Tattoo You represents a mini-renaissance for the Stones here and even though the majority of the songs stem from outtakes(some go as far back as Goats Head Soup ala Tops), the overall presentation sounds crisp, clear and fresh. Start Me Up provided the band with another anthem to add to the canon of classic material and features an archetypal Richards riff that is instantly familiar and profound, coupled with Charlie Watts' methodical drum beat and the gloriously, sloppy vocal harmonies from Jagger, Richards and Wood. Hang Fire is another Chuck Berry-esque rocker featuring sunny, vocal harmonies and biting leads from Ronnie Wood, making this track succeed most convincingly. Slave dates from the Black and Blue album sessions and is a funky rocker that allows the Stones to jam out a bit, while also offering some dynamite saxophone accompaniment courtesy of jazz/R&B great, Sonny Rollins. His playing is also featured on two other numbers in Neighbors(one of 2 new tracks written for the record) and the album's closer, the carefree and laid back groove of Waiting on a Friend, which would be another hit single from the album. 

​

Little T&A features Keith on lead vocals and like Happy before it, it's a good old sleaze rocker that's rough around the edges and cooks its way through, realized as an overlooked gem from the record and another creative notch for Richards in particular. Black Limousine is a derivative blues vamp that chugs along nicely and features a piercing, wailing harmonica accompaniment from Jagger. Worried About You begins with electric piano and is another Black and Blue outtake that avoids sentimentality, as Jagger's falsetto vocal suggests and succeeds duly as a steady album cut. The aforementioned, Tops, came under scrutiny many years later by one Mick Taylor, whom had claimed that the finished track used on the album, seemed to resemble his untouched guitar performance and it was later revealed that this was in fact, the case(The Stones and Taylor later settled out of court upon this matter). The song itself, dated from the sessions for 1973's Goats Head Soup album and despite the slight of discredit to Taylor's appearance, the song fits quite well within the album's track list as its feature is of a smooth, sultry R&B flavor. Following Tops,  Heaven is the second and final "new" track to be included and uses studio engineering techniques for Mick's vocals, giving an ethereal, dreamlike quality to the songs' textured, main guitar riff and its hypnotic rhythm beat. 

 

As a whole, I find Tattoo You along with Some Girls and to a lesser degree, Undercover as being a loose triad of solid and consistently quality moments that revealed the Stones in their older age as still remaining relevant to the modern decade of the 1980's and maintaining a strong finger on the pulse to their creative muse. And in the grand scheme of things, I find this album to be the last consistently satisfying release overall. 

​

Rating Grade- A+