Is it REALLY Muddy? Nah, don't think so. Try one of the other bluesmen...

Its McKinley Morganfield was credited on the 60's version and this is a plain copy.

limo a copy of look what you done? hmmmm....i'm not hearing it. unless all mid-tempo blues shuffles are copies of one another. in that case, i'm hearing it.

It's Jagger on harp, and its as good as he can do. Fairly excellent I would say.

Mathijs

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Meise
The lyrics are quite obviously about Mick and Bianca ...

I love that track, also the live versions I know. It's the Stones on their own field, rhythm and blues as hot and cooking as can be!

I always thought it was about Marrianne

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StonesTod

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LeonidP

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baxlap
I thought Ronnie played harp on Black Limousine. Whoever played it, the harp playing on that song is TERRIBLE, some of the most inept harp playing ever released on a major label record! All high-end squeaks for no apparent purpose.

As a harp player of 37 years, I hear the harp playing on Black Limousine and think that it's no wonder people think a harmonica is a glorified kazoo. Urgh!

whereas i think it's brilliant - fits the vibe of the song perfectly, imo. and assuming it's mick, you realize he's considered to be an expert harp player, stated by many musicians over time.

he's a decent harp player - nothing more or less. and it's clearly him on limo, aping jimmy reed

And you consider Jimmy Reed to be a great harp player, Tod?

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benon again

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baxlap
I thought Ronnie played harp on Black Limousine. Whoever played it, the harp playing on that song is TERRIBLE, some of the most inept harp playing ever released on a major label record! All high-end squeaks for no apparent purpose.

As a harp player of 37 years, I hear the harp playing on Black Limousine and think that it's no wonder people think a harmonica is a glorified kazoo. Urgh!

No respect for Sugar Blue ? I think his playing is great and very original , much more interesting than typical so-called blues playing.

On the contrary, much love for Sugar Blue's playing. That's definitely not him on Black Limousine.

Sugar Blue has an immediately identifiable tone and avoids standard blues licks. He plays more like a snake charmer.

Sugar Blue played on Miss You, Send It to Me and Down in the Hole, and then was gone. Whatever happened to him?

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texas fan

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StonesTod

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LeonidP

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baxlap
I thought Ronnie played harp on Black Limousine. Whoever played it, the harp playing on that song is TERRIBLE, some of the most inept harp playing ever released on a major label record! All high-end squeaks for no apparent purpose.

As a harp player of 37 years, I hear the harp playing on Black Limousine and think that it's no wonder people think a harmonica is a glorified kazoo. Urgh!

whereas i think it's brilliant - fits the vibe of the song perfectly, imo. and assuming it's mick, you realize he's considered to be an expert harp player, stated by many musicians over time.

he's a decent harp player - nothing more or less. and it's clearly him on limo, aping jimmy reed

And you consider Jimmy Reed to be a great harp player, Tod?

i do not. nobody does.

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baxlap

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benon again

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baxlap
I thought Ronnie played harp on Black Limousine. Whoever played it, the harp playing on that song is TERRIBLE, some of the most inept harp playing ever released on a major label record! All high-end squeaks for no apparent purpose.

As a harp player of 37 years, I hear the harp playing on Black Limousine and think that it's no wonder people think a harmonica is a glorified kazoo. Urgh!

No respect for Sugar Blue ? I think his playing is great and very original , much more interesting than typical so-called blues playing.

On the contrary, much love for Sugar Blue's playing. That's definitely not him on Black Limousine.

Sugar Blue has an immediately identifiable tone and avoids standard blues licks. He plays more like a snake charmer.

Sugar Blue played on Miss You, Send It to Me and Down in the Hole, and then was gone. Whatever happened to him?

still plays on the circuit. has had a moderately successful solo career.

Black Limousine is a rip off of Look What You've Done??? What's next - Undercover Of The Night is lifted off Hallelujah? Hmmm. No, I think you're on the wrong track there

As a matter of fact, I read once where they nicked it from (and that's Ronnie's riff only). It wasn't Muddy, but one of the other old blues guys. Could very well have been Jimmy Reed. I'll try to dig up the article.

Ronnie said it was inspired by a lick from a record by Hop Wilson

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roundnround
Ronnie said it was inspired by a lick from a record by Hop Wilson

yeah, whatever. there's nothing in black limo that can't be found in thousands of other blues shuffles that came before it.

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StonesTod

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roundnround
Ronnie said it was inspired by a lick from a record by Hop Wilson

yeah, whatever. there's nothing in black limo that can't be found in thousands of other blues shuffles that came before it.

Exept for the extra bar every once in a while? The song is just GREAT! It has the groove and the feel that only The Stones can do. I love it. Good work Ronnie!

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StonesTod

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texas fan

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StonesTod

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LeonidP

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baxlap
I thought Ronnie played harp on Black Limousine. Whoever played it, the harp playing on that song is TERRIBLE, some of the most inept harp playing ever released on a major label record! All high-end squeaks for no apparent purpose.

As a harp player of 37 years, I hear the harp playing on Black Limousine and think that it's no wonder people think a harmonica is a glorified kazoo. Urgh!

whereas i think it's brilliant - fits the vibe of the song perfectly, imo. and assuming it's mick, you realize he's considered to be an expert harp player, stated by many musicians over time.

he's a decent harp player - nothing more or less. and it's clearly him on limo, aping jimmy reed

And you consider Jimmy Reed to be a great harp player, Tod?

i do not. nobody does.

nobody can play one-note solos better than Reed, so... he's the best ;-)

Slim Harpo - Dream Girl recorded 1960 contains the line .....

... You ride around ...babee...ride around in your long black limosine



ROCKMAN

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StonesTod
well, he's not any world-class blues harp player - that's just folks being kind. brian jones was a much better player than mick. mick is serviceable within the context of what the stones do - much like his band-mates. that's not a criticism, either...and, it really applies to all the stones....

thought it appropriate to add Keith's comments in his autobiography, LIFE:

==============================================

And Mick turned out to be the most amazing harp player. I'd put him up there with the best in the world, on a good night. Everything else we know he can do--he's a great showman --but to a musician, Mick Jagger is a great harp player. His phrasing is incredible. It's very Louis Armstrong, Little Walter. And that's saying something... Little Walter would smile in his grave for the way Mick plays... Mick is one of the best natural blues harp players I've heard.

==============================================

anyway, if you read the book, you realize Keith isn't just being kind, as he criticizes mick in several places (and don't forget his comments about mick's album, Dog Shit In The Doorway, which also shows he doesn't care about being kind).

That is pretty nice praise & comparison from a man that has listened & studied the best!

Mick did a nice version of "Dream Girl" with The Red Devils in 1992. As for the blues harp on "Black Limousine," it definitely isn't Ronnie. It may very well be Mick, but given the fact that the song originated from the Pathe-Marconi sessions for SOME GIRLS and EMOTIONAL RESCUE, it's quite possibly Sugar Blue. Although Mick plays very similar harp on both UNDERCOVER and SHE'S THE BOSS. Sugar Blue was a definite influence on the band from 1977 through 1984.

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Rocky Dijon
Mick did a nice version of "Dream Girl" with The Red Devils in 1992. As for the blues harp on "Black Limousine," it definitely isn't Ronnie. It may very well be Mick, but given the fact that the song originated from the Pathe-Marconi sessions for SOME GIRLS and EMOTIONAL RESCUE, it's quite possibly Sugar Blue. Although Mick plays very similar harp on both UNDERCOVER and SHE'S THE BOSS. Sugar Blue was a definite influence on the band from 1977 through 1984.

Look, it IS Mick Jagger on harp. Quite useless to keep this thread going and going....

Mathijs

Scratch that. Time for me to f u c k off instead. It's been real. Mathijs, you're a wealth of knowledge, but a real tool.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2010-10-31 00:58 by Rocky Dijon.

From Sugar Blue's own website, "he can be heard on SOME GIRLS, EMOTIONAL RESCUE, and TATTOO YOU"

[www.sugar-blue.com]

Now unless there's harp on a track other than "Black Limousine" I'm thinking I'll go with Sugar Blue's word over Mathijs' golden ear on this one.

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Rocky Dijon
From Sugar Blue's own website, "he can be heard on SOME GIRLS, EMOTIONAL RESCUE, and TATTOO YOU"

[www.sugar-blue.com]

Now unless there's harp on a track other than "Black Limousine" I'm thinking I'll go with Sugar Blue's word over Mathijs' golden ear on this one.

Judged by the numerous outtakes available, the vocals and harp where done in April to May 1981. Sugar Blue is not known to be part of these sesssions.

Mathijs

Agreed he wasn't present in the studio in 1981. Only question would be whether the harp came from Pathe-Marconi sessions in 1979 or earlier. Just find it weird for him to list it on his site if he's not playing on the track.

From Wikipedia

While Wilson's recording career has been characterized as "slight",[2] he did have an influence on a variety of musicians, including Ron Wood of The Rolling Stones, who stated in 1994 "There's another guitar player called Hop Wilson. I got songs that I wrote like "Black Limousine" from him, those kinds of licks".[5]

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Rocky Dijon
Agreed he wasn't present in the studio in 1981. Only question would be whether the harp came from Pathe-Marconi sessions in 1979 or earlier. Just find it weird for him to list it on his site if he's not playing on the track.

There's half a dozen of outtakes available from the Pathe sessions, and none of them feature harp. Last, it is not Sugar Blue's style. He has this style of mixing in minor scale's, and he has this very smooth touch. The harp on BL is much more straight forward, much more like on Rambler in '73.

Mathijs

Mathijs, I've learned to ignore some of your posts, but it's time I spoke up. Maybe it's Mick or maybe it's Sugar Blue. What matters is you can't prove who it is. Sometimes you just don't know everything. It's like you think whatever you say is like the voice of God telling Moses the Ten Commandments. Don't you get tired of getting in arguments with people on the forum?

........
Anyways, this song is pure rock.
Good song for when you breakup with someone.

"Look at your face now baby.
Look at you and look at me!"

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akgameboy
Mathijs, I've learned to ignore some of your posts, but it's time I spoke up. Maybe it's Mick or maybe it's Sugar Blue. What matters is you can't prove who it is. Sometimes you just don't know everything. It's like you think whatever you say is like the voice of God telling Moses the Ten Commandments. Don't you get tired of getting in arguments with people on the forum?

No, actually I don't get tired of that, thanks for asking. It actually never feels like an argument to me, it always feels like a discussion where anyone including myself can be proven wrong with facts. And I enjoy these discussions thoroughly.

In this case I stand by my view. The outtakes we have of BL do not feature Sugar Blue or harp for that matter, the overdubs where done in '81 when Sugar Blue wasn't around, and the style of the harp is that of Jagger. Compare the harp for example with the harp on Feel on Baby, it is practically the same.

But if you feel otherwise, good health to you.

Mathijs

-



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2010-11-10 22:48 by DandelionPowderman.

Since I was the one who revived this, here's my two cents. While I was irritated with Mathijs' rude dismissal of my post a couple weeks ago, I had no problem with his response this time around. It was an informed opinion. He explained his rationale in a polite way. I respect the fact that while he is not without his faults, he brings a lot of knowledge to the table that the rest of us may not have. DandelionPowderman (another poster I generally have a lot of respect for) calling anyone questioning who plays harp on a track inferior to a two-year old also comes across as a right prick. It's unfortunate, but there you go. You ignore it or you leave the @#$%& board like so many others have done before. I left for a bit and then decided to return. Ultimately, life is too short to deal with @#$%&, so I'll opt to leave permanently. Nice chatting with all of you these past dozen years.

Eh, Rocky, don't leave.

I looked at Sugar Blue's discog and it says he's on Tattoo You. There's a slight problem with that - as far as I can recall, only one song has harmonica on it and it's Black Limo, which is - to me - obviously Mick Jagger.

So...Sugar Blue is not on Tattoo You.

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LeonidP

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StonesTod
well, he's not any world-class blues harp player - that's just folks being kind. brian jones was a much better player than mick. mick is serviceable within the context of what the stones do - much like his band-mates. that's not a criticism, either...and, it really applies to all the stones....

thought it appropriate to add Keith's comments in his autobiography, LIFE:

==============================================

And Mick turned out to be the most amazing harp player. I'd put him up there with the best in the world, on a good night. Everything else we know he can do--he's a great showman --but to a musician, Mick Jagger is a great harp player. His phrasing is incredible. It's very Louis Armstrong, Little Walter. And that's saying something... Little Walter would smile in his grave for the way Mick plays... Mick is one of the best natural blues harp players I've heard.

==============================================

anyway, if you read the book, you realize Keith isn't just being kind, as he criticizes mick in several places (and don't forget his comments about mick's album, Dog Shit In The Doorway, which also shows he doesn't care about being kind).

That is pretty nice praise & comparison from a man that has listened & studied the best!

interesting, but i'm not sure keith is a particularly informed critic of the blues harp masters...unlike myself, for instance....