She's the Boss
| She's the Boss | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by Mick Jagger | ||||
| Released | 19 February 1985 | |||
| Recorded | May–November 1984 | |||
| Studio | Compass Point Studios, Nassau, Bahamas | |||
| Genre | Dance-rock[1] | |||
| Length | 43:09 | |||
| Language | English | |||
| Label | Columbia | |||
| Producer | Mick Jagger, Bill Laswell, Nile Rodgers | |||
| Mick Jagger chronology | ||||
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| Singles from She's the Boss | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   link |
| Robert Christgau | C[2] |
| Rolling Stone | link |
She's the Boss is the solo album debut by The Rolling Stones frontman Mick Jagger released in 1985. When the Stones signed with CBS Records in 1983, one of the options available to them was for individual projects, and Jagger eagerly began working on She's the Boss.
Following the release of Undercover, Jagger began composing material for his first solo project, sanctioning the help of various musician friends in the studio when recording began in May 1984. Of those involved were Pete Townshend, Jeff Beck, Carlos Alomar, Herbie Hancock and the Compass Point Allstars, while Jagger would share production duties with Bill Laswell and Nile Rodgers.
Keith Richards, Jagger's longtime musical partner in the Rolling Stones, was not pleased that Jagger was pursuing solo work, feeling that their band should be each other's first priority. The growing friction between both musicians would erupt publicly in 1986 before they resolved their differences a couple of years later.
She's the Boss was released in February 1985 – preceded by its lead song "Just Another Night". Both the album and its first single became worldwide hits, with "Just Another Night" reaching No. 1 on the US Mainstream Rock chart and No. 12 on the US pop chart, and She's the Boss going to No. 6 in the UK and No. 13 in the US, where it went platinum. Follow-up single "Lucky in Love" would be a Top 40 US hit.
The video for "Hard Woman" extensively utilised a Cray supercomputer for its animation, making it one of the most expensive music videos made to that point in time.
The success of the album – impacted by Jagger's solo appearance at Live Aid that July and his rush-recorded duet hit cover of "Dancing in the Street" with David Bowie — influenced Jagger to record a successor, Primitive Cool, which would be released in 1987.
Although originally released by CBS, She's the Boss was acquired and reissued by Atlantic Records in 1993 following the release of Jagger's third album, Wandering Spirit.
In 1986, Jamaican reggae singer Patrick Alley attempted to sue Jagger over the song "Just Another Night," which Alley claims he had recorded in 1979 and released on his 1982 album, A Touch of Patrick Alley. Alley claimed that Sly Dunbar (who played drums on She's the Boss) also played on his recording. The case was cleared in 1988, with Jagger stating "My reputation is really cleared. If you're well known, people stand up and take shots at you."[3]
Track listing
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Lonely at the Top" | Mick Jagger, Keith Richards | 3:47 |
| 2. | "1/2 a Loaf" | Jagger | 4:59 |
| 3. | "Running Out of Luck" | Jagger | 4:15 |
| 4. | "Turn the Girl Loose" | Jagger | 3:53 |
| 5. | "Hard Woman" | Jagger | 4:24 |
| 6. | "Just Another Night" | Jagger | 5:15 |
| 7. | "Lucky in Love" | Jagger, Carlos Alomar | 6:13 |
| 8. | "Secrets" | Jagger | 5:02 |
| 9. | "She's the Boss" | Jagger, Alomar | 5:15 |
| Total length: | 43:09 | ||
Personnel
- Mick Jagger – lead and backing vocals, harmonica
- Wally Badarou – synthesizer
- Jeff Beck – guitar
- Paul Buckmaster – strings arrangement on "Hard Woman"
- John "Rabbit" Bundrick – synthesizer
- Ray Cooper – percussion
- Aïyb Dieng – shaker
- Sly Dunbar – drums
- Bernard Edwards – bass guitar
- Steve Ferrone – drums
- Anton Fier – percussion
- Anton Fig – drums
- Guy Fletcher – synthesizer
- Bernard Fowler – backing vocals
- Jan Hammer – piano
- Herbie Hancock – organ, synthesizer
- Colin Hodgkinson – bass guitar
- Bill Laswell – bass guitar, synthesizer
- Chuck Leavell – organ
- Ron Magness – synthesizer
- Eddie Martinez – guitar
- Alfa Pickett – rapping
- Lenny Pickett – saxophone
- Daniel Ponce – percussion, bata drum
- Nile Rodgers – guitar
- Robert Sabino – keyboards, piano, synthesizer
- Robbie Shakespeare – bass guitar
- Michael Shrieve – drums
- G. E. Smith – guitar
- Tony Thompson – drums
- Fonzi Thornton – backing vocals
- Pete Townshend – guitar
Production
- Mick Jagger - producer
- Bill Laswell - producer
- Nile Rodgers - producer
- James Farber - engineer
- Dave Jerden - engineer
- Bill Scheniman - engineer
- Peter Corriston - art direction, design
- Erica Lennard - photography
Charts
Album
| Year | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | UK Top 100 Albums | 6 |
| 1985 | The Billboard 200 | 13 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | "Just Another Night" | UK Top 100 Singles | 32[4] |
| 1985 | "Just Another Night" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 1[5] |
| 1985 | "Just Another Night" | Billboard Hot 100 | 12[6] |
| 1985 | "Just Another Night" | Hot Dance Music/Club Play | 11[7] |
| 1985 | "Just Another Night" | Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales | 20 |
| 1985 | "Just Another Night" | Hot R&B/Hip Hop Singles & Tracks | 83[8] |
| 1985 | "Lonely at the Top" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 9[5] |
| 1985 | "Lucky in Love" | UK Top 100 Singles | 91 |
| 1985 | "Lucky in Love" | Mainstream Rock Tracks | 5[5] |
| 1985 | "Lucky in Love" | The Billboard Hot 100 | 38[9] |
| 1985 | "Lucky in Love" | Hot Dance Music/Club Play | 11[7] |
| 1985 | "Lucky in Love" | Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales | 35 |
References
- ↑ Tucker, Ken (24 February 1985). "Jagger wanted to create strong rock solo record". Boca Raton News. p. 12B.
Working with producers Bill Laswell and Nile Rodgers, Jagger created an album with a bright, up-to-the-minute, dance-rock sound.
- ↑ Christgau, Robert (30 April 1985). "Consumer Guide". The Village Voice. New York: VV Publishing Corporation. Retrieved 2012-08-16.
- ↑ "U.S. Jury Says Jagger Did Not Steal Hit Song". New York Times. 27 April 1988. Retrieved 2012-03-17.
- ↑ MICK JAGGER | full Official Chart History | Official Charts Company
- 1 2 3 Mick Jagger - Chart history | Billboard
- ↑ Mick Jagger - Chart history | Billboard
- 1 2 Mick Jagger - Chart history | Billboard
- ↑ Mick Jagger - Chart history | Billboard
- ↑ Mick Jagger - Chart history | Billboard