just heard SFM studio version on the radio the other day and noticed once again, how at the very end there are these little piano keys just kind of stuck on top of the track -- what is the point of those useless, distracting (kind of high-pitched) keys which to my mind take away from and even distract one from the song.

They seem to be just thrown in there. I have always hated those, they just seem stupid.

Comments please -- explain, disagree, whatever you like.


plexi



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009-06-20 04:47 by timbernardis.

the musical equivalent of anarchy....after the revolution....I think it fits...

JR

I think it fits very good!
It adds to the agressive feeling and they often worked with this kind of endings.

Agree with stone-relics and CousinC: the passages referenced are anarchic, agressive, and most deliberately chaotic.

The keyword in timbernardis's post may be 'near' discordant. They're definitely not out of key and were clearly placed on purpose.

Also, are we sure these are actually piano notes? They remind me of whatever instrument was used on 'Backstreet Girl'. May not be piano per se. Thoughts?

An interesting topic - and most welcome; I've been listening to this song for 4 decades and never had the chance to talk about the ending with other listeners!

Dear Doctor is the only less than unbelievably great track on that record...which just so happens to be the greatest record ever recorded. The amazing thing is that there are records which are flawless (Dear Doctor makes Beggars not flawless), yet the rest of Beggars is so incredible, it still blows the doors off any other record ever made.

I know what you mean - they really serve no purpose but they don't bother me.

This song is just so unbelievably brilliant.

I have to disagree with you on this one Tim. Niki Hopkins Piano Playing is really cool on and the production makes it mix in wonderfully on this track.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009-06-20 10:59 by ryanpow.

Wasn't Nicky Hopkins who performs the outro piano ?



I am a Frenchie ,as Mick affectionately called them in the Old Grey Whistle Test in 1977 .

It's the perfect epitaph, and should have been extended longer.

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ryanpow
I have to disagree with you on this one Tim. Niki Hopkins Piano Playing is really cool on and the production makes it mix in wonderfully on this track.

now i am strictly speaking of the very last part of the song, not on the piano playing throughout


p

If you're listening to SFM on the radio (FM) You are listening to a compressed version of the song. It's done basically to get the sound over the airwaves wich might bring out the piano a little more. Put the song on your stereo and listen again. It will be more balanced. Let us know Tim

I think it's totally fits the song ...it sounds like the streets fighters march out of the street.

I think "More Hot Rocks" got a good point, if the piano sound to clear it maybe sound stupid, I just listen to the song and the piano sounds way back in the mix

__________________________

that piano outro is a masterpiece, great ending. for me it even takes the song to some greater heights, shows it's not easy FM oriented tune.

it changes the mood of the song, doesn't it?

I think it fits the song very well; different ears can perceive different notes and harmonies as discordant or as perfectly pleasing. Whichever here, the song is a bit anarchic, so shouldn't discord make sense?

i like them. and they are all in key! 1st 3rd 4th 5th 6th of a major chord (if i listened well).
they fit perfectly!

A Rolling Stones single that is noisy...at the end too...yes, it´s hard to forgive that, I understand...

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timbernardis



now i am strictly speaking of the very last part of the song, not on the piano playing throughout


p

Understood. I just played it again to make sure I knew the part you're refering to. I think its a nice touch on the soung. But, to each his Own as they say.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009-06-20 21:30 by ryanpow.

That piano ending is amazing!!!

Take a close listen to whats being played, those high fast triplets(is it triplets!?). That's some fan-bloody-tastic piano playing going on there especially in the context of what Nicky is still playing with the left hand!

I think the piano at the end works perfectly

I, myself have always loved that piano part in the fadeout ... to me it absolutely fits the song

I give it a 2

"Doctor please, some more men please,
To Cotchford Farm, out by the pool...

What a drag it is they couldn't revive him"

Brian Jones 2/28/42 - 7/2/69

How can this guy hate anything about one of the Stones greatest songs. Geeez. Talk about picky

.......and hate is such a dirty word



ROCKMAN

I think Jimmy Miller is the King of the fade-out. So often there is something going on there, those added touches I credit to him that provide interest right down to the final sound.

Later, Taylor made the job easier. Let him play, find a groove, hit a stride for a few moments and fade him out. It's a tantalizing device. What did we miss? Like looking through a window knowing something is just out of your view.

But back to BB: Dear Doctor is was it is, but it is a wonderfully written song. A tale told with absolute clarity of vision. There is not a word out of place.

Good words: Jimmy Miller - King of the Fadeout.

Actually a dubious title, come to think of it. LOL.

I don't think SFM studio would be as good without the piano outro, it adds colour

I have to say that Chuck even does it justice on the piano outro on the Stripped version....

"Dear Doctor is the only less than unbelievably great track on that record"

Really? That surprises me as I thought almost everyone in these parts would love this track. I think it's a cracker and piss funny to boot. Was fifteen when I first heard it and remember giggling most the way thru it.

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squando
"Dear Doctor is the only less than unbelievably great track on that record"

Really? That surprises me as I thought almost everyone in these parts would love this track. I think it's a cracker and piss funny to boot. Was fifteen when I first heard it and remember giggling most the way thru it.

I think of it in the same way I think of Rainy Day Womeny #12 & #35. BTW...why do we still have to call songs by their BS titles even now? RDW 12/35 was b/c the record company rejected "Everybody Must Get Stoned" so Dylan looked out the window & saw 2 females walking in the rain...the #s were their apprx. ages.

Star Star bugs me too...the song is called Star @#$%&. Just more record exec. nonsense yet we still bow to it. BOO!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2009-06-21 19:38 by sdstonesguy.

Yeah, like many pointed out, that piano thing is a masterpiece. Absolute freakin' brilliance.

King of the fadeout was indeed a great title!

I love Dear Doctor too. Took me a while to appreciate it, but the lyrics are wicked.

I've always LOVED the piano noodling at the end of SFM...shocked the OP dislikes it...