Courtesy of Townsman geo.
Despite certain folks’ reservations regarding the status of Beggars Banquet in the Stones’ canon, none would dispute the archetypal nature of its lead-off track, “Sympathy for the Devil.” After coming across a number of songs with a knowing wink back to the Stone’s original, I’ve been thinking of putting together a mix of nuggets that mine this particular seam of classic rock gold: the descending chord sequence, the mutated Bo-Diddley/Rhumba backbeat, the Jack Daniels fueled “oo-ooos”, or anything else that constitutes an unambiguous reference to the original. I’m certain that in the collective mind of the RTH cognoscenti, we could locate dozens, certainly enough to fill an 80 minute CD. Let’s start with “Way Down Now,” by World Party.
[audio:https://www.rocktownhall.com/blogs/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/02-Way-Down-Now.mp3|titles=World Party, “Way Down Now”]Who will be the Last Man Standing?
This is a stretch, but you could say that those classic piano chords, sped up, inspired a generation of House Piano.
Here’s an example: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RF3PCRvEk5k&feature=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7hL8MYFBtV0
Damn. I so wish that I discovered this site years ago. People actually arguing about whether Beggar’s Banquet is great (for the record, I think it is). I’ve missed out on a lot of cool discussions. I wonder if some of the old topic can be brought back for re-appraisal.
Shawn Kilroy beat me to it. You could make the case that Primal Scream’s whole sound comes from the Stones. Loaded is a more slowed down version of S for the D:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3O9sLkn3nz0
Check out the bassline around the one minute mark and the piano chords right after.
Re-appraisal: Is Beggar’s Banquet Great?
Answer: yes, of course it is.
Next.
OK Go’s “A Good Idea at the Time” is a response
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjMz9bN4D4c
If it had been released like The Beach Boys Stack-O-Tracks, it would have been a great album but then Mick sings in whatever half-assed dialect he uses. Sympathy for the Devil is one of the best twenty songs or so ever though (and the guitar work in the Get Yer Ya Yas Out version is killer) so it is close to great. It all depends, as I’ve said in the past, on your tolerance of Mick’s blackface routine.
God knows I’m not looking to rehash the authenticity argument, nor to suggest I am above using it myself, but, really: It’s all show biz. It’s all performance. Muddy Waters was performing, too, so was Howlin’ Wolf. And so on.
If you think Mick’s dialect was intolerable in 1968, I wonder if you could even listen to him at all in the deep ’70s?
I understand it’s all showbiz. I’m saying I find Mick Jagger virtually unlistenable when doing his man of the people/horny bluesman songs. I’ll give him credit: he kills on “Sympathy for the Devil” but then again he doesn’t use that jive-ass voice he uses on, say, “Factory Girl”. Howlin’ Wolf, on the other hand, sounded like he could make women pregnant who listened to him on the radio a thousand miles away. If you’re gonna act, get it right.
Maybe Mr. Moderator can dig out the post where I claim the Stones should have quit after Let it Bleed.
The bongo-fury rhythms of Chicago Transit Authority’s “I’m a Man” owes it’s life to Sympathy.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yOvGa-8-Lns
A song with the Sympathy For the Devil background vocals:
The Jesus and Mary Chain’s “Nine Million Rainy Days.” Ooo ooos start at the 2:30 mark.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tYdq749_rMI&feature=fvst
Bonus – Bobby Gillespie of Primal Screen had appeared with TJAMC (although not on this record).
Bostonhistorian, I will bring u something from Paris.
U2’s Mysterious Ways
If you’re over by the Place des Vosges around lunchtime, check out La Mule du Pape. Also, skip Morrison’s grave and go to the catacombs.
Also, skip beer, drink wine. It’s cheaper.
I’m not so sure about the Chicago. I don’t see the wink thst let’s you know that they know that we know that they’re ripping off Sympathy for the Devil.
The Primal Scream tunes are great examples. I completely missed these guys and had virtually no idea what the sounded like, but on the fast song, the guitar solo entry is undeniably referencing the solo on Sympathy, but somehow different.
C’mon, I know there’s plenty more out there. In fact I’m holding two in my back pocket.
I guess this means I need to prime the pump. “Sympathy for the Mekons” by the Mekons.
Actually, “Fantastic Voyage” from the “‘So Good It Hurts” album sounds closer to “SFTD” than this one.