Wasn’t massively impressed by Angry, but this is simply phenomenal. I didn’t know they had it in them (with Lady Gaga)
Rolling Stones Make a Masterpiece
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Musings on the byways of popular culture
For this song can we now use the phrase ‘their best since Let It Bleed’?!
I liked it, but the verse is very reminiscent of You can’ t always get what you want.
“Let the music play loud, let it burst through the clouds
And we all feel the heat of the sun
Yeah, let us sing, let us shout, let us all stand up proud
Let the old still believe that they’re young”
It’s very nice, if hardly breaking new ground. Consummate layering as the brass comes in. Middle 8 loses the momentum. Uncertain what Lady Bri Bri (Bri Bri) adds other than screeching.
@retropath2 ever the cynic. I agree with @dai this is wonderful. The brass is lovely and your comments about what Lady Ga Ga adds suggests you may not of listened to the end because when it slows and she spars with Mick is just fantastic
I think this is very good indeed and most likely will buy the album if this is an indicator of the quality we can expect.
I did go all the way, to be fair, finding her old school bawl fair took the paint off the walls. And the gloss off my enjoyment of the arrangement. Without her it could have been wondrous: a bit of Keef ‘n’ Ronnie atonal bvs would have hit my spot a whole lot better.
If you want Lady Gaga taking the paint off the walls so that she can give them another more dramatic coat, here she is tearing through Gimme Shelter with the Stones looking suitably impressed/terrified. By god, can that woman *really* sing.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gd0YcFWlvOc
I so agree Captain Darling.
I’m sure the French must have a special French word for a feisty young lass who makes old chaps feel frisky again!
She is one of those. In spades!
I think she is wonderful.
That clip confirms I can’t hear Gaga.* Her voice is too high for my ears, can’t pick up that register. Jagger is amazing. I can’t stand his on-stage schtick, but he seems to have the fitness and flexibility of a man in his thirties.
*I drop the “Lady” snd just call her Gaga. Elton** does the same. Shows how hip we are.
**John
Thanks for the double asterisked clarification, @Gary – I might have wondered whether it was Elton Ben you were referring to.
Elton Dean, obv. Tcoh.
Elton Rifles
I’d assumed it was Elton Welsby.
Tremendous. I have a sense of this becoming a common funeral choice in coming years.
Would Keith actually want to go to heaven?
Only as long as Mick isn’t already there.
Lovely, their best ballad since [insert suitable comparison here]… I enjoyed Angry too, so it would be nice to think that the new album (surely their last) might be a good ‘un.
(And I agree that a little Gaga goes a long way, but I’m not offended by her performance here…)
They’ve surprised me as well. Wonderful stuff, and l will now be purchasing the new album, which l wasn’t intending to do.
Ditto.
I thought Gaga was perfect, she said she cried at the end. So did I. A reaction I doubted I could ever get from a new song
Great track – well done to them. Gaga the MVP from where I’m sat.
Coming soon to a Scorsese montage sequence, no doubt.
It’s better than I expected but I did expect a turd! 💩
Masterpiece? 🤣😂🤣 you’re having a laugh!
How would you decide a decent song?
On personal taste, I should imagine.
It’s all opinion, after all.
A towering song that moved me and made me feel glad to be alive. Have been having an awful week and it made me realise what the power of music can (still) do.
People who take joy in making twattish comments are jerks. You may not like it but you can just fuck off if you think your opinion is better than mine or anybody else’s.
@dai, you claimed it was a masterpiece and to do so you are bound to get a reaction. The song is better than I expected, I put the bar low for that but that’s just my opinion to which I’m entitled.
I have never thought my opinion is better than anyone else’s and I don’t have to. The music I like is exactly that whether others feel the same is up to them.
I am very happy that you enjoy the song so much, as you say that is the power of music. Music that makes you smile, love, feel great is truly good for the soul. Whatever that music is.
I hope you are feeling better and able to work things out because what we have in common is our humanity whether we agree or disagree.
Dai and Baron having an argument – who woulda thunk?
@Baron-Harkonnen I don’t think I have felt this way about a new song in maybe 20 years, and I rushed here full of exuberance about it. Yes, that does make me vulnerable to contrary views, but I am perfectly happy for others not to like it. However to ridicule me for my passion while also using your ridiculous emoticons is different I feel. You were also full of negativity on the other Stones thread about the new album and no doubt will be on the next one.
I apologise for swearing at you.
It’s awesome that the song has impacted you like this, and generous of you to share that buzz with others.
Without your enthusiasm I highly doubt I’d have listened to it, but I really enjoyed it and will flag it to mates.
Really feeling a song is a gift. Enjoy every moment and don’t let anyone rain on your parade. 👍🏼
Thank you @Bingo-Little Maybe a little bit of context. I learnt this week that one of my closest friends (and a big Stones fan) is seriously ill with a horrible cancer. I must be approaching 10 listens to this song now, a number of them with tears streaming down my cheeks 🙁
I was once a fan of The Rolling Stones, I had every album on CD & LP up to the last one and all the live sets. Something happened which put me right off the band after Charlie’s passing. To me it seemed like the remaining trio didn’t give a damn.
Regarding the songs so far in my opinion they are average, to others they are held in higher esteem, that’s OK by me. Whether the rest of the albums tracks are better/worse/the same we’ll have to wait and see.
My feelings of the remaining trio certainty has influenced my opinions of the band. Therefore I will keep my opinions about the album to myself.
Dai I truly hope your friend pulls through of that horrible disease. I have lost too many friends to it and I know what it’s like. Peace & Love Richie
I think they dealt with Charlie’s death perfectly well, given the decision to carry on. And happily he plays on the new album
Thanks.
In the bright light of a Lovely Languedoc day, I realise how Wrong I was – this is indeed very, very good. H.P. Saucecraft likes it too
Oh well, then! Debate over!
Or is it? I’m wondering if the AWers who like this so much also liked Living In A Ghost Town? I remember Dai did. But I don’t remember it getting anywhere near as much general approval as this one. Whereas I thought it was far more fab.
I must confess, my ears are very dodgy and decrepit and crap, I listened to this one with headphones and still Gaga’s register was practically “invisible” to me.
As an absolutely fascinating sidenote to that – Black Celebration recently ran a competition (with no prizes, I might add) to see who could spot the tune That’s Entertainment in an old cartoon’s song. To me it was completely obvious from the get go. I was surprised others didn’t get it. Then I wondered if perhaps my deranged ears were only picking up the That’s Entertainment frequencies and not hearing other instruments? There’s a thought.
Ithink that too. Baron isa mate but his thoughts are totally irrational given they do a tribute sequence to him every concert they play.
Yeah that’s quite decent. Nice cover illustration as well – very 70s looking, airbrush style, without being overly kitsch or retro. Much like the song itself!
Has anyone noticed Stevie Wonder in the Billy Preston role?
It’s very, very good. One that I’m sure they’re proud of.
Not a masterpiece. That’s a ridiculous thing to claim. As is “Second only to Let It Bleed”. “Moonlight Mile” immediately springs to mind in refutation.
Mick’s voice holds out better on this than on “Angry”. It’s less refined than in days of yore, but then he is 80 years of age.
Not ridiculous in my opinion. I think it’s up there with their greatest stuff right now. I really do. Somehow they found a way back to that golden seam of the late 60s and early 70s. I would have given them a 1% chance to come up with something so good before hearing it.
It would fit on Exile, taking into account an older voice, I can give no higher praise.
I thought Goats Head Soup and that aint no bad thing.
Don’t get hungry with me…😉
The clean production and the horns fit better on Sticky Fingers! 😉
For me, while I enjoy it, I feel it lacks variation. It just continues in the same vein while building in power somewhat. Touching lyrics, Gaga gives it another level.
Anyone else getting hints of Otis Reddings ‘I’ve Got Dreams to Remember’ in the melody?
The track is ok, but am not a huge fan of Gagas voice so i’d rather another female part.
Rooteen blooze I thought.
*ducks*
Sounds more like soul and gospel to me
A nice tune harking back to the early 1970s Stones. A masterpiece? No.
Only me that hates it then? My ears didn’t like it one bit. Mind you, they’ve never cared much for the Stones. Though they really liked Living In A Ghost Town.
I saw an interview with Jagger in which he talked about lyrics and how producer Andy Someone had nagged him to improve the lyrics on the new album when he deemed them not good enough. And yet the lyrics to both this and Angry strike me a rubbish. The sort of cliched crap anyone could write. Got me thinking: has Jagger ever written a good lyric, one worthy of citation?
Watt.
Ohm
namah shivaya
I wish I knew what’s going on.
A goat, a bath, some soap and a razor. That’s all you need to know.
ps I hate it too. Bunch of old men what should be living in a residential home pushing themselves onto a blog that only 27 other oldish men inhabit instead pretending they’re still making music that is somehow relevant when it is only relevant to the 27 people what read this blog. Go gracefully into the dark night, Mick, Keef et al. Cease and desist
I think he’s a actually a very underrated lyric writer, at times brilliant, at times he can also be lazy. There’s a couple of naff lines in the song, but it doesn’t worry me too much when, for me, the rest is so compelling.
Here’s some, of course you may hate them:
“When the wind blows and the rain feels cold
With a head full of snow, with a head full of snow
In the window, there’s a face you know
Don’t the nights pass slow, don’t the nights pass slow
The sound of strangers sending nothing to my mind
Just another mad, mad day on the road
I am just living to be lying by your side
But I’m just about a moonlight mile on down the road
Made a rag pile of my shiny clothes
Gonna warm my bones, gonna warm my bones
I got silence on my radio
Let the air waves flow, let the air waves flow
Oh, I’m sleeping under strange, strange skies
Just another mad, mad day on the road
My dreams is fading down the railway line
I’m just about a moonlight mile down the road
Yeah-yeah, yeah-yeah-yeah
I’m hiding, sister, and I’m dreaming
I’m riding down your moonlight mile
I’m hiding, baby, and I’m dreaming
I’m riding down your moonlight mile
I’m riding down your moonlight mile
Let it go now, come on up, babe
Yeah, let it go now
Yeah, flow now, baby
Yeah, home now, yeah
Yeah, I’m coming home
‘Cause I’m just about a moonlight mile on down the road
Down the road, down the road, yeah
Yeah-yeah-yeah, baby”
I don’t hate them, but I’m afraid they say nothing to me. Nothing that particularly makes any impression.
For me very evocative lyrics about life on the road, loneliness and drugs. I only know about two of those things
I never listen to lyrics.
The voice is just an other instrument. The lyrics are irrelevant to me,
As an irrelevant part of the song his lyrics work well. On the few Stones songs that I like the lyrics go well with the music and certainly aren’t irritating, but they never actually say anything interesting either.
@Gary
Street Fighting man?
Sister Morphine?
Midnight Rambler?
@Uncle-Wheaty
No wonder you don’t get Dylan then
Quite possibly.
I met a gin-soaked bar-room queen in Memphis
She tried to take me upstairs for a ride
She had to heave me right across her shoulder
‘Cause I just can’t seem to drink you off my mind
Really, Tiggs? My life seems dull now – I had a cuppa and watched the news…
So did I. Looks like they’ve finally collared 2Pac’s killer
That’s nothing:
I was raised by a toothless, bearded hag
I was schooled with a strap right across my back
But it’s all right now, in fact it’s a gas
I like it!
@Hot-Shot-Hamish
I think you’re getting Mick mixed up with Gerry Marsden
👏👏👏👏
I rather enjoyed that. Gaga very much chanelling her inner Merry Clayton.
Angry I wouldn’t turn off if it came on the radio, this one I might even turn up. I am fairly surprised by this, tbh.
Why is everything so long nowadays ? It was a blessed relief to go to the reissued Stop Making Sense film yesterday. 88 mins long.
Agreed.
I rarely listen to a pop song over three minutes long, my favourite author is Muriel Spark, and if Kubrick can nail the Great War – all of it! – in 88 minutes, a film needs to be of a v. high standard for me to tolerate 120. Each of the recent run of Disney animations at the local cinema were all done and dusted in about 75 all-killer no-filler minutes.
This single is 5:06, exactly the same length as Fool To Cry as it goes. They also made one with an extra bit.
I think the extra bit is the best bit.
😄
The 7 minute version is indeed the one
It’s worth having the extra bit. I resist the temptation to go down the eye rolling ‘these days’ road, even if it is an overly long and winding road.
@dai I think that too.(re Charlies death). Baron is a mate but his thoughts are totally irrational given they do a tribute sequence to him every concert they play.
I think cancelling the tour would have been a major disappointment for the fans, a loss of income for the crew who need the money more then they do and most likely something that Charlie wouldn’t have wanted. The show must go on and all that.
This is rather good, as many have said. I assume they have released this track as it is such a contrast to Angry. They do seem genuinely excited by the new stuff they have recorded, and the first two singles give me cautious optimism about the album. Of course, nothing new will surpass their imperial period as that has had 50 odd years of listening.
As you might expect, erstwhile parishioner, Pat Carty, has snarfed a review copy for Hot Press. He likes and has posted his review on his fb page. If it’s as good as his review it’ll be worth a listen. Even if he does rate Lady Ga Ga Gastlee’s input.