Zack wrote on Jun 30^th, 2009 at 4:48pm:


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.

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.

Pdog wrote on Jun 30^th, 2009 at 4:45pm:


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.

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"

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.

stonedinaustralia wrote on Jul 1^st, 2009 at 9:03pm:


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.

Zack wrote on Jul 2^nd, 2009 at 3:02pm:


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.

Saint Sway wrote on Jul 2^nd, 2009 at 4:09pm:


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

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.

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.

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.

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.

Boomy wrote on Jun 30^th, 2009 at 5:31pm:




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 . . .