I just listened to some records by Otis Redding and Eddie Hinton (white late soul singer) and I came to think about Jagger´s energetic and desperate vocal performance on the Exile tracks "Rocks Off" (at the end "I only get my rocks off while I´m dreamin´"), "Rip this Joint"(the whole song through) and "All down the line" ("Won´t you be my little baby for a while/ the highway sound"). In all these instances Jagger pushes his voice to the limit and it adds to the songs´ brilliance. Has Jagger ever paralleled this energetic desperation on other vocal performances? I can´t think of any, but maybe some of you can.


Cheers,
Gunnar

PS. If you love soul music in the tradition of Otis Redding/Stax/deep south, please check out Eddie Hinton´s recordings.

Jagger does a great job on "That´s how strong my love is" (live)

<Has Jagger ever paralleled this energetic desperation on other vocal performances?>

If You Can't Rock Me
Lies
When The Whip Comes Down
Respectable
Neighbours
She Was Hot
Pretty Beat Up (Maybe the best example)
Too Tough
Fight

Gunnar, I think what you mean.. that energetic, high-toned, strong, edgy, screaming Jagger. Those three you mentioned are in their own league. Maybe in 1972-73 he reached that level in some concerts. But I haven't found any instances of that in the studio cuts expect those in Exile (the ones DandelionPowderman list lack that peculiar Exile edgy sound, and many of them - like Lies, Fight, Neighbours - are strong and loud and noisy but somehow low key and forced, not so crystal clear and naturally strong and high reaching as the Exile ones). What was his secret (drug) then? In those Exile sessions Jagger somehow peaked his performances suitable for (very) fast numbers.

By the way, what goes for "Rocks Off", Jagger's unability to sing the chorus in that transcencent unhuman Exile way, prevents the song to work live nowadays.At least that is always the thing that I desperately miss when I hear the latest versions (it's like playing Satisfaction without the guitar riff). The original Exile version is one of the greatest rock and roll vocals ever captured on the record.

- Doxa

P.S. In the following year Jagger topped his performances in slower ones: "Angie" and "Winter" are perfect examples of the ability of his voice on that area.






Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2005-01-04 17:36 by Rorty.

DandelionPowderman Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> <Has Jagger ever paralleled this energetic
> desperation on other vocal performances?>
>
> If You Can't Rock Me
> Lies
> When The Whip Comes Down
> Respectable
> Neighbours
> She Was Hot
> Pretty Beat Up (Maybe the best example)
> Too Tough
> Fight
>


Agreed on all but Lies. That was pure shouting to me!

Crazy Mama has some great vocals by Jagger.

Whether it was coke-fuelled or not, I agree Jagger sang and performed with an adandon that seemed to disappear after Europe 73. The subsequent IORR sessions through the 82 tour show Jagger, still in amazing form, but camping it up and posing in direct contrast with the conviction that was present in the early 70s. In the past twenty years, he still has moments in the studio and on stage which remind you just how incredible he can be, but like the rest of the band, he usually plays it safe and doesn't take chances. To sing "Rocks Off" like he did on Exile seems unthinkable. The bridge in "She Was Hot" is a rare exception. The power of "That's How Strong My Love Is" on the Licks tour was an unexpected treat but I doubt he can muster the courage to belt out one of his own lyrics like that, sadly and it is still not the same as the early 70s when he wasn't afraid to let his voice be another instrument in the band rather than a showcase. A rare moment that showed the early 70s Jagger is still buried in there somewhere can be found on "Nothing But the Wheel" with Peter Wolf. If nothing else, at least "Old Habits Die Hard" showed a willingness to try comparatively new tricks, although the end result is still as self-consciously stylized as most of his recorded work of the past two decades. I still find Jagger an amazing performer who delivers the goods well enough in the studio, but the Stones always want a net under them these days. Thirty years ago, they just would have walked the tightrope without thinking twice about it.

His best vocal ever is on Let It Loose.

Yes, I forgot that one - that is by far the best example!

Thank you for your responses. I appreciate them all, but I think both Rorty and Rocky Dijon go straight to my point as far as the particular songs on Exile are concerned.
Make no mistake about it, from the very first single and album and up to "Old Habits", Jagger´s voice has never stopped fascinating and impressing me. His performance on such different songs as Worried about you, Neighbours and That´s how strong my love his, in Stockholm Cirus, 2003, was unbelievable.I would like to read a book on his drawl, his phrasing and his vocal changes through the years. Such a book should be written by a person scholared in music but with a rock´n roll heart.

Cheers,
Gunnar

Shattered

Monkey Man!

Quote
DandelionPowderman
<Has Jagger ever paralleled this energetic desperation on other vocal performances?>

If You Can't Rock Me
Lies
When The Whip Comes Down
Respectable
Neighbours
She Was Hot
Pretty Beat Up (Maybe the best example)
Too Tough
Fight

Add "I Got The Blues"...really underrated soulful number.

Add Can't You Hear Me Knocking, on Sticky Fingers only.

.....perhaps it also has something to do with a young man at the absolute zenith of his prowess.....drugged out of his mind.....those were the days....