by a pink chiffon veil, which Bailey said was meant to look like "Katharine Hepburn in The African Queen". The album's gatefold has Taylor, Wyman and Watts wrapped around a similar fabric, and Richards on the back. Critical reception Contemporary reviews Critical reaction to the album was varied at the time. In Rolling Stone, Bud Scoppa called it "one of the year's richest musical experiences". On the other hand, Nick Kent of the NME found the record lacking in originality, stating, "on Goat's Head Soup the Stones have really nothing to say, but somehow say it so well that the results transcend the redundancy of the project in the first place". He called the album "truly great", giving praise to "Dancing with Mr. D" especially, and recommended that listeners "listen to it carefully". The Chicago Tribunes Lynn Van Matre agreed, finding the record uninnovative compared to prior works. Although she found it "more carefully put together" than Exile on Main St., she felt Goats Head Soup came across as a collection of songs rather than a cohesive project. Nevertheless, Van Matre praised the music, particularly "Heartbreaker". Charlie Gillett of Let It Rock magazine concluded that with Goats Head Soup, the Stones "finally ousted their rivals" as "The World's Greatest Rock Band", and deemed it "their first LP which is unquestionably the best rockin' groove of its time". Billboard called Goats Head Soup "another fine album characterised as always by a series of fine, hard rockcuts from Mick Jagger and Keith Richard and superb guitar work from Mick Taylor". The reviewer particularly praised the ballads "Winter", "Can You Hear the Music" and "Angie". Writing for Zoo World, Arthur Levy considered the record on par with Sticky Fingers and Exile on Main St., adding that the three albums "are now the seeds of a new oeuvre". By contrast, Lester Bangs derided the album in Creem, saying, "There is a sadness about the Stones now, because they amount to such an enormous 'So what?' The sadness comes when you measure not just one album, but the whole sense they're putting across now against what they once meant..." The Philadelphia Inquirers Jack Lloyd admitted that the LP would sell well, but overall found the album failed to live up to the band's previous works. Greg Shaw of Phonograph Record said the record had "no redeeming qualities whatsoever" and found "nothing good" about it. A