If someone said BW wrote most of JJF, I'd be sceptical but how about that, there really is debate about it.

Who in the world is ChaCha? [www.chacha.com]

[answers.yahoo.com]

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he said he came up with it's guitar riff on organ but was not given credit so it might be true or it might not be

That's an interesting link provided by RedHotCarpter too on the possible menaing andcontext of the song

[www.unexplained-mysteries.com]

I've heard too, that Big Four and afterwards, Stones shift to a more American than British/English sound. I don't know what to make of it but I have heard that before.

It's pretty obvious, Ruby Tuesday, Buttons, etc. sound very English.

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BroomWagon
If someone said BW wrote most of JJF, I'd be sceptical but how about that.

some others might even go further and be skeptical...

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Title5Take1
Mick in ACCORDING TO THE ROLLING STONES (p.116): "I remember the recording session for `Jumpin' Jack Flash', and not liking the way it was done very much. It was a bit haphazard—and although the end result was pretty good, it was not quite what I wanted. The fidelity wasn't that great; it wasn't quite as in your face as it could have been."

I love it, but I do wonder what it would have been like with straight electric guitars, rather than overloaded acoustic guitars.

The majority of the guitars are electric.

There's contradictory info regarding whether Olympic Studios was 4 or 8 track by this time. If it were still 4 track, then perhaps the whole recording process, plus bouncing down degraded things a bit too far for Micks liking.

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24FPS
Nicky Hopkins plays organ on this, too? Along with Bill? That disappoints me. I always thought it was Bill's greatest bass part ever until I found out Keith played it. (Although it sounds very Bill). Then I found out Bill played organ on it and I figured he did that crazy little jazz coda at the end that I love. So Bill did or didn't play it? Did Nicky play it? It's really good and funky and I thought it was great that Bill made that contribution and showed a side to Bill we hadn't seen at that point.

Maybe Bill played organ on it and it got mixed out or mixed low? Or perhaps he plays that big harmonium organ B chord towards the end.

The piano and hammond organ seem to have been played by Nicky to my ears. I doubt Stu plays on it.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-12-05 18:54 by His Majesty.

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71Tele
The original track is a studio masterpiece. What's interesting about it to me is that the band was coming out of their psychedelic era and this recording has elements of psychedelia combined with tantalizing hints of what would become the "classic" Stones sound. It bridges two periods of the band's history. Jagger is at his best lyrically and vocally, full of menace. The promo film of the group in war paint made with Michael Lindsay-Hogg perfectly captures the mood of this fantastic song.

The live version that the band has played basically since 1969 is almost an entirely different track, cutting off the intro entirely and boiling things down to their essence. It's great, but it's almost another song. The original belongs in a class with "Strawberry Fields" - a studio creation that really can't be replicated live.

Indeed!

lots of cool covers of it

my favorite is Johnny Winter's from '71 I think...on Johnny Winter And Live


also kinda like Aretha's take on it from that movie...

It's the best rock song/rock single of all time.

well...only rivaled maybe by Gimme Shelter

Has the band musically been any sexier? The song justs grabs you. It still jumps out of your speakers and makes them come alive. One of the sexiest songs in RnR history. When the audience I was in heard those opening chords in '69 there was a collective sigh of recognition and pleasure.

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71Tele
The original track is a studio masterpiece. What's interesting about it to me is that the band was coming out of their psychedelic era and this recording has elements of psychedelia combined with tantalizing hints of what would become the "classic" Stones sound. It bridges two periods of the band's history. Jagger is at his best lyrically and vocally, full of menace. The promo film of the group in war paint made with Michael Lindsay-Hogg perfectly captures the mood of this fantastic song.

The live version that the band has played basically since 1969 is almost an entirely different track, cutting off the intro entirely and boiling things down to their essence. It's great, but it's almost another song. The original belongs in a class with "Strawberry Fields" - a studio creation that really can't be replicated live.

Totally agree!

I'll definitely like Tumblin' Dice despite all as the Stones best ever single just for me. Tumblin' Dice is a real R n R blues song, danceable, singalong. Honky Tonk woman really excels too, Charlie's drums leave an indelible impression too.

Jumpin' Jack Flash may be hailing a new era but Tumblin' Dice cements their place at the pinnacle of Rock. Cream, Hendrix, couldn't come up with it, nor the Doors, Beatles or anyone.

The list of Stones greatest singles could be arguably something like.
1. or 2. JJF or Satisfaction, take your pick.
3. Tumblin' Dice, #1 in my list.
4. Miss You.
5. Start me up
6. Honky Tonk Women
7. Brown Sugar
8. Paint it black
9. It's only rock n roll.
10. ?

Hard to say how you'd order them but I think these are their most crucial singles, I'm probably leaving something obvious out. I'm hesitant to put on 9 and 10, Street fightin' man? "it's only rock n roll? Let's spend the night together? 19 Nervous breakdown? I'm unsure. Ruby Tuesday too, heck their's a restuarant chain called that.


It is debatable really. Keep on rollin' ,



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-12-05 20:26 by BroomWagon.

This particular version of JJF, which appears to be the basic studio cut but with some slightly-differing vocals from Jagger (and minus his "whatcha" shout at the beginning), seems to have a longer fade-out than the standard studio cut, which I quite enjoy. Does anyone know from which album/CD (if any) this version is culled from?

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sf37
Does anyone know from which album/CD (if any) this version is culled from?

that version is in the 68-71 ABKCO singles box set: [www.amazon.co.uk]
it's great visually - especially Keith studying his fingernails at the end :E - but the tacked-on vocal addenda bug me

Yes, Jumpin' Jack Flash is a true classic...



... oh wait, you're talking about the song?

Yes, love the song. I have to say my favorite version is the R&R Circus version, even though it's kind of stripped down, but that's why I like it. It's raw. Also it's in standard tuning and I don't have to retune my guitar for it, as I think it is the only song I know that's in Open E.

Talk about wasted opportunity, to not film Brian Jones for the last real video. What was that, three seconds? Geez... I mean I get it, they start to re-establish themselves as the Glimmer Twins but that last camera angle was just stupid.

Cool video and song anyhow and I'm 100% sure they got the name and basic story from that 19th century British tale. And yes, Bill wrote the riff, I don't believe that gardener story for a second. Part of it could be true of course but it sounds like one of those neat creations by Keith. Sometimes he says he came up with the riff and/or lyrics after Mick saw his gardener and sometimes Bill just played Satisfaction backwards. Conclusion: When jamming with Brian and Charlie Bill must have fooled around with Satisfaction, sort of, changing it around and finally coming up with the best go damn riff ever.

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with sssoul

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sf37
Does anyone know from which album/CD (if any) this version is culled from?

that version is in the 68-71 ABKCO singles box set: [www.amazon.co.uk]
it's great visually - especially Keith studying his fingernails at the end :E - but the tacked-on vocal addenda bug me

Thank you for your quick and kind response, and for the link too, with sssoul: much appreciated! I never did purchase that singles box set because I had just assumed all the track versions were the same as the versions on the albums I already owned. Perhaps I'll have to reconsider this now, especially if there are any other subtle differences to be found.

And I never noticed that "Keith-fingernails" moment before, so I had to look closely again. I must admit, that is amusing!

Cheers!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-12-05 20:43 by sf37.

Is anybody old enough to remember these little monsters?



The Jumping Jack - if ever you needed to light the blue touch paper and retire to a safe distance, this was it. Each BANG (one per turn) makes it jump several feet in a completely unpredictable direction - one of my aunts had one jump up her skirt at a firework party and carried the scars for the rest of her life. Now banned in the UK by the Elf'n'Safety people, and for once I agree with them. But certainly still around and well known in the late 60s...

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Redhotcarpet
Talk about wasted opportunity, to not film Brian Jones for the last real video. What was that, three seconds? Geez... I mean I get it, they start to re-establish themselves as the Glimmer Twins but that last camera angle was just stupid.

Cool video and song anyhow and I'm 100% sure they got the name and basic story from that 19th century British tale. And yes, Bill wrote the riff, I don't believe that gardener story for a second. Part of it could be true of course but it sounds like one of those neat creations by Keith. Sometimes he says he came up with the riff and/or lyrics after Mick saw his gardener and sometimes Bill just played Satisfaction backwards. Conclusion: When jamming with Brian and Charlie Bill must have fooled around with Satisfaction, sort of, changing it around and finally coming up with the best go damn riff ever.

Quite possible for them to write a basic verse of a song on one chord, Mick did so with Yesterdays Papers for example, then they heard bills riff and it fitted their work in progress... A classic was born. Supposing Bills's part of the story is true.

JJF is probably the best show opener in history though again, that is making blanket statements.

"If feel's alright jumping in the night", some of their vocals, they'd sure be able to simulate Mick's voice. Yes, and the Chesterfield Kings are in my collection too.

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71Tele
The original track is a studio masterpiece. What's interesting about it to me is that the band was coming out of their psychedelic era and this recording has elements of psychedelia combined with tantalizing hints of what would become the "classic" Stones sound. It bridges two periods of the band's history. Jagger is at his best lyrically and vocally, full of menace. The promo film of the group in war paint made with Michael Lindsay-Hogg perfectly captures the mood of this fantastic song.

But to date I never fully understood the psychedelic era fully. Listening to the 8 set of outtakes of Satanic it wasn't psychedelic at all -it was just pure Stones, a bit Aftermath with BtB trown in, and then some American rock. It wasn't until overdubbing and mixing that the album, and its song choice, became 'psychedelic'. JJF does not seem that of great step if you ignore Satanic, basically. Take out the fuzz and the track could have been on Aftermath.

Mathijs

If we take all the fuzz out of Stones songs we get some great Beatle tunes ><

__________________________




Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2011-12-06 01:09 by NICOS.

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His Majesty

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Title5Take1
Mick in ACCORDING TO THE ROLLING STONES (p.116): "I remember the recording session for `Jumpin' Jack Flash', and not liking the way it was done very much. It was a bit haphazard—and although the end result was pretty good, it was not quite what I wanted. The fidelity wasn't that great; it wasn't quite as in your face as it could have been."

I love it, but I do wonder what it would have been like with straight electric guitars, rather than overloaded acoustic guitars.

The majority of the guitars are electric.

There's contradictory info regarding whether Olympic Studios was 4 or 8 track by this time. If it were still 4 track, then perhaps the whole recording process, plus bouncing down degraded things a bit too far for Micks liking.

I was just going by what Keith said on the same page: "JUMPIN' JACK FLASH and STREET FIGHTING MAN came about because I had become fascinated by the possibilities of playing an acoustic guitar through a cassette recorder, using it as a pick-up, really, so that I could still get the crispness of an acoustic—which you can never get off an electric guitar—but overloading this tiny little machine so the effect was that it sounded both acoustic and electric. Technology was starting to increase in sophistication, but I just want to reduce it back to basics.

"I bought one of the first cassette machines...Then I began to get interested in the actual sound of the machine, how close you could put the microphone to the guitar and what effect you could get out of it. After all, everything's electric, even anything you hear played by Segovia has gone through a microphone and some form of electronic simulation before you hear it...I was playing into it, strumming away and I crashed out. I listened back to the tape the next morning and heard the guitar getting closer and closer to the microphone, and was intrigued by the possibilities.

"When we were in the studio I would bring in that little Philips cassette recorder, get a wooden extension speaker, plug that into the back of the recorder, shove a microphone in front of the speaker in the middle of the studio and record it. We would all sit back and watch this little microphone record the cassette machine in the middle of the studio at Olympic, which was the size of Sadler's Wells. Then we'd go back, listen to it, play over it, mash it up, and there was the track."



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2011-12-06 05:04 by Title5Take1.

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GravityBoy
Nearly always disappointed with live versions.

1) Mick sings it different (lazy staccato)
2) No proper intro.

Yes I agree GB, we must give credit to the producers and engineers for the overall sound of the final recording that moves us all so much. Was this Jimmy Miller in his glory days?

The musical changes are really straight forward , almost cliche by todays standards, but the open tuning really gives it an approachable feel (open E, thanks PalaceRevolution2000). Then we get knocked out by the greatness of the composition.

Still remember the first time I heard it. peace.

Can't believe there are people who don't like the live versions, especially the ones from '69. I especially love the version from gimme shelter , a lot more 'in your face' than the studio version. Although I do admit that they should play the studio intro when they do it live. Isn't there a boot of a soundcheck (or possibly rehearsal) from '89 of them doing the intro?

Other question: does anybody know why Taylor's solo from the '69 NY solo wasn't included on Ya ya's? I love that solo

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Mathijs

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71Tele
The original track is a studio masterpiece. What's interesting about it to me is that the band was coming out of their psychedelic era and this recording has elements of psychedelia combined with tantalizing hints of what would become the "classic" Stones sound. It bridges two periods of the band's history. Jagger is at his best lyrically and vocally, full of menace. The promo film of the group in war paint made with Michael Lindsay-Hogg perfectly captures the mood of this fantastic song.

But to date I never fully understood the psychedelic era fully. Listening to the 8 set of outtakes of Satanic it wasn't psychedelic at all -it was just pure Stones, a bit Aftermath with BtB trown in, and then some American rock. It wasn't until overdubbing and mixing that the album, and its song choice, became 'psychedelic'. JJF does not seem that of great step if you ignore Satanic, basically. Take out the fuzz and the track could have been on Aftermath.

Mathijs

I think the fuzz as well as the organ and the drone sounds places one foot of this track in psychedelia - or the Stones version of it anyway. They soon shed these types of sounds for the rootsier Beggars Banquet approach.

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with sssoul

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marcovandereijk
I would give a part of my body if it was possible to travel through time and actually be there
in 1968 when the song was played on the radio for the very first time.
I am quite sure it must have been a moment of glorious joy, to those who followed the band
in the 60s, to be confronted with all these guitars, fighting for attention.

it was ... ohhh my! it was the Rolling Stones coming to save me

I remember the moment I first heard this on AM radio - never been equaled in my mind - the most exciting track ever - combination of writing/performance/production - agree that the live versions are great, but don't come close to the studio version for visceral impact - even like the slowed up part of the mid section (allegedly caused by someone leaning against the master reel when the mastering was in process) - this came out the same moment that Born To Be Wild came out - so every time I heard BTBW I would for a moment think it might be JJF - and be disappointed.

What more is there to say about one of the greatest rock songs ever recorded? It's a masterpiece, alright ... a supernova that changed the face of rock music and resonates to this day. This is rock and roll at its glorious peak, as timeless and awe-inspiring as the universe itself, and indeed with this one the Stones tapped into something so primal, so pure, and so cathartic that you feel the touch of God (or Satan) when you hear it.

Obviously every member of the band deserves credit for this incandescent cauldron of rage and redemption, but what hasn't received much attention in this thread is Jimmy Miller's stellar production. He deserves as much recognition as anyone for the relentless visceral assault of JJF, the way it detonates out of the speakers, especially when you compare it to the live versions.

Incidentally, I agree with those who state that the live versions are inferior. It really disturbs me that Mick won't even attempt to replicate the way he sings "I was born" when he does it live (the MSG version is unlistenable to me for this very reason). Can anyone explain why the hell he won't even try?

Drew

Maybe some possible things that might have influenced Jumpin Jack Flash

The Stones offsider Jack Nitzsche had something to do with Buffalo Springfield and I think the Stones would have heard Mr Soul in 1967.

Mr Soul has a Satisfaction/Jumpin Jack Flash combo sort of riff and a similar temp to Jumpin Jack Flash.

Sometimes Keith plays the JJF riff in a more Mr Soul way like in the Rock and Roll Circus.

I suppose if Buffalo Springfield could take some things from Satisfaction then it's ok if the Stones were to take some things from Buffalo Springfield for a bit of inspiration.

The lyrics of Mr Soul contain

I was down on a frown when the messenger brought me a letter
I was raised by the praise of a fan who said I upset her

[thrasherswheat.org]





The old nursery rhyme has a jumping jack

[en.wikipedia.org]

Keith's gardener's nickname "Jumping Jack" could have come from the nursery rhyme.
Maybe the gardener wasn't very nimble, hence the joke nickname.



Edited 8 time(s). Last edit at 2011-12-06 09:33 by howled.