Some Girls is celebrating its 45th anniversary this year. The Rolling Stones released the album in 1978, and it became one of their most successful records. Lead singer Mick Jagger fondly looked back on Some Girls and explained why it’s one of his favorite Rolling Stones albums decades later.
Mick Jagger believes ‘Some Girls’ is underrated, calls it one of his favorite albums
Some Girls was released in 1978 and was The Rolling Stones’ 16th album. The album had many highlights, including “Miss You,” “Beast of Burden,” and “Far Away Eyes.” While the album was a hit and received positive reviews, Jagger believes the album is “underrated.” In a 2011 interview with Yahoo! Entertainment, the singer explained why Some Girls is one of his favorite Rolling Stones albums.
“It’s one of my favorite Stones albums, I think, because it’s so listenable as an album, and it gets to the heart of the matter straight away, and there’s no mucking about, and it’s succinct,” Jagger shared. “It doesn’t sprawl, it’s to-the-point, it’s got a lot of style, and it’s got this energy. I think it’s all around a really good album. I think it’s underrated. I don’t know where it comes in the ratings, to be honest. In my ratings, it comes very high — just don’t ask me what number.”
Jagger says the album was a collection of genres popular at the time
The 1970s was a pivotal decade for music as so many genres emerged as music technology advanced. While rock n’ roll was still popular, it became more hardcore, with punk and metal growing in popularity. Electronic music also led to the development of disco, R&B, and hip-hop as rising genres.
Some Girls does feature The Rolling Stones experimenting with more genres. “Miss You” was the band’s attempt at a disco song, while “Respectable” was closer to punk music. Jagger said Some Girls was a reflection of that time in music when so many genres were beginning to intersect.
“I think it was pretty conscious of living in the day,” Jagger explained. “This was a very interesting time in music in New York, where I was living a lot at the time. You had sort of a return to very basic rock music — you know, the Sex Pistols and all that — but you also had the beginning of hip-hop, the beginning of rap, and you had lots and lots of kinds of dance music, very different kinds of dance music. The early dance music was quite innovative in lots of ways. So, you had a lot of genres, and these were cross-pollinating everything. I think in some ways this album reflects some of that time, and I think that’s what makes it an interesting album.”
‘Some Girls’ peaked at No. 1 on the charts
While not every song on Some Girls landed with fans, it was still a hit, with many calling it The Rolling Stones’ best album in years. The album fared well on the charts, peaking at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and No. 2 on the U.K. Albums chart. It was a top 10 hit in many other countries, including Canada, Netherlands, Spain, Australia, and Norway.
“Miss You” was the first single from the album and reached No. 1 in the U.S. Some Girls was another return to glory for The Rolling Stones and was a perfect way for them to transition into a new era of music.
