Like
Emotional Rescue before it,
Tattoo You was comprised primarily of leftovers, but unlike its predecessor, it never sounds that way. Instead,
Tattoo You captures
the Stones at their best as a professional stadium-rock band. Divided into a rock & roll side and a ballad side, the album delivers its share of thrills on the tight, dynamic first side. "Start Me Up" became the record's definitive Stonesy rocker, but the frenzied doo wop of "Hang Fire," the reggae jam of "Slave," the sleazy
Chuck Berry rockers "Little T&A" and "Neighbours," and the hard blues of "Black Limousine" are all terrific. The ballad side suffers in comparison, especially since "Heaven" and "No Use in Crying" are faceless. But "Worried About You" and "Tops" are effortless, excellent ballads, and "Waiting on a Friend," with its
Sonny Rollins sax solo, is an absolute masterpiece, with a moving lyric that captures
Jagger in a reflective and affecting state of mind. "Waiting on a Friend" and the vigorous rock & roll of the first side make
Tattoo You an essential latter-day
Stones album.
[
Tattoo You was cobbled together from outtakes and leftovers, all with the idea that
the Rolling Stones would have a new record to support when they hit the road in 1981. Given this, it's odd to consider that the 2021 Super Deluxe Edition -- a reissue that appeared for the album's 40th anniversary -- has a collection of outtakes, as there were technically no new songs created at the album's sessions. Instead, this bonus disc contains nine songs with similar origins to the 11 on the proper album: they're songs that were kicking around during the '70s that were polished up for this reissue.
The Stones have followed this procedure before, finishing off incomplete songs for the reissues of Exile on Main St,
Some Girls, and
Goats Head Soup, so the approach is familiar, as are some of the songs: the cover of
Dobie Gray's "Drift Away," an earlier, slower version of "Start Me Up," and the hard-swinging "Fiji Jim" have circulated on bootleg before. Unlike the main album, this collection of rarities sounds a bit patchwork but appealingly so: a clutch of covers that includes a revision of
the Chi-Lites' "Troubles A' Comin'" and a faithful version of
Jimmy Reed's "Shame Shame Shame" are a lot of fun, as is the frenetic boogie of "Come to the Ball." The Super Deluxe Edition also contains a full concert from Wembley Stadium in 1982. The band sound better here than they do on their 1982 live album
Still Life (bizarrely, this featured concert is also called Still Life): they're tight and loose, playing Wembley as if it was a dive bar.] ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine