Start Me Up.

"The wonder of Jimi Hendrix was that he could stand up at all he was so pumped full of drugs." Patsy, Patsy Stone

It seems Start Me Up keeps getting older each time someone brings it up.It is definitely not from the Goats Head Soup sessions.As far as I know,it started as a sloppy reggae song with the line "never stop" being repeated during the Black and Blue sessions but,that is not the classic song it became.It was further developed as a rocker for a couple of takes during the Some Girls sessions but,that still probably wasn't finished as we know it.If it was,it most likely would have been strongly considered for inclusion over songs (Lies perhaps) that did make the album.According to the Stones themselves they had to heavily overdub the song in 1981 to get the final version.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2006-06-25 01:44 by Theif in the Night.

LeedsLungs71 Wrote:
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> In the U.S. they are an "oldies" act and certainly
> not in any hit parade. That makes them underground
> in the States. The only time you hear Stones on FM
> radio is when an oldies/classic rock station
> serves up a Brown Sugar or Satisfaction etc.


This is true now,for the most part but,in at least some parts of the country,the Stones are played on straight rock stations that play all rock,new and old.These types of stations play new rock singles the Stones release for the first couple of months.Most stations play album tracks every so often.The decrease in non-warhorses being played on the radio in the U.S. is a gradual thing that happens to most artists as they become more widely known as an oldies act.
One of the ABB tracks,either Rough Justice or ONNYA,did chart in the U.S. and Anybody Seen My Baby did reach the top 40.I think it was in the mid-30's.

I think many people are taking some of these lyrics way too seriously.Nobody seems to have a problem with Live With Me,Honkey Tonk Women,"yeah,yeah,yeah,wooo",or "hang around in gay bars on the west side of town" but,heaven forbid they mention looking at women.

I've been thinking.Perhaps one of the reasons that I'm able to enjoy most of the Stones' modern work is because I take it for what it is,at face value instead of always comparing it to the golden era.I don't hold the golden era against them.I enjoy it but,I don't obsess about it as much as other people might.I agree that in general they aren't at the same level they were when at their peak but,this big decline is blown way out of proportion.They still produce quality music.I don't see how their modern songs can be called inferior to songs such as Hide Your Love,Dear Doctor,half of the songs on IORR,Who's Been Sleeping Here etc.. I'm not on a crusade to minimize their accomplishments.
They didn't have the big gap between albums until they reached their mid to late fifties.The Stones were one of the last bands to jump on the bandwagon of touring behind a greatest hits album with a couple of new tracks and they even included more new tracks than most people do on those types of albums.Let's not forget that during those eight years they played many live concerts,Jagger released a full solo album,and the Stones released 4 studio tracks (almost a half of an album by the standards of Black and Blue,Let It Bleed,and albums by other artists).The four studio tracks from 2002 were followed up by 19 more during the last year.They could do a little more but,it's hard to expect that from a band of their age.

Don't Stop.

It Won't Take Long...

Whether it's afinancial success or not, it's a classic Stones mega-hit through and through... edgy, rocky, totally guitar-forward.... and a monster live song that they never play.

I've got quite a few newer songs that I treasure among many other Stones-gems. For instance, "Don't Stop" is great Stones-material. "Rough Justice", "Saint of Me", "Out of Control", "You got me Rocking" "I Go Wild", "Sparks will Fly", "Back of My Hand", And I just love "Thru and Thru"... There are plenty. But we probably have'n't heard them live much. And some of us are just not good enopugh when it comes to going back to albums from the 80's and 90's to pick the gems. But they are there, I assure you. For instance - I've totally fallen in love with Voodoo Lounge during the last 3 years. (As if you hadn't noticed!)Like a friendship blooming into a deep love. I still find Rolling Stones gold in my little collection. But then, I'm looking for them actively. Not using the time to merely critisize them for "not comming up with a classic". It's bullshit, and I don't see why people keep posting all these negative threads. The disappointment over less than 10 cancelled/postponed Euro-shows must surely be over now?

Anybody Seen My Baby. MEZ

and Ay ay baby it hurts

The last Stones classic? I suppose it depends on your definition, but I'd guess to most casual fans, it'd be Start Me Up. It was their last BIG hit after all and their last top ten in the UK.

The last classic Stones song to me is Undercover of the Night. It's the last song where they still sounded dangerous, where it still was sex, drugs and violence. After this, the Stones became a major entertainment band, not a way of living anymore.

Mathijs

And of course..She Was Hot...

I'll go for "Highwire"

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