The Rolling Stones have been on the road for more than 60 years and they released 31 studio albums over the decades. They are one of the most prolific and successful bands of all time, and have influenced countless generations of musicians. They have so many great albums that some really good ones tend to get overlooked and Keith Richards once mentioned two of those that he thinks are “damn good”.
The 2 Rolling Stones albums Keith Richards said were ‘damn good’
The most remembered Rolling Stones albums are certainly the ones released in the 60s and 70s but they also released many great ones in the 80s and 90s. In an interview with GQ in 2020, Keith Richards mentioned “Steel Wheels” and “Voodoo Lounge” as “damn good” ones.
“Quite honestly I love them all, some a little more than others. I think Steel Wheels was damn good, and Voodoo Lounge too,” Keith Richards said.
“Steel Wheels” (1989)
“Steel Wheels” was released in 1989 and had many good tracks. Some of them are “Mixed Emotions”, “Rock and a Hard Place” and “Almost Hear You Sigh”. That record served as a comeback for the band, since they were not really active for some time due to the animosity between Mick Jagger‘s and Keith Richards’.
Both of them focused on their solo careers meanwhile. But they eventually decided to meet again in 1989 and agreed to try to make a new album. The record reached multi-platinum status in the United States and peaked at number 2 on the United Kingdom charts.
It was Bill Wyman’s final full length studio album with the band since he decided to leave the band in 1993. It also was the first album without Ian Stewart on piano since he sadly passed away before the record was made.
To promote the album the band embarked on a really successful tour. It eventually became the most financially successful Rock tour in history up to that time.
“Voodoo Lounge” (1994)
The first Rolling Stones studio album since “Steel Wheels”, “Voodoo Lounge” was released in 1994. It was the first one without bassist Bill Wyman and the first with the hired bassist Darryl Jones. It had tracks like “Love Is Strong”, “You Got Me Rocking” and “Out of Tears”.
The record peaked at number 2 on the United States Billboard 200 and number 1 on the United Kingdom albums chart. In an interview with Guitar World in 1994, Keith explained that a “Voodoo Lounge” is wherever he hangs out. The musician also explained how the idea for the album started.
“I sat down with Mick in New York in February of ’93. (I) said, ‘What are we gonna do?’ We sort of had a glass of wine in his kitchen. The only word, the word that counted – was focused. We said, ‘If we can look down the same telescope, I think we’ve got a good one here.’ That was the real word. To get everybody focused on the same thing,” Keith Richards said.