Comments, input and alterations are very welcome!
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Winter

Composers: Mick Jagger & Keith Richards
Recording date: November-December 1972 & May-June 1973
Recording locations: Dynamic Sound Studios, Kingston, Jamaica & Island Recording Studios, London, England
Producer: Jimmy Miller
Chief engineer: Andy Johns

Release Date: 31st August: The Rolling Stones (LP) ‘Goats Head Soup’
Label: Rolling Stones Records COC 59101

Never performed onstage !!!!!!!!

line-up:
Vocals: Mick Jagger
Rhythm electric guitars: Mick Jagger (& Keith Richards?)
Lead electric guitars: Mick Taylor
Bass: Bill Wyman
Drums: Charlie Watts
Piano: Nicky Hopkins
Arranger of strings: 8 violins, 4 cellos, 2 violas: Nicky Harrison

Winter I (MJ/KR) -Nicky Hopkins on piano; unverified early version without strings
Winter II (MJ/KR) -Nicky Hopkins on piano, strings arranged by Nicky Harrison; different mix of version II
Winter III (MJ/KR) -Nicky Hopkins on piano, strings arranged by Nicky Harrison; Goats Head Soup-version

Winter

Oh, oh... my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my, my

And it's sure been a cold, cold winter
And the wind ain't been blowing from the south
It's sure been a cold, cold winter
And a lot of love is all burned out

It's sure been a hard, hard winter
My feet they're dragging across the ground
And I hope it's going to be a long, hot summer
And a lot of love will be burning bright

And I wish I'd been out in California
When the lights on all the Christmas trees went out
But I been burning my bell, book and candle
And the Restoration plays has all gone 'round

It's sure been a cold, cold winter, Lord
My feet been dragging across the ground
And the fields has all been brown and barren
And the springtime take a long way around

And I wish I'd been out in Stone Canyon
When the lights on all the Christmas trees went out
But I been burning my bell, book and candle
And the Restoration plays have all gone 'round

... well, well, well

Sometimes I think about you, baby, well, well
Ow sometimes I cry about you, Lord, well, well, well, well, well, well, well
Yeah and I wrap my coat around you, woman
Yeah and I wrap my coat around you, woman
Oh Lord, I'm talking...

Yeah and I wrap my coat around...
Well, well... baby now sometimes I want to keep you warm
And sometimes I want to wrap my coat around you
Sometimes I want to but I can't afford you
Sometimes I want to wrap my coat around you, Lord
Sometimes I want to burn a candle for you
Yes I want to keep you warm, warm, warm
Sometimes I want to wrap my coat around you, Lord, crying
Yeah... sometimes I feel so...
Oh, oh, li... li li li li li li

Note: Info taken from TIOMS, NZentgraf and the WW-Internet



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016-05-09 10:53 by NICOS.

absolutely awful music, one of the sure signs that the band was in decline.

calling it a cheap, lazy attempt to duplicate the feel and spirit "moonlight mile" would be too kind, but certainly the horrendous "dancing with mr. d" is to SFTD what "winter" is to moonlight mile.

I love this one. And - dare I say it - I actually prefer it above Moonlight Mile. To be honest, I don't think they have much in common besides Mick Taylor's excellent guitar playing. Moonlight Mile is a very clever and very good pop song. Winter is one those three-chord wonders, half jam/half song, with a very ad-lib feeling to it, like a spontaneous lament and one of those occasions where Mick Jagger's "emotional voice" somehow works, maybe also because of the simpleness of the lyrics, which makes them more convincing.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016-05-02 11:43 by matxil.

One of the few really bad ballads. They should have used TTLN instead.

Brilliant. Stunning. Moody. Lovely. Eerie. Electric.... Get the drift? I love it.

Rod

Quote
Turner68
absolutely awful music, one of the sure signs that the band was in decline.

calling it a cheap, lazy attempt to duplicate the feel and spirit "moonlight mile" would be too kind, but certainly the horrendous "dancing with mr. d" is to SFTD what "winter" is to moonlight mile.

I wouldn't go that far, but to me it's a mediocre ballad, albeit with some nice playing.

Love Taylor's contribution here and I could listen to Mick slur 'well well well well well well well...' all night but like a lot of his songs written during this period he probably should've let Bianca record this one.

Tough song to embrace lyrically(was there a power outage at Stone Canyon?) but some nice playing by MT

What a bore, aweful. Just like most of GHS is awful boring. On the other hand it is still more enjoyable than Moonlight Mile, one of the worst-ever Stones-songs, imo.

Winter suffers from so many things, the unispired music and lyrics, the uninspired playing, the uninspired singing, it sounds almost as if someone forced the Stones to do that song against their own will. I understand that they have never done it live, it´s even more horrible than Angie.

Brilliant Ballad! I had it as Ring tone for years...changed it to Johns Good Morning Good Morning...

2 1 2 0

Brilliant track from a great album

This how it probably would have sounded if they had played it live back in '73........

[www.youtube.com]

__________________________

I have to be in the mood for this song. This mood though, I don't have it that much.
But there are these moments, and yes, this song fits like a glove, or should I say,
coat, around my feelings and yeah, then it's nice.

It is really hard to figure that this song was recorded in Jamaica.

Just as long as the guitar plays, let it steal your heart away

A sublime, haunting, ethereal ballad from one of the Rolling Stones’ most underrated albums. From those very first strums of Mick’s guitar, as soft as a snowflake, Winter takes me to a very special place and soothes my aching soul. It is just sooooo soulful, so gentle, so tender. It embraces and wraps me in its coat, offering solace and love and warmth and compassion in a bitterly cold and dreary world. The lyrics are brilliant, capturing the bleakness and desolation of winter and the yearning for warmth to return. And of course, for those of us who must live in pain and darkness (whether occasionally or day in and day out), Winter is a metaphor for the solitude we experience and the desperation we endure.

Jagger’s vocal performance is utterly convincing (right down to the “snuffle” we hear at 0:54). I love Jimmy Miller’s gauzy production – reminiscent of falling snow, blurring the visual field, an effect that is echoed in the ghostly photo of Jagger on the album cover. Nicky Hopkins’ glistening piano work gives me chills. And the interplay between the mournful strings and that magnificent, achingly beautiful solo from Mick Taylor can melt the iciest heart.

A stone-cold masterpiece and easily one of the finest ballads they have ever recorded.

Drew

One of the great Stones ballads from 70's; with a beautiful vocal by Jagger, and one of those Taylor guitar performances where you feel like he could easily go on for another 10 minutes, and not get boring. ( Which he does on the Carla Olsen versions).
I can' t compare this with 'Moonlight Mile' because IMO they are not in same category. "Winter" has some Country in it, some California, the vocaL IS soulful.
'Moonlight Mile' to me is very British; it is stately, majestic and cold; gorgeous. The haunting outro leaves me lonely; whereas 'Winter' leaves me way more fulfilled.
I have to edit this because it sounds like I prefer "Winter" to "Mile". Left "lonely" by 'Mile' is not a bad thing at all. In my post it was meant as a compliment; and it does as much, if not more for me, than 'Winter'.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016-05-02 18:42 by Palace Revolution 2000.

Quote
drewmaster
A sublime, haunting, ethereal ballad from one of the Rolling Stones’ most underrated albums. From those very first strums of Mick’s guitar, as soft as a snowflake, Winter takes me to a very special place and soothes my aching soul. It is just sooooo soulful, so gentle, so tender. It embraces and wraps me in its coat, offering solace and love and warmth and compassion in a bitterly cold and dreary world. The lyrics are brilliant, capturing the bleakness and desolation of winter and the yearning for warmth to return. And of course, for those of us who must live in pain and darkness (whether occasionally or day in and day out), Winter is a metaphor for the solitude we experience and the desperation we endure.

Jagger’s vocal performance is utterly convincing (right down to the “snuffle” we hear at 0:54). I love Jimmy Miller’s gauzy production – reminiscent of falling snow, blurring the visual field, an effect that is echoed in the ghostly photo of Jagger on the album cover. Nicky Hopkins’ glistening piano work gives me chills. And the interplay between the mournful strings and that magnificent, achingly beautiful solo from Mick Taylor can melt the iciest heart.

A stone-cold masterpiece and easily one of the finest ballads they have ever recorded.

Drew

Beautifully written indeed. Although I do not like the song very much, your comments are brilliant.

Quote
HMS
Beautifully written indeed. Although I do not like the song very much, your comments are brilliant.

Thank you so much HMS!! My love for the song inspired me to spend more time on this...

Drew

Quote
drewmaster
A sublime, haunting, ethereal ballad from one of the Rolling Stones’ most underrated albums. From those very first strums of Mick’s guitar, as soft as a snowflake, Winter takes me to a very special place and soothes my aching soul. It is just sooooo soulful, so gentle, so tender. It embraces and wraps me in its coat, offering solace and love and warmth and compassion in a bitterly cold and dreary world. The lyrics are brilliant, capturing the bleakness and desolation of winter and the yearning for warmth to return. And of course, for those of us who must live in pain and darkness (whether occasionally or day in and day out), Winter is a metaphor for the solitude we experience and the desperation we endure.

Jagger’s vocal performance is utterly convincing (right down to the “snuffle” we hear at 0:54). I love Jimmy Miller’s gauzy production – reminiscent of falling snow, blurring the visual field, an effect that is echoed in the ghostly photo of Jagger on the album cover. Nicky Hopkins’ glistening piano work gives me chills. And the interplay between the mournful strings and that magnificent, achingly beautiful solo from Mick Taylor can melt the iciest heart.

A stone-cold masterpiece and easily one of the finest ballads they have ever recorded.

Drew

Well Put, Fully agreed
jeroen

Quote
corriecas
Well Put, Fully agreed
jeroen

Cheers mate

Drew

Just sublime one of their best ballads EVER!!!!!

Totally atmospheric and capable of transporting the listener to a yuletide, pastoral setting this is one of the Stone's most undervalued songs and one that for me is an absolute classic.

It shows the band, like true artistes, broadening their palette and stretching out to create a piece of gentle rolling music that would work especially well in a snowy, night time film sequence.

And in terms of adding colour, doesn't Mick Taylor do such a fine job here - his solo, economic but so powerful - sending the listener into a midnight reverie.

Also of note is Mick Jagger's voice. Around this time, he developed a particular, Californian drawl and twang. In fact he, Van Morrison and Elton John all sounded very alike in 1973!

The sequencing of the song on the album works really well with the next song, Can You Hear The Music? continuing the dreaminess.

Quote
Palace Revolution 2000
One of the great Stones ballads from 70's; with a beautiful vocal by Jagger, and one of those Taylor guitar performances where you feel like he could easily go on for another 10 minutes, and not get boring. ( Which he does on the Carla Olsen versions).
I can' t compare this with 'Moonlight Mile' because IMO they are not in same category. "Winter" has some Country in it, some California, the vocaL IS soulful.
'Moonlight Mile' to me is very British; it is stately, majestic and cold; gorgeous. The haunting outro leaves me lonely; whereas 'Winter' leaves me way more fulfilled.

Micks are the highlights here ... Agree on Mick's vocals, simply beautiful, and to me, great lyrics! And of course it doesn't compare to Moonlight Mile but still Mick Taylor is great on it nonetheless.

I'll take this track over Angie!

Absolutely stunning. Micks best vocal performance ever.

Winter could be my all time favourite Stones song.

Quote
drewmaster
A sublime, haunting, ethereal ballad from one of the Rolling Stones’ most underrated albums. From those very first strums of Mick’s guitar, as soft as a snowflake, Winter takes me to a very special place and soothes my aching soul. It is just sooooo soulful, so gentle, so tender. It embraces and wraps me in its coat, offering solace and love and warmth and compassion in a bitterly cold and dreary world. The lyrics are brilliant, capturing the bleakness and desolation of winter and the yearning for warmth to return. And of course, for those of us who must live in pain and darkness (whether occasionally or day in and day out), Winter is a metaphor for the solitude we experience and the desperation we endure.

Jagger’s vocal performance is utterly convincing (right down to the “snuffle” we hear at 0:54). I love Jimmy Miller’s gauzy production – reminiscent of falling snow, blurring the visual field, an effect that is echoed in the ghostly photo of Jagger on the album cover. Nicky Hopkins’ glistening piano work gives me chills. And the interplay between the mournful strings and that magnificent, achingly beautiful solo from Mick Taylor can melt the iciest heart.

A stone-cold masterpiece and easily one of the finest ballads they have ever recorded.

Drew

My thoughts exactly; 'Winter' to me is one of their masterpiece ballads,and one of the finest songs they've ever written. It's just beautiful and soulful, and yes, Mick's sniffle at the 0.54 mark add's a nice touch

SilverDagger made great points also.

Not that it matters but did Keith have any participation?

A blah throwaway song, purely filler. If not for Taylor's ho hum guitar work, song would really be an unbearable. Also duration way too long, but since it is filler I guess they had to pad it with repetition and music.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2016-05-02 17:11 by nightskyman.

One of their best, sadly one of the type of songs that the lineup now never would think of attempting, and haven't, since TY.

Quote
NICOS
This how it probably would have sounded if they had played it live back in '73........

[www.youtube.com]

This is great. Really good version. The guitarist has Taylor's licks bang on and the singer is pretty good too. Are they Dutch? Would definitely go and see these guys.

One of their great ballads, I used to listen to this song on repeat when I was in the mood.

a great ballad thats grown on me over the years. another example of the band ability to change styles, to create a different colour and texture to the stones ever changing moods.

and goats head soup is one very underrated album.