Quote
Rocky Dijon
I truly adore "Flip the Switch." The late Jeff Sarli was a natural fit. I place this among the great album tracks. Perfect in every way. Killer one-liners that show the influence of hardboiled pulp thrillers (as would the title, but not the lyrics, to "Rough Justice"). Yet another example of the near-telepathic guitar/drum interplay of Keith and Charlie at their best. The pairing of Charlie and Jim Keltner proved inspired, particularly as they never step on one another as Charlie and Ollie Brown often did.

I enjoy "Anybody Seen My Baby" except for the dreadful Biz Markie sample. Attempts to render this awkward bridge live with Bernard were even worse. The "No Biz" mix is preferable, but unfortunately considerably shorter than the LP version. One day, perhaps, this lamentable error in judgement will be corrected and we'll have a reissue I can truly love. Whoever had the idea to put Waddy's solo at the end instead of as the bridge (The Dust Brothers, I imagine) deserves kudos. A shame the Stones never showed such thinking outside traditonal arrangements since then.

I like "Low Down." It doesn't quite live up to its potential, but it works well enough. I can't help thinking this needed more work to make it truly special when they appear to have been satisfied with aiming lower and just running through the motions to finish the song. As with VOODOO LOUNGE, some of the material sounds like it would better suit the Winos, but that's part of accepting how Mick and Keith grew apart creatively.

I really enjoy "Already Over Me." A rare latterday ballad from Mick. I don't think I'd want to hear the Babyface version. Mick's vocals here are quite effective and show Barry Gibb's influence (by way of Marvin Gaye) for the first time since "Tops." Lovely and understated, lyrically and musically.

I love "GunFace" apart from the dumb anime-style title. "Gun in Your Face" would have been much better. I do think that sequencing was a challenge for this album and even moreso for A BIGGER BANG. Great, nasty lyrics and a guitar/drum assault that matches. The dual impact of Charlie and Keltner again works wonderfully.

I enjoy "You Don't Have To Mean It." It never reaches the sublime brilliance of "Too Rude," but it's infectious and joyful despite the cynicism and genuine pain in the lyrics. I would have loved to have heard the Tex-Mex arrangement as well as the demo Rob Fraboni cut in Jamaica with the Winos and the Wingless Angels.

"Out of Control" is simply amazing, but the full-length Danny Saber mix is much better complete with a percussive coda that recalls "Time Waits for No One" and "Feel On, Baby." The moody vocalizing recalls The Faces' arrangement of "Losing You" while the spirit of "Papa was a Rolling Stone" looms large over the verses. If the chorus really was Reeves Gabrels on the demo, it's a pity he never had a chance to sit in with the band for this number live. The Don Was monitor mix without audience noise from Madison Square Garden is also very good and makes me wonder whether a live album of monitor mixes would have worked. You would have to lose Mick's between song patter, but you'd have the equivalent of one-take performances with no distraction and actual chemistry.

"Saint of Me" is also a joy. A comparison of the live versions with the studio version would make me swear Keith is playing on the studio track despite the credits. Regardless, I love the results. The loss of vinyl meant that listeners failed to appreciate how this and "Out of Control" mark the end of one side the same way "Thief in the Night" and "How Can I Stop" do the other by blending into one another. While effective, I prefer to hear the full-length Danny Saber mix of "Out of Control" which means opting for the single version of "Saint of Me" that doesn't open with "Out of Control" fading out. Again, this would be an improvement on a future reissue. It's possible, considering they gave us a superior version of "Sex Drive" when they reissued FLASHPOINT.

"Juiced" is a missed opportunity. Prior to the album's release, I heard a bit of the track as prepared by Don Was and Ed Cherney before The Dust Brothers put their synthesized fingerprint smudges all over it. Left as a genuine evocation of Delta Blues this would have been a highlight. As it is, it dates badly and doesn't hold up. Perhaps a future reissue can restore the Don Was version and undo the damage. Keith certainly wanted that version released and I don't mean the fake techno mixes that circulated on bootleg.

"Always Suffering" is really nice. This, "Already Over Me," and the B-side "Any Way You Look At it" really show what we miss by not giving Mick better ballads than sad, bad, smart, fart, shit, tit lyrics like he served himself up on A BIGGER BANG and, even worse, on "Following the River." I'll pause and let everyone picture the river holding hands with the sea and let Mick make my point himself. "Always Suffering" shows how well the band and Mick can do with traditional ballads.

"Too Tight" is a last stab at greatness. A nice memory of BETWEEN THE BUTTONS pop-rockers in the same fashion that the Winos revived "Connection." Jeff Sarli again proves how good he was with Keith and Charlie. The real loss on the album is Ronnie, though there were legitimate reasons for his limited input. I would have preferred Waddy and Keith had been given full freedom on the album with so little Ronnie in evidence. Much as I appreciate Jeff Sarli (next best thing to Joey Spaminato) as an alternative to the great Bill Wyman, it's a pity Darryl (who was so solid throughout VOODOO LOUNGE) has little to do here. The lyrics here have a great mid-sixties sneer tempered (maybe distempered) with age. Wonderful stuff.

"Thief in the Night" is, honestly, dull as was too much of CROSSEYED HEART to me. Not a bad song. The playing is fine. It just sounds like Keith and the band are feeling mellow in a self-medicated way and ready to nod off. The song lacks any transcendent moments of jazz and is content to simply serve as musical opium sending the listener off to slumberland with the singer and band.

"How Can I Stop" is, despite the cleverly edited blend with the previous song, everything "Thief in the Night" isn't. This is jazz, thanks in no small part to the drumming, the wonderful percussive coda, and Wayne Shorter's master musicianship. It has all the same qualities that pull down "Thief in the Night" but is bolstered by touches that take you higher.

"Any Way You Look At It," though seemingly a slight B-side, is really a perfect cap the capper for the album and should have followed "How Can I Stop." Nice echo of "As Tears Go By." Fun reference to Keith's Point of View retreat (just as he did in "Make No Mistake"). Sure they could knock these ballads off easily, but I enjoy them. It deserved to be on the album.

Quote
Rocky Dijon
I used to think of "Saint of Me" as starting Side 2, but if you go to the track you hear the fade out of "Out of Control" blending into the opening notes. That wouldn't be possible if it were the start of a separate side, so I think of the two songs as the mirror of "Thief in the Night" and "How Can I Stop" which likewise blend into one another when the first fades out.

RE: Waddy's solo, I was pointing out the uniqueness of having the guitar solo at the end of the song. The break is where it is traditionally placed (whether guitar or saxophone) in Stones songs. In this case, the break is some weird synthesizer noise which sounds suspiciously empty on the "No Biz" mix, but is still preferable to having the goofy rap sample sandwiched in there. I realize "How Can I Stop" has a sax break at the end followed by the percussive coda, but that doesn't seem the same to me. The likely reason being the sax break is improvised while Waddy's guitar solo is finding the melody, something that hadn't really happened on a Stones song since Mr. Taylor's era.

Palace Revolution 2000, I've always enjoyed your posts. I wish you hadn't told me about your enjoying "Gun" on GODDESS IN THE DOORWAY. Now I have to tell my wife to take you off the Christmas card list.

Quote
Wild Slivovitz
Great record. When I listened to it the first time I was amazed how fresh it sounded. I even love the artwork!

Quote
Palace Revolution 2000
I only added the 'Gun' thing as an afterthought. With me it has always been that just ONE tiny ingredient of a song can sway my whole notion of it. Like on 'Gun", it's not the song itself, but it is the way the snare comes galloping in. It kind of skips in, and it also is coming up from lower volume. Just LOVE it. Is that enough to get back on the list?

Quote
Rocky Dijon
It is a whole other thread, but I don't think Bard has started SOLO ALBUM TALK yet.

And no, "Gun" is not the worst thing on GODDESS. "Joy" is worse despite my fondness for Pete's guitar on that one. "Visions of Paradise" is worse. The rest are all better than "Gun," though.

And that's another terrible title. Why not "Get a Gun" since it makes more sense. It's like titling JJF, "Flash."

Quote
Rocky Dijon
I have a serious mental block in staying on topic. I think my posts follow a logical thread, but I'm a bit all over the map. However, Bjornulf tolerates me and only occassionally deletes entire threads because of me.

As for GODDESS, I still love "Hideaway" and "Too Far Gone" and wish both had made their way to A BIGGER BANG. Admittedly, "Hideaway" and "Rain Fall Down" might have been a funk too far for Keith.