As I look at ten celebrated albums of 1981, I’ll highlight some I don’t know at all and some with which I have passing familiarity.

The Rolling Stones’ Tattoo You falls into the second category. I’ve done my share of dipping into The Stones’ catalog, with most of my focus on the remarkable period between 1966 and 1972 (regardless of your opinion of the band, it’s hard to deny the sustained creative excellence of that stretch). The latest Stones album I know well is 1978’s Some Girls.

But 1981’s Tattoo You deserves consideration as a solid second-tier Rolling Stones album. This was the eighth straight album of theirs to reach #1 on the U.S. Billboard chart, and the last. In fact, the band has released only seven studio albums in the ensuing 37 years, making Tattoo You truly an era-ending release.

Appropriately, the albums’ tracklist is made up almost entirely of older material that hadn’t found a place on earlier records. The band reworked those early recordings, adding new vocals and overdubs. The tracks are split between one side of bluesy rockers and another of bluesy ballads.

Everything here is quite good, but the album’s highlights are its bookends. The big hit ‘Start Me Up’ kicks things off with a bawdy jolt, and ‘Waiting On a Friend’ closes with a gentle shuffle and an ode to the band members’ friendships with each other.