Sticky Fingers (1971)

"Can't You Hear Me Knocking" With the studio album before it (Let it Bleed) and the one after it (Exile on Main Street) making a virtually seamless Himalyan peak of an already impressive career—outdoing themselves at every level, put it that way—this comes with a pedigree you can take straight to the bank. Recorded at Muscle Shoals, it's the most relaxed and rollicking of the three. The various pleasures arrive fast, deep, and manifold: The original cover, designed by Andy Warhol, which famously came with a functioning zipper. A raunchy #1 hit in "Brown Sugar." A minor hit in the ultimately affecting "Wild Horses." A woulda-shoulda-coulda hit in "Bitch," which likely failed even the attempt by virtue of the title. Naughty Stones! The outré drama of heroin addiction of "Sister Morphine" (somewhat overplayed, or is it really a joke?). More ridiculous drama in "Dead Flowers," the Altamont song; more tuff-style rockin' in the cover "You Gotta Move." But the absolute peak for me is the elaborate "Can't You Hear Me Knocking," which starts as one of their more effective rave-ups (and they have always been good with the rave-ups) and then turns with almost no warning into an atmospheric Junior Walker by way of War kind of rhythm & blues-inflected essay at jazz, complete with congas, chattering tenor sax, and guitar solo straight out of Blind Faith, courtesy Mick Taylor. Try that, Beatles. Oh, that's right, your career was over by then.