The Stones had an easy time of things against Rod Stewart, if you ask me. I think I would very grudgingly concede Get Your Ya-Ya’s Out as a tie, but probably not if you really pushed me. One thing I learned is that Rod and the Faces are great once in awhile, but every day gets boring pretty quickly. I wasn’t expecting that. I thought I liked them more. Maybe that’s why I have such a low tolerance for bands like The Black Crowes.
Anyway, I think while mopping up after the fight, I’ve found some things worth keeping from the winners. Sure, they’re just sweaty towels and discarded paper cups, but I think they’re worth checking out. Cleaning up in an early round, I found a towel outside the ring, and when I wrung it out I found a song called “Criss Cross” that could replace any of the slow songs on Goat’s Head Soup and make things better.
The Rolling Stones, “Criss Cross”
I also found a paper cup with “Waiting on My Friend”, which would one day bring Mick Taylor an unexpected royalty check. He had to sue the band for the lifetime supply of Twinkies.
The Rolling Stones, “Waiting on My Friend”
I also found an unused roll of tape called “Living in the Heart of Love”. I really like this one. I like how Keith’s vocals are different from whatever Mick is singing. It’s jarring, but it’s cool.
The Rolling Stones, “Living in the Heart of Love”
I know that everyone says that Vinyl Rules, man! But here’s an example of one of the limitations of the medium. This round had to be cut short because lp’s generally lose it sonically over that 45 minute mark. That and people weren’t sure that the Stones’ generally white audience would like a slow funk song like “Fingerprint File” was originally recorded. So they sped it up, and we get a slightly Chipmunky Mick Jagger.
The Rolling Stones, “Fingerprint File”
The Rolling Stones, “Fingerprint File (slower version)”
The second version is supposedly from the original acetate. Pretty cool, huh?
And to shed a little light on BigSteve’s comments about “It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll” and its video, supposedly Mick and Ronnie were at Ronnie’s house and Mick had the idea for the song. They worked on it, together with David Bowie. Kenny Jones was called in later and did drums to make it better (he lived closer than Charlie). It was given to Keith to check out, and Keith wiped every electric guitar Ronnie put on the tape. Rumor has it that the video is Ronnie’s original demo. I think it’s one of the best records the Stones have ever made. They’ve botched it live every time, but the record itself is just perfect.
The Rolling Stones, “It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll (video version)”
There’s plenty more, but for now this will give you a nice look at what was happening outside the ring.
Thanks for the footnotes, 2k. Any idea why they used the demo of It’s Only Rock & Roll for the video?
thanks for this stuff 2k!
BigSteve, that’s a good question.
It seems to me that the video versions of songs are often different from released versions, but I don’t know why either.
Off the top of my head, I can think of a few: the Stones famous “makeup version” of Jumpin’ Jack Flash is not the same as the released version, but sounds like an earlier demo. Perhaps 2k can shed some light on this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAqtsNWkpUk
And even in the 80s, the video of Van Halen’s “Jump” had an extra DLR yelp (during the re-intro) that is not featured on the final mix.
I used to think that it was because videos were being produced in anticipation of promo, and the albums they were to support hadn’t been finished yet either.
but who knows?
Anywhoo…back to the Stones. It’s interesting to hear Woody’s guitars on IOR+R. I like Keith’s solo so much better, but other than that, I really think there’s a nice looseness to Woody’s approach that’s sadly missing from the finished version. It’s a shame there was no room for Woody’s slide in the final version either.
Mick’s vocals are almost the same take, but mixed differently with other tracks added here and there, right?
This version sounds so much more sinister.
DUDE! 2K, that shit was AWESOME. More cogent thoughts later, but thanks so much for sharing and enlightening!
HVB
I’m glad you like the songs. The Back Office is different, and I didn’t have time to play with it so Mr. Mod had to help a lot!
As for the videos, those are good questions. I’ve never seen them officially answered but with IORR I think it can be inferred that the demo version was done, and Keith was still working on the final version when the video was made, so they just used the demo so everything would be ready at the same time. Besides Mick adding to his vocals, about the only stuff done was Keith and his magic eraser and his new guitars.
Jumpin’ Jack Flash is simply someone fucking up. They’ve never said who it was, but the first promo video was shot to the released song, and they lip synced and played to it. The second video was the studio backing track with Mick singing live. I always liked that when The Flamin’ Groovies covered it, they used the “Yeah, yeah, yeah” version as their template. Somehow the same track got used for both “videos” and it just never got fixed. That’s a constant in their career – they never fix anything.
I really love the studio version of IORR, though. I like how it starts so spare and then every few bars they add something else into the mix. It really winds up being a tour de force by the end of the song. I know we’re all probably tired of it by now, but try to erase it from your head and listen to it as fresh as you can and I think you’ll appreciate the craft behind it. I like the demo, it’s more the kind of loose, slightly sloppy kind of music I like, but the album or single version is really a work of art.
Of course, you’re right about the polished version of IOR+R, 2k.
It’s just that whenever I hear looser, more freewheeling, less polished demos (which often, but not always, have a more adventurous or more creative approach) like this one, I always start to wonder:
“What if they just released THIS, instead of cleaning it up and making a ‘work of art?'” as you say.
VERY cool, 2K! Thanks a lot for coming through with that stuff. Glad to be of help and so was Sammy in The Back Office, who worked out a final detail with me over the phone as I drove through a rainstorm toward a fun, grueling camping trip. I’ll tell you, man, 24 hours in the woods and I’m having trouble settling back into the creature comforts of society.
I’d be okay if they just released eariler takes of things, Sat. The Stones put a lot of effort into their records, and sometimes I think I’d be happier if they just released the rougher take where Mick’s not quite close enough to the mic or Keith is a little too loud on backing vocals. That’s generally what I’m listening to outside of The Stones anyway. I don’t think IORR would have been nearly as big a hit, though. I’ll get some other cool things up this summer. I’ve got a ton of stuff.