A rare quiet moment in the otherwise infamous documentary about the Stones’ tumultuous and tragic 1969 US tour. Nothing much happening here but the band grooving on an early take of “Wild Horses,” one of my 5 favorite Stones songs.
Admittedly, the visuals on this YouTube clip are Hallmark card level cheesy, but this is the only place on YouTube I could find the Stones’s stellar studio cover of this O.V. Wright classic (also classically covered by Otis Redding). One of the Stones best.
The masters of the crazy rhythms crank up the tempo on this stellar cover of the Stones classic. Recorded in 1990 and included on the A&M reissue of their 1980 album “Crazy Rhythms,” though you’d never know it based on the energy they bring to it.
A smokin’ late 1970s blues-punk cover of the Rolling Stones’s flower-power anthem “We Love You.” Very reminiscent of Australia’s The Saints, Cock Sparrer were a terrific band that just seemed to never catch a break. Rumor has it that Malcolm McLaren was apparently interested in the band, but the band dismissed him because he wouldn’t buy them a round. They signed to Decca Records during that storied label’s final days and only managed to see their records released in Spain. They hung in there, recorded some good albums, but never quite achieved the commercial success they deserved. Highly recommended is the “Rarities” album which compiles all of the recordings they made for Decca. A truly underrated album for the ages.
OK, this is a lovely (sounding) song from the Stones’ terrific 1967 folk-influenced album “Between the Buttons.” I love the album and it’s highly regarded by many, but it’s an album which Mick Jagger allegedly dismisses these days as “rubbish,” except oddly (or tellingly) for this song. “Girl” sounds pretty, but arguably makes “Stupid Girl” and “Under My Thumb” sound like outtakes from Lilith Fair. Of course, Jagger and the gang could be doing an ironic Randy Newman-esque take on a sleazy, phliandering rich guy, which I would buy … except for the fact that I’m sure that the attitude of the song’s narrator is not far from the way they probably felt about women back in the day. A great song with contradictory and often troubling messages? Hmm … sounds like the Stones to me in a nutshell.
An alternate, Phil Spectorish-take on the Stones classic from 1966. As much as I love the original from “Aftermath,” this alternate mix is heavenly and available on “Metamorphosis” and “The Singles Collection.”
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