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For the Waylon Jennings album, see It's Only Rock and Roll

For the Only Fools and Horses episode, see It's Only Rock and Roll (Only Fools and Horses)

It's Only Rock 'n' Roll
Studio album by The Rolling Stones
Released	18 October 1974
Recorded	13 November to 24 November 1973 20 February to 3 March 1974, 12 April to 27 May 1974
Genre	Rock glam rock blues rock
Length	48:26
Label	Rolling Stones/Atlantic
Producer	The Glimmer Twins
Professional reviews
All Music Guide link Rolling Stone (not rated) link Robert Christgau (B) link
The Rolling Stones chronology
Goats Head Soup (1973) It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (1974) Made in the Shade (1975)

It's Only Rock 'n' Roll is an album by The Rolling Stones, released in 1974.

It's Only Rock 'n' Roll is notable for being guitarist Mick Taylor's last album with The Rolling Stones, as he decided to leave the group in December 1974 to work with former Cream bassist Jack Bruce.

With work having started on the project, following The Rolling Stones' 1973 European Tour, that November in Munich, Germany, further new songs and overdubs would be effected there in the spring months of 1974. Alongside the usual outside contributors, Ray Cooper would act as percussionist for the album. Ron Wood, a longtime acquaintance of the band, began to get closer to The Rolling Stones during these sessions after he invited Mick Taylor (his friend since they were teenagers) to play on his debut album, I've Got My Own Album to Do. Taylor spent some time recording and hanging out at Wood's house The Wick and then asked bandmate Keith Richards (who didn't really know Wood yet) to come along also.

It was here that Wood first unveiled his idea for the new tune: "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (but I Like It)", to the others. It's Only Rock 'n' Roll, after Jimmy Miller's departure, was officially produced by The Glimmer Twins, a pseudonym for Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. Starting with this release, all future Rolling Stones albums would either be produced by them or in collaboration with an outside producer.

In July, the lead single, "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (but I Like It)", was released and despite the familiar sound, it surprised many by not reaching the top ten. With its sing-along chorus, it has become a staple at Rolling Stones concerts. "Ain't Too Proud to Beg", originally a 1966 hit by The Temptations, was released as the second single in the US only, where it also became a top-twenty hit. Its parent album appeared in October with strong reviews and brisk initial sales, reaching number two in the U.K. (breaking a string of number-one albums that stretched back to 1969's Let It Bleed) and number one in the U.S. where it eventually went platinum. Instead of immediately touring to promote the album, the band decided to head back into the Munich studios to record the next album, to Mick Taylor's disappointment and subsequent resignation from the band — a tour didn't happen until the following summer in the U.S., the "Tour of the Americas '75", with future member Ron Wood filling in Mick Taylor's place.

In order to promote the album, music videos were filmed for several of the songs. The most commonly-seen video from the album was the video for "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (but I Like It)", featuring the band (in sailor suits) playing in a tent, which gradually fills with soap bubbles. Videos were also filmed for "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" and "Till The Next Goodbye".

In 1994, It's Only Rock 'n' Roll was remastered and reissued by Virgin Records.

One of the Rolling Stones' largest fan clubs goes by the name "It's Only Rock'N Roll", though its members typically refer to it as 'IORR.'

All songs by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, except where noted.

1. "If You Can't Rock Me" – 3:47
   • Features Billy Preston on piano and clavinet
   • Keith Richards on bass on this track
2. "Ain't Too Proud to Beg" (Norman Whitfield/Eddie Holland) – 3:31
   • Features Billy Preston on piano and clavinet
   • Keith Richards and Mick Taylor on backing vocals
3. "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll (But I Like It)" – 5:07
   • Features Ian Stewart on piano, Kenney Jones on drums, and Willie Weeks on bass
4. "Till the Next Goodbye" – 4:37
   • Features Nicky Hopkins on piano
5. "Time Waits for No One" – 6:38
   • Features Nicky Hopkins on piano
6. "Luxury" – 4:30 on original vinyl, cassette, 8-track, and CD versions (the remastered version has a longer fadeout at 5:01)
   • Features Nicky Hopkins on piano
7. "Dance Little Sister" – 4:11
   • Features Ian Stewart on piano
8. "If You Really Want to Be My Friend" – 6:17
   • Features Nicky Hopkins on piano
9. "Short and Curlies" – 2:44
   • Features Ian Stewart on piano
10. "Fingerprint File" – 6:33
    • Features Nicky Hopkins on piano and Billy Preston on clavinet
    • Mick Taylor handles the bass on this track while Bill Wyman played the synthesizer

• Mick Jagger — vocals, backing vocals, guitar, electric guitar
• Keith Richards — backing vocals, electric guitar, acoustic guitar, bass
• Mick Taylor — electric guitar, backing vocals, acoustic guitar, synthesiser, percussion, slide guitar, bass
• Charlie Watts — drums
• Bill Wyman — bass, synthesiszer
• Blue Magic — backing vocals
• David Bowie — backing vocals
• Ray Cooper — percussion
• Nicky Hopkins — piano
• Charlie Jolly — tabla
• Kenney Jones — drums
• Ed Leach — cowbell
• Billy Preston — piano, clavinet, organ
• Ian Stewart — piano
• Willie Weeks — bass
• Ron Wood — backing vocals, guitar