The Rolling Stones had been putting out an album every year or two (sometimes more than one per year) since their inception in 1964. But the band’s internal turmoil in the early to mid 80s caused their output to slow. The 1986 album Dirty Work dropped three years after previous release Undercover.

Tensions between Mick Jagger and Keith Richards were higher than ever, in part because Jagger had embarked on a solo career, releasing his debut album a year earlier. Richards’ full attention was still on The Stones, and he was annoyed by his partner’s wandering eye. At 1985’s Live Aid concert, Jagger performed a set with Tina Turner while Richards and Ronnie Wood played for Bob Dylan.

Dirty Work‘s recording reflected this schism, with most songs laid down without the full band in attendance. It’s similar to The Beatles’ White Album in that regard, though far from it in quality.

That said, the album doesn’t sound like it was made by a band that couldn’t stand each other. Unlike Undercover, Dirty Work feels like a cohesive set. Despite the abomination of 80s colors and styles on the cover art, the songs have a gritty, organic quality that hearkens back the The Stones’ 70s sound.

Lead single ‘One Hit (To the Body)’ and a cover of ‘Harlem Shuffle’ made the biggest splash on radio, but my favorite song on the album is one of two tracks on which Richards handles lead vocals. Richards wrote ‘Sleep Tonight’ and recorded it with Ronnie Wood, with Tom Waits sitting in on piano.