Sliding out of perhaps the greatest winning streak in rock history,
the Stones slipped into decadence and rock star excess with
Goats Head Soup, their sequel to
Exile on Main St. This is where
the Stones' image began to eclipse their accomplishments, as
Mick ascended to jet-setting celebrity and
Keith slowly sunk deeper into addiction, and it's possible hearing them moving in both directions on
Goats Head Soup, at times in the same song. As
Jagger plays the devil (or, dances with Mr. D, as he likes to say), the sex and sleaze quotient is increased, all of it underpinned by some genuinely affecting heartbreak, highlighted by "Angie." This may not be as downright funky, freaky, and fantastic as
Exile, yet the extra layer of gloss brings out the enunciated lyrics, added strings, wah-wah guitars, explicit sex, and violence, making it all seem trippily decadent. If it doesn't seem like there's a surplus of classics here, all the songs work well, illustrating just how far they've traveled in their songcraft, as well as their exceptional talent as a band -- they make this all sound really easy and darkly alluring, even when the sex'n'satanism seems a little silly. To top it all of, they cap off this utterly excessive album with "Star Star," a nasty
Chuck Berry rip that grooves on its own mean vulgarity -- its real title is "Starf*cker," if you need any clarification, and even though they got nastier (the entirety of
Undercover, for instance), they never again made something this dirty or nasty. And, it never feels more at home than it does at the end of this excessive record. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine