Black and Blue

1976 studio album by The Rolling Stones / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Black and Blue is the 13th British and 15th American studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 23 April 1976 by Rolling Stones Records.

Quick facts: Black and Blue, Studio album by the Rolling S...
Black and Blue
Blackblue.jpg
Studio album by
Released23 April 1976 (1976-04-23)
Recorded
  • 5 December 1974 – 4 April 1975
  • 19 October 1975 – February 1976 (overdubs)[1]
Studio
  • Musicland (Munich)
  • Rolling Stones Mobile (Rotterdam)
  • Mountain Recording (Montreux) (overdubs)
Genre
Length41:24
LabelRolling Stones
ProducerThe Glimmer Twins
The Rolling Stones chronology
Rolled Gold: The Very Best of the Rolling Stones
(1974)
Black and Blue
(1976)
Love You Live
(1977)
Singles from Black and Blue
  1. "Fool to Cry"
    Released: 26 April 1976
  2. "Hot Stuff"
    Released: 1976
Close

This album was the first record after former guitarist Mick Taylor quit in December 1974. As he had done the previous time the Stones were between second guitarists in 1968, Keith Richards recorded the bulk of the guitar parts himself, though the album recording sessions also served as an audition for Taylor's replacement. Richards said of the album that it was used for "rehearsing guitar players, that's what that one was about."[2] Numerous guitarists showed up to auditions; those who appeared on the album were Wayne Perkins, Harvey Mandel, and Ronnie Wood. Wood had previously contributed to the title track from the It's Only Rock 'n Roll album, and became a temporary touring member of the Stones in 1975 and official member in 1976.[3] The Stones rhythm section of bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts appear on nearly all tracks, and frequent collaborators Nicky Hopkins and Billy Preston play keyboards on most of the album, with percussionist Ollie E. Brown also appearing on about half of the tracks. The album was the second to be self-produced, credited to "The Glimmer Twins", a pseudonym used by Jagger and Richards for their roles as producers.

Black and Blue showed the band blending their traditional rock and roll style with heavy influences from reggae and funk music. Only one single from the album, "Fool to Cry", had any significant chart success, and reception to the album was mixed. The album received a few positive reviews at the time of release, though many reviewers found it mostly forgettable, and tended to rank it very low compared to prior Stones releases. Retrospective reviews from more recent publications such as AllMusic have been kinder to the album, with critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine stating that the album's "being longer on grooves and jams than songs" ended up being "what's good about it".[4]