Maps of Music

It's Only Rock 'n Roll (1974)

Where the lyrics of It's Only Rock 'n Roll take you, and where it was really made.

The album was first planned as half live and half studio, but the concept was scrapped and it became a record of all-new material.

Key places

Where the backing tracks were recorded (1974)

Recording site Musicland Studios — Production on the album began in November at Musicland Studios in Munich. Most backing tracks were recorded here first, before solo vocals were added later. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Overdubs and mixing at Jagger's home (1974)

Recording site Stargroves — Several songs were completed here with overdubs and mixing in the early summer of 1974 at Jagger's home, Stargroves. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Where the title track was first recorded (1974)

Recording site The Wick — Guitarist Ronnie Wood's home was where Keith Richards recorded tracks with Wood, and where the title track was first recorded after Jagger joined in. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• It's Only Rock 'n Roll: twelfth studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones
• Released 18 October 1974 by Rolling Stones Records
• Last album to feature guitarist Mick Taylor
• Combines the core blues and rock 'n' roll sound with elements of funk and reggae
• Reached number one in the United States and number two in the UK
• Self-produced by Keith Richards and Mick Jagger under the name 'The Glimmer Twins'

Background

• Work began after the autumn 1973 European tour
• First album since producer Jimmy Miller's departure that the band produced itself
• Originally planned as half live, half studio, then replaced by all-new material
• Title track recorded separately; its basic track was laid down by members of the Faces during a jam with Jagger, David Bowie and bassist Willie Weeks
• In 1975 the band auditioned replacements for Taylor, including Jeff Beck, Rory Gallagher and Steve Marriott

Recording

• Production began in November at Musicland Studios in Munich
• Most backing tracks were recorded at Musicland first, and solo vocals were added later by Jagger
• Overdubs and mixing were done at Jagger's home, Stargroves, in early summer 1974
• Percussionist Ray Cooper of the Elton John Band made his first appearance with the Stones on this album

Cover

• Cover painted by Belgian painter Guy Peellaert, whom Jagger invited after seeing his work in the book Rock Dreams
• The band is shown as 'rock deities' descending a temple staircase, surrounded by women in Grecian clothing

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Formation

• Formed in London in 1962 as an English rock band; their first stable line-up was Brian Jones, Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts.
• Jones named the band after a Muddy Waters song; they were rooted in blues and rock and roll.
• Manager Andrew Loog Oldham encouraged them to write their own songs, and the Jagger–Richards partnership became their main creative force.

Members

• Current: Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood (joined 1975).
• Former: Brian Jones (died 1969), Mick Taylor (1969–1974), Bill Wyman (1962–1993), Charlie Watts (1963–2021, died 2021).
• Steve Jordan became their drummer after Watts' death.

Career

• Hits included "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" (1965), "Paint It Black" (1966) and "Start Me Up" (1981).
• Their 1969 Hyde Park show and Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main St. are key points of their career.
• Formed Rolling Stones Records in 1970, whose tongue-and-lips logo became their band logo.
• Inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989; the band has sold more than 250 million albums.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Initial reviews were mixed
• Rolling Stone's Jon Landau called the album one of the most intriguing and mysterious, as well as the darkest, of all Rolling Stones records
• Lester Bangs in The Village Voice disparaged the album much like Goats Head Soup, calling it false and numb
• Arthur Levy of Zoo World gave a mixed assessment, saying the album was mixed poorly and that some tracks showed the band feeling the effects of recent years
• Numerous reviewers felt the closing track, Fingerprint File, was stylistically different and did not belong
• NME voted the album the second best album of the year
• John Morthland of Creem gave a positive review, calling it one of the best albums of the year and better than Goats Head Soup
• Greg Shaw of Phonograph Record felt the record was better than its predecessor, noted a pervading nonchalance, and called it the best party album in years

Reappraisal

• Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic felt the record was uneven but overall an improvement over Goats Head Soup
• In 2020, Steve Sutherland of Hi-Fi News called the album the band's riposte but agreed its overall quality lacked cohesiveness

Records

• Reached number one in the United States, where it eventually went platinum
• Reached number two in the UK, breaking a string of number-one albums that stretched back to 1969's Let It Bleed
• Opened with brisk initial sales in October 1974
• Lead single It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It) failed to reach the top 10 in the United States but did reach the top 10 in the UK

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Ain't Too Proud to Beg was the only recording from the half-live plan to make the final cut, while the Drift Away cover became a popular bootleg.
• Mick Taylor said he had a falling out with Jagger over credits, since he felt he should have been credited as a co-writer on some songs.
• Two versions of Luxury exist; the shorter 4:30 version appeared on the early 1986 CD.
• The band did not tour until the following summer in the United States, when Ronnie Wood took Taylor's place on guitar.
• The album was produced by the band themselves for the first time under the Glimmer Twins name, and all future Stones albums would be self-produced or co-produced.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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