That riff is the greatest thing keith has ever done and I have never been able to figure it out. I tried to learn it when I was a kid and I got the basic feel, but years later, someone showed me another way.
On The STP Tour rehearsals, it sounds like Keith is playing is pretty basic chords....but on record, it sounds so seamless and I don't know what he's doing. Its definitaly some kind of tremelo and leslie on the guitar......
I learned the ending starting way at the top of the fret board and ending on F# minor....

I could listen to that on a loop for eternity.

Not only a fantastic Exile track ( maybe my favorite) but a departure from typical Stones songwriting, IMO.

Jagger starts singing when the music is in D
"Who's that woman on your arm"

Later in the song, after the horns section, Jagger comes in on the A
"In the bar and getting drunk"

The chord structure is constant throughout, but the vocal shifts.
I can't think of any other Stones song where this is done, but I only know the 60's and 70's material (maybe a little 80's too).



edit: I say D and A, but I'm referring to the guitar chord structure. It's really F and C.

fuman wrote on May 13^th, 2010 at 6:42pm:


The writer in one of Throbby's links above makes the very same observation. I had never really noticed it before ... I agree: It's a terrifically effective touch and one of the Twins' best arrangements.

Is "Angie" diatonic?  I feel the verse is.

Anyways, good call by fuman on Let It Loose.  Looking back, I recall the build, but forget the key change.  Great song, great build.  Would love to hear it live, but I fear they'd play it too fast.  Cool effect by Keith that he uses again on If You Really Want to Be My Friend.

Great write-up. There was something so different, opaque, mysterious and raw about these songs and LIL personfies it perfectly. It didn't hit me right away.....but when it did, it was like a hym to the surprising and frightening reality of being in love.
Keith is just repeating these same lines over and over. It is like a loop, but he switches them also, which is why think its so hard to learn how to play.
It's Jagger/Richards at the zenith of thier powers....they had never done anything like before, and they've never done anything like it since.

texile wrote on May 13^th, 2010 at 8:38pm:


Certainly in the top six or so songs they've ever released. To be honest, it took me a long time to fully appreciate it.

Oddly enough I have sung along with that 'in the bar and getting drunk' line for years phonetically without actually knowing what the proper lyric was until now!

As I've said on here a few times when this song gets discussed, I think that, without question, its the greatest vocal of Mick Jagger's entire career. Especially the second half of it. (maybe it's the key change that makes the second half of the song stand out so much?)