The Rolling Stones’ first studio album of the new millennium, 2005’s “A Bigger Bang“, made its mark around the world. It charted in the top five in almost two dozen countries and earned Platinum or Gold certifications in the U.S., U.K., and other international territories. Jagger, Richards, Watts, and Wood supported the album with “A Bigger Bang,the Tour“, between 2005-2007 – and it became the highest-grossing concert tour of all time (until U2 usurped its crown). On February 8th, 2006, the Stones took the proceedings to Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil for a massive free concert. That show was captured on film and released to cinemas and DVD while the audio was broadcast on XM Radio. Now, the mega-show is coming to various formats in remixed, re-edited, and remastered form as The Rolling Stones: A Bigger Bang – Live on Copacabana Beach released on July 9th from Eagle Rock Entertainment.
Welcome to Rio De Janeiro and the Rolling Stones’ legendary show in front of 1.5 million people, one of the biggest free concerts in history, The Rolling Stones’ performance on February 18th 2006 was an historic event; a critical moment in Rock ‘n’ Roll history. As Mick Jagger, Keith Richards, Ronnie Wood, and Charlie Watts fire on all pistons from one track to the next, the crowd continues to meet their energy waving Brazilian and British flags while rocking out in the tropical evening sunset. With incredible staging and graphics, this fully restored and remastered concert from their ‘A Bigger Bang’ world tour now includes four previously unreleased tracks; “Tumbling Dice”, “Oh No, Not You Again”, “This Place is Empty” and “Sympathy For The Devil”.
Held on February 8th, 2009 in front of the Copacabana Palace Hotel in Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) this legendary Rolling Stones concert will be treated to a physical and digital release, remixed, reissued and remastered. A film that captures one of the greatest free concerts and a critical moment in the history of rock’n’roll”, commented the band.
Scheduled for July 9th, this historic concert will be available in a variety of formats: DVD-2CD, SD BD-2CD, 2DVD-2CD Deluxe, 3LP pressed on blue, yellow and green vinyl, 3LP pressed on transparent vinyl (available only on Sound Of Vinyl and digital.
Mick Jagger’s band has scheduled the release of digital EP for May 28th, which will contain five songs: Sympathy For The Devil, Wild Horses, You Got Me Rocking, Happy and Rough Justice. All were recorded during the concert, with the exception ofRough Justice, which came from a concert in Salt Lake City in 2005. The latter will only be available on deluxe versions.
A limited edition 10″ vinyl picture disc containingRain Fall Down (Live on Copacabana Beach) and Rough Justice (Live In Salt Lake City) was also announced for Record Store Day on June 12th.
1967 was a highly successful year for The Rolling Stones. It started with the release of “Between The Buttons” and ended with the stylistic about-turn of “Their Satanic Majesties Request”. Released on Decca Records, Between The Buttons came out first in the UK, on 20th January 1967, with a revised US edition following on 11th February.
Between The Buttons’ title came about by chance, following an off-the-cuff remark made by producer Andrew Loog Oldham to drummer Charlie Watts, who was doing some sketches for the artwork. Watts asked what they were going to call the album and Oldham used a euphemism for “undecided”. “Andrew told me to do the drawings for the LP and he told me the title was ‘between the buttons’,” Watts told Melody Maker “I thought he meant the title was Between The Buttons, so it stayed with it.”
Some of the album was recorded in August 1966 with Dave Hassinger at RCA Studios in Hollywood – the last session to be recorded in what had been the band’s “hit factory” – before being completed in London at the newly-opened Olympic Sound Studios in November that year. Some of the tracks were started in America and finished in England’s capitol. The Stones were fresher by the time they were recording back home, having taken a break from touring. “Between The Buttons” was the first time we took a breath and distanced ourselves a little from the madness of touring and all,” recalled guitarist Keith Richards. “So in a way, to us it felt like a bit of a new beginning… plus, everyone was stoned out of their brains.”
“Between the Buttons” was The Rolling Stones’ first album since April 1966’s Aftermath and it became their fifth UK studio album. It remains one of the Stones’ less well-known records, however, which is a pity as it contains some strong songs.
Besides the five band members – Mick Jagger, who took lead vocals on all tracks and also played the tambourine and harmonica, was joined by Richards, Brian Jones, Bill Wyman and Watts – there were several guest musicians. Ian Stewart plays piano and organ, and Nicky Hopkins plays piano, as does Jack Nitzsche. The track ‘Connection’ was performed live at the London Palladium the week after the album came out and was featured in the Martin Scorsese documentary Shine A Light, in 2008.
By late 1966, recording technology was allowing for greater experimentation, and though every track on Between The Buttons is credited to Jagger and Richards, there are certainly very different styles of music and song writing to be heard on the album. ‘Yesterday’s Papers’ has the distinction of being the first song to be written solely by Jagger and features Nitzsche on harpsichord. On ‘Something Happened to Me Yesterday’, the multi-talented Jones plays saxophone, trombone and clarinet.
Two tracks were exclusive to the UK album version. The first was the gentle waltz ‘Back Street Girl’, written by Richards and Jagger. In an interview with Jagger in Rolling Stone magazine, in 1968, the singer said it was his favourite song on the album. Jones showed some of his jazz leanings on this track: the musician, who was such an admirer of the jazz saxophonist Julian “Cannonball” Adderley that he named his son after him, demonstrated that he had imbued some of the influences of Milt Jackson in his vibraphone playing. The accordion playing was by Nick De Caro.
The second UK-only song on the album was ‘Please Go Home’, which was based on a Bo Diddley-style beat. It was later released in America on the compilation album Flowers.
“Trouble In Mind (Brian Jones)” A fun outtake from the “Between the Buttons” sessions (November 8th – 26th 1966: London, Olympic Sound Studios.). Great piano work from Ian Stewart and a multi-instrument player Brian Jones playing the kazoo’s.
The US version of “Between The Buttons” was the band’s seventh studio release stateside, and it stamped its own individuality with the choice of a new opening song. The album started with ‘Let’s Spend the Night Together’, a song co-written by Jagger and Richards, and which became a favourite of David Bowie’s. It had been released as a double-A-side single in the UK in January 1967, paired with ‘Ruby Tuesday’, which was also added to the US track list.
The UK and US versions of “Between The Buttons” shared the songs ‘Yesterday’s Papers’, ‘Connection’, ‘She Smiled Sweetly’, ‘Cool, Calm And Collected’, ‘My Obsession’, ‘All Sold Out’, ‘Who’s Been Sleeping Here’, ‘Complicated’, ‘Miss Amanda Jones’ and ‘Something Happened To Me Yesterday’.
Billboard reviewed the US album favourably in February 1967. “Every LP by the Stones has been a hot chart item, and this latest collection will be no exception,” they wrote. “Their hard-driving beat is evident throughout, and their singles hits ‘Ruby Tuesday’ and ‘Let’s Spend the Night Together’ are included adding immediate sales appeal. ‘Miss Amanda Jones’ and ‘Cool, Calm And Collected’ are outstanding in this winning package.” Between The Buttons reached No.2 in the album charts in the US, one place higher than in the UK.
The album artwork features cartoons and drawings by Charlie Watts, and the cover features a photograph taken by Gered Mankowitz in mid-November 1966, following an all-night recording session at Olympic Sound Studios. The band went to Primrose Hill park, in north London, just after dawn, arriving in a Rolls Royce. Mankowitz said the photograph, which he made deliberately bleary by spreading Vaseline on his lens, captured “the ethereal, druggy feel of the time”, adding, “There was this well-known London character called Maxie – a sort of prototype hippie – just standing on his own playing the flute. Mick walked up to him and offered him a joint and his only response was, ‘Ah, breakfast!’”
ORIGINAL BLUES MASTERPIECES HAND-PICKED AND CURATED IN COLLABORATION WITH THE ROLLING STONES. DONATION TO WILLIE DIXON’S BLUES HEAVEN FOUNDATION
COVER ARTWORK BY RONNIE WOOD
`If you don’t know the blues… there’s no point in picking up the guitar and playing rock and roll or any other form of popular music’ – Keith Richards
As well as being the biggest band in the world, The Rolling Stones are also the biggest champions of the blues, so who better to curate a compilation in collaboration with BMG and Universal, of the music that inspired them throughout their career?. “Confessin’ The Blues” collects together the greatest bluesmen ever and provides a perfect education to the genre. The track-listing on the various formats have been chosen by The Rolling Stones in collaboration with BMG and Universal and will be released on BMG on 9th November.
The Rolling Stones have long been supporters of the Blues from before the start of their career right through to their latest album, Blue & Lonesome which featured their interpretations of the classics, many of which appear in their original versions here on Confessin’ The Blues. Mick Jagger was an early fan of the Blues: “The first Muddy Waters album that was really popular was Muddy Waters at Newport, which was the first album I ever bought”. As such big supporters of the genre, the band and BMG/Universal have decided that 10% of BMG’s net receipts* from the sale of this album will be donated to Willie Dixon’s Blues Heaven Foundation non-profit organisation in the United States).
Confessin’ The Blues includes tracks by the biggest Blues pioneers including Howlin’ Wolf, John Lee Hooker, Elmore James, Muddy Waters, Chuck Berry, Big Bill Broonzy and Robert Johnson. All of these artists had an impact on the nascent Rolling Stones, be they influencing Keith’s guitar licks or Mick’s vocals and lyrics. As Ronnie Wood says: “That’s how Mick and Keith first got close as well, on the train coming back from college. They noticed each other’s record collection and it was, “Hey, you’ve got Muddy Waters. You must be a good guy, let’s form a band”.
The Book Pack version contains 5 x 10’’ vinyls and an extended essay by music journalist Colin Larkin. It also contains 4 removeable art card prints by noted blues illustrator Christoph Mueller. The album cover artwork comes courtesy of Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood who has added his own personal twist to the project by painting his interpretation of a Bluesman.
Confessin’ The Blues is a real musical education from those who know the genre best, the greatest living band on the planet, The Rolling Stones.
Originally released in 1975, Metamorphosis was first official rarities compilation under The Rolling Stones’ name. You’ll hear outtakes, demos, and other rarities from The Stones’ early days, featuring session legends like Big Jim Sullivan, Clem Cattini, and one Jimmy Page.
Side two, meanwhile, includes session material from Beggars Banquet and Let It Bleed. Though the result may have been a bit piecemeal, Metamorphosis presets a compelling collection of intriguing rarities and critical session material. Now, the compilation arrives on hunter green vinyl with a special iron-on of the album artwork. After the release of Hot Rocks 1964–1971 in 1971, an album titled “Necrophilia” was compiled for release as the follow-up, with the aid of Andrew Loog Oldham, featuring many previously unreleased (or, more accurately, discarded) outtakes from the Rolling Stones’ Decca/London period. While that project failed to materialise—with More Hot Rocks (Big Hits & Fazed Cookies) being released in its place—most of the unreleased songs were held over for a future project. In 1974, to give it an air of authority, Bill Wyman involved himself in compiling an album he entitled Black Box. However, Allen Klein wanted more Mick Jagger/Keith Richards songs in the project for monetary reasons, and Wyman’s version remained unreleased.
Metamorphosis was issued in its place. Most tracks that appear on side one of the vinyl album are outtakes, written by Jagger and Richards for other artists to perform. They were mostly recorded with session musicians like Big Jim Sullivan on guitar, Clem Cattini on drums, and Jimmy Page on guitar, and were not intended for release by the Rolling Stones. Indeed, on most of these tracks the only Rolling Stones member who appears is Jagger. While “Out of Time” and “Heart of Stone” were already well known, they appear here in drastically different renditions, with session players providing the backing.
Side two includes unreleased band recordings created up until the Sticky Fingers sessions of 1970. Some people found that the song “I’d Much Rather Be With the Boys” had a homosexual subtext, so The Toggery Five version changed the lyric to “I’d rather be out with the boys.” Released in June 1975, Metamorphosis came out the same day as the band’s authorised hits collection Made in the Shade and was also seen to be cashing in on The Rolling Stones’ summer Tour of the Americas. While the critical reception was lukewarm—many felt some of the songs were best left unreleased— Metamorphosis still managed to reach No. 8 in the US, though it only made No. 45 in the UK. Two singles, “Out of Time” (featuring Jagger singing over the same backing track used for Chris Farlowe’s 1966 version) and a cover of Stevie Wonder’s “I Don’t Know Why” briefly made the singles charts.
Upon its initial release, Metamorphosis was released with 16 songs in the UK, while the American edition had only 14—omitting tracks “Some Things Just Stick in Your Mind” and “We’re Wastin’ Time”. The album’s cover art alludes to Franz Kafka’s The Metamorphosis.
The War On Drugs have remixed The Rolling Stones’ recently unearthed 1974 Jimmy Page collaboration “Scarlet,”. The track is a previously unreleased 1974 track featuring Jimmy Page that will feature on the upcoming deluxe reissue of Goats Head Soup.
Says The War On Drugs’ Adam Granduciel: “I just re-imagined the song as if I had Mick, Keith and Jimmy in the room with me. After messing with my Linn Drum for a bit, the song fell into this double time thing and I just went with it. I called my friend and bandmate, Dave Hartley, to fill out the bass on the new groove. Then I figured if I had Jimmy Page in the room I’d probably ask him to plug into my favourite rack flanger so that’s what I did. My friend Anthony LaMarca added some last minute percussion. I’m so honoured to have gotten to work on this especially since ‘Angie’ was probably the first ‘rock’ song that I asked to be played on repeat when I was really young. Hope you enjoy it!”
Welcome to Goats Head Soup 2020 — coming September 4th & featuring unheard tracks, demos, outtakes, live performances & more. You can listen to one of three unheard tracks – and pre-order the album across multiple formats, including expansive 4LP & 4CD boxsets. This classic album has been restored to its full glory with a new stereo album mix, sourced from the original session files:
In 1965 The Rolling Stones picked up NME awards for Best New Group, Best British R’n’B Group and Best New Disc Or TV Singer. They celebrated with a gig at the Wembley Empire Pool where their live prowess could clearly be heard, despite the screams of 10,000 highly-energized fans. “Everybody Needs Somebody To Love” was performed at a slower pace than usual and formed a medley with “Pain In My Heart. Around and Around” featured a pair of densely interwoven guitars whilst “The Last Time” benefited from distinctive Keith Richards on backing vocals.
Tracklisting: SIDE ONE
1 Everybody Needs Somebody To Love
2 Pain In My Heart SIDE TWO
1 Around And Around
2 The Last Time
The Rolling Stones have released a video for “Scarlet,” the recently unearthed song they recorded in 1974 with Led Zeppelin’s Jimmy Page on guitar. Normal People actor Paul Mescal stars in the video, which was “filmed with a socially distanced shoot” at Claridge’s hotel in London.
“Scarlet” is one of three previously unreleased songs on the upcoming deluxe edition of “Goats Head Soup”, which comes out on September 4th. The set also contains a remastered edition of the 1973 album, demos, outtakes and alternate mixes from the era — plus a complete show from the Goats Head Soup tour recorded in Brussels, Belgium, on October 17th, 1973. That gig was originally released in 2011 under the title “Brussels Affair”.
The Stones recorded “Scarlet” with Jimmy Page and Traffic bassist Ric Grech in October 1974. “My recollection is we walked in at the end of a Zeppelin session,” Richards said in a statement earlier this year. “They were just leaving, and we were booked in next and I believe that Jimmy decided to stay. We weren’t actually cutting it as a track; it was basically for a demo, a demonstration, you know, just to get the feel of it, but it came out well, with a line-up like that, you know, we better use it.‘”
Prior to the pandemic, the Stones planned on playing North American stadiums this summer as part of their ongoing No Filter tour. Those shows have since been delayed indefinitely. During the downtime, the Stones performed a virtual rendition of “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” at the One World – Together at Home fundraising event. They also released “Living in a Ghost Town,” their first original song since 2012.
The Rolling Stones have unveiled plans to drop a previously unreleased concert film, “Steel Wheels Live”. The film documents the band’s 1989 show in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Having not hit the road for most of the 80s, The Steel Wheels Tour was an astounding return for the Rolling Stones, not least as it was the longest tour they had by that point undertaken. It was also to be their last with Bill Wyman. “Steel Wheels Live” was recorded towards the end of the band’s 60-date run through the stadiums of North America, in the second half of 1989.
The Steel Wheels Tour (later rebranded the Urban Jungle Tour) kicked off in August 1989 was in support of the band’s 19th studio album (in the UK) which was released the same month. It lasted a whole year and the North American leg finished at the Convention Centre in Atlantic City, New Jersey in December 1989.
The gate-busting ticket sales were one thing, but the stage and lighting design of The Steel Wheels Tour set the pace for superstar tours as we know them today. Special guest appearances from Axl Rose, Izzy Stradlin, Eric Clapton and John Lee Hooker on this Atlantic City date make this an even more extraordinary document of the band’s return to touring. Guns N’ Roses’ Axl Rose and Izzy Stradlin, who joined the stalwart rockers on stage for a performance of ‘Salt Of the Earth’. Eric Clapton popped up for a performance of ‘Little Red Roster’, who was then joined by blues icon John Lee Hooker on ‘Boogie Chillen’.
This evening bore witness to The Rolling Stones infamous backstage run-in with president Donald Trump. So it goes, The Stones’ tour producer Michael Cohl found a way to earn the band more money by staging the concert as a pay-per-view event, like UFC but with riffs.
In order to pull the feat off, Cohl needed to find a promoter who was willing to front the cost for the band to play. That promoter ended up being no other than Donald Trump.
The band were initially reluctant to be involved with Trump in any capacity. To help sweeten the deal, Cohl wrote up a contract that barred Trump from promoting the concert in one of his press conferences, and attending the concert.
“The Stones had such power in those days that the 6:40 p.m. slot on the national evening news was going to be an interview with the Stones to talk about and promote the pay-per-view,” Cohl explained in an interview . “At about 5:50 p.m. I get word that I have to come to the press room in the next building. I run to the press room in the next building and what do you think is happening? There’s Donald Trump giving a press conference, in our room!. “I give him the [come here gesture]. ‘Come on, Donald, what are you doing? A) You promised us you wouldn’t even be here and, B) you promised you would never do this.’ He says, ‘But they begged me to go up, Michael! They begged me to go up!’ I say, ‘Stop it. Stop it. This could be crazy. Do what you said you would. Don’t make a liar of yourself.’”
Unfortunately for Trump, Cohl had left his walkie-talkie in the dressing room, and The Rolling Stones overheard the altercation between the two. Keith Richards, in his infinite, unhinged glory, simply had enough, and subsequently pulled a knife on Trump.
“They call me back [into the dressing room],” Cohl explained. “At which point Keith pulls out his knife and slams it on the table and says, ‘What the hell do I have you for? Do I have to go over there and fire him myself? One of us is leaving the building – either him, or us.’ I said, ‘No. I’ll go do it. Don’t you worry.’”
Another new old song from the upcoming reissue of Goats Head Soup. This one features Jimmy Page and was probably named after his daughter. It has a very cool groove to it.
The Stones’ Keith Richards has his own recollections on how “Scarlet” took shape and how “we walked in at the end of a Zeppelin session. They were just leaving, and we were booked in next and I believe that Jimmy decided to stay.”
“Scarlet” was a freak accident. “We weren’t actually cutting it as a track,” enthuses Richards in a statement, “it was basically for a demo, a demonstration, you know, just to get the feel of it, but it came out well, with a line up like that, you know, we better use it.‘’. Goats Head Soup 2020 — coming September 4th & featuring unheard tracks, demos, outtakes, live performances & more. You can listen to ‘Criss Cross’ and now today the track “Scarlet” one of three unheard tracks – and pre-order the album across multiple formats, including expansive 4LP & 4CD boxsets. This classic album has been restored to its full glory with a new stereo album mix, sourced from the original session files:
Originally recorded in October 1974, this track has never been released before – featuring legendary Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page and guests Blind Faith’s Rick Grech on bass. “I remember first jamming this with Jimmy and Keith in Ronnie’s basement studio. It was a great session.” – Mick Jagger
One of three unheard tracks featured on Goats Head Soup 2020, sitting alongside an all-new stereo mix of the original 1973 album, plus demos, outtakes, live performances & more. Goats Head Soup 2020, out September 4th! Another prized jewel in the Rolling Stones‘ unmatched catalogue is restored to its full glory. Features the new stereo album mix, sourced from the original session files.
Last week, the Rolling Stones announced plans for a super-deluxe edition of their 1973 LP Goats Head Soup. It features a remastered version of the original album along with alternate mixes, rarities, instrumental tracks, a complete 1973 show taped in Brussels, and three previously unreleased songs from the era.
The original Goats Head Soup tour was confined entirely to Europe and lasted just seven weeks. Four songs from the album (“Coming Down Again,” “Hide Your Love,” ‘Winter,” and “Can You Hear the Music”) were never played at any point, while “100 Years Ago” and “Silver Train” were dropped after just one week into the run. By the time the tour wrapped, the only Goats Head Soup songs still in rotation were “Angie,” “Star Star,” ‘Dancing With Mr. D,” and “Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker).”
As the years went on, only “Angie,” “Star Star,” and “Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo” stayed in their live repertoire. It wasn’t until 2014 that they decided to resurrect some of the lesser-known tunes. Here’s video of “Silver Train” from a November 18th, 2014, show at the Brisbane Entertainment Centre in Brisbane, Australia. They’re joined by Mick Taylor, who plays on the original. As you can hear, the song is about a man’s encounter with a prostitute. “And I did not know her name,” Jagger sings. “But I sure love the way/That she laughed and took my money.” They haven’t done the song since that night, but in 2017 they brought back “Dancing With Mr. D” and played it at five shows. We’re still waiting to hear “Coming Down Again,” “Hide Your Love,” ‘Winter,” and “Can You Hear the Music.
Another prized jewel gets a special release in the Rolling Stones‘ unmatched catalogue, restored to its full glory and more, multi-format release of their 1973 classic “Goats Head Soup”. The album will be available in multiple configurations, including four-disc cd and vinyl box set editions, with a treasure trove of unreleased studio and live material. The reissue follows the huge success and acclaim for the Stones latest track “Living In a Ghost Town” single and their universally-admired recent lockdown performance of “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” in a global citizen’s april special One World: Together at Home.
The box set and deluxe cd and vinyl editions of “Goats Head Soup” will all feature ten bonus tracks, which include alternate versions, outtakes and no fewer than three previously unheard tracks. the first of these to be unveiled, “Criss Cross”, Stones devotees worldwide will be thrilled by the inclusion, on the box set and deluxe editions, of the previously unheard “Scarlet”, featuring guitar by Jimmy Page, and a third newly unveiled song, “All The Rage”. The layered guitar textures of “scarlet” make for a track that’s as infectious and raunchy as anything the band cut in this hallowed era. as well as jimmy Page guesting alongside Mick & Keith on the track it also features on bass Rick Grech of Blind Faith fame.
“all the rage” has a wild, post – “brown sugar” strut and the percussive “criss cross” rocks and swaggers as only the stones can. the bonus disc of unreleased material also sheds new light on tracks such as “100 years ago” and “hide your love”, with further unissued mixes by stones insider and acclaimed producer glyn johns.
Box set editions of Goats Head Soup will also include the infamous Brussels Affair, the 15-track live album recorded in a memorable show in Belgium, on the autumn 1973 tour that followed the album’s late august release. this much-sought-after disc, mixed by Bob Clearmountain, was previously available only in the Rolling Stones’ “Official Bootleg” series of live recordings in 2012.
The Brussels show features the already-classic “Tumbling Dice”, “Midnight Rambler”, “Jumping Jack Flash” and many others, and includes a sequence of tracks from the then-new album. “Star Star” is followed by “Dancing With Mr. D”, “Doo doo doo doo doo (Heartbreaker)” and “Angie”. Additionally, the cd and vinyl box sets offer the original ten-track album in 5.1 surround sound, dolby atmos and hi-res mixes, along with the videos for “Dancing with Mr. D”, “Silver Train” and “Angie”. an exclusive 100-page book will feature a remarkable array of photographs, essays by writers Ian Mccann, Nick Kent and Daryl Easlea and faithful reproductions of three tour posters from 1973.
As Mccann writes: “Goats Head Soup” was released with plenty of fanfare. despite what you may read today, the kids weren’t entirely absorbed by glam rock, metal, prog and philly soul back in 1973, and they bought the album in their thousands, sending it to no. 1 in the USA and in the Uk, their fifth consecutive british chart-topper.”
It was The Rolling Stones 11th studio album, recorded in Jamaica, Los Angeles and London as their last collaboration with producer Jimmy Miller, Goats Head Soup came in the wake of the Stones’ landmark 1972 double album Exile On Main St. the new set was introduced by the single that became one of their most exalted ballads, the endlessly elegant single “Angie”, completed by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards during a song-writing sojourn in Switzerland. The timeless love song, showcasing Jagger’s yearning lead vocal and Nicky Hopkins‘ beautiful piano motif, topped the charts in the us, where it was certified platinum, and went to no. 1 across europe, australia and beyond. “we decided to do something different, and it worked,” said Richardsof “Angie”. “maybe a lot of people bought it that would never buy a Stones album.” interestingly in a recent interview with the New York Times, Bob Dylan chose “Angie” as one of three Rolling Stones songs he wished he had written.
Goats Head Soup, with its famous photographer David Bailey shot sleeve, featured the Rolling Stones’ vintage 1969-1974 line-up of Jagger, Richards, Mick Taylor, Bill Wyman and Charlie Watts, with the addition of some essential collaborators. on an album on which their trademark rocking sound was often augmented by more low-key, reflective material, there were no fewer than four featured keyboard players: Hopkins, Billy Preston, Ian ‘Stu’ Stewart and Jagger himself.
“Angie” was the only single to be released from the lp in the uk, where it spent two weeks at no. 5 in September. in the us, the exhilaratingly funky, horn-filled “Doo doo doo doo doo (Heartbreaker)”, featuring Mick Taylor’s wah-wah lead guitar, followed it into the top 20 in february 1974.
Many other highlights of the album included the majestically brooding opener “Dancing with Mr. D”, the lithely strutting “100 Years Ago” and “Star Star” and the graceful “Winter”. Richards’ rueful lead vocal on “Coming Down Again” featured another Stones stalwart, saxophonist Bobby Keys. “Silver Train”, the b-side of “Angie”, would be revived after a gap of some 40 years, during the Rolling Stones’ 14 On Fire tour of 2014, when Mick Taylor reprised his original guitar part in shows in Tokyo and Brisbane.
When the album was first released, reviewers lined up to sing its praises. “this is music which could only come from good musicians who know each other really well,” ruled the late and esteemed writer-broadcaster Charlie Gillett in let it rock. “the Stones succeed because they rarely forget their purpose — the creation of rock & roll drama,” said Bud Scoppa in Rolling Stone magazine. “it’s deepening and unfolding over the coming months will no doubt rate as one of the year’s richest musical experiences.”
The 4 Lp Set Deluxe clothbound expected release: 4th September 2020
The Fat Angel Sings 