AKA: Goats Head Soup

Goat's Head Soup 1973 Album

The Rolling Stones

First off, the front cover for Goats Head Soup is absolutely a horrendous image and does not get enough notoriety as such. With that out of the way, the contents within are interesting from a number of angles. Basically, the Stones recorded the bulk of it in Jamaica - although the genesis of some of tracks go back to the Let It Bleed days - and the end result mirrors the state of the band at that time: one ongoing physical, emotional, and mental hangover from the last 4-5 years or so, when they probably needed a rest from it all. This sounds like it was composed by a group of guys high on very hard drugs, or coming down from them, which makes sense, as the rather repetitive yet pleasant-sounding ballad "Coming Down Again" features Keith Richards himself on lead vocals. And there seems to be more focus on sidemen, weird instrumentation, and rude, off-color gags ("Star Star") than ever before.