend (or was it Eric Clapton? hmmmmm))and since then, music has never been the same. Listening to this album again reminds you of what rock use to be.