Power Station

Singles. The album is The Stones' first full studio album since 1997's Bridges to Babylon, with a tentative release date in Summer 2005, as reported on Billboard (http://www.billboard.com/bb/daily/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1000735012) (external link). Albums. Charlie Watts also attended the Paris sessions and was reported to be in excellent health after being treated for throat cancer. The group quietly disbanded shortly after. Was stated the Stones would reconvene after the Christmas holidays and that the tracks recorded so far were significantly different to anything he has worked on with The Stones before. The group was staggered, but decided to press on, and toured with bassist Manny Yanes instead, to moderate success. The Stones completed sessions with Don Was as producer for a new studio album in Paris in December 2004, with Jagger and Richards writing and recording new songs.

Bernard Edwards (former Chic bassist) stepped in and completed the album Living In Fear (1997) in his stead, and was prepared to tour with the group, but then died suddenly of pneumonia during a trip to Japan. In response, other music retail chains (including Tower Records, Virgin Megastore and HMV) pulled all Rolling Stones CDs and related merchandise from their shelves and replaced them with signs explaining the situation. However, divorce and drug rehabilitation forced John Taylor to withdraw from the project before the album was complete. In November of 2003 the band exclusively licensed the right to sell their new 4-DVD boxed set, Four Flicks, recorded on their most recent world tour, to the U.S Best Buy chain of stores. The band reunited ten years later with its original members, including Palmer. On November 9, 2003, the band played its first ever concert in Hong Kong as part of the Harbour Fest celebration. Palmer went on to record a string of chart-topping hits, including "Addicted To Love", "Simply Irresistible", and "I Didn't Mean To Turn You On". It was attended by an estimated 450,000 people, the largest concert in Canadian history.

The band folded late in 1985, as its members turned to other projects: John Taylor returned to Duran Duran, Andy Taylor left Duran Duran and started a solo career, Tony Thompson was to take the place of John Bonham in a re-formed Led Zeppelin, but he was nearly killed in a 1986 car accident before that reunion could get off the ground. On July 30, 2003, the band headlined the Molson Canadian Rocks for Toronto concert in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, to help the city recover financially and psychologically from the effects of the 2003 SARS epidemic. Similarly, his friendship with producer Joel Silver led to Power Station writing a song called "We Fight For Love" for the Arnold Schwarzenegger action film Commando. In 2002, Q magazine named The Rolling Stones as one of the "50 Bands To See Before You Die". Des Barres' friendship with actor Don Johnson led to the band's guest appearance on an episode of the TV drama Miami Vice. (Critics of Windows also noted the song's lyric "You make a grown man cry".). Des Barres also performed with them at the enormous Live Aid charity concert in Philadelphia that summer. Some critics noted that the group who epitomise the way that rock and roll commercialised earlier rhythm and blues by delivering it to a global audience provided the soundtrack for the corporation who did the same with software.

This inevitably led to Palmer's departure from the band. Power Station went on to tour with singer Michael Des Barres (formerly of Silverhead and Checquered Past). The Stones' song "Start Me Up" was used by Microsoft to launch their Windows 95 operating system. The group's unexpected success led to two results: the band decided to do a summer tour in America, and Robert Palmer decided to record a new album to take advantage of his sudden name recognition. (He would go on to write a coffee table tome entitled "Rolling with the Stones" in 2002) After his departure, Wyman was replaced by respected session musician and Miles Davis sideman Darryl Jones in time to record Voodoo Lounge (1994) and Bridges to Babylon (1997) —both highly praised—and to tour in support of both records. (Incidentally, the album's cover graphics and color scheme, which were also used in the videos, were based on sketches by John Taylor.) The band also released a collection of the band's three music videos called "The Power Station Video EP". In 1991 Bill Wyman left the band and had published Stone Alone, a frank autobiography. The album itself reached number 12 in the UK and number 6 on the US album chart. 1989 also saw Stones inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

A third single, "Communication", was not as successful; it barely reached the Top 40 in the US, and disappeared after hitting a dismal number 75 in the UK. Ironically, Richards' first solo record, Talk is Cheap (1988), which he had been reluctant to make because of his loyalty to The Stones, was well received by both fans and critics, prompting Jagger to shelve his own solo career and reform the group for 1989's Steel Wheels album and tour, widely heralded as a return to form. (The music video featured the transsexual model Caroline Cossey, credited as "Tula".) The second single was "Bang A Gong (Get It On)", which went to number 22 in the UK and number 9 in the US, while competing against the Duran Duran single "A View to a Kill". Sales of Jagger's solo records (She's the Boss (1985) and Primitive Cool (1987)) did not live up to expectations. The first, "Some Like It Hot", reached number 14 on the UK singles charts and number 6 in the USA. But by this point Jagger and Richards had begun openly criticizing each other in the press, and many observers assumed the band had broken up. The band had two hit singles. However, a bright spot that year was when they were awarded a Grammy for lifetime achievement.

The album was produced by Bernard Edwards, with some informal assistance from Nile Rodgers. The Rolling Stones' only live appearance during this time was a tribute to Stewart. In March of 1985, the band issued the album Power Station (originally released on vinyl and subtitled 33⅓ for the turntable speed). To add to the band's woes in 1986, longtime collaborator and unofficial band member Ian Stewart died of a heart attack. On February 16, 1985, the band performed "Some Like It Hot" and "Bang A Gong" on the Saturday Night Live TV show; this was Palmer's only live performance with the band. The album again sold poorly, and sales were probably hurt by Jagger's decision not to tour in support of the album. Before long, they had decided to record the entire album with Palmer. Indeed, Jagger was spending a great deal of time on his solo recordings, and most of the material on 1986's Dirty Work was authored solely by Keith Richards (indeed, many would later speculate that, after years of making decisions in drug-addled Richards' place, Jagger resented Richards reasserting creative control).

When he heard that they had recorded demos for "Bang A Gong", he asked to try out vocals on that one as well, and by the end of the day, the group knew that they had found that elusive chemistry which distinguishes successful bands. This move angered Richards, who saw it as a lack of commitment to the band. The group then invited eclectic soul singer Robert Palmer to record vocals for the track "Communication". In 1982 Jagger had signed a major solo deal with the band's new label, CBS Records. Those who were approached included Mick Jagger, Billy Idol, Mars Williams and Richard Butler (of The Psychedelic Furs), and Mick Ronson. To make matters worse, Ron Wood was now suffering from his own growing drug habit. The original plan for the one-album project was for the three musicians (Taylor, Taylor and Thompson) to provide musical continuity to an album full of material, with a different singer performing on each track. The album's slick production and violent political and sexual content were coolly received by both critics and fans.

When Buell and Taylor broke up, the project evolved into the idea of a revolving supergroup; a tentative name for the band was Big Brother. 1983's Undercover was widely seen as Jagger's attempt to make the Rolling Stones' sound more compatible with current musical trends. Both Taylors were eager to branch out from the synthesizer-heavy pop of Duran Duran and play some Led Zeppelin-flavored rock'n'roll; the participation of their idols from Chic lent the project a horn-inflected funk that meshed surprisingly well with the crunching guitars and booming drums. Throughout the early 1980s the Jagger/Richards partnership continued to falter, and their records would suffer because of it. Rex song "Bang A Gong (Get It On)". Tattoo You and the subsequent tour were major commercial successes. The group began as something of a whim -- it was a one-time gathering of friends to provide backing to model and would-be singer Bebe Buell (John Taylor's girlfriend at the time) who wanted to record a cover of the T. It also featured the single "Start Me Up," showing that Richards was still capable of writing guitar parts of the same calibre as ten years earlier.

The band was formed in New York City late in 1984 during a break in Duran Duran's schedule, and were named after the Power Station recording studio where their album was conceived and recorded. Tattoo You (1981), like the album before it, was composed mainly of unused songs from earlier recording outings (The ballad "Waiting on a Friend" dated back to the Goats Head Soup sessions). Power Station was a pop group made up of singer Robert Palmer, bassist John Taylor and guitarist Andy Taylor of Duran Duran, and former Chic drummer Tony Thompson; two other Chic members, Bernard Edwards and Nile Rodgers were also involved on the studio side. Emotional Rescue (1980) was in a similar vein, but lacked the redeeming features of its predecessor. "She Can Rock It". Jagger and Richards seemed to channel much of the personal turmoil surrounding them into renewed creative vitality. With the notable exception of the disco-influenced "Miss You," (a hit single and a live staple) most of the songs on the album were fast, basic guitar-driven rock and roll, and the album did much to quell the band's critics. "Communication". In 1978 the band recorded Some Girls, their most focused and successful album in some time, despite the perceived misogyny of the title track.

"Some Like It Hot". The Clash vocalist Joe Strummer even went so far as to declare "No Elvis, Beatles or Rolling Stones in 1977.". "Bang A Gong (Get It On)". By this time punk rock had become highly influential in pop circles, and the Stones were increasingly criticized as being decadent, ageing millionaires, with their music considered by many to be either stagnant or irrelevant. Power Station: 20th Anniversary Edition (2005). His marriage to Bianca would end in 1977. Best Of (2003). He was a regular at New York's Studio 54 disco club, often in the company of model Jerry Hall.

Living In Fear (1997). While Richards was settling his legal and personal problems, Jagger continued his jet-set lifestyle. Power Station (1985). It also coincided with the end of his relationship with Pallenberg, which had become increasingly strained since the tragic death of their third child (an infant son named Tara). Among the bonus tracks on the album will be Michael Des Barres track "We Fight For Love" -- now retitled "Someday, Somehow, Someone's Gotta Pay" (from the Commando OST). This motivated a final, concerted attempt to end his drug habit, which proved largely successful. The package will include the original 8 track album, 7 bonus tracks and a 40-minute 8-chapter DVD. The case would drag on for a year, with Richards eventually receiving a suspended sentence and ordered to play a concert for a local charity.

EMI are scheduled to release a new version of Power Station on February 21, 2005, to commemorate the album's 20th anniversary. Despite having spent much of the previous year undergoing a series of drug therapies to help withdraw from heroin, including (allegedly) having his blood filtered, Richards and Pallenberg were arrested in a Toronto hotel room and charged with possession of heroin. They released the album Astronaut in October 2004. Keith Richards would have more serious concerns in 1977. John Taylor and Andy Taylor reunited with the original members of Duran Duran in 2001. Although The Rolling Stones remained hugely popular through the 1970s, music critics had grown increasingly dismissive of the band's output. Robert Palmer died of a heart attack in September 2003, and Tony Thompson died two months later of kidney cancer. Again, Jagger was, if nothing else, shrewdly interpreting market trends —the mid-1970s were the era of flashy stage acts such as Queen and Elton John, and the band's tours were to become even more expensive and elaborate in the years to come.

This represented a further breakdown in Mick and Keith's relationship —the pragmatic Richards considering it entirely superfluous and distracting from the music. The shows featured a new format for the Stones with their usual act replaced by increasingly theatrical stage props and gimmicks, including a giant inflatable phallus and a cherry picker on which Jagger would soar out over the audience. Wood had already contributed to It's Only Rock'N'Roll, but his first public act with the band would be the 1975 United States tour. American session players Wayne Perkins and Harvey Mandel appeared on much of the album, but the band settled on Ron Wood, a long time friend of Richards' and guitarist with The Faces, whose singer Rod Stewart had recently gone solo.

The band used the album's recording sessions (again in Munich) to audition possible replacements. Guitarists stylistically far-flung as Humble Pie lead Peter Frampton and ex-Yardbirds impressario Jeff Beck were auditioned. Irked by perceived mistreatment, and a small share of the band's royalties, Taylor announced he was leaving the band shortly before sessions commenced for the next album, Black and Blue (1976). By the time of It's Only Rock'N'Roll Richards was reportedly berating Taylor during recording sessions, and Taylor contributed little to the album. Mick Taylor's intricate lead style and shy persona never quite matched Richards' outspoken image and basic, Chuck Berry-inspired rhythm work.

Critics generally wrote the album off as uninspired from a band perceived as stagnating, but both album and single were huge hits, even without the customary tour to promote them. Intra-band strife continued. Regular producer Jimmy Miller was not asked to participate in the sessions because of his increasing unreliability, due to drug use. By the time they came to Munich to record 1974's It's Only Rock'N'Roll, however, there were even more problems. Many fans and critics regard these recordings as the best Rolling Stones concert recordings ever.

A live recording made in Brussels on 17 October was intended for an official release but due to legal problems it appeared only on bootlegs (Nasty Music and Brussels Affair). But the tour of Europe in fall 1973 showed the Rolling Stones in top form, particularly Mick Taylor who played extensive solos on songs like Midnight Rambler and You Can't Always Get What You Want in an exciting interplay with Keith Richards on rhythm guitar. The making of the record was not helped by another legal battle over drugs, this one dating back to their stay in France. When it finally arrived, Goats Head Soup (1973) was disappointing, with the Stones' unique sound diluted by the influence of glam rock and memorable largely for the hit single "Angie," popularly believed to be about David Bowie's new wife but in reality another of Richards' odes to Pallenberg.

By the time Exile on Main Street had been completed Jagger had made the other band members aware that he was more interested in the celebrity lifestyle than working on its follow-up, and increasingly their records were made piecemeal, with tracks and parts laid down as, and when, the band —Jagger and Richards in particular—could get together and remain amicable sufficiently long enough to do so. It would also be one of the last on which the band still functioned as a unit. The film Cocksucker Blues (never officially released) documents the subsequent tour. Dismissed by some on its release as sprawling and self-indulgent, the record is now considered among the band's greatest.

Using the recently completed mobile studio, they set about recording the double album Exile on Main Street (1972) in the basement of their new home. He married the pregnant Nicaraguan model Bianca Pérez Mora Macías, and the couple's jet-set lifestyle put further distance between himself and Keith. Pressured by the UK Inland Revenue service about several years of unpaid income tax, the band left for the South of France, where Richards rented a chateau and sublet rooms to the band members and assorted hangers-on. As Richards removed himself from society, Jagger began to move in more elevated social circles. However, all the songs were credited as usual to 'Jagger/Richards' which certainly frustrated Taylor.

Mick Taylor collaborated heavily on this album with Mick Jagger, most probably because Keith Richards could not contribute as constructively as usual due to his drug problems, and the sprawling "Can't You Hear Me Knockin'" attests to Taylor's influence. Sticky Fingers (1971), the band's first record under their own Rolling Stones Records label, continued where Let It Bleed had left off, featuring the rocking "Brown Sugar" (another big hit), the country-styled "Wild Horses" (influenced and recorded first by Parsons), and a version of Faithfull's "Sister Morphine," about her own ambiguous relationship with heroin. (Concert tapes, including the time in 1976 when he fell asleep on stage, do not bear this out) In time, heroin would sap Richards' creativity , but in 1971, the band showed no sign of slowing. Richards has always maintained that the one facet of his life that was unaffected was his live performance.

He would spend the best part of next decade as an addict, taking occasional cures in private clinics but always returning to the drug, and each subsequent tour would become a logistical nightmare to ensure a regular supply in the face of trouble from the police and customs officers. The murder, coming so soon after the death of Jones, had a harrowing effect on Richards, and his reaction to the events was to increase his usage of heroin. In fact, the murder occurred during "Under My Thumb". The aptness of this legend has ensured that no amount of subsequent corrections (in that publication and elsewhere) has been able to correct this impression.

This was originally reported in Rolling Stone magazine, considered by some to be the "journal of record" for 1960s music. A recurring, morbid urban legend states that "Sympathy for the Devil" was playing during the killing, though this is not the case. (The concert would be documented in Albert and David Maysles' film Gimme Shelter). Poorly organised, and with on-site security provided by the Hells Angels (at the suggestion of the Grateful Dead), the concert was a disaster, featuring running battles between fans and security which reached a head when Meredith Hunter, a young black fan who had unwisely brought a pistol (and a white girlfriend) to the show, was stabbed and beaten to death by the Angels during the band's performance of "Under My Thumb".

In an attempt to recreate the atmosphere of Hyde Park, and as a reaction to the Woodstock festival, the tour culminated in a free concert given at Altamont, a disused racetrack located about 40 miles east of San Francisco. Immediately, the band set off on another US tour, characterised by the hedonism that their position in rock's aristocracy afforded them. Let It Bleed (1969) followed a short time later and was rapidly hailed as another classic, featuring the slow and brooding "Gimme Shelter," "You Can't Always Get What You Want" (featuring a boys choir) and a further nod to their roots with a cover of Robert Johnson's "Love In Vain". Their studio work was another matter.

Shortly after, the band released their highly successful single, "Honky Tonk Women," recorded without Jones but too early for Taylor to contribute. The band's performance, under rehearsed and suffering from the remaining members narcotic intake, was somewhat shambolic. Despite this, the concert went ahead, with an audience of hundreds of thousands of fans, with Jagger reading from Shelley's "Adonais" and releasing a flock of butterflies by way of tribute to the late guitarist. His cause of death remains a mystery to this day (all of the reports collected from the many people there at the time contradicted each other), but drowning seems to be the most feasible.

Within two months, and a matter of days before the new-look band were due to play a free concert in London's Hyde Park, Jones was found dead in his swimming pool. After his minimal contribution to Beggar's Banquet he found himself forced out in May 1969, replaced by the young, jazz-influenced guitarist, Mick Taylor, then of John Mayall's Bluesbreakers. Increasingly, Jones was either absent from recording sessions by choice, or locked out of them. Drugs were, however, making Jones increasingly unreliable.

Music was not all the Stones and the independently wealthy Parsons had in common: "We liked drugs," Richards said later, "and we liked the finest quality.". Secondly, both Mick and Keith befriended Gram Parsons, who helped educate them about the country music with which he had grown up. Firstly, Richards played extensively with Ry Cooder, and was taught his open-G guitar tuning (as used by John Lee Hooker), later admitting "I took Ry Cooder for all I could get". Two other events contributed to the change in The Stones' sound.

In contrast to its predecessor, however, it was a clear rejection of the hippie ethos, replacing the platitudes of "free love" with a layer of sleaze. The songs themselves were firmly rooted in the blues, but tempered by the changes that occurred in 1960s music and assimilating the imagery of Dylan and the emergent heavy rock of Cream and Jimi Hendrix. Despite the tension, and aided by an excellent sound from an up-and-coming producer named Jimmy Miller, Jagger and Richards produced some of their most memorable work —including the distorted acoustic guitar-driven "Street Fighting Man" and the anthemic "Sympathy for the Devil"—and the Stones entered the phase that would see them billed as "The World's Greatest Rock and Roll Band". After the excesses of Satanic Majesties, and with personal relations between Jones and Richards increasingly frayed, the band returned to the black music that had originally inspired them on 1968's Beggars Banquet.

Within the band the dynamic was changing with the two principal writers steadily assuming power from the former leader, Jones. The record, which would eventually be released as Their Satanic Majesties' Request, received lukewarm reviews —the songs and arrangements did not lend themselves to their natural style and the increasingly-strung-out Brian Jones contributed little—but, despite Richards later pronouncing it "crap", still produced a small number of songs which showcased the improving songwriting of Jagger and Richards. Pepper. With Richards out on bail within a day, and shortly to be acquitted on appeal, work commenced on a new "psychedelic" album, which Jagger envisioned as the group's response to The Beatles' Sgt.