Steel Wheels

This article is about the studio album by The Rolling Stones. For the American roots and folk band, see The Steel Wheels. For the type of wheels, see Artillery wheel.

Steel Wheels
Studio album by
the Rolling Stones
Released29 August 1989[1]
Recorded29 March – 5 May 1989
Studio
Genre
Length53:03
Label
ProducerChris Kimsey, The Glimmer Twins
The Rolling Stones chronology
Singles Collection: The London Years
(1989) 		Steel Wheels
(1989) 		Flashpoint
(1991)
Singles from Steel Wheels
  1. "Mixed Emotions"
    Released: 21 August 1989
  2. "Rock and a Hard Place"
    Released: October 1989 (US)
  3. "Almost Hear You Sigh"
    Released: January 1990 (US)
  4. "Terrifying"
    Released: August 1990[2]

Steel Wheels is the nineteenth studio album by the English rock band the Rolling Stones, released on 29 August 1989 in the US[3] and on 11 September in the UK.[4] It was the final album of new material that the band recorded for Columbia Records.

Hailed as a major comeback upon its release, Steel Wheels is notable for the patching up of the working relationship between Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, a reversion to a more classic style of music and the launching of the band's biggest world tour to date. It is also the final full-length studio album to involve long-time bassist Bill Wyman, preceding the announcement of his departure in January 1993. Wyman's final tenure with the band would be on two studio tracks for the 1991 album Flashpoint. Steel Wheels was also the first album not to feature former member and frequent contributor on piano Ian Stewart, who died shortly before the release of their previous album Dirty Work. It was produced by Richards and Jagger, along with Chris Kimsey, who had previously produced the Stones' 1983 Undercover.

After the relative disappointment of their prior two albums, Steel Wheels was a hit, reaching multi-platinum status in the United States, Top 5 status in numerous markets around the world, and spawning two hit singles: "Mixed Emotions", which peaked at No. 1 in Canada and No. 5 in the United States, and "Rock and a Hard Place", the band's last Top-40 hit in the US. Critics were generally lukewarm towards the album, exemplified by Stephen Thomas Erlewine: "It doesn't make for a great Stones album, but it's not bad, and it feels like a comeback."

  1. ^ "1989 timeline".
  2. ^ Strong, Martin Charles (12 February 1995). Great Rock Discography. Canongate Press. p. 695. ISBN 978-0-86241-541-9.
  3. ^ "American album certifications – The Rolling Stones – Steel Wheels". Recording Industry Association of America. Retrieved 29 August 2022.
  4. ^ "British album certifications – The Rolling Stones – Steel Wheels". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 29 August 2022.