stonedinaustralia wrote on Jul 1
st, 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.