Ticket 2 Ride

Another look back at a pair of albums from the Rolling Stones’ classic period.

Goats Head Soup (1973)

Recorded at Dynamic Sounds (Kingston, Jamaica), The Village (Los Angeles), Island (London), Recorded 25 November 1972 – 5 February 1973 Engineered by Andy Johns, Howard Kilgour and Rod Thear.

This was one of my first Rolling Stones album buys. This album is not talked about as much as other albums from the classic period. This was the last album to be produced by Jimmy Miller as the Stones felt like they’d absorbed everything they could from him, and had been heavily involved in producing this and previous albums.

All songs by Jagger/Richards.

“Dancing with Mr. D.” 4:53 – Great album opener. Nicky Hopkins on piano. Mick Taylor plays bass. Funky rocker, gritty guitars by Richards, Taylor. Great beat by Charlie Watts

“100 Years Ago” 3:59 – Another funky, giddy-up song and shifts into a faster gear at the end. That electric-funk sound is courtesy of clavinet by Preston, all guitars by Taylor, bass by Richards and four in the floor by Charlie.

“Coming Down Again” 5:54 – A beautiful, poignant ballad. Great sax solo.

“Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker)” 3:26 – Funky, urban vibe. Billy Preston on the clavinet. Great wah-wah guitar work. The regular suspects in the horn section.

“Angie” 4:33 – One of the band’s best, mature ballads. Richards, Taylor on acoustic guitars. Nicky Hopkins on piano. String arrangement by Nicky Harrison.

“Silver Train” 4:27 – Blues-rocker. Bass by Richards, slide guitar by Taylor, swinging piano by Ian Stewart, harp by Jagger.

“Hide Your Love” 4:12 – Another rousing, bluesy song pushed down the road by Jagger’s rollicking piano.

“Winter” 5:30 – Another great ballad. Great piano by Hopkins. Guitars by Taylor and Jagger. Outro guitar solo and slide guitar by Taylor. Strings by Harrison. Actually co-written by Jagger-Taylor, but once again Taylor was denied any credit.

“Can You Hear the Music” 5:31 – Interesting song, doesn’t fit any obvious genre. The flute, percussion, Leslie sounding guitar, and tinkling piano have an Eastern vibe. Sax by Keys. Percussion by Reboo, Pascal and Jimmy Miller.

“Star Star” – Otherwise known as “Star Fucker”. A grungy, trashy rock and roll song with pounding beat and distorted guitar. Piano by Stu.

Final thoughts…

Goats Head Soup was rereleased in 2020, with a remastering by Giles Martin. It sounds great. This is an album that is better, and deeper, than people remember it. Once the needle drops, the music now unfolds with a sharper focus and warm clarity. This album flies under the radar of Stones albums.

---

It’s Only Rock ‘n’ Roll (1974)

An album the Stones seem to distance themselves from. The first album completely produced by The Glimmer Twins (Jagger/Richards), and the last album with Mick Taylor.

Always one of my favorite Stones albums. The remastering has cleaned up what was a murky mix. The guitars in particular are clean and forward in the mix. Engineered by Keith Harwood and Andy Johns. “Fingerprint File” mixed by Glyn Johns.

After the Stones’ autumn 1973 European tour. Production began in November at Munich, Germany’s Musicland Studios. Other recording in London and several songs were finished songs and overdubs and mixing were performed at Jagger’s home, Stargroves, in summer of 1974.

All songs Jagger/Richards, even when they were co-written with others. “Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” written by Norman Whitfield and Edward Holland Jr.

The songs…

“If You Can’t Rock Me” is a forgotten classic and a wonderful opener. Nasty guitars, great Charlie beat.

“Ain’t Too Proud to Beg” 3:32 I’m usually not thrilled with the cover tracks. This one works because of the guitars and clavinet that funkifies this Motown class.

“It’s Only Rock ‘n Roll (But I Like It)” (inspiration by Ronnie Wood) 5:08 This might be one of the Stones least effective singles. It is believed that the lineup for this song was:

Mick Jagger – vocals
Keith Richards – electric guitar, backing vocals
Ronnie Wood – twelve-string acoustic guitar, backing vocals
Willie Weeks – bass
Kenney Jones – drums
David Bowie – backing vocals
Ian Stewart – piano

The song was written by Jagger and Ronnie Wood, but Wood was denied a songwriter credit.

“Till the Next Goodbye” 4:39 An overlooked ballad, a bit rough around the edges, which makes the song even sweeter. Acoustic guitars by Jagger, Taylor and Richards, who also provides the slide guitar. Nicky Hopkins on piano.

“Time Waits for No One” 6:31 – My favorite Stones song ever. Main writer was Taylor, along with Jagger. Taylor was denied a writer’s credit, which probably made his decision to leave the band. His two guitar fills and solos are outstanding.

“Luxury” 5:02 Is faux-reggae song, but a good one. Richards’ guitar is on fire, pounding out the riff. Hopkins drives it on the piano.

“Dance Little Sister” 4:12 Is powered by Richards’ rhythm guitar again with Charlie’s frenetic beat. A foot stomping song with Stu belting out the piano part.

“If You Really Want to Be My Friend” 6:17 Sounds like a Motown tune, it’s slow and soulful, and the soul group Blue Magic provides backup vocals. Hopkins provides that amazing piano fills. Richards provides the Leslie guitar effect while Taylor takes the solo.

“Short and Curlies” 2:44 Upbeat bluesy rocker with slide guitar, bluesy tinkling by Stu. Not a bad filler song.

“Fingerprint File” 6:41 An unusual song for the Stones. The lyrics are very anti government surveillance, an issue even more prevalent today. Taylor plays a funky bass and Wyman is on synth. Haunting guitars, Jagger plays rhythm guitar that is run through the Leslie cabinet. Billy Preston on clavinet, Hopkins on piano, Richards guitar is enhanced by use of the wah-wah pedal. Funky.

Final thoughts…

I don’t understand why this album is ignored by the band and fans. This album closed the Stones’ best era.

Maybe it’s due to the lack of a “classic” single, or the wide variety of musical style. I’d like to see a Giles Martin remix and any studio jams.