Only rock ‘n’ roll, but…

Revisiting the Rolling Stones catalogue, checking out the albums I’d bought on release, and then shelved, never to be replayed, I eventually got to It’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll (Rolling Stones Records/Virgin, October 1974). I could only remember the title track, and then only the chorus. I had no idea what the song was about.

What was I thinking all those years ago? It’s a magnificent slab of classic Stones. No wonder it charted in the US at 1, and the UK at 4 in 1974.

It only has one weak track (9):

1. If You Can’t Rock Me,
2. Ain’t Too Proud To Beg,
3. It’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll (But I Like It),
4. Till The Next Goodbye,
5. Time Waits For No One,
6. Luxury,
7. Dance Little Sister,
8. If You Really Want To Be My Friend,
9. Short And Curlies,
10. Fingerprint File

If, like me, you made the same mistake in dismissing It’s Only Rock ‘N’ Roll, try it again. After re-discovering it, I played it non-stop for a couple of weeks. It’s a fine piece of art.


Gerry Smith