Steel Wheels by The Rolling Stones
Steel Wheels is the 19th British and 21st American studio album by The Rolling Stones, released in 1989. Heralded as a major comeback upon its release, the project is notable for the patching up of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' relationship, a reversion to a more classic style of music and the launching of the band's biggest world tour at the time. It is also long-time bassist Bill Wyman's final full length studio album with the Stones, preceding the announcement of his departure in January 1993. Wyman's final tenure with the band would be on two studio tracks for 1991's Flashpoint.
<i>Steel Wheels</i> was recorded after a three-year hiatus between studio releases and the assumed dissolution of the legendary group. However, quicker than you could say "World Tour," the band were back in the studio polishing up a stronger than expected collection that while indebted to the polished production values of the era still managed to pull off a number of trademark Stones riffs without losing the thread. "Sad Sad Sad" kicks things off with the band's natural aggression showing force, while most of the remaining highlights are stylistic flourishes that show the group becoming less a dangerous locomotive than a sleek jet. "Blinded By Love" is the obligatory country-based tune. "Continental Drift" aims for "psychedelia" with its eastern feel. "Almost Hear You Sigh" and "Slipping Away" showcase Keith Richards' innate sense of delightfully wasted time and serve as the album's most sustaining moments. Elsewhere, the band chug at a furious pace — "Hold OnTo Your Hat," "Rock and AHard Place" — that shows they could keep up with their contemporaries if need be. But, really, for a band of such legendary status, there's no need.
