I was about to write the first post when I saw this last night, but then thought, "If you can't say anything nice..."

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Green Lady
I've tried to like it, but no matter how many times I listen, it does nothing for me. Now it's the track I usually skip on Voodoo Lounge.

Easier for me to skip all of them.

I think "Suck On The Jugular" painfully shows that if the age of Mick and the band is to be seen in any of their doings it is that the days of 'sexy' groove things are past. There is nothing terribly wrong there (except the horrible chorus), if looked by pieces, but the over-all impression is rather lame and lifeless. What one does with a dance piece, which doesn't move one's ass? Reminds me a bit of "Sex Drive", another viagra funk piece, some years earlier. If this is how Mick wanted VOODOO LOUNGE to be more like, all I can say that Don Was did the right thing by guiding them into more traditional rock waters. At least they are not ridiculing themselves, a danger that is not far in "Suck On The Jugular".

- Doxa



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2014-12-08 20:28 by Doxa.

Sex Drive swings. Jugular doesn't. Charlie is the culprit on the latter, imo.

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DandelionPowderman
Sex Drive swings. Jugular doesn't.

Interesting. For me, it's precisely the opposite.

Drew

This is high fine s&%t to me, as it has always been my favorite track of Voodoo Lounge. This thing grooves and moves and cooks and smokes and sweats.

I put it up there with incredible Stones' groove tracks that make one dance like:

Pretty Beat Up
Everything's Turning to Gold
Dance (Parts 1 &2)

And it is the son of some earlier groove tracks like:

Just Wanna See His Face
Brown Sugar
Hey Negrita
Hey Crawdaddy
Everybody Needs Somebody to Love
Goin Home

stonesstein

Kick me like you did before
I can't even feel the pain no more
Rocks Off, 1972

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DandelionPowderman
Sex Drive swings. Jugular doesn't. Charlie is the culprit on the latter, imo.

I think both have their problems.

As Doxa said Viagra funk...the band that recorded these songs don't seem remotely similar to the band that recorded Hey Negrita.

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treaclefingers

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DandelionPowderman
Sex Drive swings. Jugular doesn't. Charlie is the culprit on the latter, imo.

I think both have their problems.

As Doxa said Viagra funk...the band that recorded these songs don't seem remotely similar to the band that recorded Hey Negrita.

Sometimes, it just comes down to the playing. Peel off all the fancy production and layers, and you'll find a JB-riff that can't go wrong on Sex Drive.

Charlie is lagging behind Darryl's riff on Jugular, imo.

Maybe one is viagra-funk, whilst the other is geriatric-grease?

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DandelionPowderman

Sometimes, it just comes down to the playing. Peel off all the fancy production and layers, and you'll find a JB-riff that can't go wrong on Sex Drive.

Charlie is lagging behind Darryl's riff on Jugular, imo.

Maybe one is viagra-funk, whilst the other is geriatric-grease?

As far as "Sex Drive" goes, making a memorable song or performance that works out of basic James Brown riff is not that simple. It's demanding stuff, and Mr. Hardest Working Man In Show Business, like his band, is an animal of its own. To my ears the "fancy production and layers" are just a way to hide the lack of genuine musical substance in the song. What makes that song similar to "Suck On The Jugular" is that in both the band doesn't sound very home with the beat, while Jagger tries too hard to be 'sexy'.

But like you said, and I agree with it, there is always something good going on in any Stones track, for example, it is always nice to hear Jagger playing mouth harp, and that seem to be the thing he really he got into during VOODOO LOUNGE sessions. A bit odd production idea that they added that to the song, but anyway, it sounds good no matter the context.

- Doxa

For a guitar nerd like me, Sex Drive has lots of interesting licks, which I think work very well. On Jugular I have listen really closely to find anything. And Bill is sorely missed.

Although many of these funky efforts like "Sex Drive", "Hot Stuf" or (to a lesser degree) "Hears For Sale" sound pretty derivative, I have a soft spot for most of them, because the Stones do them so well, "Suck On The Jugular" being no exception. "Sex Drive" works really well, IMO - so I'll ad "+1" to Pderman's post, if only partially. Come to think of it: Suck On The Jugular sounds a little bit like Mick Jagger workout music ;-)



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 2014-12-09 14:07 by Greenblues.

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Greenblues
Come to think of it: Suck On The Jugular sounds a little bit like Mick Jagger workout music ;-)

You mean like this?





Drew



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-12-23 03:40 by drewmaster.

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drewmaster

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Greenblues
Come to think of it: Suck On The Jugular sounds a little bit like Mick Jagger workout music ;-)

You mean like this?

[www.youtube.com]

Drew

uh...pretty much; I guess ;-) Man, that video... I always thought the workout mistress on the Dirty Work inner sleeve might have been a secret Mick parody.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2014-12-09 17:36 by Greenblues.

Yeah, I agree with Doxa completely, but I also think the big problem with SOTJ is Mick Jagger's vocal. It just sounds soooo forced and artificial. Not a good song.

It is very forced, but upon listening to it again, it's a rare case where Charlie completely kills whatever groove the song might have had.

He's beating the hell out of his snare with no regard for dynamics, and he doesn't do anything with the high hat to create some movement or swing.

Not saying that the song could have been saved had Charlie finessed it more, but it certainly would have helped.

I'm a sucker for anything with a groove but I've never managed to like that one, the worst song that came out of the VL sesssions and possibly the worst Stones' song ever with Chuck's "Back To Zero" (well Chuck only wrote the bridge apparentlyl..) !

--------------
IORR Links : Essential Studio Outtakes CDs : Audio - History of Rarest Outtakes : Audio

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keefriff99
It is very forced, but upon listening to it again, it's a rare case where Charlie completely kills whatever groove the song might have had.

He's beating the hell out of his snare with no regard for dynamics, and he doesn't do anything with the high hat to create some movement or swing.

Not saying that the song could have been saved had Charlie finessed it more, but it certainly would have helped.

That's what I'm hearing, too.

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bitusa2012
Just awful. Absolutely no redeeming feature at all. Dross. IF it was by anyone else, own up, you'd ALL hate it.

Agree, the only thing it has going for it is that it's not as bad as Back To Zero.

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dandelion1967
Worst track VL. But not as bad a Infamy, their most infamous track.

I agree with your first point and disagree with your second one.

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stonesstein
This is high fine s&%t to me, as it has always been my favorite track of Voodoo Lounge. This thing grooves and moves and cooks and smokes and sweats.

I put it up there with incredible Stones' groove tracks that make one dance like:

Pretty Beat Up
Everything's Turning to Gold
Dance (Parts 1 &2)

And it is the son of some earlier groove tracks like:

Just Wanna See His Face
Brown Sugar
Hey Negrita
Hey Crawdaddy
Everybody Needs Somebody to Love
Goin Home

Right on brother although it's not my fave on Voodoo. Glad someone else loves Dance and Just Wanna See His face too. I think they're great tracks.

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OzHeavyThrobber

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stonesstein
This is high fine s&%t to me, as it has always been my favorite track of Voodoo Lounge. This thing grooves and moves and cooks and smokes and sweats.

I put it up there with incredible Stones' groove tracks that make one dance like:

Pretty Beat Up
Everything's Turning to Gold
Dance (Parts 1 &2)

And it is the son of some earlier groove tracks like:

Just Wanna See His Face
Brown Sugar
Hey Negrita
Hey Crawdaddy
Everybody Needs Somebody to Love
Goin Home

Right on brother although it's not my fave on Voodoo. Glad someone else loves Dance and Just Wanna See His face too. I think they're great tracks.

+1 ... I agree on all counts. Maybe we should start a club!

Drew

I kind of like the tune. Jagger is ok. The best part to me was always the BU vocals.
The problem IMO is whoever mixed it. Charlie may, or may not be hitting that snare hard. The fact is someone has it mixed waay up front, alone out there, and like someone said it throws a wrench in any kind of drive the song could have.
If everything in the mix had been toned down, and gone more lo-fi, and Jagger had mumbled a bit more I could like it a lot.

Did someone say 'sex Drive"? Now there is a lame groove.

I like it.

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Palace Revolution 2000
I kind of like the tune. Jagger is ok. The best part to me was always the BU vocals.
The problem IMO is whoever mixed it. Charlie may, or may not be hitting that snare hard. The fact is someone has it mixed waay up front, alone out there, and like someone said it throws a wrench in any kind of drive the song could have.
If everything in the mix had been toned down, and gone more lo-fi, and Jagger had mumbled a bit more I could like it a lot.

Did someone say 'sex Drive"? Now there is a lame groove.

Yep, that's the core of the problem with that song, imo.

among the 10 worst stones tracks of all times. they try to be sexy and groovy and fail so dramaticly. it sounds awfully "stiff" - terrible! but having in mind that they wrote at least 150 brilliant songs, i can easily forgive em!

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Palace Revolution 2000
I kind of like the tune. Jagger is ok. The best part to me was always the BU vocals.
The problem IMO is whoever mixed it. Charlie may, or may not be hitting that snare hard. The fact is someone has it mixed waay up front, alone out there, and like someone said it throws a wrench in any kind of drive the song could have.
If everything in the mix had been toned down, and gone more lo-fi, and Jagger had mumbled a bit more I could like it a lot.

Did someone say 'sex Drive"? Now there is a lame groove.

Come on, Tony! There's nothing remotely as swinging and cool as this stuff on SOTJ

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DandelionPowderman

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Palace Revolution 2000
I kind of like the tune. Jagger is ok. The best part to me was always the BU vocals.
The problem IMO is whoever mixed it. Charlie may, or may not be hitting that snare hard. The fact is someone has it mixed waay up front, alone out there, and like someone said it throws a wrench in any kind of drive the song could have.
If everything in the mix had been toned down, and gone more lo-fi, and Jagger had mumbled a bit more I could like it a lot.

Did someone say 'sex Drive"? Now there is a lame groove.

Come on, Tony! There's nothing remotely as swinging and cool as this stuff on SOTJ

you picked the most tolerable 8 seconds; and it ends there because the vocals come back in. jagger at his most obnoxious LOL. But it would be too easy to blame it on Jagger.
There is a lot of good to be said about Charlie, but on the funk tunes he fails. I think a lot of that is his newer way of playing. he overplays now. that stutter snare beat doesnt flow at all. far as thr guitars go = couldnt they have worked a change or two in there? JB pulls it off, but he is James Brown.

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Palace Revolution 2000

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DandelionPowderman

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Palace Revolution 2000
I kind of like the tune. Jagger is ok. The best part to me was always the BU vocals.
The problem IMO is whoever mixed it. Charlie may, or may not be hitting that snare hard. The fact is someone has it mixed waay up front, alone out there, and like someone said it throws a wrench in any kind of drive the song could have.
If everything in the mix had been toned down, and gone more lo-fi, and Jagger had mumbled a bit more I could like it a lot.

Did someone say 'sex Drive"? Now there is a lame groove.

Come on, Tony! There's nothing remotely as swinging and cool as this stuff on SOTJ

you picked the most tolerable 8 seconds; and it ends there because the vocals come back in. jagger at his most obnoxious LOL. But it would be too easy to blame it on Jagger.
There is a lot of good to be said about Charlie, but on the funk tunes he fails. I think a lot of that is his newer way of playing. he overplays now. that stutter snare beat doesnt flow at all. far as thr guitars go = couldnt they have worked a change or two in there? JB pulls it off, but he is James Brown.

I agree with what you're saying here, actually. But I think that Charlie takes this "un-grooving" even further on Jugular.

I also think Sex Drive works rather well up till this point in the song, before the horns eat it up. Mick is Mick

PS: Tolerable?

PS II: In fairness, those are 18 seconds of Keith magic.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2014-12-11 12:10 by DandelionPowderman.

Too much blood is great and underrated. It has a sound, melody, feel of it's own.
This is just crap, dead. Sex Drive same thing. Has nothing at all in common with Hot Stuff.

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Redhotcarpet
Too much blood is great and underrated. It has a sound, melody, feel of it's own.
This is just crap, dead. Sex Drive same thing. Has nothing at all in common with Hot Stuff.

+1