Comments, input and alterations are very welcome!
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Please Go Home
(Mick Jagger / Keith Richards)

RCA Studios, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, US, August 3 - 11, 1966 and
Olympic Sound Studios, London, UK, November 8 - 26, 1966

Mick Jagger - lead vocals, backing vocals, maracas
Keith Richards - electric guitar, backing vocals
Charlie Watts - drums
Bill Wyman - bass
Brian Jones - electric guitar, oscillator
Ian Stewart - piano

Please go home
Please go home

Well, maybe I'm talkin’ to fast
But I won't be the first or the last
In the sea of the thousand you cast
C'mon, please go home

I don't have to ask what you do
I just have to look to get you
Means nothing to me to get through
Please go home

I don't want to be on my own
Cause I can't talk much better alone
But I don't have to ring like a phone
Won't you please go home

Please go home

In some early part of your days
You were told of the devious ways
That you thought you could get without pay
Won't you please go home

You reach a state of your mind
Where it's madness to look and to find
Your false affections so kind
Please go home
Won't you please go home

Produced by Andrew Loog Oldham

First released on:
The Rolling Stones - “Between The Buttons” LP
(Decca SKL 4852) UK, January 20, 1967



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-11-18 10:50 by René.

Whoever's idea it was to add that "hanging reverb" effect on the chorus to make it echo as "home-home-home" had a stroke of genius, because it elevates a lesser track to almost hit-like status in the way that part of the song sticks in your mind. It makes for a clever hook where there otherwise not have been one. When I think of the song, that part runs through my head on infinite replay. Was it ALO, since he is listed as the producer?

He He...Funny song with early 'Soundgraffiti'...Very good

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stonehearted
Whoever's idea it was to add that "hanging reverb" effect on the chorus to make it echo as "home-home-home" had a stroke of genius, because it elevates a lesser track to almost hit-like status in the way that part of the song sticks in your mind. It makes for a clever hook where there otherwise not have been one. When I think of the song, that part runs through my head on infinite replay. Was it ALO, since he is listed as the producer?

I don't know, but ALO was said to have been heavily involved in the production of this album - so I guess it can be called as his Swan Song. Surely they all were fascinated by the new possibilities the studio technology offered, and it was an "in" thing to use them as well in that adventurous and experimental atmosphere, but I recall reading some critical remarks from the principals concerning Andrew's production ideas. And I think there are moments in BETWEEN THE BUTTONS that the term "over-production" can be used. However, "Please Go Home" is a rather coherent piece, and works mighty fine. And it won't be the last time The Stones enrich a basic blues/r&b song by fancy production... "Parachute Woman", "Might As Well Get Juiced" (or whatever it is called)...

But in BETWEEN THE BUTTONS the 'bo diddley' guitar is a nice little reminder to their roots.

- Doxa



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2013-11-11 11:19 by Doxa.

.... The Sound of Bo Diddley On Acid



ROCKMAN

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Rockman
.... The Sound of Bo Diddley On Acid

- Doxa

OK - London's hip cognoscenti are getting turned on and England's capital city is becoming the groovy centre of the pop universe. And most musicians are getting carried away on the psychedelic wave that is gaining momentum with each new passing week.

There's already a new underground sound with bands like Pink Floyd, The Move and Soft Machine forging a vibrant new sound. And of course the Stones are taking this all in and don't want to miss the boat.

Please Go Home is a strange beast indeed - a kind of psychedelised Bo Diddley beat with some trippy Dylan stream of consciousness lyrics to add some spice and colour..."In the sea of a thousand you cast", and "You reach a state of your mind Where it's madness to look and to find Your false affections so kind". Wow, Mick is starting to look at the world through multi-coloured spectacles.

I like the song a lot as it has a lot of period charm but compared to what The Beatles were achieving on Revolver around about the same time it is not on the same planet.

Never knew Shirley Watts ever contributed to a Stones song.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-11-11 11:54 by Silver Dagger.

Freaky pop song with a Bo Diddley-esque beat. The guitar sound is thin and could have been more prominent in the mix.

Not one of the best tracks on the album, but still fun to listen to in small doses, imo.

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Silver Dagger
Never knew Shirley Watts ever contributed to a Stones song.

They truely were experimential at the time!

- Doxa

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Doxa

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Rockman
.... The Sound of Bo Diddley On Acid

- Doxa

And we have to remember that The Who took another trip with that "Magic Bus"...

- Doxa

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Doxa

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Doxa

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Rockman
.... The Sound of Bo Diddley On Acid

- Doxa

And we have to remember that The Who took another trip with that "Magic Bus"...

- Doxa

Magic Bus was actually written in 1965, but not recorded and released by The Who until 1968. After a Pete Townshend demo was circulated in 1966, it was recorded in 1967 by The Pudding.





The original Pete Townshend demo:

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Silver Dagger

I like the song a lot as it has a lot of period charm but compared to what The Beatles were achieving on Revolver around about the same time it is not on the same planet.

This is a good observation (like your whole post). Even though a song like "Please Go Home" is interesting in reflecting the Stones in a certain process (and evaluated in the context of their own works), the things were changing so rapidly and interestingly in the pop world then, that the song - like the whole BETWEEN THE BUTTONS - was a bit shaky case if it really was the most exciting or current thing at the moment (like AFTERMATH material and many stuff prior that had been), and arises the question if the Stones really are able to reflect or adapt to the change of the climate convincingly (or to be some kind of leaders in trends). Just by some months later, when SGT. PEPPER was released - and there was ARE YOU EXPERIENCED and things like that around - BETWEEN THE BUTTONS sounded rather dated old-fashionable pop album... Some 18 months after its release Jagger seemed to have 'forgotten' even had made the album...

- Doxa



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-11-11 12:30 by Doxa.

This song has a certain goofy charm, a psychedelic loopiness I suppose, but they did trippy much better on TSMR.

Drew

<This is a good observation>

Of course it is - but are there anyone who'll disagree with PGH being inferior to the stuff on Revolver?

<<are there anyone who'll disagree with PGH being inferior to the stuff on Revolver?>>

For me, that's never a problem. Because I've never once thought of Revolver when listening to Please Go Home....

....and I hope I don't start next time I hear it....

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stonehearted
<<are there anyone who'll disagree with PGH being inferior to the stuff on Revolver?>>

For me, that's never a problem. Because I've never once thought of Revolver when listening to Please Go Home....

....and I hope I don't start next time I hear it....

He he, that's one of the good things about music. You don't start comparing before later...

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DandelionPowderman
<This is a good observation>

Of course it is - but are there anyone who'll disagree with PGH being inferior to the stuff on Revolver?

I guess not many (not even in a Rolling Stones board), but it is good to have a 'reality-check' sometimes, at least if the significance of The Stones is to be evaluated in the context of the times.

But I think what is crucial in those times (66/67) - the one we sometimes call 'pop period' - that the Beatles really were in the height of their creative powers, and taking monsterous steps, and the rest of the world just holding breath. Even though the Beatlemania years were over, it was during these years that the Beatles established their artistic dominance in the pop world. But the Stones, who had shown that they are in the game with AFTERMATH, and as original, adventurous et all like them, having rather difficult time. Yes, they did sell well, had hits, were popular and all that, but I think the year 1967 especially was a hard one for them, and I don't think they couldn't exactly 'answer' to the red and hot Beatles with albums like BETWEEN THE BUTTONS or SATANIC MAJESTIES. It was not until BEGGARS BANQUET they somehow showed such a a artistic integrity that was somehow comparable to the Beatles.

- Doxa



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2013-11-11 13:06 by Doxa.

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Doxa

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Silver Dagger

I like the song a lot as it has a lot of period charm but compared to what The Beatles were achieving on Revolver around about the same time it is not on the same planet.

This is a good observation (like your whole post). Even though a song like "Please Go Home" is interesting in reflecting the Stones in a certain process (and evaluated in the context of their own works), the things were changing so rapidly and interestingly in the pop world then, that the song - like the whole BETWEEN THE BUTTONS - was a bit shaky case if it really was the most exciting or current thing at the moment (like AFTERMATH material and many stuff prior that had been), and arises the question if the Stones really are able to reflect or adapt to the change of the climate convincingly (or to be some kind of leaders in trends). Just by some months later, when SGT. PEPPER was released - and there was ARE YOU EXPERIENCED and things like that around - BETWEEN THE BUTTONS sounded rather dated old-fashionable pop album... Some 18 months after its release Jagger seemed to have 'forgotten' even had made the album...

- Doxa

I think its fair to say that The Beatles were the true innovators in forging the new pop sounds of the 60s.

...Don't forget Joe Meek ...



ROCKMAN

The bit about Shirley Watts being on it was a joke - in an interview at the time
Mick said that you could hear her shrieking on it. I imagine he was talking about the theremin
(is that what Rene means by "oscillator"?)

Oops! Forgot to mention that I dig this groovy little tune, and the crazee lyrics too
It sounds exactly like what the Rolling Stones were at the time: buzzed to the gills,
whacked out from the frantic pace they were going at, and headed straight for the "oops! too far" zone
just as fast as they could get there. Whoa nelly :E



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-11-11 16:46 by with sssoul.

The good thing with the Stones was that they very rarely blueprinted what the Beatles already had done. One might say they did that with Satanic, but a closer listen reveals that the music (as so often was the case) was rawer and more extreme within the format than that of the Beatles. Satanic was way more psychelia-sounding as a whole album.

What seemingly happened with Buttons was studio experimentation, new sounds and a new approach to music - even more experimenting than Aftermath, which was a giant step in itself.

Had they included all the best songs from the sessions we would have gotten an excellent album. Instead, we're left with a mixed bag of some great songs, some experiments that didn't really hit home (like PGH) and a few clunkers.

When that is said, this album is probably one of the Stones albums that has grown on me the most!

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Silver Dagger

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Doxa

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Silver Dagger

I like the song a lot as it has a lot of period charm but compared to what The Beatles were achieving on Revolver around about the same time it is not on the same planet.

This is a good observation (like your whole post). Even though a song like "Please Go Home" is interesting in reflecting the Stones in a certain process (and evaluated in the context of their own works), the things were changing so rapidly and interestingly in the pop world then, that the song - like the whole BETWEEN THE BUTTONS - was a bit shaky case if it really was the most exciting or current thing at the moment (like AFTERMATH material and many stuff prior that had been), and arises the question if the Stones really are able to reflect or adapt to the change of the climate convincingly (or to be some kind of leaders in trends). Just by some months later, when SGT. PEPPER was released - and there was ARE YOU EXPERIENCED and things like that around - BETWEEN THE BUTTONS sounded rather dated old-fashionable pop album... Some 18 months after its release Jagger seemed to have 'forgotten' even had made the album...

- Doxa

I think its fair to say that The Beatles were the true innovators in forging the new pop sounds of the 60s.

Yeah, and I prefer the term 'innovator' instead that of 'revolutionary' that used to be the traditional, over-used and now (thank god) dated term to describe the emergence of new musical trends...

- Doxa

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with sssoul
The bit about Shirley Watts being on it was a joke - in an interview at the time
Mick said that you could hear her shrieking on it. I imagine he was talking about the theremin
(is that what Rene means by "oscillator"?)

If she was asked to go home, she'd have deserved a credit, imo

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Rockman
...Don't forget Joe Meek ...

Joe Meek shall inherit the earth.

Great tune, rocking trippy

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Silver Dagger

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Rockman
...Don't forget Joe Meek ...

Joe Meek shall inherit the earth.

Heh, heh...good one Dagger,she said meekly, hangin over her morning coffee...

PGH is a pretty cool tune...yawn.

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DandelionPowderman
The good thing with the Stones was that they very rarely blueprinted what the Beatles already had done. One might say they did that with Satanic, but a closer listen reveals that the music (as so often was the case) was rawer and more extreme within the format than that of the Beatles. Satanic was way more psychelia-sounding as a whole album.

Well put. I think one can almost describe the doctrine of the Stones those days: "okay, if The Beatles can do that, we will do it as well, and go damn much further". But then again, what else there is to do than go more extreme to make an own stance in the format invented by someone else? SATANIC MAJESTIES is a really good example of that. Listened by real freaky ears, SGT. PEPPER is an easy-listening pop album compared to the deep-going psychedelia of SATANIC MAJESTIES (well, what Lennon & McCartney could help being so damn melody-rich and naturally musical, no matter how much they enlarged their consciousness..)

It is funny that for years and decades SGT. PEPPER was heralded as the best Beatles album (and with that, the best album ever made by anyone), wheras SATANIC MAJESTIES have seen as a total failure and artistic flop in Stones catalogue (probably one of the most mocked albums by anyone ever...) Well, that's at least what the 'critical' music press have told us. But what is healthy in recent years that the one-dimensional, cliche-like picture has been changed; the status of SGT.PEPPER is not any longer so obvious and the biggest hype over it - thank god - have gone. There have been also more sympathy or at least understanding for SATANIC MAJESTIES as well (both in Stones circles and in music press/history writing).

I would even claim that SGT.PEPPER is one of the most over-rated and SATANIC MAJESTIES under-rated albums ever made by such major names. At least in the context of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

- Doxa



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2013-11-11 13:52 by Doxa.

Weakest track on an otherwise superb album.

The bo-diddley-on-acid effect is quite infantile. Might have been fun when doing it, but they should have known better.

They always did, since their debut album.

In fact, the consistency of the Stones work is mainly due to their impeccable taste in matter of sound. From this point of view they always were able to find the correct mix of roots and novelty and craft something that is without time. So true that when they follow trends, rather then setting them (see Dirty Work, for example) you have a problem. The songwriting in Back to Zero is just as good (or bad) as in most of the best of Exile. How the song sounds, is what makes the difference.

I can remember an interview in which David Bowie noted more or less the same things (he said something to the effect that songs like JJF or BS are immortal because of their sound). And I fully agree.

C

p.s. with regard to the comparison with Revolver, TODAY, in year 2013, I still enjoy Buttons a lot, and I hardly ever listen to Revolver. It's is not chic to admit it, but what the hell

Coincidentally I was listening to "buttons " last Saturday(I havent played it in yonks)I had forgotten how good it was.Please go home really stood out,Back street girl is quite good aswel.

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Doxa

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DandelionPowderman
The good thing with the Stones was that they very rarely blueprinted what the Beatles already had done. One might say they did that with Satanic, but a closer listen reveals that the music (as so often was the case) was rawer and more extreme within the format than that of the Beatles. Satanic was way more psychelia-sounding as a whole album.

Well put. I think one can almost describe the doctrine of the Stones those days: "okay, if The Beatles can do that, we will do it as well, and go damn much further". But then again, what else there is to do than go more extreme to make an own stance in the format invented by someone else? SATANIC MAJESTIES is a really good example of that. Listened by real freaky ears, SGT. PEPPER is an easy-listening pop album compared to the deep-going psychedelia of SATANIC MAJESTIES (well, what Lennon & McCartney could help being so damn melody-rich and naturally musical, no matter how much they enlarged their consciousness..)

It is funny that for years and decades SGT. PEPPER was heralded as the best Beatles album (and with that, the best album ever made by anyone), wheras SATANIC MAJESTIES have seen as a total failure and artistic flop in Stones catalogue (probably one of the most mocked albums by anyone ever...) Well, that's at least what the 'critical' music press have told us. But what is healthy in recent years that the one-dimensional, cliche-like picture has been changed; the status of SGT.PEPPER is not any longer so obvious and the biggest hype over it - thank god - have gone. There have been also more sympathy or at least understanding for SATANIC MAJESTIES as well (both in Stones circles and in music press/history writing).

I would even claim that SGT.PEPPER is one of the most over-rated and SATANIC MAJESTIES under-rated albums ever made by such major names. At least in the context of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.

- Doxa

Here is a webpage that gets it almost right:

[psychobabble200.blogspot.co.uk]