Comments, input and alterations are very welcome!
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Little Rain

Composer: Ewart.G.Abner Jr./Jimmy Reed
Original performer: Jimmy Reed (1957)
Recording dates: ca. 7th April 2016 onwards
Recording location: London, British Grove Studios, The Parlour Recording Studio, New Orleans, USA;
Producer: Don Was & The Glimmer Twins
Chief engineer: Krish Sharma


First Released: 2nd December 2016 The Rolling stones CD 'Blue & Lonesome'
Label: Polydor Records 571 494-2


Line up:

Vocal: Mick Jagger
Electric guitars: Keith Richards & Ron Wood
Drums: Charlie Watts
Bass: Darryl Jones
Harmonica: Mick Jagger
Keyboards (electric): Matt Clifford
Hammond B-3 organ: Matt Clifford
Foot tap: Jim Keltner

Lyrics:

Little Rain

A little rain falling
A little clock keep away the time
A little rain falling
Little clock keep away the time
Well little rain keep on falling
On this here love of mine

Little flowers open
Little birds keep singing tune
Little flowers open
Little birds keep singing tune
I would like to love you baby
Underneath the shining moon

_{Note: Info taken from NZentgraf and TIOMS}

Nice song but not a touch on the blues records they cut back at the start of their career.

I don't mean that in any bad way but I think they went out of their way to record lesser known blues songs on Blue & Lonesome which is admirable - to get away from the cliche of covering 'yer blues'.

Perhaps the success of the album will inspire them to write their own blues songs like Midnight Rambler or Long Black Limousine.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 2017-02-13 12:58 by Silver Dagger.

Little Rain first released on album Jimmy Reed - I'm Jimmy Reed Vee-Jay
and as 7' single Vee- Jay 237........... A longer 3.18 minute take of Little Rain with an extra verse can be found on CD's ....




Jimmy Reed - Speak The Lyrics To Me, Mama Reed - Vee Jay NVD2-705

And the Japanese 6CD box-set....
Jimmy Reed - The Vee Jay Box - The Complete Singles and other rarities - P-Vine Records PCD5454-5459

The lyrics will make more sense once you've heard the longer version ....





ROCKMAN

So they got Jim Keltner, one of the most revered session drummers ever, who played with
Lennon, Dylan, Pink Floyd, Randy Newman, Joni Mitchell and many many more, to tap his foot?!

Anyway, nice foot tapping to another nice, though haunting, song.

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

From tioos.com:

Black Limousine came about from a slide guitar riff that was inspired in part by some Hop Wilson licks from a record that I once owned, mislaid for years, found again and finally lost again... And there was another guy called Big Moose, who I've never heard of before or since... He was an old slide guitar guy who had one particular lick that he would bring in every now and again. I thought, That's really good, I'm going to apply that - and so subconsciously I wrote the whole song around that one little lick, building on it, resolving it and taking it round again...

That was something that clicked musically straight away with the guitars and drums and Mick, and then we immediately got into sparring about the lyrics for it, since it was obviously crying out for some words. Once again the riff was taken care of and I let Mick do the words... Mick's got his own style and that's why I let him interpret it in his own way. It's only fair really. But I let that song slip through my fingers. I fought until I was blue in the face to get the credit, going on and on: I wrote that, I wrote that. One of the lessons I had to learn was that if you want to get a credit, it has to happen there and then in the studio, as you're recording it.

- Ron Wood, 2003

Add Mick's Jimmy Reed-ish harp, and we know how this developed



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-02-13 12:11 by DandelionPowderman.

An utterly captivating track, so gentle and yet menacing. The mood is so vivid, it’s like being front-row in a theater, watching a scene that you can’t take your eyes off of. And Mick’s harp … ohhhhhhh baby, it doesn’t get any sweeter than this. Dark, mesmerizing, and sublime.

Little Rain is a perfect example of the Stones’ genius at taking a simple musical idea and transforming it, through their magical alchemy, into something mind-blowing.

Drew



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-02-13 13:05 by drewmaster.

This song felt like it could have been on their first album, a beautiful "time capsule".

The Stones's performance is dynamical, stripped-down, emotional and real.

It's been a while since they really impressed me. With Little Rain they did

GREAT! Sensitive, strong and mean!

The most satisfying tune on the album for me. Atmosphere for miles. Almost want to write a movie script just to create a scene that displays this haunting spell.

Quote
marcovandereijk
So they got Jim Keltner, one of the most revered session drummers ever, who played with
Lennon, Dylan, Pink Floyd, Randy Newman, Joni Mitchell and many many more, to tap his foot?!

Anyway, nice foot tapping to another nice, though haunting, song.

He's a friend of Charlie's, and it's not the first time he has played percussion on Stones records

Quote
DandelionPowderman

Quote
marcovandereijk
So they got Jim Keltner, one of the most revered session drummers ever, who played with
Lennon, Dylan, Pink Floyd, Randy Newman, Joni Mitchell and many many more, to tap his foot?!

Anyway, nice foot tapping to another nice, though haunting, song.

He's a friend of Charlie's, and it's not the first time he has played percussion on Stones records

Of course,
but foot tapping.... really?
Did Bobby Keys get a credit for hand clapping on Ventilator Blues?

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

Quote
marcovandereijk

Quote
DandelionPowderman

Quote
marcovandereijk
So they got Jim Keltner, one of the most revered session drummers ever, who played with
Lennon, Dylan, Pink Floyd, Randy Newman, Joni Mitchell and many many more, to tap his foot?!

Anyway, nice foot tapping to another nice, though haunting, song.

He's a friend of Charlie's, and it's not the first time he has played percussion on Stones records

Of course,
but foot tapping.... really?
Did Bobby Keys get a credit for hand clapping on Ventilator Blues?

John Fogerty got credits for hand clapping on Tallahasse Lassie..

BTW, I think Bobby's clapping was due to Charlie keeping the timing – visual guidance



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-02-13 15:40 by DandelionPowderman.

Quote
marcovandereijk

Quote
DandelionPowderman

Quote
marcovandereijk
So they got Jim Keltner, one of the most revered session drummers ever, who played with
Lennon, Dylan, Pink Floyd, Randy Newman, Joni Mitchell and many many more, to tap his foot?!

Anyway, nice foot tapping to another nice, though haunting, song.

He's a friend of Charlie's, and it's not the first time he has played percussion on Stones records

Of course,
but foot tapping.... really?
Did Bobby Keys get a credit for hand clapping on Ventilator Blues?

John Fogerty did - for clapping hands on "Tallahasee Lassie"

Three minutes late there, Justice

The 1st half is superb, yet somehow it gets taken up a notch when Mick starts in on harmonica. Probably my favorite tune on this fantastic album!

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LeonidP
The 1st half is superb, yet somehow it gets taken up a notch when Mick starts in on harmonica. Probably my favorite tune on this fantastic album!

Mine too.

Quote
DandelionPowderman
Three minutes late there, Justice

Dàmn you all.

Excellent writing here, I cannot add but just agree wholeheartedly
with descriptions/ captivating this song is to me, played it many times.

Real life is creeping in however, and rain songs are off my list
N.CA/ evacuations 170,000 people/ Orville, CA dam expected to fail
'when the levy breaks, mama you got to move'
(not personally yet, but days of rain to start later week...)

Adequate cover - Mick's singing and harp playing is good. They didn't really expand on the original which results in blues by numbers redundancy.
The original Jimmy Reed version is superior in every way.

_____________________________________________________________
Rip this joint, gonna save your soul, round and round and round we go......

And it sounds so easy to play.

But try it. Once you lose concentration you´re @#$%&...

Keith can hardly have been been drunk during these sessions... ;-)

The hard thing here is to convey emotions, which they do excellently.

A great track.

..it don't matter....every song on B & L works and lends itself to the next as it does on all of their great records....B & L is right up there with the best records they've ever done....another great track.

Quote
marcovandereijk
So they got Jim Keltner, one of the most revered session drummers ever, who played with
Lennon, Dylan, Pink Floyd, Randy Newman, Joni Mitchell and many many more, to tap his foot?!

Anyway, nice foot tapping to another nice, though haunting, song.

Keltner is a friend of Charlie Watts, and present during many Stones recording sessions since at least the mid-70's.

Mathijs

Quote
marcovandereijk
So they got Jim Keltner, one of the most revered session drummers ever, who played with
Lennon, Dylan, Pink Floyd, Randy Newman, Joni Mitchell and many many more, to tap his foot?!

Anyway, nice foot tapping to another nice, though haunting, song.

They did not credit Keltner on the album for it, but Don Was told the story about having Jim Keltner doing this overdub in an interview with BBC radio.

N

I was just listening to this glorious track and noticed some distortion/muddiness, particularly audible near the beginning, both in the guitars and Mick's voice. Anyone else hearing this? If so I wonder if it's deliberate or not.

Drew



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2017-02-18 04:27 by drewmaster.

Quote
Mathijs

Quote
marcovandereijk
So they got Jim Keltner, one of the most revered session drummers ever, who played with
Lennon, Dylan, Pink Floyd, Randy Newman, Joni Mitchell and many many more, to tap his foot?!

Anyway, nice foot tapping to another nice, though haunting, song.

Keltner is a friend of Charlie Watts, and present during many Stones recording sessions since at least the mid-70's.

Mathijs

Oooo I'll have to pull out the Watts-Keltner album today, it's a good one...

Quote
marcovandereijk
So they got Jim Keltner, one of the most revered session drummers ever, who played with
Lennon, Dylan, Pink Floyd, Randy Newman, Joni Mitchell and many many more, to tap his foot?!

Anyway, nice foot tapping to another nice, though haunting, song.

Keltner is credited on Hoo Doo Blues, maybe NICOS misplaced?

What a great track on a fantastic album. I realize that Jagger copped a lot from this song while recording his own 'Blue" B-Side to a solo single.