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Message started by Pdog on Jun 29th, 2009 at 9:32am

Title: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion thread
Post by Pdog on Jun 29th, 2009 at 9:32am
So, do you know how to do this? Are we capable of doing this? Probably not, but we'll try anyway.

We go in order, for a day or two, so everyone can chime in on songs... In this case we discuss singles too, since there's a few non LP tracks, but let's just do tthe album first.

First up SFTD.

from wikipedia:
"Sympathy for the Devil" was written by singer Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards, though the song was largely a Jagger composition. In a 1995 interview with Rolling Stone, Jagger said, "I think that was taken from an old idea of Baudelaire's, I think, but I could be wrong. Sometimes when I look at my Baudelaire books, I can't see it in there. But it was an idea I got from French writing. And I just took a couple of lines and expanded on it. I wrote it as sort of like a Bob Dylan song." In actuality at certain points the lyrics bear a striking resemblance to Mikhail Bulgakov's novel The Master and Margarita (see below). It was Richards who suggested changing the tempo and using additional percussion, turning the folk song into a samba.
The working title of the song was "The Devil Is My Name", and it is sung by Jagger as a first-person narrative from the point of view of Lucifer.


...One of the greatest song I can think of, if someone asked me what the greatest songs ever written were. I never get sick of it, like I do with other songs that make those crappy greatest songs ever written lists. I've had many versions of this song, live dif. releases, and my fave is the 2002 SACD version. The redbook layer is fine, but the SACD really brings out some sublime stuff and the music never wears  on me, like some remasterings of songs can do.
I'm a big fan of the lyrics of this song, it's kinda deep... the story is pretty clear... I always took the song about being as much about good as evil, and as much about god as the devil.

I hope this topic catches on, I think it would be nice to see some threads dedicated to Stones, and even any other rock bands, since the political thread going, as fun as it is, IMO, shouldn't be the most viewed and discussed here. We can give it a run for it's money.

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Zack on Jun 29th, 2009 at 11:14am
OK, I'll play.  My first comment is to note the audacity of the very idea of starting an album with a song titled Sympathy for the Devil in the tight-lipped UK in 1968. . . .

The lyrics are a jumble of images that somehow hang together incredibly well through the universal truth of the coexistence of good and evil in all of us. . . .  

Credit must be given to the graceful piano of Nicky Hopkins, which is really the lead instrument on the song. . . .

Keith's bass playing is also sublime.  I've never heard the circumstance of how he and why he bumped Bill to the side.  Maybe Bill heard it and, like Charlie with Jimmy Miller on YCAGWYW, said to himself I can't improve on that.  . . .

Keith's solo if of course also one for the ages:  funny how two quite different solos on two quite different versions of the songs (studio and Ya Ya's) are both widely seen as among the greatest guitar solos ever.  That says a lot about our man Keith Richards. . .

I suspect Miller had a lot to do with the opening percussion-backing vox arrangement, which is distinctly different from anything the Stones had done before.  His production also gives the music an asthetic beauty which, with a few exceptions (I'm thinking Ruby Tuesday) didn't exist in the Stones music previously. . . .

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Saint Sway on Jun 29th, 2009 at 1:32pm
this will never be as big as the 'SCUE thread.

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by CS on Jun 29th, 2009 at 1:38pm
Great read about the album http://www.timeisonourside.com/lpBanquet.html and about SFTD http://www.timeisonourside.com/SOSympathy.html

TrackTalk

I think that was taken from an old idea of Baudelaire's, I think, but I could be wrong. Sometimes when I look at my Baudelaire books, I can't see it in there. But it was an idea I got from French writing*. And I just took a couple of lines and expanded on it. I wrote it as sort of like a Bob Dylan song. And you can see it in this movie Godard shot called Sympathy for the Devil, which is very fortuitous, because Godard wanted to do a film of us in the studio. I mean, it would never happen now, to get someone as interesting as Godard. And stuffy. We just happened to be recording that song. We could have been recording My Obsession. But it was Sympathy for the Devil, and it became the track that we used.

- Mick Jagger, 1995


[*Note: The principal inspiration for the song was actually the novel The Master and Margarita by Soviet writer Mikhail Bulgakov. Many lines from the song have direct references in that book. In his 1981 book The Last Twenty Years, David Dalton lists it as one of the books Mick purchased in 1968.]
 

(I wrote that song alone). I mean, Keith suggested that we do it in another rhythm, so that's how bands help you... I knew it was something good, 'cause I would just keep banging away at it until the fucking band recorded it... But I knew it was a good song. You just have this feeling. It had its poetic beginning, and then it had historic references and then philosophical jottings and so on. It's all very well to write that in verse, but to make it into a pop song is something different. Especially in England - you're skewered on the altar of pop culture if you become pretentious.

- Mick Jagger, 1995


It started out as a folky thing like Jigsaw Puzzle, but that didn't make it so we kept going over it and changing it until finally it comes out as a samba.

- Mick Jagger, 1968


Sympathy for the Devil started out as a Bob Dylan song and ended up as a samba.

- Keith Richards, 2002


Sympathy for the Devil started as sort of a folk song with acoustics, and ended up as a kind of mad samba, with me playing bass and overdubbing the guitar later. That's why I don't like to go into the studio with all the songs worked out and planned beforehand.

- Keith Richards, 1977


Sympathy for the Devil was tried six different ways. I don't mean at once. It was all night doing it one way, then another full night trying it another way, and we just could not get it right. It would never fit a regular rhythm. I first heard Mick play that one on the steps of my house on an acoustic guitar. The first time I heard it, it was really light and had a kind of Brazilian sound. Then when we got in the studio we poured things on it, and it was something different. I could never get a rhythm for it, except this one, which is like a samba on the snare drum. It was always a bit like a dance band until we got Rocky Dijon in, playing the congas. By messing about with that, we got the thing done.

- Charlie Watts, 1982


Sympathy was one of those songs where we tried everything. The first time I ever heard the song was when Mick was playing it at the front door of a house I lived in in Sussex. It was at dinner; he played it entirely on his own, the sun was going down - and it was fantastic. We had a go at loads of different ways of playing it; in the end I just played a jazz Latin feel in the style that Kenny Clarke would have played on A Night In Tunisia - not the actual rhythm he played, but the same styling. Fortunately it worked, because it was a sod to get together... Good song, though.

- Charlie Watts, 2003


But if you've got a good song, it could become anything. Which is the mark of a good song, I think. That one is a good song.

- Mick Jagger, 2003


We've done about three nights of this kind of (film) shooting. We shot a number called The Devil Is My Name which is on the LP. The first run-through was a disaster and then the second take everything went perfect. It could well be the feature track on the album.

- Keith Richards, June 1968


Anita (Pallenberg) was the epitome of what was happening at the time. She was very Chelsea. She'd arrive with the elite film crowd. During Sympathy for the Devil when I started going whoo, whoo in the control room, so did they. I had the engineer set up a mike so they could go out in the studio and whoo, whoo.

- Jimmy Miller, 1979


My whole thing of this song was not black magic and all this nonsense - like Megadeth or whatever else came afterward. It was different than that.

- Mick Jagger, 1995


It has a very hypnotic groove, a samba, which has a tremendous hypnotic power, rather like good dance music. It doesn't speed up or down. It keeps this constant groove. Plus, the actual samba rhythm is a great one to sing on, but it's also got some other suggestions in it, an undercurrent of being primitive - because it is a primitive African, South American, Afro-whatever-you-call-that rhythm. So to white people, it has a very sinister thing about it. But forgetting the cultural colors, it is a very good vehicle for producing a powerful piece. It becomes less pretentious because it's a very unpretentious groove. If it had been done as a ballad, it wouldn't have been as good.

- Mick Jagger, 1995


Vaguely, (the line about the Kennedys) means you can't pin their deaths on anyone, because there were so many people who would have liked to see them dead. It is our responsibility because crime in our society is our responsibility.


- Mick Jagger, 1969


(We took the subject of the devil seriously) for the duration of the song. That's what those things are about. It's like acting in a movie: you try to act out the scene as believably as possible, whether you believe it or not. That's called GOOD ACTING. You have to remember, when somebody writes a song, it's not entirely autobiographical... Sympathy for the Devil was pretty... ah, well, it's just one song, as I said. Hell, you know, I neve really did the subject to death. But I DID have to back off a little, because I could see what was happening. It's an easily exploitable image, and people really went for it in a big way.

- Mick Jagger, 1987


Sympathy is quite an uplifting song. It's just a matter of looking (the Devil) in the face. He's there all the time. I've had very close contact with Lucifer - I've met him several times. Evil - people tend to bury it and hope it sorts itself out and doesn't rear its ugly head. Sympathy for the Devil is just as appropriate now, with 9/11. There it is again, big time. When that song was written, it was a time of turmoil. It was the first sort of international chaos since World War II. And confusion is not the ally of peace and love. You want to think the world is perfect. Everybody gets sucked into that. And as America has found out to its dismay, you can't hide. You might as well accept the fact that evil is there and deal with it any way you can. Sympathy for the Devil is a song that says, Don't forget him. If you confront him, then he's out of a job.

- Keith Richards, 2002


http://www.timeisonourside.com

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by CS on Jun 29th, 2009 at 1:46pm

CS wrote on Jun 29th, 2009 at 1:38pm:
I've had very close contact with Lucifer - I've met him several times.

- Keith Richards, 2002


:aimama :necrophillicpost

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Jesus Christ on Jun 29th, 2009 at 3:11pm
Wait...are WE supposed to write what WE think about the songs on Beggar's Banquet, or are we supposed to post what other people think about them?

The  recording of this song is the subject of a nearly unwatchable film by Jean Luc Godard. The footage of the sessions, which is fascinating to Stones obsessives but not necessarily others, is intercut with  "revolutionary" footage of Black Panthers and Marxist dogma even Comrade Obama wouldn't sit still for.  We see the girlfriends sing the "hooo hooo" parts.  We see Brian bum cigarettes and disintegrate. We hear the lyrics change from "Who killed Kennedy" to "Who killed the Kennedys" as RFK was assassinated between the main sessions (June 4-5, 1968) and the overdub sessions (June 8, 9 and 10, 1968).



The sessions took place in Olympic Sound Studios
in London, which caught on fire during the recording
of Sympathy.  Godard filmed the fire but didn't use
the footage in the finished movie, perhaps because
it would've made too much sense.



Keith played the fantastic solo on a black 1957 Les Paul Custom
with three humbucking pickups and a custom paint job. I believe
it was one of the priceless guitars stolen from Nellcote circa 1972.
Photographic evidence suggests it was played through a Vox AC30.


This is one of my favorite Stones songs because I'm name-checked in it.

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by platter on Jun 29th, 2009 at 4:03pm

i listen to sympathy on occasion.  i prefer the version from get yer ya ya's out.

No Expectations....man that song just makes me want to just GO HOME.  what a beauty of a tune.

:wtf1

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by axl79 on Jun 29th, 2009 at 4:18pm
This is a great song and proof is that it's still going strong after 40 years !
I like the new video that was released for a couple of yaers ago (Neptunes Remix Video)
and also the version played at the Isle Of Wight Festival was outstanding !

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by platter on Jun 29th, 2009 at 4:20pm

axl79 wrote on Jun 29th, 2009 at 4:18pm:
This is a great song and proof is that it's still going strong after 40 years !
I like the new video that was released for a couple of yaers ago (Neptunes Remix Video)
and also the version played at the Isle Of Wight Festival was outstanding !


is it possibe for you to post these videos?  i have not seen either one of them.

:wtf1

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Saint Sway on Jun 29th, 2009 at 5:28pm
Beggars Banquet gives Emotional Rescue its lunch money because it fears the beat down.

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Some Guy on Jun 29th, 2009 at 5:50pm

Saint Sway wrote on Jun 29th, 2009 at 5:28pm:
Beggars Banquet gives Emotional Rescue its lunch money because it fears the beat down.

funny!

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by mmdog on Jun 29th, 2009 at 10:10pm

Saint Sway wrote on Jun 29th, 2009 at 5:28pm:
Beggars Banquet gives Emotional Rescue its lunch money because it fears the beat down.



Not to correct you Sway, but did you ever see Tony Soprano collect money on the Sopranos?  Emotional Rescue has Exile On Main Street collect the money while it sits back in the hottub with supermodels.

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by mmdog on Jun 29th, 2009 at 10:13pm

mmdog wrote on Jun 29th, 2009 at 10:10pm:

Saint Sway wrote on Jun 29th, 2009 at 5:28pm:
Beggars Banquet gives Emotional Rescue its lunch money because it fears the beat down.



Not to correct you Sway, but did you ever see Tony Soprano collect money on the Sopranos?  Emotional Rescue has Exile On Main Street collect the money while it sits back in the hottub with supermodels.


And to stay on topic, I find Sympathy to be the song that non hardcore Stones fans like the most.  

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Kilroy on Jun 30th, 2009 at 12:04am
Yes One the greatest crafted song I know, the  words, the drums, put you in a different feel or moody right from the beginning. From the opening Lines, Jagger is able to set you deep, in the story.I love songs that have dual type meaning, one you think you know, but than again is that really what it's about. Or are they spoofing us........ It made me think and that's what a great song should do. :blankfriggingstare1  
13th_Beggars_Banquet68.jpg (Attachment deleted)

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by axl79 on Jun 30th, 2009 at 1:16am

wrote on Jun 29th, 2009 at 4:20pm:

axl79 wrote on Jun 29th, 2009 at 4:18pm:
This is a great song and proof is that it's still going strong after 40 years !
I like the new video that was released for a couple of yaers ago (Neptunes Remix Video)
and also the version played at the Isle Of Wight Festival was outstanding !


is it possibe for you to post these videos?  i have not seen either one of them.

:wtf1


Yes, I will as soon as find them, everything is packed as i'm moving into a new place.


Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Some Guy on Jun 30th, 2009 at 7:19am
I don't need a thread that tells me what to do. :weed

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Philip on Jun 30th, 2009 at 8:16am

Jesus Christ wrote on Jun 29th, 2009 at 3:11pm:
Keith played the fantastic solo on a black 1957 Les Paul Custom
with three humbucking pickups and a custom paint job. I believe
it was one of the priceless guitars stolen from Nellcote circa 1972.
Photographic evidence suggests it was played through a Vox AC30.
.


The first photo in your post is from 1967.  Also, it's more likely that he used the Vox Supreme for the solo rather than the AC30.

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Jesus Christ on Jun 30th, 2009 at 9:54am

Philip wrote on Jun 30th, 2009 at 8:16am:

Jesus Christ wrote on Jun 29th, 2009 at 3:11pm:
Keith played the fantastic solo on a black 1957 Les Paul Custom
with three humbucking pickups and a custom paint job. I believe
it was one of the priceless guitars stolen from Nellcote circa 1972.
Photographic evidence suggests it was played through a Vox AC30.
.


The first photo in your post is from 1967.  Also, it's more likely that he used the Vox Supreme for the solo rather than the AC30.



Thou shalt not nit-pick the Lord!

That first photo's great, innit? Although the caption says 1967, I thought the elaborate disarray of Keith's hair suggested it was taken relatively close to the inside gatefold photo of Beggar's Banquet.  His clothes and jewelry do look more like Satanic (hiccup) Majesties era.  However, the notes from photographer Eddie Kramer make it seem like maybe he's confused about the date:

Keith Richards at Olympic Studios, London, England 1967
© Eddie Kramer, 1967
I engineered the Stones recording of the Beggars Banquet album, with Jimmy Miller producing. Since I had worked with them previously on Satanic Majesties, Between The Buttons, and the Flowers albums, they felt fairly relaxed about me being around them with a camera.

During these recordings the famed French film maker Jean-Luc Godard was making “Sympathy for the Devil” (known as “One Plus One” in the UK) a documentary  on the Stones. –EK


Beggar's Banquet was recorded entirely in 1968, so something - either the photos provenance or the caption - is out of whack about Kramer's recollection. Whatever - it's a great photo.

Although I am omipresent and omniscient, I will bow to your opinion on which Vox amp Keith played through.  It certainly could have been a Vox Supreme.








Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Gazza on Jun 30th, 2009 at 10:33am

CS wrote on Jun 29th, 2009 at 1:38pm:
It's just a matter of looking (the Devil) in the face. He's there all the time. I've had very close contact with Lucifer - I've met him several times.  

- Keith Richards, 2002




"You called, Keith?"

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Zack on Jun 30th, 2009 at 12:06pm

Jesus Christ wrote on Jun 29th, 2009 at 3:11pm:
Wait...are WE supposed to write what WE think about the songs on Beggar's Banquet, or are we supposed to post what other people think about them?


Our lord and savior should NOT have to cut and paste.  Jesus Chr . . .  oops, sorry your omnipotentness.

Pdog, you need to moderate this discussion if it's going to work.  Where are you?  

Perhaps you should move us to the next track.

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Moonisup on Jun 30th, 2009 at 2:48pm

Gazza wrote on Jun 30th, 2009 at 10:33am:

CS wrote on Jun 29th, 2009 at 1:38pm:
It's just a matter of looking (the Devil) in the face. He's there all the time. I've had very close contact with Lucifer - I've met him several times.  

- Keith Richards, 2002




"You called, Keith?"

;D

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Pdog on Jun 30th, 2009 at 3:46pm
next up:

No Expectations
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"No Expectations"

"No Expectations" cover
Song by The Rolling Stones
Album      Beggars Banquet
Released      6 December 1968
Recorded      May-June, 1968



"No Expectations" is a song by the British rock and roll band the Rolling Stones featured on their 1968 album Beggars Banquet. It was first released as the B-side of the "Street Fighting Man" single in August 1968.
Contents

The song was written by singer Mick Jagger and guitarist Keith Richards. The song is a slow, country-tinged blues ballad. "No Expectations" was one of the famed Beggars Banquet songs recorded with open microphones set between the band members and was recorded live. In his review of the song, Bill Janovitz says, "The loneliness expressed in the song is palpable; all about being left behind, the song is certainly a tribute in musical and lyrical tone to such Robert Johnson blues songs as "Love in Vain" — a favourite cover of the Stones — referencing such images as a train leaving the station."[1]
“      Take me to the station, And put me on a train; I've got no expectations, To pass through here again      ”
“      Once I was a rich man and, Now I am so poor; But never in my sweet short life, Have I felt like this before      ”
"No Expectations" also features an acoustic slide guitar performance by Brian Jones. One of his most famous contributions to a Stones song, Jagger said in a 1995 interview in Rolling Stone, "That's Brian playing [the solo]. We were sitting around in a circle on the floor, singing and playing, recording with open mikes. That was the last time I remember Brian really being totally involved in something that was really worth doing. He was there with everyone else. It's funny how you remember - but that was the last moment I remember him doing that, because he had just lost interest in everything." [2] Accompanying Jones is Richards on acoustic rhythm guitar, with Janovitz remarking that Richards, "play[s] the same open-tuned rhythm he would later use on 'You Can't Always Get What You Want', also contributing to that lonely ambience." The song is also noted for its simple claves-kept beat by Charlie Watts and Nicky Hopkins' "building single-chord organ" and low piano trills.
[edit]Aftermath

The first live performance was captured during the Rolling Stones Rock and Roll Circus and is featured on the accompanying live album and DVD. This performance was to be Jones's last live performance with the Rolling Stones. Like Brian Jones' performance on the Beggar's Banquet album, that live performance is also Brian's last substantial contribution on stage, as many of the Stones songs from that filming have little to no audible contribution from him. The song has since rarely been played live. The second, and most notable performance, was at the Hyde Park free concert, July 5, 1969, which was held as a memorial to Jones who died three days before. The third live performance was at the January 18, 1973 benefit concert at the Los Angeles Forum for victims of the recent 23 December 1972 earthquake in Nicaragua. It would take another 21 years until August 28th, 1994 in Cleveland, OH, USA, that the song was performed again. On the 2002/2003 Licks tour No Expectations was played eleven times in total, and hasn't been performed since.
"No Expectations" has also proven to be a popular cover song for other artists. Johnny Cash recorded a bluegrass-inspired version, available on his album Gone Girl and the collection Essential Johnny Cash 1953-83. Waylon Jennings recorded a version for his 1998 album Closing in on the Fire. Soulsavers recorded a brooding, piano-and-voice version accompanied with Screaming Trees singer Mark Lanegan on their album It's Not How Far You Fall, It's The Way You Land. Joan Baez also performed a cover on her 1970 album One Day at a Time. Beck also started playing this song in his concerts just after the release of Sea Change. Jam-grass acts Yonder Mountain String Band and Flatlander also often cover this song at their shows.
It is also included on the 1972 Stones compilation album More Hot Rocks (Big Hits & Fazed Cookies). The single version is available on Singles Collection: The London Years.

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Moonisup on Jun 30th, 2009 at 4:15pm
lovely song. love the stripped companion version, and the 03 live versions I've seen

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Pdog on Jun 30th, 2009 at 4:45pm

Moonisup wrote on Jun 30th, 2009 at 4:15pm:
lovely song. love the stripped companion version, and the 03 live versions I've seen


I like the mono version on the singles collection SACD... which I have to check, and make sure it is a true mono, and not a fold down... still really like it alot...

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Zack on Jun 30th, 2009 at 4:48pm
Love the song.  

Perhaps the most genuine Delta blues the Stones ever pulled off.  The tone of Keith's guitar and his touch playing is spine-tingling.  Jagger's opening homage to Robert Johnson is just enough to set the tone for the songs, and later he hits the ball out of the park lyrically with the "never in my sweet, short life . . ." bit.  

People may jump all over me, but I think Brian's solo is nice, but nothing all that special musically (this from the world's third-worst musician!).  What was really special is that they could have one last successful recording session with Brian as a functioning member of the band making a meaningful contribution, which the song obviously represents.  Something his fans can point to.

One of my good friends used the opening couplet as his senior quote in his high school yearbook.  Cheeky bastard.

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Pdog on Jun 30th, 2009 at 4:55pm

Zack wrote on Jun 30th, 2009 at 4:48pm:
Love the song.  

Perhaps the most genuine Delta blues the Stones ever pulled off.  The tone of Keith's guitar and his touch playing is spine-tingling.  Jagger's opening homage to Robert Johnson is just enough to set the tone for the songs, and later he hits the ball out of the park lyrically with the "never in my sweet, short life . . ." bit.  

People may jump all over me, but I think Brian's solo is nice, but nothing all that special musically (this from the world's third-worst musician!).  What was really special is that they could have one last successful recording session with Brian as a functioning member of the band making a meaningful contribution, which the song obviously represents.  Something his fans can point to.

One of my good friends used the opening couplet as his senior quote in his high school yearbook.  Cheeky bastard.


I have to plus one that Zack... it is an amazing solo Brian plays, and maybe his Stones swan song... everything about this song is simple, to the point, and yet so powerful in that simplicity. It's a song about having nothing, yet somehow even with its blues drenched hoplessness, it still amkes me happy... it might be that guitar tone you mentioned... something in it, that reaches inside me.

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Boomy on Jun 30th, 2009 at 5:31pm
"No Expectations"--simply beautiful.

"Beggars Banquet" is the shit. I give this one copious spins!!

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Zack on Jun 30th, 2009 at 6:26pm
You know, I just watched the Rock and Roll Circus again last night.   (The wife and kids are away.)  Despite what I just posted, Brian's solo there is somehow heartbreaking.  A metaphor for his tragedy in 22 seconds.

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Sioux on Jun 30th, 2009 at 6:45pm
A superb song. Sublime. Melancholic. Brian's solo is so beautiful and effective. And, no matter what condition he was in during the R&R Circus, his solo there was spot on as well.

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Philip on Jul 1st, 2009 at 9:53am

Pdog wrote on Jun 30th, 2009 at 4:45pm:
I like the mono version on the singles collection SACD... which I have to check, and make sure it is a true mono, and not a fold down... still really like it alot...


It's a fold down and a bad one at that as(if I remember right) it only has one side of the previous stereo mix, thus Brians slide is very quiet and muffled.

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Saint Sway on Jul 1st, 2009 at 10:16am
The 'SCUE is flashing its bright lights to remind this thread to drive over into the slow lane.

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by stonedinaustralia on Jul 1st, 2009 at 9:03pm
sorry to be slow but just to return to Sympathy it is ,of course, widely referred to that the song was, at least partly, based upon this book

*


thanks to the stonesian connection i made the efort to read it and am glad i did so - it is a great piece of work that deserves its reputation as a classic (imho)

you  can clearly see the similaries between the opening chapter and jagger's narrative position

interestingly the cover shown above is a russian painting entitled "An Englishman in Moscow"

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Pdog on Jul 2nd, 2009 at 11:22am
SIA, feel free to go back if you are coming in late... at least you're on topic and talking Stones and rock n' roll...

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Pdog on Jul 2nd, 2009 at 11:23am
Next up:
Dear Doctor
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Dear Doctor"

"Dear Doctor" cover
Song by The Rolling Stones
Album      Beggars Banquet
Released      6 December 1968
Recorded      May 13-21, 1968

Writer      Jagger/Richards
Producer      Jimmy Miller


"Dear Doctor" is a song by English rock and roll band the Rolling Stones featured on their 1968 album Beggars Banquet.
Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, "Dear Doctor" is country song with blues inflections. It is a good example of the acoustic guitar-based compostions that has earned Beggars Banquet its reputation as the Stones' "return to form". Bill Janovitz says in his review of the song, "With all acoustic instruments — guitar, tack piano, 12-string, harmonica, tambourine, and upright bass — ...the band manages to sound authentically old-time and primitive, with Mick Jagger employing the fake-American hick accent that he would continue to mine in future blues and country numbers throughout the Stones' career."
On the Stones' experiments with country, Jagger said in 2003, "The country songs, like 'Factory Girl' or 'Dear Doctor', on Beggars Banquet were really pastiche. There's a sense of humour in country music anyway, a way of looking at life in a humorous kind of way - and I think we were just acknowledging that element of the music."
The song tells the story of a young man discovering his fiancee has abandoned him on the day they are to be wed, to his relief;
“      I was tremblin, as I put on my jacket, It had creases as sharp as a knife; I put the ring in my pocket, But there was a note, And my heart it jumped into my mouth      ”
“      It read, 'Darlin', I'm sorry to hurt you. But I have no courage to speak to your face. But I'm down in Virginia with your cousin Lou, There be no wedding today'      ”
Janovitz concludes, "Jagger may be poking fun a little, but he could not nail the parlance of the characters so precisely if he had not studied it closely as a fan of the music... In a sense, they have been musicologists, interpreting musical forms that were in danger of dying out. The raw quality of 'Dear Doctor' and the rest of the album was a welcoming sound to the ears of most Stones fans losing patience with their experimentation on Their Satanic Majesties Request."[1]
"Dear Doctor" was recorded at London's Olympic Sound Studios between May 13 and 21 1968. With Jagger on lead vocals, Richards supports on backing harmony. Richards performs all guitars for the track, with Bill Wyman performing bass and Charlie Watts performing drums. Brian Jones plays harmonica and Nicky Hopkins performs piano.
Despite its appearance on one of the Stones' more well-known albums, "Dear Doctor" has never been performed live by the band. It also appears on no compilation albums.

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Pdog on Jul 2nd, 2009 at 11:26am
I love... love, love... this song. what a great song about getting dumped and let off the hook at the same time. The Stones def. hit the country music nail on the head here... If you played this song seperate for a country fan, who didn't know The stones, you know they'd love it, and jaw drop when you told them it was those faggy brit popster Rolling Stones... 1968...truly amazing.
I don't know for sure, but I don't think this was ever played live!!!

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Jesus Christ on Jul 2nd, 2009 at 2:32pm

stonedinaustralia wrote on Jul 1st, 2009 at 9:03pm:
sorry to be slow but just to return to Sympathy it is ,of course, widely referred to that the song was, at least partly, based upon this book

*


thanks to the stonesian connection i made the efort to read it and am glad i did so - it is a great piece of work that deserves its reputation as a classic (imho)

you  can clearly see the similaries between the opening chapter and jagger's narrative position

interestingly the cover shown above is a russian painting entitled "An Englishman in Moscow"


It is indeed a great novel, and you'd think it would make a fantastic movie  (I believe there have
been several less-than-fantastic attempts at it). My favorite character is Yeshua Ha-Nozri.

'No Expectations":

I love this one, too. (Actually I love the whole album. It might be my favorite Stones album, if I had to pick one.)
A big thumbs up for the Biblical reference, one of many on the record:

Your love is like a diamond / you throw your pearls at swine
And as I watch you leaving me / you pass my peace of mind

which recalls:

Give not that which is holy unto the dogs, neither cast ye your
pearls before swine, lest they trample them under their feet,
and turn again and rend you.
    - Matthew 7:6



It's funny that for several years Keith insisted that Brian
played nothing on Beggar's Banquet - yet when R&R Circus
was finally released, suddenly everyone remembered that
he played slide on this.  

"Dear Doctor"  is an absolute hoot. Every line is hilarious,
and Jagger's delivery would be at home on Hee Haw.  
However, the instrumental backing isn't funny at all - it's
just great.




Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Zack on Jul 2nd, 2009 at 3:02pm
Tell me Jesus, why didn't you whisper into Mick's ear to put that pic you just posted on the cover and the toilet the gatefold sleeve.  Would have been the best cover ever.  Being all-knowing, You should, er,  know that!

Dear Doctor gets derided as the weakest track on BB.  I disagree (if I had to pick one I'd say Parachute Woman).

Like with Far Away eyes, Jagger knew that he could never pull off earnest country, and his instinct told him -- and correctly I think -- to yuck it up with the exaggerated accent and funny lyrics, rendering it a Stones-country hybrid rather than an attempt at the real deal.  Keith's playing again is superb, and the track works on the whole.  Thumbs up.

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Pdog on Jul 2nd, 2009 at 4:06pm

Zack wrote on Jul 2nd, 2009 at 3:02pm:
Tell me Jesus, why didn't you whisper into Mick's ear to put that pic you just posted on the cover and the toilet the gatefold sleeve.  Would have been the best cover ever.  Being all-knowing, You should, er,  know that!

Dear Doctor gets derided as the weakest track on BB.  I disagree (if I had to pick one I'd say Parachute Woman).

Like with Far Away eyes, Jagger knew that he could never pull off earnest country, and his instinct told him -- and correctly I think -- to yuck it up with the exaggerated accent and funny lyrics, rendering it a Stones-country hybrid rather than an attempt at the real deal.  Keith's playing again is superb, and the track works on the whole.  Thumbs up.


he def. goes over the top on the falsetto, reading the lines from the letter. despite Jaggers over the top lyrics, the music is 100% pure country...imo.

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Saint Sway on Jul 2nd, 2009 at 4:09pm
"You kids are really going to get once Emotional Rescue gets home!!"

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Pdog on Jul 3rd, 2009 at 6:50am

Saint Sway wrote on Jul 2nd, 2009 at 4:09pm:
"You kids are really going to get once Emotional Rescue gets home!!"


We should get to ER, in a bout 6 months or so, can you hold it in til then....



Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Throwaway on Jul 3rd, 2009 at 7:41am
I feel that "Dear Doctor" is a legit 'underrated' song - among Stones fans as a whole, and even on the sites we whackos visit, it gets little attention, and that includes hearing it on the radio.  Add in the fact that it's from what is regarded as one of the Stones top 5 albums by most, and you can see it deserves better.  It's like "Far Away Eyes" but more musically interesting, more bluesy.  

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Pdog on Jul 4th, 2009 at 6:28am
Parachute Woman
"Parachute Woman" is a song by the Rolling Stones featured on their 1968 album Beggars Banquet.
inspiration and recording

Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, "Parachute Woman" is a slow blues song and is one of the famous Beggars Banquet songs recorded on a cassette player and double-tracked for effect. Bill Janovitz says in his review of the song, "The result is a raw and murky but atmosphere-filled blues track that spotlights Mick Jagger's mumbled sexual boasts and intense harmonica playing. With barely veiled innuendo — just enough to make it comical — Jagger makes like a modern-day Muddy Waters."
“      Parachute woman, will you blow me out? Parachute woman, will you blow me out? Well, my heavy throbbers itchin', Just to lay a solid rhythm down      ”
Recording began at Olympic Sound Studios on March 25, 1968. With Jagger on lead vocals, Richards performs the song's acoustic rhythm and electric guitars, Harmonica performed by Jagger and Charlie Watts provides drums. Bill Wyman is featured on the upright bass, a rare occurrence for him.
[edit]Aftermath

"Parachute Woman" was performed by the Stones during the 1968 Rock and Roll Circus and appears on the subsequent album. It would also be performed during the 2002 Licks Tour.

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Pdog on Jul 4th, 2009 at 6:35am
for many, i think this would be a least liked track or one you didn't like right away. i don't know what the metaphor really is. i went more literal, and imagined a woman floating into my room while i was pining away for sex and a tortured teen. music is for the listener to interpret... took this one about as superficial as you can get. over the years the music has grown on me. love the choppy playing, to the point, kinda blues almost berry-esque rhythm. the harmonica, is great... i fel like a train is coming, somebody just sitting in some muggy hot southern porch late at night, howling away on the harp. almost haunting, bt it carries something else into the music, desperation, maybe. which probably ties back to what i get out of the lyrics... much better song for me now, then when i was 13 and just wanted to hear fast rocking tunes...

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Philip on Jul 4th, 2009 at 7:32am
It seems most likely that Brian plays the harmonica throughout the song with Mick overdubbing the end part, with Brian's harmonica still going on underneath.

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by stonedinaustralia on Jul 4th, 2009 at 8:01am
i love this one and for me, Zack, is more delta blues than No Expectations...man there is no metaphor it is so blatant ...land on me tonight cos my heavy throbber;s itchin'...what;s to metamorphize? yet another track from BB where keith shows an acoustic guitar carries as much whack as an electric...esp. in the right hands and right in time with that snare drumand a sound to which pro tools can only aspire

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Jesus Christ on Jul 4th, 2009 at 11:13am
This often-overlooked song has always been one of my favorites. In terms of songwriting, Parachute Woman might
be overshadowed by some of the other songs on BB, but as far as the FEEL of the track goes, it's perfect. As in
many of the Stones' most enduring recordings, the lyrics are mumbled and buried - leaving the listener free to draw
their own conclusions of exactly what's on Mick's mind. Meanwhile, the rhythm leaves little doubt about the underlying
subject matter. (Psst - it's about S-E-X.) Keith's overdubbed electric guitar is positively deranged, and its addition to
what would otherwise be a fairly straightforward country blues format is in line with the overall feel of the whole album.



It's worth mentioning that Beggar's Banquet owes a lot to Keith's first big return to the woodshed, guitar-wise.  
On the 1966 American tour Keith went on a record-buying spree, sending dozens of rare blues and country albums
home to England where he could study them at length and absorb them as he once had Chuck Berry and Muddy
Waters records. At the same time, he began experimenting with the open tunings those records were built around.  
Although he hadn't yet arrived (via Ry Cooder) at the classic open G, much of Beggar's Banquet uses open D and
open E tunings, which give the songs a different feel at the very foundation.  Trying to play any of these songs in
straight "concert" tuning results in a lot of head scratching - "how the HELL do they get that sound?" - and in those
pre-internet days, very few people were in on the secret.

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by real wild child on Jul 4th, 2009 at 10:56pm
Do we have to discuss about it???  :wtf3
To me is a masterpiece period.
A great comeback and it was their first album with a defined sound
I can hear No Expectations over and over again... :wtf2

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by GotToRollMe on Jul 5th, 2009 at 1:12am
I prefer the original "R.S.V.P." album cover and the original 10-song platter, even now.

.

To see them play "No Expectations" live, even though I would have preferred it "pure" and without a guest star, was still a thrill for me. It remains one of my top favorite Stones songs and is timeless.

"Take me to the station
And put me on a train
I've got no expectations
To pass through here again

Once I was a rich man and
Now I am so poor
But never in my sweet short life
Have I felt like this before

You heart is like a diamond
You throw your pearls at swine
And as I watch you leaving me
You pack my peace of mind

Our love was like the water
That splashes on a stone
Our love is like our music
It's here, and then it's gone

So take me to the airport
And put me on a plane
I got no expectations
To pass through here again "




Yet another Stones paeon to time, how precious it is, and how fast it flashes by.





Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Pdog on Jul 5th, 2009 at 8:46am
seeing that cover reminds me of all the bootlegs from this era... my fave being Sister Morphines one, some real gems. If vaults were ever opened just for Beggars Banquet release alone... we could see an official release of Two Trains... oooh... if only!!! and others...

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by fuman on Jul 5th, 2009 at 10:45am

Boomy wrote on Jun 30th, 2009 at 5:31pm:
"No Expectations"--simply beautiful.

"Beggars Banquet" is the shit. I give this one copious spins!!




No Expectations was the first song I learned on guitar, way back in the early '70's.

Bought a chord book and practiced it again and again until I could make the changes.

Best hobby I ever picked up, as it has given me many years of entertainment, and continues to do so . . .

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Pdog on Jul 5th, 2009 at 11:01am


"Jigsaw Puzzle," sometimes spelled "Jig-Saw Puzzle" is a song by rock and roll band the Rolling Stones found on their 1968 album Beggars Banquet.
Written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, "Jigsaw Puzzle" is one of the longer songs on the album. It comes in just ten seconds shorter than "Sympathy for the Devil" to which it is stylistically similar.
Recording began at Olympic Sound Studios on March 25, 1968. Parts of the recording sessions are available on the bootleg market, and on these recordings Mick Jagger is on acoustic guitar, Keith Richards on electric slide guitar, Charlie Watts on drums, Bill Wyman on bass and Nicky Hopkins on piano. Brian Jones is not present on these sessions. The released version has Richards on overdubbed acoustic guitar, and Brian Jones added the distinctive "whine" at the end of the song with the mellotron. "Jigsaw Puzzle" has never been performed live by the Rolling Stones.

Musical opinions have diverged widely on the merits of "Jigsaw Puzzle". Music journalist Steve Knopper quoted on Amazon considers it inexplicable that it never became a hit in its own right. However, journalist Richie Unterberger describes it unenthusiastically as a mere "album filler".
Unterberger draws comparisons to the mid-to-late 1960s work of Bob Dylan saying "...the similarity to some of Dylan's long, wordy surreal songs of the mid-'60s is close enough that it's a little surprising 'Jigsaw Puzzle' hasn't been singled out by more listeners as being a Dylan imitation, particularly since it frankly sounds a little hackneyed in its approximation of Dylanesque weirdness." The lyrics depict the observations of the singer who finds himself surrounded by "misfits and weirdos";
“      There's a tramp sittin' on my doorstep, Tryin' to waste his time; With his methylated sandwich, He's a walking clothesline; And here comes the bishop's daughter, On the other side; She looks a trifle jealous, She's been an outcast all her life      ”
“      Me, I'm waiting so patiently, Lying on the floor; I'm just trying to do my jig-saw puzzle, Before it rains anymore      ”
Of the song, Unterberger concludes, " Like many of the tracks on that album, it drew on country blues for musical inspiration... The lyrics, however, are not the sort that would be heard on actual rural Delta blues records... More of a drawback to the song, however, is its lack of melodic development, just keeping on the same basic monotonous stock blues tune for a good six minutes or so. For album filler such as this, some other creative touches were needed to make it stand out more."

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Pdog on Jul 7th, 2009 at 6:33am
okay, you should be over your holiday beer and food comas. let's keep this thread going....

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by HardKnoxDurtySox on Jul 7th, 2009 at 7:18pm

Pdog wrote on Jul 4th, 2009 at 6:35am:
...for many, i think this would be a least liked track or one you didn't like right away...


I used to feel this way but it has grown on me through the years.  As simple as it is, I think this has one of my favorite Stones bass lines ever.

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by stonedinaustralia on Jul 7th, 2009 at 7:47pm
for me jig saw puzzle is a bit of a curiosity - very long with lots of words - as the article you quote suggests it is mick having a stab at Dylan a la Memphis Blues Again - but while Bob's nether-world is full of overt and covert violence - its all punched cigarettes , burning eyelids, strangled minds, texas medicine and fires on main street the most violent mick's world gets is grandmas waving hankies -  in contrast to Bob's Mick's version of a night mare world is one of boredom... the atmosphere is all longueur and ennui -like Prufrock measuring out his life in coffee spoons Mick's is measured by the pieces of his puzzle that he puts together

again - as has been noted with No Expectations - it is about one of the stones perennial topics:time - its passing (me, I'm waiting so patiently...) and the distance it can put between us

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Pdog on Jul 8th, 2009 at 4:24pm
"Street Fighting Man" is a song by English rock and roll band the Rolling Stones featured on their 1968 album Beggars Banquet. Called the Stones' "most political song", Rolling Stone ranked the song #295 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
Inspiration


Originally titled and recorded as "Did Everyone Pay Their Dues?", containing the same music but very different lyrics, "Street Fighting Man" is known as one of Mick Jagger and Keith Richards' most politically inclined works to date. Jagger allegedly wrote it about Tariq Ali after Jagger attended a March 1968 anti-war rally at London's U.S. embassy, during which mounted police attempted to control a crowd of 25,000. He also found inspiration in the rising violence among student rioters on Paris's Left Bank, the precursor to May 1968.
On the writing, Jagger said in a 1995 interview with Jann Wenner in Rolling Stone,
"Yeah, it was a direct inspiration, because by contrast, London was very quiet...It was a very strange time in France. But not only in France but also in America, because of the Vietnam War and these endless disruptions. ...I thought it was a very good thing at the time. There was all this violence going on. I mean, they almost toppled the government in France; DeGaulle went into this complete funk, as he had in the past, and he went and sort of locked himself in his house in the country. And so the government was almost inactive. And the French riot police were amazing."
The song opens with a strummed acoustic riff. In his review, Richie Unterberger says of the song, "...it's a great track, gripping the listener immediately with its sudden, springy guitar chords and thundering, offbeat drums. That unsettling, urgent guitar rhythm is the mainstay of the verses. Mick Jagger's typically half-buried lyrics seem at casual listening like a call to revolution."
“      Everywhere I hear the sound of marching, charging feet, boy,
'Cause summer's here and the time is right for fighting in the street, boy      ”
“      Hey, said my name is called Disturbance;
I'll shout and scream, I'll kill the King, I'll rail at all his servants      ”
“      Well now what can a poor boy do, Except to sing for a rock & roll band?
Cause in sleepy London Town there's just no place for a street fighting man, no      ”
Unterberger continues, "Perhaps they were saying they wished they could be on the front lines, but were not in the right place at the right time; perhaps they were saying, as John Lennon did in the Beatles' "Revolution," that they didn't want to be involved in violent confrontation. Or perhaps they were even declaring indifference to the tumult." Other writers' interpretations varied. In 1976, Roy Carr assessed it as a "great summer street-corner rock anthem on the same echelon as 'Summer in the City', 'Summertime Blues', and 'Dancing in the Street'." In 1979, Dave Marsh wrote that it was the keynote of Beggar's Banquet, "with its teasing admonition to do something and its refusal to admit that doing it will make any difference; as usual, the Stones were more correct, if also more faithless, philosophers than any of their peers."
Recording

Recording on "Street Fighting Man" began at Olympic Sound Studios in March of 1968 and continued into May and June later that year. With Jagger on lead vocals and both he and Richards on backing, Brian Jones performs the song's distincitve sitar and also tamboura. Richards plays the song's acoustic guitars as well as bass, the latter being the only electric instrument on the track. Charlie Watts performs drums while Nicky Hopkins performs the song's piano which is most distinctly heard during the outro. Shehani is performed on the track by Dave Mason. On the earlier, unreleased "Did Everybody Pay Their Dues" version, Rick Grech played a very prominent electric viola.
Watts said in 2003,
"'Street Fighting Man' was recorded on Keith's cassette with a 1930s toy drum kit called a London Jazz Kit Set, which I bought in an antiques shop, and which I've still got at home. It came in a little suitcase, and there were wire brackets you put the drums in; they were like small tambourines with no jangles... The snare drum was fantastic because it had a really thin skin with a snare right underneath, but only two strands of gut... Keith loved playing with the early cassette machines because they would overload, and when they overload they sounded fantastic, although you weren't meant to do that. We usually played in one of the bedrooms on tour. Keith would be sitting on a cushion playing a guitar and the tiny kit was a way of getting close to him. The drums were really loud compared to the acoustic guitar and the pitch of them would go right through the sound. You'd always have a great backbeat."
On the recording process itself, Richards remembered,
"The basic track of that was done on a mono cassette with very distorted overrecording, on a Phillips with no limiters. Brian is playing sitar, it twangs away. He's holding notes that wouldn't come through if you had a board, you wouldn't be able to fit it in. But on a cassette if you just move the people, it does. Cut in the studio and then put on a tape. Started putting percussion and bass on it. That was really an electronic track, up in the realms."
Bruce Springsteen would comment in 1985, after including "Street Fighting Man" in the encores of some of his Born in the U.S.A. Tour shows: "That one line, 'What can a poor boy do but sing in a rock and roll band?' is one of the greatest rock and roll lines of all time. ... [The song] has that edge-of-the-cliff thing when you hit it. And it's funny; it's got humor to it."
Jagger continues in the Rolling Stone interview when asked about the song's resonance thirty years on; "I don't know if it [has any]. I don't know whether we should really play it. I was persuaded to put it [on Voodoo Lounge Tour] because it seemed to fit in, but I'm not sure if it really has any resonance for the present day. I don't really like it that much." Despite this, the song has been performed on a majority of the Stones' tours since its introduction to their canon of work.[8]
On the song, Richards said, only a few years after recording the track in a famous 1971 Rolling Stone interview with Robert Greenfield, that the song had been "interpreted thousands of different ways". He mentioned how Jagger went to the Grosvenor Square demonstrations in London and was even charged by the police, yet he ultimately claims, "it really is ambiguous as a song."
Release

Released as Beggars Banquet's lead single on August 31, 1968, "Street Fighting Man" was popular on release but was kept out of the Top 40 (reaching number 48) of the U.S. charts in response to many radio stations refusal to play the song based on what were perceived as subversive lyrics. This attitude would be enforced as the song was released within a week of the riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention in Chicago. The B-side was album-mate "No Expectations". "Street Fighting Man" would not be released in the United Kingdom until 1970.
It has been included on the compilations albums Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2), Hot Rocks 1964-1971, Singles Collection: The London Years (in its 45 RPM single mix, in mono with an additional vocal overdub on the chorus) and Forty Licks. A staple at Stones live shows since the band's American Tour of 1969, concert recordings of the song have been captured and released for the live albums Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!, Stripped, and Live Licks.

Legacy

"Street Fighting Man" has been covered by many artists. Rod Stewart covered it on the debut solo album An Old Raincoat Won't Ever Let You Down. Oasis recorded a version that was released as the B-side to their 1998 single "All Around the World". The song can be found on the fourth and last studio album by Rage Against the Machine entitled Renegades. It appears on Mötley Crüe's Red, White and Crüe album as well as the Ramones' 2002 re-release of Too Tough to Die. The band Prima Donna performed a live cover early in their career. The band Tesla also covered this song on their cover's album Real to Reel which can be found on the rare disk 2 track number 5. (You needed to attend a concert during the Reel to Reel tour to obtain this disk.)
Guitarist Pete Townshend of the Who has claimed that the staccato beat/rhythm structure of "Street Fighting Man" is the inspiration for "I'm Free" on Tommy. From a musical perspective it is interesting that it is produced entirely on acoustic instruments apart from the electric bass.
In 2009, the Australian rock band Sick Puppies used the first 15 seconds of Rage Against The Machine's version for their single "Street Fighter (War)".
Radio Personalities Opie and Anthony use Rage Against the Machine's version as part of the opening theme for their show.

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Pdog on Jul 8th, 2009 at 4:27pm
maybe the rock song to use only acoustics and still really rock the fuck out!!! love the imagery and biting attack on politicians and govt.
i really love that even all the millions of dollars, adoring fans and old age, The Stones still got some angst in them, even it was to rael against Bush... bbut SFM... that's the shit!!!

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Mel Belli on Jul 9th, 2009 at 8:41am

Jesus Christ wrote on Jul 4th, 2009 at 11:13am:
It's worth mentioning that Beggar's Banquet owes a lot to Keith's first big return to the woodshed, guitar-wise.  
On the 1966 American tour Keith went on a record-buying spree, sending dozens of rare blues and country albums
home to England where he could study them at length and absorb them as he once had Chuck Berry and Muddy
Waters records. At the same time, he began experimenting with the open tunings those records were built around.  
Although he hadn't yet arrived (via Ry Cooder) at the classic open G, much of Beggar's Banquet uses open D and
open E tunings, which give the songs a different feel at the very foundation.  Trying to play any of these songs in
straight "concert" tuning results in a lot of head scratching - "how the HELL do they get that sound?" - and in those
pre-internet days, very few people were in on the secret.


That's exactly right — and it reminds me why I think the idea that Keith ripped off Cooder is wildy overstated. Was he inspired? Sure. But the germ of Keith's style was present here on BB, and even earlier on "19th Nervous Breakdown." Not to knock his genius, but there's a reason Ry Cooder didn't write "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" or "All Down the Line" or "Happy," etc.: Because he is not Keith Richards.

Hell, Mick's own extensions of Keith ("Brown Sugar," "Sway") are classics, too.

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Some Guy on Jul 9th, 2009 at 10:21am
We’re going to travel back in time today … all the way back to 1968 and the release of the album “Beggars Banquet” by The Rolling Stones.

Why? To understand a little bit more about sales and marketing. You see, when something like a song becomes a classic, there’s a very good reason why. It’s because it strikes a chord with us. It tells a story. Imparts great knowledge.

It contains ideas that fit neatly into the collective consciousness.

Finding Success in Success

The formula goes like this: It takes a certain mindset to be successful (and The Rolling Stones have been very successful). And so, anything that comes out of a successful person’s mind has the great potential to create more success.

Knowing that, I’m going to take the first four lines of the song “Sympathy for the Devil”, and apply them to sales and marketing …


1. Please allow me to introduce myself

Okay, pretty straight forward. If you don’t network, if you don’t get out there and knock on doors, you can’t make any sales. Sitting and waiting for customers to magically appear just doesn’t work. You have to go out, introduce yourself, and create the opportunities for others to buy from you.

2. I’m a man of wealth and taste

And when you’re introducing yourself, you want to put your best foot forward. The old “pity pitch” never built a million dollar business. People want to be associated with success and they want to do business with other successful people … sort of like “birds of a feather, flock together”.

3. I’ve been around for a long, long year

When you’re marketing yourself, your products, your services; you need to have answers. Potential customers will have questions. It’s your experience, your preparation, and your creativity that’s going to get you through smoothly. Trying to make a pitch and getting bombarded with questions you can’t answer can quickly turn into a sweating session that makes you look like you just got water-boarded.

4. Stole many a man’s soul and faith

Knowing your competition and what they have to offer is essential. Because, you’re basically competing with them and everything your customer knows about them. You’re competing against another brand, another deal, pricing, extras … and your job is to find the sticking points that bring the customer closer to you, and the deal-breakers that move them further away from your competition.

So there you have it. You can find successful strategies in many instances of success. The more examples you find in the world, the more overlapping patterns you’ll find that just always seem to hold true.

And just for the record. No, I’ve never been to St. Petersberg.

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by StPeteStone on Jul 9th, 2009 at 11:27am

Some Guy wrote on Jul 9th, 2009 at 10:21am:
And just for the record. No, I’ve never been to St. Petersberg.


You should come on down!! The beaches are awesome, we have a good baseball team and best of all your good friend Tampy lives here.









Oh yeah, awsome album!

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Saint Sway on Jul 9th, 2009 at 11:57am
Hey guys, I just spoke with THE 'SCUE... he said for you to take your time with this thread.... he's keeping himself busy with your wives at his suite in Vegas.

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Some Guy on Jul 9th, 2009 at 12:17pm

Saint Sway wrote on Jul 9th, 2009 at 11:57am:
Hey guys, I just spoke with THE 'SCUE... he said for you to take your time with this thread.... he's keeping himself busy with your wives at his suite in Vegas.

lemme break it down Cohl style- If the other Stones albums are unsold seats, Emotional Rescue is the tarp.

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Some Guy on Jul 9th, 2009 at 12:17pm

StPeteStone wrote on Jul 9th, 2009 at 11:27am:

Some Guy wrote on Jul 9th, 2009 at 10:21am:
And just for the record. No, I’ve never been to St. Petersberg.


You should come on down!! The beaches are awesome, we have a good baseball team and best of all your good friend Tampy lives here.









Oh yeah, awsome album!

I'm afraid of sharks.

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Voodoo Chile In Wonderland on Jul 9th, 2009 at 12:29pm

Pdog wrote on Jul 8th, 2009 at 4:24pm:




Anytime I see this one I remember how expensive it is, according to Jerry Osborne's Guide this picture sleeve in good condition is $12,000 USD!! Apparently there's less than 10 now, when this was recovered from the stores only 12 copies were sold... Even as a millionaire I wouldn't pay that much for it, in fact the 7" record inside is the same that was released later.

back to topic, is a good song but I don't like it live nowadays

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Lazy Bones on Jul 9th, 2009 at 12:53pm
when I was in college I worked part time in a factory. the friend of a co-worker played a superb Dr. Doctor.

I can proudly say that (until that point) I was the only person who had ever known the lyrics to sing along with.

I hope my singing didn't discourage him from future public performances...

:wtf3

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Saint Sway on Jul 9th, 2009 at 2:20pm

Some Guy wrote on Jul 9th, 2009 at 12:17pm:

Saint Sway wrote on Jul 9th, 2009 at 11:57am:
Hey guys, I just spoke with THE 'SCUE... he said for you to take your time with this thread.... he's keeping himself busy with your wives at his suite in Vegas.

lemme break it down Cohl style- If the other Stones albums are unsold seats, Emotional Rescue is the tarp.


^ You're that kid that dunked on Lebron at Basketball Camp, aint ya?

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Pdog on Jul 11th, 2009 at 7:13am
Prodigal Son:

This song was written by Robert Wilkins, a reverend who recorded Delta Blues in the 1920s and 1930s. Keith Richards enjoyed Blues music and discovered the work of Wilkins in the '60s, which is how The Stones came across this song. (thanks, Bertrand - Paris, France)
The Prodigal Son is a story told in The Bible about a father who has 2 sons. The younger son asks for his inheritance early, and goes off to spend the money on hedonistic pursuits. After wasting all the money, he comes home repentant, and the father welcomes him with a feast in his honor. This doesn't go over well with the older son, who feels that he should be rewarded for good behavior, but the father stresses the value of forgiveness.
Robert Wilkins' original version was titled "That's No Way To Get Along." The Stones gave their version the title "Prodigal Son."
In 1928 Wilkins wrote another song called "Rollin' Stone."
This is the only cover song on Beggar's Banquet. The Rolling Stones wanted to be a Blues band when they started out, but they became more Pop-oriented soon after they formed.




Well a poor boy took his father's bread and started down the road
Started down the road
Took all he had and started down the road
Going out in this world, where God only knows
And that'll be the way to get along

Well poor boy spent all he had, famine come in the land
Famine come in the land
Spent all he had and famine come in the land
Said, "I believe I'll go and hire me to some man"
And that'll be the way I'll get along

Well, man said, "I'll give you a job for to feed my swine
For to feed my swine
I'll give you a job for to feed my swine"
Boy stood there and hung his head and cried
`Cause that is no way to get along

Said, "I believe I'll ride, believe I'll go back home
Believe I'll go back home
Believe I'll ride, believe I'll go back home
Or down the road as far as I can go"
And that'll be the way to get along

Well, father said, "See my son coming after me
Coming home to me"
Father ran and fell down on his knees
Said, "Sing and praise, Lord have mercy on me"
Mercy

Oh poor boy stood there, hung his head and cried
Hung his head and cried
Poor boy stood and hung his head and cried
Said, "Father will you look on me as a child?"
Yeah

Well father said, "Eldest son, kill the fatted calf,
Call the family round
Kill that calf and call the family round
My son was lost but now he is found
'Cause that's the way for us to get along"
Hey

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Pdog on Jul 13th, 2009 at 3:54pm
Bueller!

Bueller!!

Bueller!!!

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Saint Sway on Jul 13th, 2009 at 3:58pm

Pdog wrote on Jul 13th, 2009 at 3:54pm:
Bueller!

Bueller!!

Bueller!!!


you're gonna get it straight from the shoulder
can't you see the party's over?

Title: Re: Beggars Banquet, song by song discussion threa
Post by Kilroy on Jul 13th, 2009 at 6:00pm
This is a great album And you know I can'T get a handle on it. Blues, Rock, Soul, and Great Country Music. Thank you Pdog for a great reminder.
can't  commit oN each, song or add anything that's not been said already. I will say that I realize now  HOW much I love the People that are THE "Salt Of the Earth".
THIS IS WHAT THE SITE IS ABOUT NOW IS'NT IT.
DSCN2522_001.JPG (Attachment deleted)

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