Category Archives: Rolling Stones

Brown Sugar by Rolling Stones was released 16 April in 1971

Rolling-Stones-Brown-Sugar

“The lyric was all to do with the dual combination of drugs and girls. This song was a very instant thing, a definite high point.”
– Mick Jagger

“I’ve got a new one myself. No words yet, but a few words in my head – called Brown Sugar – about a woman who screws one of her black servants. I started to call it Black Pussy but I decided that was too direct, too nitty-gritty.” – Mick Jagger (1969, The True Adventures of Rolling Stones by Stanley Booth)

Brown Sugar is the opening track and lead single from their 1971 album Sticky FingersRolling Stone magazine ranked it #495 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time and at #5 on their list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time.

The group sings the lyric with all the enthusiasm of tongue-wagging dogs swooping onto a prime rib, leading up to one of the band’s strongest shout-along choruses. As on other Stones classics of the period like “Honky Tonk Women” and “Bitch,” beefy horns start to duel with the buzzing electric guitars in the instrumental break; few if any other groups have used guitars and horns as deftly in unison. The crowning embellishment is the final choruses, which vary the melody and tempo so that the group sings and make a high-pitched exclamation in a rhythm that very much resembles that of a sexual climax.

– Richie Unterberger (allmusic)

It is credited, like most of their songs, to  Mick Jagger and Keith Richards, but the song was primarily the work of Jagger, who wrote it sometime during the filming of Ned Kelly in 1969.

Brown Sugar from the fantastic concert film Ladies and Gentlemen (1972):

This version of the song features Mick Jagger on vocals, Keith Richards and Mick Taylor on guitar, Charlie Watts on drums, Bill Wyman on bass, Nick Hopkins on piano, Bobby Keys on saxophone, and Jim Price on horns.

Brown Sugar, Lyrics:

Gold coast slave ship bound for cotton fields,
Sold in a market down in new orleans.
Scarred old slaver know he’s doin alright.
Hear him whip the women just around midnight.
Ah brown sugar how come you taste so good
(a-ha) brown sugar, just like a young girl should
A-huh.

Drums beating, cold english blood runs hot,
Lady of the house wondrin where it’s gonna stop.
House boy knows that he’s doin alright.
You should a heard him just around midnight.
Ah brown sugar how come you taste so good
(a-ha) brown sugar, just like a black girl should
A-huh.

I bet your mama was a tent show queen, and all her boy
Friends were sweet sixteen.
Im no schoolboy but I know what I like,
You should have heard me just around midnight.

Ah brown sugar how come you taste so good
(a-ha) brown sugar, just like a young girl should.

I said yeah, I said yeah, I said yeah, I said
Oh just like a, just like a black girl should.

Continue reading Brown Sugar by Rolling Stones was released 16 April in 1971

Today: The late Jimmy Miller was born in 1942 – 71 years ago

Jimmy Miller produced “The Rolling Stones” 4 best albums:

  1. Exile on Main St. (1972)
  2. Sticky Fingers (1971)
  3. Let It Bleed (1969)
  4. Beggars Banquet (1968)

He really connected with the band & Keith Richards in particular.

“It was really a gas to work with him. Jimmy Miller could turn the whole band on and make a nondescript number into something.”
~Keith Richards

Miller was a huge Stones fan before he started working with the band..

‘The night Jagger phoned I just knew he was gonna ask me to produce them. I glided over to his house on a cloud.’
~Jimmy Miller

Wikipedia:

James “Jimmy” Miller (23 March 1942 – 22 October 1994) was a Brooklyn, New York-born record producer and musician who produced dozens of albums between the mid-1960s and early 1990s, including landmark recordings for Blind Faith, Traffic, the Plasmatics, Motorhead, The World Bank and Primal Scream. He was perhaps best known for his lengthy association with the Rolling Stones, for whom he produced a string of singles and albums that all rank among the most critically and financially successful works of the band’s career: Beggars Banquet (1968), Let It Bleed (1969), Sticky Fingers (1971), Exile on Main St. (1972) and Goats Head Soup (1973).

Prior to working with the Rolling Stones, Miller rose to fame by producing successful releases for The Spencer Davis Group including their breakthrough hit “Gimme Some Lovin'” and the follow-up smash “I’m A Man,” which Miller co-wrote with the band’s singer-keyboardist, Steve Winwood. In addition to his production work for yet another Winwood band, Traffic, Miller also contributed the lyrics to the Traffic song “Medicated Goo.” Miller produced the only album by the Clapton/Winwood supergroup Blind Faith.

The Spencer Davis Group – Gimme Some Lovin’:

Traffic – Dear Mr. Fantasy:

Blind Faith – Can’t Find My Way Home:

Following his work with Blind Faith, Miller co-produced (with Delaney Bramlett) the hit Delaney & Bonnie album On Tour with Eric Clapton, recorded live at Croydon, United Kingdom, on 7 December 1969. He went on to produce Delaney & Bonnie keyboardist Bobby Whitlock, Kracker, the Plasmatics, Motörhead and the UK band Nirvana.

A drummer himself, Miller was known for the distinctive drum sound that characterized his productions, especially his work with the Rolling Stones, on whose recordings he occasionally played percussion parts such as the famous opening cowbell on “Honky Tonk Women” and the full drum kit on “You Can’t Always Get What You Want,” “Happy,” “Tumbling Dice” and “Shine a Light.”

Sympathy For The Devil (Beggars Banquet – 1968):

Gimme Shelter (Mono Vinyl Mix) – (Let It Bleed – 1969):

Wild Horses (Sticky Fingers – 1971):

Let It Loose (Exile on Main St. – 1972):

Miller went on to work with Primal Scream on their breakthrough album Screamadelica and William Topley’s band The Blessing (Miller appears on their DVD Sugar Train during the song “Soul Love”). In the 1980s, Miller produced some acts including Johnny Thunders, Matrix and Jo Jo Laine (wife of Denny Lane, on “Moody Blues & Wings”). In 1990 he Co-Produced (along with Phil Greene) “What’s in A Name” for Florida band Walk the Chalk.

Among Miller’s last productions were three tracks on the 1992 Wedding Present project, Hit Parade 2. Jimmy also produced four tracks on The World Banks “In Debt Interview” which featured artists such as Billy Preston and Bobby Keys, a rare musical sideline from author Hunter S. Thompson. Jimmy traveled to Woody Creek, Colorado in 1994 to meet with Hunter S. Thompson for a memorable weekend in May shortly before he passed on. He died in October 1994.

Album of the day – Exile on Main St. (1972):

From allmusic.com – Stephen Thomas Erlewine:

Greeted with decidedly mixed reviews upon its original release, Exile on Main St. has become generally regarded as the Rolling Stones’ finest album. Part of the reason why the record was initially greeted with hesitant reviews is that it takes a while to assimilate. A sprawling, weary double album encompassing rock & roll, blues, soul, and country, Exile doesn’t try anything new on the surface, but the substance is new. Taking the bleakness that underpinned Let It Bleed and Sticky Fingers to an extreme, Exile is a weary record, and not just lyrically. Jagger’s vocals are buried in the mix, and the music is a series of dark, dense jams, with Keith Richards and Mick Taylor spinning off incredible riffs and solos. And the songs continue the breakthroughs of their three previous albums. No longer does their country sound forced or kitschy — it’s lived-in and complex, just like the group’s forays into soul and gospel. While the songs, including the masterpieces “Rocks Off,” “Tumbling Dice,” “Torn and Frayed,” “Happy,” “Let It Loose,” and “Shine a Light,” are all terrific, they blend together, with only certain lyrics and guitar lines emerging from the murk. It’s the kind of record that’s gripping on the very first listen, but each subsequent listen reveals something new. Few other albums, let alone double albums, have been so rich and masterful as Exile on Main St., and it stands not only as one of the Stones’ best records, but sets a remarkably high standard for all of hard rock.
…read more over @ allmusic.com

More Mar-23:

Continue reading Today: The late Jimmy Miller was born in 1942 – 71 years ago

Today: The Rolling Stones played Perth, Australia in 1973 – 40 years ago

rolling stones perth 1973

The Stones were at the top of their game in 1973… one of the best tours ever.

On Feb 24 they played Western Australia Cricket Ground in Perth, Australia, and a great sounding “stereo soundboard” bootleg turned up.. in 1987.

The Rolling Stones Pacific Tour 1973

Associated album Exile on Main St.
Start date 18 January 1973
End date 27 February 1973
Legs 2
Shows 14

The Rolling Stones Pacific Tour 1973 was a concert tour of countries bordering the Pacific Ocean in January and February 1973 by The Rolling Stones. The tour is sometimes referred to as the Winter Tour 1973. However this title is misleading, as much of it took place in the Southern Hemisphere, where it was summer at the time.

the rolling stones australia 1973

#4 Gimme Shelter:

Setlist

  1. Brown Sugar
  2. Bitch
  3. Rocks Off
  4. Gimmie Shelter
  5. Happy
  6. Tumbling Dice
  7. Love In Vain
  8. Sweet Virginia
  9. You Can’t Always Get What You Want
  10. Honky Tonk Women
  11. All Down The Line
  12. Midnight Rambler
  13. Band Introductions / Happy Birthday Nicky
  14. Little Queenie
  15. Rip This Joint

#12 Midnight Rambler

The Rolling Stones Perth 1973

Tour Band:

  • Mick Jagger – lead vocals, harmonica
  • Keith Richards – guitar, backing vocals
  • Mick Taylor – guitar
  • Bill Wyman – bass guitar
  • Charlie Watts – drums

Additional musicians

  • Nicky Xenakis – drums
  • Bobby Keys – saxophones
  • Jimmy Price – trumpet, trombone
  • Nicky Hopkins – piano

#1 Brown Sugar

#3 Rocks Off

and here:

Brown Sugar * Bitch * Rocks Off * Gimme Shelter * Happy * Tumbling Dice * Honky Tonk Women * All Down The Line * Midnight Rambler * Little Queenie

Other Feb 24:

Continue reading Today: The Rolling Stones played Perth, Australia in 1973 – 40 years ago

New documentary: Muscle Shoals

SundanceMuscleShoals_480x720

“You’re in rock’n roll heaven, man”
– Keith Richards

We can hardly wait, this is really the stuff of legends. The new documentary, “Muscle Shoals” will soon be released, it was shown on The Sundance festival 26th of January. The film was inspired by a magical visit to the town of the same name in Alabama. Camalier a self-taught filmmaker expresses his passion using his instinct, sensibility, and great appreciation of the art form. His original approach to this music documentary is clear in the mystical and evocative way he tells the story of Muscle Shoals.

From Rolling Stone Magazine:

Filled with interviews with a wide array of artists and never-before-seen footage, Muscle Shoals tells the story of this Northern Alabama town and the many hits that came out of its legendary recording spaces: Rick Hall’s FAME Studios and Muscle Shoals Sound Studio, which was started by FAME’s former rhythm section, the Swampers. “Being there does inspire you to do it slightly differently,” says Mick Jagger in the trailer. “It was really funky; you know, that was the whole idea of it.”

The Muscle Shoals Sound Studio was formed in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, in 1969 when musicians Barry Beckett (keyboards), Roger Hawkins (drums), Jimmy Johnson (guitar) and David Hood (bass) (called The Swampers) left FAME Studios to create their own studio. The Muscle Shoals Sound Rhythm Section, as they became known, was the first rhythm section to own its own studio and, eventually, its own publishing and production companies.

MickJagger_and_JerryWexler

The distinctive accompaniment and arrangements have been heard on a tremendous amount legendary recordings, including those from Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, and the Staple Singers among others. Many artists have recorded hit songs and complete albums at the studio. (read more on Wikipedia)

A short clip of director  Greg Camalier  explaining why he made the movie:

Back in 2008, he was driving from the East Coast to New Mexico with a friend when Camalier saw a road sign for Muscle Shoals. Camalier was a music fan who had heard bits of information about the place for years, but didn’t know much about it. They decided to spend the night in Muscle Shoals, and he and his friend talked about why they had never seen a film about that small yet crucial slice of music history.

FAME (Florence Alabama Music Enterprises) Studios are located at 603 East Avalon in Muscle Shoals, Alabama. They have been an integral part of American popular music from the late 1950s to the present. Artists who recorded there included Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Otis Redding, Joe Tex, Duane Allman, The Hour Glass, Clarence Carter, Candi Staton, Mac Davis, Paul Anka, Tom Jones, Etta James, Andy Williams, The Osmonds, Shenandoah, and many others. The studio was added to the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage on December 15, 1997. (read more, Wikipedia)

From the recording of Saved
From the recording of Saved

From www.muscleshoalsmovie.com:
Located on the banks of the Tennessee River, Muscle Shoals, Alabama is the unlikely breeding ground for some of the most creative and defiant music in American history.
Continue reading New documentary: Muscle Shoals

Best Live-albums & Music Books – 2012 according to Egil

The Who - Live 1970

Lists are always fun…. here’s some more:

5 Best Live Albums released in 2012

Important list! If we had allowed Live albums on our “2012 best albums” list… all five would have featured… (at least if I would have had my way) and “Live At Hull” & “L.A. Friday” is even better albums than Dylan’s Tempest in my opinion… but than again I LOVE concert recordings.

  1. The Who – Live at Hull 1970 (recorded February 15, 1970)
    The-Who-Live-At-Hull-574058In 1970 The Who where at their live peak.. Daltrey had found his voice.. the other 3 where ready.. and the “Tommy” material is nothing but fantastic!  
  2. The Rolling Stones – L.A. Friday (Sunday 13th July 1975)
    LA Friday
  3. The Rolling Stones – Hampton Coliseum (Live 1981)
    Hampton81
  4. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit – Live From Alabama
    jason isbell live alabama
    It is the best “new” live album this year.. by far..
    Brilliant stuff.
  5. The Rolling Stones – Tokyo (Live 1990)
    TRS - Tokyo 1990

5 Best Music Books I read in 2012

Continue reading Best Live-albums & Music Books – 2012 according to Egil