August 31st, 2015 - An Undercover Investigation Of The Rolling Stones

Good evening friends!  Let's do some rocking with the very underrated "Undercover" by The Rolling Stones and an Undercover Investigation Shut-Down Ale from Lagunitas Brewing Company!

Album Info:

• Artist: The Rolling Stones
• Title: "Undercover"
• Recorded: November 11th through December17th, 1982 and May through August 1983
• Release date: November 7th, 1983 (19th studio album by The Rolling Stones)
• Record company: Rolling Stones Records
• Production: The Glimmer Twins and Chris Kimsey
• Album cover art: Peter Corriston and Hubert Kretzschmar
• Personnel: Mick Jagger (lead and backing vocals, electric guitar, and harmonica), Keith Richards (electric guitar, backing vocals, lead vocals on "Wanna Hold You", bass guitar on "Pretty Beat Up"), Charlie Watts (drums), Ronnie Wood (electric and slide guitar, backing vocals, and bass guitar on "Tie You Up" and "Wanna Hold You"), and Bill Wyman bass guitar, percussion, and piano on "Pretty Beat Up")
• Additional musicians: Jim Barber (electric guitar on "Too Much Blood"), CHOPS (horns), Moustapha Cisse (percussion), Brahms Coundoul (percussion), Martin Ditcham (percussion), Sly Dunbar (percussion), Chuck Leavell (keyboards, organ, and piano), David Sanborn (saxophone), Robbie Shakespeare (bass guitar), and Ian Stewart (piano on "She Was Hot" and "Pretty Beat Up" and percussion)
• Musical style: An interesting blend of hard rock, rock, pop, blues, soul, jazz, reggae, and new wave
• Sound: Big, bold, and significantly different from anything The Stones had produced prior.  With the additional percussionists coupled with Watt's precision drumming there is a very ethnic and tribal thing going on.  The always amazing guitar work of Richards and Wood makes for an interesting foil to the more new wave elements.  And Jagger wails like only Jagger can wail.
• Major themes: Sex, lust and desire, S&M, violence, politics, etc.
• Tracks: 

1. "Undercover Of The Night"
2. "She Was Hot"
3. "Tie You Up (The Pain of Love)" 
4. "Wanna Hold You"
5. "Feel On Baby"
6. "Too Much Blood"
7. "Pretty Beat Up"
8. "Too Tough"
9. "All The Way Down"
10. "It Must Be Hell"

  Brew Info:

• Brewery: Lagunitas Brewing Company (Petaluma, California)
• Website: http://www.lagunitas.com/
• Brew: Undercover Investigation Shut-Down Ale
• Style: American Strong Ale (somewhere between a Double IPA and a Barleywine)
• Serving: 12 ounce bottle
• ABV: 9.3%
• IBUs: 6.66
• Pour: Hazy iced-tea caramel hue with a thick and creamy 1-2 finger off-white, mashed potato head with great sustain and intricate and layered lacing.
• Nose: The nose is nice blend of big, sweet malts, dank and earthy herbs, caramel, hops, booze, and a little smokiness.  There are aromas of pine resin, cedar, herbal tea, burnt toffee, bourbon, and a slight hint of liquid smoke.
• Taste: Lots of sweet, bitter, earthy, and boozy flavors going on here!  There are notes of pine, juniper, bitter grapefruit, black tea, toasted biscuit, soft caramel, and minerals. 
• Mouthfeel: Medium to full-bodied with minimal carbonation, the mouthfeel is thick, chewy and creamy with some booziness and a bitter finish.

Overall pairing: I think the big, crazy complexity of the Undercover Investigation Shut-Down Ale from Lagunitas Brewing Company is perfect for the bold and blended (sometimes conflicting) styles on "Undercover" by The Rolling Stones!  Those sweeter flavors go well with the phenomenal tone of Richards while the more bitter notes go well with the darker lyrical subject matter and Jagger's intense wails!

Rock on!!