Some Girls

For other uses, see Some Girls (disambiguation).
Some Girls
Studio album by the Rolling Stones
Released 9 June 1978
Recorded 10 October – 21 December 1977, 5 January – 2 March 1978, Pathé Marconi Studios, Paris
Genre Rock, rhythm and blues, rock and roll, blues, country
Length 40:45
Language English
Label Rolling Stones
Producer The Glimmer Twins
the Rolling Stones chronology
Black and Blue
(1976)		 Some Girls
(1978)		 Emotional Rescue
(1980)
Singles from Some Girls
  1. "Miss You"
    Released: 10 May 1978 (US)
    Released: 26 May 1978 (UK)
  2. "Beast of Burden"
    Released: 9 September 1978 (US)
  3. "Respectable"
    Released: 15 September 1978 (UK)
  4. "Shattered"
    Released: 29 November 1978 (US)

Some Girls is the 14th British and 16th American studio album by the Rolling Stones, released in 1978 on Rolling Stones Records. It reached number one on the Billboard 200 album chart, and became the band's top selling album in the United States, certified by the RIAA as having six million copies sold as of 2000. It was a major critical success, becoming the only Rolling Stones album to be nominated for a Grammy in the Album of the Year category. Many reviewers called it a classic return to form and their best album since 1972's Exile on Main St.[1]

History

By 1976, the Rolling Stones' popularity was in decline as the charts were dominated by disco music and newer bands such as Aerosmith and Kiss. In the UK, the punk rock movement was a rising force and made most artists connected with the 1960s era seem obsolete. The group had also failed to produce a critically acclaimed album since 1972's Exile On Main St.[2]

At least as important for the band's re-invigoration was the addition of Ronnie Wood to the line-up, as Some Girls was the first album recorded with him as a full member.[2] His guitar playing style meshed with that of Keith Richards and slide guitar playing would become one of the band's hallmarks. Not only did his unconventional uses of the instrument featured prominently on Some Girls he also contributed to the writing process.[2] In addition, Jagger, who had learned to play guitar over the previous decade, contributed a third guitar part to many songs. This gave songs like "Respectable" a three-guitar line-up.

Jagger is generally regarded as the principal creative force behind Some Girls. Richards was in legal trouble for much of 1977 (see below) which resulted in the band being inactive on the touring circuit during that year except for two shows in Canada during the spring for the live album Love You Live.[2] He was able to attend the recording sessions for the album. Jagger claimed in a 1995 interview to have written a great number of the album's songs (though when the amount was pointed out to him he denied that the record was mostly his own), including its signature song, "Miss You". In addition to punk, Jagger claims to have been influenced by dance music, most notably disco, during the recording of Some Girls, and cites New York City as a major inspiration for the album, an explanation for his lyrical preoccupation with the city throughout.[2]

The inspiration for the record was really based in New York and the ways of the town. I think that gave it an extra spur and hardness. And then, of course, there was the punk thing that had started in 1976. Punk and disco were going on at the same time, so it was quite an interesting period. New York and London, too. Paris—there was punk there. Lots of dance music. Paris and New York had all this Latin dance music, which was really quite wonderful. Much more interesting than the stuff that came afterward.[3]

For the first time since 1968's Beggars Banquet, the core band — now Jagger, Richards, Wood, Charlie Watts, and Bill Wyman — would be the main musicians on a Rolling Stones album, with few extra contributors. Ian McLagan, Wood's bandmate from the Faces, played keyboards, and harmonica player Sugar Blue contributed to several songs. In addition to saxophonist Mel Collins and Simon Kirke, who played percussion.[2] Jagger's guitar contributions caused the band's road manager, Ian Stewart, to be absent from many of the sessions as he felt piano would be superfluous, making this a rare Rolling Stones album on which he did not appear.

A serious concern was the issue of Keith Richards and his highly publicised heroin possession bust in Toronto, Ontario in early 1977, resulting in the possibility that he might be sent to jail for years. However, due to the judgement that Richards was very separate from the usual theft and anti-social culture that is associated with heroin use, he was sentenced very lightly. He was ordered to perform a charity show for The Canadian National Institute for the Blind.[4] The sessions for Some Girls began in October 1977, breaking before Christmas and starting up again after New Year's before finishing in March 1978. Under their new British recording contract with EMI (remaining with Warner Music Group in North America only), they were able to record at EMI's Pathé Marconi Studios in Paris, a venue at which they would record frequently for the next several years.[2] The Rolling Stones ended up recording about 50 new songs, several of which would turn up in altered forms on Emotional Rescue (1980) and Tattoo You (1981). Engineer for the sessions was Chris Kimsey, whose approach to recording breathed life into the somewhat dense sounding recordings like Goats Head Soup (1973) and It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (1974) albums. Kimsey's direct method of recording, together with the entrance of the then state-of-the-art Mesa/Boogie Mark I amps instead of the Ampeg SVT line of amps, yielded a bright, direct and aggressive guitar sound.[2]

There was some controversy surrounding the lyrics to the title song, an extended musing on women of various nationalities and races. Atlantic Records attempted to persuade the band to drop the song from the record, but Jagger maintained the song was intended as a parody of racist attitudes, saying "I've always said, you can't take a joke, it's too fucking bad,".[5] The line "Black girls just wanna get fucked all night" drew strong protests from various groups, including Jesse Jackson's PUSH, which sought a boycott of the song on black-oriented radio.[6]

Packaging and artwork

The album cover for Some Girls had concept origination, art direction and design by Peter Corriston, who would conceive and design the next three album covers as well. [2] An elaborate die-cut design, with colours varying on different sleeves, it featured The Rolling Stones faces alongside those of select female celebrities inserted into a copy of an old Valmor Products Corporation advertisement. The cover design was challenged legally when Lucille Ball, Farrah Fawcett, Liza Minnelli (representing her mother Judy Garland), Raquel Welch, and the estate of Marilyn Monroe threatened to sue for the use of their likenesses without permission.[2] Similarly, Valmor did take legal action and were given a monetary award for the use of their design.[7]

The album was quickly re-issued with a redesigned cover that removed all the celebrities whether they had complained or not, and were replaced with black and punk style garish colours with the phrase Pardon our appearance - cover under re-construction. Jagger later apologised to Minnelli when he encountered her during a party at the famous discothèque Studio 54. The only celebrity whose face was not removed was that of ex-Beatle George Harrison. A third version of the album cover with hand-drawn women was found on the 1986 CD reissue.

Release and legacy

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
The A.V. ClubA[9]
Blender[10]
The Great Rock Discography7/10[11]
MusicHound4/5[12]
NME9/10[13]
Record Collector[13]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[14]
Uncut[15]
The Village VoiceA[16]

In May 1978, the first single from the album, "Miss You", a prowling, moody number built on a stripped-down disco beat and bluesy pop harmonies, was released to very strong response, garnering the Rolling Stones their last US #1 hit and reaching #3 in the UK. Some Girls appeared in June to a very welcoming audience, reaching #1 in the US and #2 in the UK, becoming their biggest-selling studio album in the process (currently certified six times platinum in the US alone). "Beast of Burden", "Respectable" (in the UK) and "Shattered" (in the US) would follow as the next singles, all becoming minor hits as well.[2]

The Stones embarked on their summer US Tour 1978 in support of the album, which for the first time saw them mount several small venue shows, sometimes under a pseudonym. This was shorter and less ambitious than previous Stones tours, with only 26 shows performed over one and a half months, all of them in the US.

In 2003 Some Girls was ranked number 269 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time.

In 1986, the first compact disc version of the album was issued by the Stones' new label distributor, Columbia Records, as Rolling Stones/Columbia CK-40449. In 1994, with the acquisition of the Rolling Stones Records catalogue by Virgin Records, Some Girls was remastered and re-issued with a partial restoration of the original cover art. The first pressing was packaged in a replica of the original vinyl packaging. In 2009, the album was remastered and reissued by Universal Music, restoring the original color scheme of the cover.

Re-release

Some Girls was re-issued on 21 November 2011 as a 2 CD deluxe edition, including twelve songs originally recorded during the two sessions for the album (with the exception of "Tallahassee Lassie" from Aug-Sep 1978 and "We Had It All" from 1979). A Super-Deluxe edition also included a DVD with live footage & promo videos, a 100-page book, 5 postcards, a poster, and a 7" 180-gram replica vinyl single of "Beast of Burden".[17] Most of the backing tracks were recorded in Paris between October 1977 and March 1978 with mostly newly recorded vocals by Mick Jagger, which were recorded sometime during 2010 and 2011. The album re-entered the charts at #58 in the UK and #46 in the US.[18] "No Spare Parts" was released as a single on 13 November, which went to No. 2 on Billboard's Hot Singles Sales. "So Young" was the second single from the Some Girls reissue, released briefly for free on iTunes the same day "No Spare Parts" was released. A video for "No Spare Parts" was produced and later released on 19 December 2011.

In 2012 it was released by Universal Music Enterprises in a Japanese only SHM-SACD version.

Track listing

All songs written and composed by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, except where noted. 

Side one
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Miss You"    4:48
2. "When the Whip Comes Down"    4:20
3. "Just My Imagination (Running Away with Me)"  Norman Whitfield, Barrett Strong 4:38
4. "Some Girls"    4:36
5. "Lies"    3:11
Side two
No. Title Length
6. "Far Away Eyes"   4:24
7. "Respectable"   3:06
8. "Before They Make Me Run"   3:25
9. "Beast of Burden"   4:25
10. "Shattered"   3:48

Other songs

Title Credits Length Notes
"Everything is Turning to Gold" Jagger, Richards, Wood 4:06 Shattered B side

2011 bonus disc

No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "Claudine"    3:42
2. "So Young"    3:18
3. "Do You Think I Really Care?"    4:22
4. "When You're Gone"  Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood 3:51
5. "No Spare Parts"    4:30
6. "Don't Be a Stranger"    4:06
7. "We Had It All"  Troy Seals, Donnie Fritts 2:54
8. "Tallahassee Lassie"  Bob Crewe, Frank C. Slay Jr., Freddy Cannon 2:37
9. "I Love You Too Much"    3:10
10. "Keep Up Blues"    4:20
11. "You Win Again"  Hank Williams 3:00
12. "Petrol Blues"    1:35

Personnel

The Rolling Stones
Additional personnel
Additional personnel on 2011 bonus disc

Singles

Year Single Chart Position
1978 "Miss You" UK Top 75 Singles[19] 3
The Billboard Hot 100[20] 1
Club Play Singles[20] 6
Black Singles[20] 33
"Beast of Burden" The Billboard Hot 100[20] 8
"Respectable" UK Top 75 Singles[19] 23
1979 "Shattered" The Billboard Hot 100[20] 31
2010 "Beast of Burden" Billboard Rock Digital Songs[20] 49
2011 "No Spare Parts" Billboard Hot Singles Sales[20] 2

Charts

Peak positions

Original release
Chart (1978–79) Position
Australian Kent Music Report[21] 3
Austrian Albums Chart[22] 4
Canadian RPM Albums Chart[23] 1
Dutch Albums Chart[24] 3
French SNEP Albums Chart[25] 2
Italian Albums Chart[26] 6
Japanese Oricon LPs Chart[27] 11
New Zealand Albums Chart[28] 2
Norwegian Albums Chart[29] 3
Spanish Albums Chart[30] 5
Swedish Albums Chart[31] 3
UK Albums Chart[19] 2
US Billboard 200[20] 1
West German Media Control Albums Chart[32] 6
Reissue
Chart (2011) Position
Australian Kent Music Report[21] 93
Austrian Albums Chart[22] 38
Belgian Albums Chart (Flanders)[33] 83
Canadian RPM Albums Chart[34] 60
Dutch Albums Chart[24] 25
French SNEP Albums Chart[35] 61
Japanese Albums Chart[36] 46
Italian Albums Chart[26] 57
New Zealand Albums Chart[28] 33
Norwegian Albums Chart[29] 39
Spanish Albums Chart[37] 59
Swedish Albums Chart[31] 41
Swiss Albums Chart[38] 48
UK Albums Chart[19] 58
US Billboard 200[20] 46
German Media Control Albums Chart[39] 14

Year-end charts

Chart (1978) Position
Australian Albums Chart[21] 9
Austrian Albums Chart[40] 10
Canadian Albums Chart[41] 3
Dutch Albums Chart[42] 22
French Albums Chart[43] 26
Italian Albums Chart[26] 25
UK Albums Chart[44] 26
US Billboard Pop Albums[45] 43
Chart (1979) Position
Canadian Albums Chart[46] 89
US Billboard Pop Albums[47] 22

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
France (SNEP)[48] Gold 365,100[49]
Netherlands (NVPI)[50] Gold 50,000^
New Zealand (RMNZ)[51] Platinum 15,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[52] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[53] 6× Platinum 6,000,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

Chart succession

Preceded by
City to City by Gerry Rafferty		 Billboard 200 number-one album
15–28 July 1978 		Succeeded by
Grease (soundtrack)
by Various artists
Preceded by
Shadow Dancing by Andy Gibb		 Canadian RPM 100 number-one album
5 August 1978

See also

References

  1. ↑ Nelson, Paul (June 9, 1978). "Some Girls - The Rolling Stones". Rolling Stone Magazine.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Egan, Sean (2013). "Some Girls". In Egan, Sean. The Mamouth Book of The Rolling Stones. London: Constable & Robinson Ltd. pp. 336–350. ISBN 9781780336466.
  3. ↑ Jagger Remembers Jann Wenner, 'Mick Jagger Remembers', "Rolling Stone Magazine", 14 December 1995.
  4. ↑ Bazay, David. The National. 24 October 1978.
  5. ↑ Flippo, Chet. "Rolling Stones Gather Momentum" Rolling Stone July 27, 1978: 22
  6. ↑ Williams, Jean. "PUSH Hot To Boycott Stones' Cut" Billboard September 16, 1978: 52
  7. ↑ Feigen, Richard (2000). Tales From The Art Crypt. New York: Alfred A. Knopf,.
  8. ↑ link
  9. ↑ "Review: The Rolling Stones: Some Girls · Music Review · The A.V. Club". avclub.com.
  10. ↑ "Maxim". blender.com.
  11. ↑ "The Rolling Stones Some Girls". Acclaimed Music. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  12. ↑ Graff, Gary; Durchholz, Daniel (eds) (1999). MusicHound Rock: The Essential Album Guide. Farmington Hills, MI: Visible Ink Press. p. 952. ISBN 1-57859-061-2.
  13. 1 2 "The Rolling Stones – Some Girls CD". CD Universe/Muze. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  14. ↑ "The Rolling Stones: Album Guide". rollingstone.com. Archived version retrieved 15 November 2014.
  15. ↑ link
  16. ↑ Christgau, Robert (June 26, 1978). "Christgau's Consumer Guide". The Village Voice (New York). Retrieved September 19, 2015.
  17. ↑ "The Rolling Stones announce reissue of 'Some Girls'". nme.com. 21 October 2011. Retrieved 25 October 2011.
  18. ↑ "UK albums chart". 28 November 2011. Retrieved 28 November 2011.
  19. 1 2 3 4 "The Rolling Stones > Artists > Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  20. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Allmusic: Some Girls : Charts & Awards : Billboard Albums". allmusic.com. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  21. 1 2 3 Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  22. 1 2 "The Rolling Stones – Some Girls – austriancharts.at" (ASP). Retrieved 31 January 2014.
  23. ↑ "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 29, No. 19, August 05 1978". RPM. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  24. 1 2 "dutchcharts.nl The Rolling Stones – Some Girls" (ASP). Hung Medien (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  25. ↑ "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste > Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste" (in French). infodisc.fr. Retrieved 1 June 2013.Note: user must select 'The Rolling Stones' from drop-down.
  26. 1 2 3 "Hit Parade Italia – Gli album più venduti del 1978" (in Italian). hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  27. ↑ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970-2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  28. 1 2 "charts.org.nz The Rolling Stones – Some Girls" (ASP). Hung Medien. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  29. 1 2 "norwegiancharts.com The Rolling Stones – Some Girls" (ASP). Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  30. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  31. 1 2 "swedishcharts.com The Rolling Stones – Some Girls" (ASP). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  32. ↑ "Album Search: The Rolling Stones – Some Girls" (ASP) (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  33. ↑ "ultratop.be The Rolling Stones – Some Girls" (ASP). Hung Medien (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  34. ↑ "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 29, No. 19, August 05 1978". RPM. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  35. ↑ "InfoDisc : Tous les Albums classés par Artiste > Choisir Un Artiste Dans la Liste" (in French). infodisc.fr. Retrieved 1 June 2013.Note: user must select 'The Rolling Stones' from drop-down.
  36. ↑ "ザ・ローリング・ストーンズ-リリース-ORICON STYLE-ミュージック" [Highest position and charting weeks of Some Girls (2011 deluxe edition) by The Rolling Stones]. oricon.co.jp (in Japanese). Oricon Style. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  37. ↑ "spanishcharts.com The Rolling Stones – Some Girls" (ASP). Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  38. ↑ "The Rolling Stones – Some Girls - hitparade.ch" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Swiss Music Charts. Retrieved 8 May 2013.
  39. ↑ "Album Search: The Rolling Stones – Some Girls" (ASP) (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  40. ↑ "Austriancharts.at - Jahreshitparade 1978". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
  41. ↑ "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1978". RPM. 30 December 1978. Retrieved 1 May 2009.
  42. ↑ "Dutch charts jaaroverzichten 1978". Dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  43. ↑ "Les Albums (CD) de 1978 par InfoDisc" (PHP) (in French). infodisc.fr. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  44. ↑ "Complete UK Year-End Album Charts". Archived from the original on 11 January 2012. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  45. ↑ "Top Pop Albums of 1978". billboard.biz. Archived from the original on 31 December 2012. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
  46. ↑ "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1979". RPM. 22 December 1979. Retrieved 3 May 2011.
  47. ↑ Nielsen Business Media, Inc. Billboard.com – Year End Charts – Year-end Albums – The Billboard 200. Retrieved 4 May 2013.
  48. ↑ "French album certifications – The Rolling Stones – Some Girls" (in French). InfoDisc. Select THE ROLLING STONES and click OK
  49. ↑ "Les Albums Or :" (in French). Infodisc.fr. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  50. ↑ "Dutch album certifications – The Rolling Stones – Some Girls" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers.
  51. ↑ "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart - 28 November 2011". Recorded Music NZ. Retrieved 18 April 2014.
  52. ↑ "British album certifications – The Rolling Stones – Some Girls". British Phonographic Industry. Enter Some Girls in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Gold in the field By Award. Click Search
  53. ↑ "American album certifications – The Rolling Stones – Some Girls". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH
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