40 years on, and The Rolling Stones' last great album still sounds as fresh as it did in the cold, dark, September in '73. A great Stones record can never age, much in the same way that Aladdin Sane sounds oh so modern.
The Stones' 11th studio album was written almost entirely in Jamaica, and it shows, as it's much less rock 'n' roll than predecessor, Exile On Maine St. Lead single, "Angie", highlights this. It's acoustically driven, and although it is often assumed to be about David Bowie's first wife Angela, Keith Richards claims Angie was a pseudonym for heroin, which Richards and Jagger were taking en mas in the early seventies.
As well as Angie, Goats Head Soup features a number of The Stones' lesser known masterpieces. Side 1's funky opener, "Dancing With Mr D." is a personal highlight, as it features Mick Jagger at his brilliant best. The album's second single, Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker) is another of Goat's Head Soup's stronger tracks. Unlike number one hit Angie, the funk-inspired track didn't break into the US top ten.
The album's most controversial point is, however, the closer. Star Star (originally titled Starfucker) is the rockingest, rollingest track on Goats Head Soup, and one of the few Stones tracks to be blacklisted for explicit lyrics. Star Star brings the album to a close in style, as it's a completely different to the Americanis-sounding side 1.
Although Goats Head Soup is incredibly great at it's best points, it does slump into mediocrity at times. Until Star Star side 2 features a lot of the faceless plain, foreshadowing their slump into mediocrity in the late 70's. It has it's great moments, mind, and they are great. Goats Head Soup is, as I said earlier, the last great Stones album, and it does have some real classics on it. It's a must listen for anyone who, like me, loves The Stones, or in fact anyone who loves The Beatles more than the Stones so you can see just what you're missing.
rating: 8/10
original release date: 30th September 1973
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