Undercover (Rolling Stones album)
Seventeenth studio album by the Rolling Stones, released in 1983.
Undercover is the seventeenth studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 7 November 1983 by Rolling Stones Records. It was the band's first album of entirely new recordings in the 1980s, following the patchwork Tattoo You. The album marked the beginning of a creative rift between Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, as each sought a different musical direction.
Quick Facts
- Artist
- the Rolling Stones
- Released
- 7 November 1983
- Recorded
- November 1982 – August 1983
- Studio
- Pathé Marconi (Boulogne Billancourt)
- Compass Point (Nassau, Bahamas)
- Hit Factory (New York, New York)
- Genre
- Rock and roll
- hard rock
- new wave
- Label
- Rolling Stones
- Producer
- The Glimmer Twins, Chris Kimsey
Facts from the source article.
History
Recording began at Pathé Marconi Studios in Paris in November 1982, with Chris Kimsey joining Jagger and Richards as producer—the first outside producer since Jimmy Miller. After a Christmas break, the album was completed in New York City the following summer. The sessions were arduous due to the escalating feud between Jagger and Richards. Jagger wanted to keep the band current by incorporating reggae, worldbeat, and new wave, while Richards favored a return to blues rock. Richards, having emerged from a self-destructive lifestyle, sought a more active creative role, which Jagger resented after nearly a decade of relative control. The lyrics are among Jagger's most macabre, with political themes in "Undercover of the Night" and grisly imagery in "Tie You Up (The Pain of Love)" and "Too Much Blood". Musically, the album alternates between hard rock, reggae, and new wave. "Pretty Beat Up" was largely a Ronnie Wood composition, and both Jagger and Richards were reportedly reluctant to include it. "Think I'm Going Mad", first recorded during the Emotional Rescue sessions, appeared as a B-side and later on the Singles 1971–2006 box set.
Release and reception
Released in November 1983, Undercover reached No. 3 in the UK and No. 4 in the US, breaking a streak of eight US No. 1 albums. The album's art direction was handled by Peter Corriston, with concept and illustration by Hubert Kretzschmar; the original vinyl featured peel-off stickers revealing geometric shapes underneath. Contemporary critical reception was mixed: Kurt Loder gave it 4.5 stars in Rolling Stone, calling it "rock & roll without apologies", while Robert Christgau called it a "murky, overblown, incoherent piece of shit" and the band's worst studio album. Many fans and Jagger himself later regarded it as among the Stones' weaker releases, with some attributing its eclecticism to the Jagger/Richards feud.
Legacy
Undercover was the last Rolling Stones album distributed in North America through their original deal with Warner Music Group's Atlantic Records subsidiary. It was reissued in 1986 by CBS/Sony Music, then remastered and reissued by Virgin Records in 1994 and by Universal Music in 2009. A 2012 SHM-SACD release came from Universal Music Japan. Original cassettes and later CD reissues contain a different edit of "Wanna Hold You" than the vinyl version, with an additional verse and a runtime of 3:50.
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