The Rolling Stones recorded
Black and Blue while auditioning
Mick Taylor's replacement, so it's unfair to criticize it, really, for being longer on grooves and jams than songs, especially since that's what's good about it. Yes, the two songs that are undeniable highlights are
"Memory Motel" and
"Fool to Cry," the album's two
ballads and, therefore, the two that had to be written and arranged, not knocked out in the studio; they're also the ones that don't quite make as much sense, though they still work in the context of the record. No, this is all about groove and sound, as
the Stones work
Ron Wood into their fabric. And the remarkable thing is, apart from
"Hand of Fate" and
"Crazy Mama," there's little straight-ahead
rock & roll here. They play with
reggae extensively,
funk and
disco less so, making both sound like integral parts of
the Stones' lifeblood. Apart from the
ballads, there might not be many memorable tunes, but there are times that you listen to
the Stones just to hear them play, and this is one of them. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine
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