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Steel Wheels

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This article is about the studio album by The Rolling Stones. For the American roots and folk band, see The Steel Wheels. For the type of wheels, see Artillery wheel.

Steel Wheels
Studio album by
the Rolling Stones
Released29 August 1989[1]
Recorded29 March – 5 May 1989
Studio
Genre
Length53:03
Label
ProducerChris Kimsey, The Glimmer Twins
The Rolling Stones chronology
Singles Collection: The London Years
(1989) 		Steel Wheels
(1989) 		Flashpoint
(1991)
Singles from Steel Wheels
  1. "Mixed Emotions"
    Released: 21 August 1989
  2. "Rock and a Hard Place"
    Released: October 1989 (US)
  3. "Almost Hear You Sigh"
    Released: January 1990 (US)
  4. "Terrifying"
    Released: August 1990[2]

Steel Wheels is the nineteenth studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 29 August 1989 in the US[3] and on 11 September in the UK.[4] It was the final album of new material that the band recorded for Columbia Records.

Hailed as a major comeback upon its release, Steel Wheels is notable for the patching up of the working relationship between Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, a reversion to a more classic style of music and the launching of the band's biggest world tour to date. It is also the final full-length studio album to involve long-time bassist Bill Wyman, preceding the announcement of his departure in January 1993. Wyman's final tenure with the band would be on two studio tracks for the 1991 album Flashpoint. Steel Wheels was also the first album not to feature former member and frequent contributor on piano Ian Stewart, who died shortly before the release of their previous album Dirty Work. It was produced by Richards and Jagger, along with Chris Kimsey, who had previously produced the Stones' 1983 Undercover.

After the relative disappointment of their prior two albums, Steel Wheels was a hit, reaching multi-platinum status in the United States, Top 5 status in numerous markets around the world, and spawning two hit singles: "Mixed Emotions", which peaked at No. 1 in Canada and No. 5 in the United States, and "Rock and a Hard Place", the band's last Top-40 hit in the US. Critics were generally lukewarm towards the album, exemplified by Stephen Thomas Erlewine: "It doesn't make for a great Stones album, but it's not bad, and it feels like a comeback."

Background

Following the release of 1986's Dirty Work, and Jagger's pursuit of a solo career, relations between him and the Stones-committed Richards worsened considerably.[citation needed] While Jagger released the tepidly received Primitive Cool in 1987, Richards recorded Talk Is Cheap, his solo debut, released in 1988 to positive reviews. The two years apart appeared to have healed the wounds sufficiently to begin resurrecting their partnership and band.[5] Ronnie Wood said of Steel Wheels: "It’s the album that united the band again, after a three year hiatus that was almost permanent".

Meeting in January 1989, just preceding the Stones' induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, with the chemistry between Jagger and Richards reasserting itself, "their differences were ultimately overcome by the power of their long partnership".[6] After composing some 50 songs in a matter of weeks, Ronnie Wood, Wyman and Charlie Watts were called in to begin recording what would become Steel Wheels, beckoning Undercover co-producer Chris Kimsey to perform the same role.

Recording in Montserrat and London during the spring, Steel Wheels was designed to emulate a classic Rolling Stones sound. One notable exception was "Continental Drift", an Eastern-flavoured piece, with The Master Musicians of Jajouka led by Bachir Attar, recorded in June 1989 in Tangier, coordinated by Cherie Nutting. With much of the past disagreements behind them, sessions for Steel Wheels were fairly harmonious.[citation needed]

Release and reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[7]
Christgau's Record GuideB−[8]
The Great Rock Discography6/10[9]
MusicHound[10]
Q[11]
Record Collector[11]
Rolling Stone[12]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide[13]
Tom HullB−[14]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[15]

The massive, worldwide Steel Wheels Tour was launched in late August 1989, concurrently with Steel Wheels' arrival and the release of lead single "Mixed Emotions," a partially biographical reference to Jagger and Richards' recent woes that proved to be the Rolling Stones' last major hit single in the United States, reaching No. 5. Critical reaction was warm, with Steel Wheels reaching No. 2 in the UK and No. 3 in the US where it went double-platinum. Follow-up singles were "Rock and a Hard Place", "Almost Hear You Sigh" and "Terrifying".

The Steel Wheels Tour, which finished in mid-1990 after being re-titled the Urban Jungle Tour, was a financial success. In 1990, FOX aired a 3-D television special of the Steel Wheels tour. Unlike anaglyphic 3-D which requires the familiar red and green glasses, the method used was the Pulfrich Effect which permitted full-colour video. The film was shot by Gerald Marks of PullTime 3-D in NYC. An IMAX film of the tour was released the next year, which still[when?] plays sporadically at IMAX venues[example needed] around the world[where?].

Anthony DeCurtis of Rolling Stone writes "All the ambivalence, recriminations, attempted rapprochement and psychological one-upmanship evident on Steel Wheels testify that the Stones are right in the element that has historically spawned their best music – a murky, dangerously charged environment in which nothing is merely what it seems. Against all odds, and at this late date, the Stones have once again generated an album that will have the world dancing to deeply troubling, unresolved emotions."

Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic writes "The Stones sound good, and Mick and Keith both get off a killer ballad apiece with "Almost Hear You Sigh" and "Slipping Away", respectively. It doesn't make for a great Stones album, but it's not bad, and it feels like a comeback – which it was supposed to, after all."[7]

In 2000 it was voted number 568 in Colin Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.[16]

The album was the Rolling Stones' first digital recording. In 1994, Steel Wheels was remastered and reissued by Virgin Records, and again in 2009 by Universal Music. An SHM-CD version was released on 2 December 2015 by Universal Japan, mastered from the original British master tape.[17]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, except "Almost Hear You Sigh" co-written by Steve Jordan.

Side one
No.TitleLength
1."Sad Sad Sad"3:35
2."Mixed Emotions"4:38
3."Terrifying"4:53
4."Hold on to Your Hat"3:32
5."Hearts for Sale"4:40
6."Blinded by Love"4:37
Total length:25:55
Side two
No.TitleLength
7."Rock and a Hard Place"5:25
8."Can't Be Seen"4:09
9."Almost Hear You Sigh"4:37
10."Continental Drift"5:14
11."Break the Spell"3:06
12."Slipping Away"4:29
Total length:27:00

Personnel

Adapted from Steel Wheels liner notes.[18]

The Rolling Stones

  • Mick Jagger – lead vocals (except 8 & 12), backing vocals (1, 2, 9, 12), guitar (1, 2, 4–7, 11), harmonica (5, 11), shakers (2, 3), keyboards (10)
  • Keith Richards – acoustic guitar (10), classical guitar (9), guitar (except 9 & 10), backing vocals (2, 3, 6, 8, 9, 12), lead vocals (8 & 12), bicycle spokes (10)
  • Ronnie Wood – guitar (2, 3, 5–9, 12), bass guitar (1, 4, 11), acoustic bass (10), Dobro (11), backing vocals (9)
  • Bill Wyman – bass guitar (2, 3, 5–9, 12)
  • Charlie Watts – drums (all tracks)

Additional musicians

Technical and design

Charts

Certifications and sales

Certifications and sales for Steel Wheels
Region Certification Certified units/sales
Australia (ARIA)[43] Platinum 75,000[44]
Austria (IFPI Austria)[45] Gold 25,000*
Canada (Music Canada)[46] 3× Platinum 300,000^
Finland (Musiikkituottajat)[47] Gold 25,227[47]
France (SNEP)[48] 2× Gold 200,000*
Germany (BVMI)[49] Gold 250,000^
Italy (FIMI)[50] Gold 100,000[50]
Japan (RIAJ)[52] Gold 167,000[51]
Netherlands (NVPI)[53] Gold 50,000^
Spain (PROMUSICAE)[54] Platinum 100,000^
Sweden (GLF)[55] Gold 50,000^
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)[56] Gold 25,000^
United Kingdom (BPI)[57] Gold 100,000^
United States (RIAA)[58] 2× Platinum 2,000,000^

* Sales figures based on certification alone.
^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

  1. ^ "1989 timeline".
  2. ^ Strong, Martin Charles (12 February 1995). Great Rock Discography. Canongate Press. p. 695. ISBN 978-0-86241-541-9.
  3. ^ "American album certifications – The Rolling Stones – Steel Wheels". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  4. ^ "British album certifications – The Rolling Stones – Steel Wheels". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  5. ^ Wood, Ronnie. "Steel Wheels". Ronniewood.com. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  6. ^ Giles, Jeff (29 August 2015). "How the Rolling Stones Finally Regrouped for 'Steel Wheels'". Ultimate Classic Rock. Retrieved 11 February 2024.
  7. ^ a b Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "Steel Wheels – The Rolling Stones". AllMusic. Archived from the original on 19 April 2021. Retrieved 3 May 2021.
  8. ^ Christgau, Robert (1990). "R". Christgau's Record Guide: The '80s. Pantheon Books. ISBN 0-679-73015-X. Retrieved 18 March 2022 – via robertchristgau.com.
  9. ^ Strong, Martin C. (2004). The Great Rock Discography (7th ed.). New York: Canongate. p. 1294. OL 18807297M.
  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. ^ a b "The Rolling Stones – Steel Wheels CD". CD Universe/Muze. Retrieved 15 November 2014.
  12. ^ DeCurtis, Anthony (29 August 1989). "Steel Wheels". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on 12 June 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
  13. ^ "The Rolling Stones: Album Guide". rollingstone.com. Archived version retrieved 15 November 2014.
  14. ^ Hull, Tom (n.d.). "Grade List: The Rolling Stones". tomhull.com. Archived from the original on 6 June 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  15. ^ Larkin, Colin, ed. (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th concise ed.). Omnibus. p. 1197. OL 11913831M.
  16. ^ Colin Larkin (2000). All Time Top 1000 Albums (3rd ed.). Virgin Books. p. 192. ISBN 0-7535-0493-6.
  17. ^ "スティール・ホイールズ – ザ・ローリング・ストーンズ". ザ・ローリング・ストーンズ. Archived from the original on 24 February 2016. Retrieved 10 November 2015.
  18. ^ Steel Wheels (CD booklet). The Rolling Stones. Rolling Stones Records/CBS Records. 1989. 465752-2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
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  37. ^ "Dutch charts jaaroverzichten 1989" (ASP) (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 12 May 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
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