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drewmaster
Holy mother of mercy, what can I possibly say about Slave? It is a titanic, mind-bending sonic orgasm. A cathartic, life-altering masterpiece. A stunning, soul-affirming paean to freedom, an ode to liberating oneself from the shackles of oppression, whether they come from society, from another individual, or from within oneself. Slave is more than a cry of revolt, it is a thunderous repudiation of tyranny and injustice.
The first few seconds of the track are, in and of themselves, miraculous. Those deeply-satisfying thuds from Charlie, in perfect contrast to the percussive tapping from Ollie Brown that subtly evokes the clink of chains holding the enslaved against their will … have you ever heard something so outrageously funky? (Well okay, maybe at the beginning of HTW…).
And then what will always be, in my heart, the bark of a junk-yard dog, welcoming in that incredible, monster riff from Keith. Sinewy and sinuous, snarling and snaking its way through Charlie’s drumming, Keith’s guitar is like a demon from the underworld, an avenging spirit forever banishing the hideous crime of slavery from this world. Majestic and proud, with licks that would make even Buddy Guy jealous, Keith shows the world what playing the blues is really all about.
And let’s not forget Mr Michael Philip Jagger (with a little help from Pete Townsend), who is at the top of his game, yelping and wailing like an escaped banshee from hell. I have never heard another artist who can conjure up so much pain, so much violence and depravity, who can mesmerize the listener so completely by just the subtle inflections in his vocal mannerisms.
And then, the icing on the cake … that glorious, swinging, soaring sax from the great Sonny Rollins. Words cannot really express how important his contribution is here, how much depth and vitality he brings to this track. And the same goes for Billy Preston’s brilliant, soulful keyboards. Indeed, everything syncs up here so perfectly, it is a miracle beyond words, and I would argue that nowhere in the Stones canon is there a finer example of their alchemy and genius.
Ultimately, it is the sound of Slave that is just so mind-blowing … Charlie’s drums, Keith’s guitar-work, and Sonny’s sax truly leap out of the speakers and envelope the listener, bathing him or her in an experience that liberates the spirit and redeems the soul.
Six and a half minutes of sheer sonic ecstasy; play this one LOUD, baby!!! This is why I love the Rolling Stones with all my heart.
Drew
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drewmaster
Holy mother of mercy, what can I possibly say about Slave? It is a titanic, mind-bending sonic orgasm. A cathartic, life-altering masterpiece. A stunning, soul-affirming paean to freedom, an ode to liberating oneself from the shackles of oppression, whether they come from society, from another individual, or from within oneself. Slave is more than a cry of revolt, it is a thunderous repudiation of tyranny and injustice.
The first few seconds of the track are, in and of themselves, miraculous. Those deeply-satisfying thuds from Charlie, in perfect contrast to the percussive tapping from Ollie Brown that subtly evokes the clink of chains holding the enslaved against their will … have you ever heard something so outrageously funky? (Well okay, maybe at the beginning of HTW…).
And then what will always be, in my heart, the bark of a junk-yard dog, welcoming in that incredible, monster riff from Keith. Sinewy and sinuous, snarling and snaking its way through Charlie’s drumming, Keith’s guitar is like a demon from the underworld, an avenging spirit forever banishing the hideous crime of slavery from this world. Majestic and proud, with licks that would make even Buddy Guy jealous, Keith shows the world what playing the blues is really all about.
And let’s not forget Mr Michael Philip Jagger (with a little help from Pete Townsend), who is at the top of his game, yelping and wailing like an escaped banshee from hell. I have never heard another artist who can conjure up so much pain, so much violence and depravity, who can mesmerize the listener so completely by just the subtle inflections in his vocal mannerisms.
And then, the icing on the cake … that glorious, swinging, soaring sax from the great Sonny Rollins. Words cannot really express how important his contribution is here, how much depth and vitality he brings to this track. And the same goes for Billy Preston’s brilliant, soulful keyboards. Indeed, everything syncs up here so perfectly, it is a miracle beyond words, and I would argue that nowhere in the Stones canon is there a finer example of their alchemy and genius.
Ultimately, it is the sound of Slave that is just so mind-blowing … Charlie’s drums, Keith’s guitar-work, and Sonny’s sax truly leap out of the speakers and envelope the listener, bathing him or her in an experience that liberates the spirit and redeems the soul.
Six and a half minutes of sheer sonic ecstasy; play this one LOUD, baby!!! This is why I love the Rolling Stones with all my heart.
Drew
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Ruby Friday
Slave ? I don't really know, I'm just glad they don't to it Live !
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WitnessQuote
Ruby Friday
Slave ? I don't really know, I'm just glad they don't to it Live !
Quite the contrary. While I am either rather or a little cold about many of the songs on TATTOO YOU, also this one, probably much due to the arrangements and sound of the album as a whole, I would have loved to be presented to a live version. Both to possibly like that live version in another arrangement and hopefully with that get a better impression of the studio version as well. Because I would want to like as much as possible of this band's releases.
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Silver Dagger
I can feel yer passion Drew. Great description.
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Rollin92
Why forget Bill His bass is just as cool and important as the other elements to this song!
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Doxa
The track derives from BLACK AND BLUE sessions, right? It surely has that sexy, dirty, decadent, matured, a bit lazy but damn funky/junky feel and groove from that time frame, that was actually gone by 1981 (by 1977/78 to be precise).
Witness, may I ask you what you find that weak in TATTOO YOU arrangement and sound? I think "Slave" particularly is one of their best sonically produced tracks ever, and I can't think it could sound any better. For example, Keith's guitar has probably almost never sounded more powerful than it does here, and there is nothing wrong with other elements either, like noted by other posters here. Just curious.
- Doxa
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Doxa
The track derives from BLACK AND BLUE sessions, right? It surely has that sexy, dirty, decadent, matured, a bit lazy but damn funky/junky feel and groove from that time frame, that was actually gone by 1981 (by 1977/78 to be precise).
Witness, may I ask you what you find that weak in TATTOO YOU arrangement and sound? I think "Slave" particularly is one of their best sonically produced tracks ever, and I can't think it could sound any better. For example, Keith's guitar has probably almost never sounded more powerful than it does here, and there is nothing wrong with other elements either, like noted by other posters here. Just curious.
- Doxa
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Doxa
The track derives from BLACK AND BLUE sessions, right? It surely has that sexy, dirty, decadent, matured, a bit lazy but damn funky/junky feel and groove from that time frame, that was actually gone by 1981 (by 1977/78 to be precise).
Witness, may I ask you what you find that weak in TATTOO YOU arrangement and sound? I think "Slave" particularly is one of their best sonically produced tracks ever, and I can't think it could sound any better. For example, Keith's guitar has probably almost never sounded more powerful than it does here, and there is nothing wrong with other elements either, like noted by other posters here. Just curious.
- Doxa
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treaclefingers
I think my views on this track have been well publicized.
DO AAAAAAAAAT!
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DoxaQuote
treaclefingers
I think my views on this track have been well publicized.
DO AAAAAAAAAT!
Your views maybe me mysterious, but quite a lot of noise about this track in this thread, provoked by who knows who..: [www.iorr.org]
- Doxa