Dirty Work (The Rolling Stones album)

Dirty Work
Studio album by The Rolling Stones
Released 24 March 1986
Recorded 5 April – 17 June, 16 July – 17 August 1985, 10 September - 15 October 1985
Genre Hard rock, pop rock
Length 40:03
Language English
Label Rolling Stones/Columbia Records
Producer Steve Lillywhite and The Glimmer Twins
The Rolling Stones chronology
Undercover
(1983)		 Dirty Work
(1986)		 Steel Wheels
(1989)
Singles from Dirty Work
  1. "Harlem Shuffle"
    Released: 28 February 1986
  2. "One Hit (To the Body)"
    Released: 9 May 1986

Dirty Work is the Rolling Stones' 18th British and 20th American studio album. It was released on 24 March 1986 on the Rolling Stones label by CBS Records. Produced by Steve Lillywhite, the album was recorded during a period when relations between Mick Jagger and Keith Richards soured considerably, according to Richards' autobiography[1] Life.[2]

Recording

The sessions for Dirty Work, the first album under the Rolling Stones' recording contract with CBS Records, began in April 1985 in Paris, running for two months before breaking for a short spell.[3] Mick Jagger had just released his first solo album, She's the Boss (1985), much to Richards' annoyance, since the latter's first priority was the Rolling Stones and he was stung that Jagger was pursuing a career as a pop star.[4] Jagger was often absent from the Dirty Work sessions while Richards recorded with Ronnie Wood, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts; Jagger's vocal parts were added later on. The divide between Jagger and Richards was on public view on 13 July 1985, when Jagger performed a solo set at Live Aid while Richards and Wood supported Bob Dylan's set on acoustic guitars.

Charlie Watts' involvement in the recording sessions was also limited; in 1994 Watts told Ed Bradley on 60 Minutes that during the 1980s he had been addicted to heroin and alcohol, and that this is why replacement drummers are credited on both Undercover and Dirty Work. Steve Jordan and Anton Fig play drums on some tracks; Ronnie Wood plays drums on "Sleep Tonight". Jagger would later cite Watts' personal state as one of the reasons he vetoed a tour in support of Dirty Work in 1986, preferring to start work on his second album, Primitive Cool (1987).

Four of the album's eight original compositions are credited to Jagger/Richards/Wood and one to Jagger/Richards/Chuck Leavell. Only three are credited to Jagger/Richards, the lowest number on any Rolling Stones album since Out of Our Heads (1965). Dirty Work is the first Rolling Stones record to feature two tracks with Richards on lead vocals ("Too Rude" and "Sleep Tonight").

Following a further month of final recording in July and August 1985 (which saw guest appearances by Jimmy Page, Bobby Womack and Tom Waits), co-producer Steve Lillywhite supervised several weeks of mixing and the creation of 12-inch remixes. On 12 December, Ian Stewart, one of the Stones' founding members and their longtime pianist and road manager, died of a sudden heart attack at the age of 47. As a tribute, a hidden track of Stewart playing Big Bill Broonzy's "Key to the Highway" was added to close the album.

Outtakes and demo versions

Outtakes and demo versions from the Dirty Work sessions are available on various bootlegs, and include numbers like:[5]

Artwork and packaging

The original vinyl release of Dirty Work came shrinkwrapped in dark red cellophane. Breaking with Rolling Stones tradition, Dirty Work was the first of their studio albums to contain a lyric sheet in the US, apparently at the insistence of then-distributor CBS Records. Also included was a comic strip, drawn by Mark Marek, called "Dirty Workout".[6]

In 2005, Pitchfork Media included the album cover in their list of "The Worst Record Covers of All Time", with Brent DiCrescenzo saying that no other cover "goes so far to completely tarnish the reputation of a Valhalla-ensconced band while demonstrating the crushing awfulness of 1980s aesthetics".[7]

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[8]
Christgau's Record GuideA[9]
MusicHound2.5/5[10]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[11]
Uncut3/5[12]

In March 1986, the Rolling Stones' cover of "Harlem Shuffle" (their first lead single from a studio album not to be a Jagger/Richards original since the band's earliest days) was released to a receptive audience, reaching #13 in the UK and #5 in the US, though it did not receive the same amount of exposure as previous hits. The follow-up single "One Hit (To the Body)" was a top 30 hit and featured a revealing video of Jagger and Richards seeming to trade blows.

Dirty Work was released a week after "Harlem Shuffle", reaching #4 in the UK and US (going platinum there), but the critical reaction was less than enthusiastic. Some reviewers felt the album was slight in places, with weak, generic songwriting from Richards and Wood and puzzlingly abrasive vocals from Jagger. Some felt Jagger was saving his best material for his solo records, though the critical reaction to those releases was muted as well.

However, in 1986, Robert Christgau called Dirty Work "a bracing and even challenging record [which] innovates without kowtowing to multi-platinum fashion or half-assed pretension. It's honest and makes you like it."[13] In 2004, Stylus Magazine's "On Second Thoughts" feature assessed the album as "a tattered, embarrassed triumph, by far the most interesting Stones album since Some Girls at every level: lyrical, conceptual, instrumental."[14] The re-evaluation of the album finds that despite its change of style to a then current 80s-style production and experimentation, the album features "the most venomous guitar sound of the Stones' career, and Jagger's most committed vocals."[14]

Keith Richards said that songs on the album were structured so they could be played live with a view to touring to support the album, before Jagger decided he wasn't going to tour after all.[15] (As mentioned, Jagger later cited his concerns about Charlie's health for not doing so.)

The album produced a hit for the Rolling Stones, the cover of "Harlem Shuffle," and featured a number of guest appearances, including contributions by Tom Waits, Marku Ribas, Patti Scialfa, Bobby Womack, and Jimmy Page on "One Hit (To the Body)".

In 1994 Dirty Work was remastered and reissued by Virgin Records, and again in 2009 by Universal Music. It was released on SHM-SACD in 2011 by Universal Music Japan.

Track listing

Side one
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
1. "One Hit (To the Body)"  Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood 4:44
2. "Fight"  Jagger, Richards, Wood 3:09
3. "Harlem Shuffle"  Bob Relf, Ernest Nelson 3:23
4. "Hold Back"  Jagger, Richards 3:53
5. "Too Rude"  Lindon Roberts 3:11
Side two
No. TitleWriter(s) Length
6. "Winning Ugly"  Jagger, Richards 4:32
7. "Back to Zero"  Jagger, Richards, Chuck Leavell 4:00
8. "Dirty Work"  Jagger, Richards, Wood 3:53
9. "Had It with You"  Jagger, Richards, Wood 3:19
10. "Sleep Tonight"  Jagger, Richards 5:10
11. "Untitled hidden track" (uncredited excerpt from "Key to the Highway")  0:33

Personnel

The Rolling Stones
Additional personnel
Production

Singles

Year Single Chart Position
1986 "Harlem Shuffle" The Billboard Hot 100[17] 5
Mainstream Rock Tracks[17] 2
Hot Dance Music/Club Play[17] 4
Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Single Sales[17] 5
UK Top 100 Singles[18] 13
"One Hit (To the Body)" Mainstream Rock Tracks[17] 3
The Billboard Hot 100[17] 28
UK Top 100 Singles[18] 80
"Winning Ugly" Mainstream Rock Tracks[17] 10

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1986) Position
Australian Kent Music Report[19] 2
Austrian Albums Chart[20] 4
Canadian RPM Albums Chart[21] 2
Dutch Albums Chart[22] 1
French SNEP Albums Chart[23] 9
German Media Control Albums Chart[24] 2
Italian Albums Chart[25] 3
Japanese Oricon LPs Chart[26] 6
New Zealand Albums Chart[27] 3
Norwegian Albums Chart[28] 3
Spanish Albums Chart[29] 2
Swedish Albums Chart[30] 4
Swiss Albums Chart[31] 1
UK Albums Chart[32] 4
US Billboard 200[33] 4

Year-end charts

Chart (1986) Position
Australian Albums Chart[19] 23
Austrian Albums Chart[34] 28
Canadian Albums Chart[35] 20
Dutch Albums Chart[36] 28
French Albums Chart[37] 26
Italian Albums Chart[25] 21
US Billboard 200[38] 79

Certifications

Region Certification Certified units/Sales
Canada (Music Canada)[39] Platinum 100,000^
France (SNEP)[40] Gold 231,800[41]
Germany (BVMI)[42] Gold 250,000^
Netherlands (NVPI)[43] Gold 50,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[44] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[45] Platinum 1,000,000^

^shipments figures based on certification alone

Chart succession

Preceded by
Black Celebration by Depeche Mode		 Swiss Chart number-one album
20 April 1986 		Succeeded by
Wise Monkeys by Phil Carmen
Preceded by
Picture Book by Simply Red		 Dutch Mega Chart number-one album
12 April 1986 		Succeeded by
Parade by Prince and The Revolution
Preceded by
Rocky IV (soundtrack) by Various Artists		 European Top 100 number-one album
17–31 May 1986 		Succeeded by
So by Peter Gabriel

Notes

  1. ↑ Rich, Motoko (1 August 2007). "A Rolling Stone Prepares to Gather His Memories". New York Times. Retrieved 6 March 2008.
  2. ↑ Richards, Keith (2010). Life. Little, Brown and Company. ISBN 0-316-03438-X. OCLC 548642133.
  3. ↑ Zentgraf, Nico. "The Complete Works of the Rolling Stones 1962–2008". Retrieved 20 March 2008.
  4. ↑ Richards, Keith. Life. Orion (Kindle edition). p. 464 and 470. ISBN 978-0-297-85862-1.
  5. ↑ Outtakes and demo versions 1985 sessons
  6. ↑ Original LP Cover with red Cellophane
  7. ↑ http://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/6194-the-worst-record-covers-of-all-time/8/
  8. ↑ link
  9. ↑ link
  10. ↑ 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.
  11. ↑ "The Rolling Stones: Album Guide". rollingstone.com. Archived version retrieved 15 November 2014.
  12. ↑ Uncut review
  13. ↑ Christgau, Robert (15 April 1986). "Winning Ugly: An Essay on Dirty Work". Village Voice.
  14. 1 2 Soto, Alfred (September 2004). "On Second Thought: Rolling Stones - Dirty Work". Stylus Magazine.
  15. ↑ Keith Richards - In His Own Words by Mick St Michael, Omnibus Press, 1994, page 33. ISBN 0-7119-3634-X
  16. ↑ Saulnier, Jason (8 April 2010). "Chuck Leavell Interview". Music Legends. Retrieved 6 May 2013.
  17. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Rolling Stones Billboard Hot 100 history". Rovi Corporation / Billboard. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  18. 1 2 "Rolling Stone singles history – UK charts archive". Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  19. 1 2 Kent, David (1993). Australian Chart Book 1970–1992. St Ives, NSW: Australian Chart Book. ISBN 0-646-11917-6.
  20. ↑ "The Rolling Stones – Dirty Work – austriancharts.at" (ASP). Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  21. ↑ "Top Albums/CDs - Volume 44, No. 5, April 26, 1986". RPM. Retrieved 15 June 2013.
  22. ↑ "dutchcharts.nl The Rolling Stones – Dirty Work" (ASP). Hung Medien (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  23. ↑ "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.
  24. ↑ "Album Search: The Rolling Stones – Dirty Work" (ASP) (in German). Media Control. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  25. 1 2 "Hit Parade Italia – Gli album più venduti del 1986" (in Italian). hitparadeitalia.it. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  26. ↑ Oricon Album Chart Book: Complete Edition 1970–2005. Roppongi, Tokyo: Oricon Entertainment. 2006. ISBN 4-87131-077-9.
  27. ↑ "charts.org.nz The Rolling Stones – Dirty Work" (ASP). Hung Medien. Recording Industry Association of New Zealand. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  28. ↑ "norwegiancharts.com The Rolling Stones – Dirty Work" (ASP). Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  29. ↑ Salaverri, Fernando (September 2005). Sólo éxitos: año a año, 1959–2002 (1st ed.). Spain: Fundación Autor-SGAE. ISBN 84-8048-639-2.
  30. ↑ "swedishcharts.com The Rolling Stones – Dirty Work" (ASP). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  31. ↑ "The Rolling Stones – Dirty Work – hitparade.ch" (ASP). Hung Medien (in German). Swiss Music Charts. Retrieved 1 June 2013.
  32. ↑ "The Rolling Stones > Artists > Official Charts". UK Albums Chart. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  33. ↑ "Allmusic: Dirty Work : Charts & Awards : Billboard Albums". allmusic.com. Retrieved 1 May 2013.
  34. ↑ "Austriancharts.at - Jahreshitparade 1986". Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 May 2010.
  35. ↑ "RPM Top 100 Albums of 1986". RPM. 27 December 1986. Retrieved 3 October 2011.
  36. ↑ "Dutch charts jaaroverzichten 1986" (ASP) (in Dutch). Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  37. ↑ "Les Albums (CD) de 1986 par InfoDisc" (PHP) (in French). infodisc.fr. Retrieved 1 May 2012.
  38. ↑ Billboard Magazine – 1986: The Year in Music & Video. Billboard. Nielsen Business Media. 27 December 1986.
  39. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – The Rolling Stones – Dirty Work". Music Canada. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  40. ↑ "French album certifications – The Rolling Stones – Dirty Work" (in French). InfoDisc. Select THE ROLLING STONES and click OK
  41. ↑ "Les Albums Or :" (in French). Infodisc.fr. Retrieved 21 August 2013.
  42. ↑ "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank (The Rolling Stones; 'Dirty Work')" (in German). Bundesverband Musikindustrie. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  43. ↑ "Dutch album certifications – The Rolling Stones – Dirty Work" (in Dutch). Nederlandse Vereniging van Producenten en Importeurs van beeld- en geluidsdragers. Retrieved 16 February 2012.
  44. ↑ "British album certifications – The Rolling Stones – Dirty Work". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 16 February 2012. Enter Dirty Work 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
  45. ↑ "American album certifications – The Rolling Stones – Dirty Work". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 16 February 2012. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH

Further reading

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