Rolling Stones Reissue ‘Some Girls’
As we reach the Christmas charts, the album reissues are coming thick and fast. One such piece of work is The Rolling Stones’ ‘Some Girls’ – originally released in 1978, the album hit the number one spot in America and Canada, making number two in the UK. Since its release, the album has over six million copies, and continues to be one of the Stones’ most noted albums for its change in direction towards a more disco influenced sound.
When the album was released, the Stones had already graduated to a second generation of rock. Bands like The Clash and the Sex Pistols had created a new musical rebellion through punk, and suddenly, the Stones were looking like out-dated dinosaurs.
“It’s not like we wanted to make a career out of disco; it just happened to be that beat, and Mick came up with this beautiful idea. If you’re ever gonna do disco, you got to do it now. It was like a one-off,” Richards said to the Washington Post.
Jagger brushed off the notions that the band were consciously trying to make a breakaway album. “I never thought for one minute that people would criticise you for doing something with a dance beat,” Jagger said. “So the idea of it being ‘Bob Dylan going electric’ never occurred to me.”
The album was born from where the band were at during that time, both creatively and also physically. “The inspiration for the record was really based in New York and the ways of the town,” Jagger told Rolling Stone. “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.”
Stones fans have another year to look forward to from their favourite band in 2012, they’ve announced plans for a 50th Anniversary celebratory jam. The Stones haven’t played live since 2007, so it’s likely to be a pretty big deal…
