Another three years passed before The Rolling Stones dropped Steel Wheels, their final album of the 80s and a return to form after an uneven decade.

The 80s were undoubtedly the band’s least successful decade artistically and critically, and the span where their personal relationships suffered the most. Commercially, though, it was a different story. The Stones released two platinum and three multi-platinum albums during those ten years, and cemented their legacy as the world’s biggest and best rock band.

Steel Wheels was a strong attempt to resolve that contradiction. It made an argument for The Rolling Stones as a vital and relevant band, not a nostalgia act. And it marked an end to the acrimony between Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, allowing them to get back to the business of being rock stars.

This is the first Stones album I remember. In my senior year of high school, I recall seeing a ton of promotion around this record and its subsequent worldwide tour. I knew The Stones’ early material through the Hot Rocks greatest hits collection, but I was surprised to see they were still at it.

I didn’t buy the album, though. The first time I heard it all the way through was this week, and I came away impressed. In addition to hits ‘Mixed Emotions’ and ‘Rock and a Hard Place,’ the album features a solid batch of songs performed with real passion. Perhaps my reaction is colored by the stories I’ve read about the preceding years of conflict, but I swear this record sounds like the guys once again enjoy each other’s company.

Steel Wheels isn’t a classic Rolling Stones album — it lags a bit in its back half — but it makes the case for their relevance entering their fourth decade.