40 years ago today (March 24, 1986), The Rolling Stones released Dirty Work—an album often cited as the band’s low point. Produced by Steve Lillywhite, the record was shaped during a particularly strained period between Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, a tension Richards later detailed in his autobiography Life.
Arriving at the height of the MTV-driven ’80s, Dirty Work was met with lukewarm reviews and a somewhat disjointed reception. Still, it managed to deliver a hit with the band’s cover of “Harlem Shuffle,” and featured an eclectic lineup of guest contributors, including Tom Waits, Patti Scialfa, Bobby Womack, and Jimmy Page, who appears on “One Hit (To the Body).”
Notably, the Stones never toured behind the album, and its 1989 follow-up, Steel Wheels, was widely viewed as a much-needed return to form. Revisit the era with the rhythmic and colorful video for “Harlem Shuffle.”
