Rolling Stones Dirty Work CD

The Rolling Stones: Mick Jagger (vocals); Keith Richards, Ron Wood (guitar); Bill Wyman (bass); Charlie Watts (drums).
Additional personnel: Bobby Womack, Don Covay, Chuck Leavell, Jimmy Page, Patti Scialfa, Jimmy Cliff, Tom Waits, Kirsty MacColl, Ivan Neville, Anton Fig, Steve Jordan, Charley Drayton, Philippe Saisse, Dan Collette, John Regan, Alan Rogan, Ian Stewart, Janis Pendarvis, Dolette McDonald.
Recorded at Pathe Marconi Studios, Paris, France. Originally released on Rolling Stones Records.
Digitally remastered by Bob Ludwig (Gateway Mastering Studios).
DIRTY WORK includes an unlisted instrumental track.
At its best, Dirty Work captures the friction between Mick and Keith during the album's recording; at its worst, it's simply a competent collection of hard rock, spiked with some unnecessary synthesizers. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Reuniting after three years and one solo album from Mick Jagger, the Rolling Stones attempted to settle their differences and craft a comeback with Dirty Work, but the tensions remained too great for the group. Designed as a return to their rock & roll roots after several years of vague dance experiments, Dirty Work is hampered by uneven songs and undistinguished performances, as well as a slick, lightly synthesized production that instantly dates the album to the mid-'80s. Jagger often sounds like he's saving his best work for his solo records, but a handful of songs have a spry, vigorous attack -- "One Hit (To the Body)" is a classic, and "Winning Ugly" and "Had It With You" have a similar aggression. Still, most of Dirty Work sounds as forced as the cover of Bob & Earl's uptown soul obscurity "Harlem Shuffle," leaving the album as one of the group's most undistinguished efforts. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
Three years after releasing 1983's UNDERCOVER, the Rolling Stones returned to the studio to record DIRTY WORK. During the band's sabbatical, Mick Jagger had released his solo debut SHE'S THE BOSS, sparking resentment from Keith Richards, who did not approve of Jagger making music outside of the band. A notable distinction of DIRTY WORK is Ron Wood's collaboration with the Jagger/Richards songwriting axis on four songs, "One Hit (To The Body)", "Fight," "Had It With You" and the title track, which may have been code for the Glimmer Twins' then-strained relationship.
Since Stones recording sessions are always special events, a number of famous guests made cameos on this 1986 release. Among them are Stones heroes Bobby Womack and Don Covay, Tom Waits, Jimmy Page and producer Steve Lillywhite's wife Kirsty MacColl. Despite any infighting, the Stones continued their history of interesting cover choices. A minor 1964 hit by Bob and Earl hit the top five for the Stones, while Half Pint's "Too Rude" continued the band's love affair with reggae.