[Music] The Stones drop their best song from their live set list

[Bracknell_Gull]

They turned into a parody almost as soon as Mick Taylor left. The most talented member of the band by a margin imo

I do know that most won’t agree with me, I think Some Girls was the only album I liked after Exile

The Mick Taylor era Stones is also my favourite. The Brussels Affair bootleg is one of my favourite live compilations and the duelling guitars of Taylor & Richards are epic.

 

[DJ NOBO]

Gimme Shelter is their best song, IMO of course.

I raise your Gimme Shelter with Jumpin Jack Flash.

So many though.

Their best 20 songs is the strongest of any band ever imo.
.

 

[herecomesaregular]

The Mick Taylor era Stones is also my favourite. The Brussels Affair bootleg is one of my favourite live compilations and the duelling guitars of Taylor & Richards are epic.

The sort of thing I used to pick up at the Brighton Centre Record Fair. Where would one source this nowadays?

 

[herecomesaregular]

Best song?

Doesn't make the top ten in half of the polls. Not in the top five in any of them.

https://www.rollingstone.com/music/...-greatest-songs-22825/1-gimme-shelter-231641/
https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/the-rolling-stones-20-greatest-songs/
https://bluesrockreview.com/2021/01/top-10-rolling-stones-songs.html
https://wmmr.com/galleries/rolling-stones-best-songs-ranked/
https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/rolling-stone-songs-10-best-2263181
https://www.vulture.com/2017/05/whats-the-best-rolling-stones-song-of-all-time.html
https://www.pastemagazine.com/music/50-best-rolling-stones-songs/#9-dead-flowers

And the full quote from 1995 was “God knows what I'm on about on that song. It's such a mishmash. All the nasty subjects in one go... I never would write that song now.”

Dude, was just my personal opinion. A song can only be ranked by one's own ears not based on a worldwide poll. And yes, just a mischievous partial-quote!

 

[DavidinSouthampton]

Cancel culture nothing more nothing less

regards
DF

It was THEIR decision to pull THEIR song from THEIR playlist.

They didn’t have to, and it seems to be that they wanted to, rather than feeling under pressure to do so.

Get over it, you small-minded person.

 

[Stato]

Keith Richards agreed to pull the song but said that people don't seem to realise that it is an anti slavery song

I refer the right honorable gentleman to the remarks of my colleague Ms Rice-Davies.

I'm sorry I missed the condemnatory nature of the words 'Yeah, yeah, yeah, wooh!'

 

[DavidinSouthampton]

It’s a great song, but I fully appreciate their reasons for pulling it.

And I still have a very soft spot for their first album, probably for sentimental reasons as much as anything else, as it was the first album I ever owned.

 

[Pretty pink fairy]

It was THEIR decision to pull THEIR song from THEIR playlist.

They didn’t have to, and it seems to be that they wanted to, rather than feeling under pressure to do so.

Get over it, you small-minded person.

LMFAO why has it taken them so long a classic case of virtue signalling then
Regards
DF

 

[Stato]

It’s a great song, but I fully appreciate their reasons for pulling it.

I'm not a great Stones fan, and lyrically, I always found it a bit creepy, but like most of their best songs, its about the riff. I always tolerated the irritation of Jagger because of the uncompromising drive of Richards. As you suggest, its had its time and its good to see Jagger accepting that the world has moved on.

I love Randy Newman, but I wouldn't expect him to play 'Rednecks' if I was lucky enough to see him live. That's a more obviously anti-racist song, but times change and attitudes with them. An audience of middle class white people singing along to the chorus wouldn't be a good look regardless of intent.

To be honest I view all this culture war stuff as just people of my generation, class and gender wanting things to be like they were in their childhoods. I feel like telling them that the Rolling Stones playing 'Brown Sugar' live or the Pogues using a homophobic slur in a Christmas song is not going to whiz them back to a point in life when they had every opportunity in front of them. We're old now. Accept it and let the youngsters have a go. Most of them are not going to own houses, so we can at least let them own pop music.

 

[Tom Bombadil]

Good call, but I have a particular soft spot for Sweet Virginia. Not sure if [MENTION=28061]Nitram[/MENTION] agrees.
On a related note, I heard Gram Parsons' version of Wild Horses a few months back for the first time. It's so much better than the Stones'

I dion't think any of their best songs are on that album, but it's their best album and imo the best rock album ever made. It is for me the accumulated atmosphere of the whole thing that whole decayed drug frazzled grandeur, songs constantly on the verge of falling apart. You can hear the country and blues foundations of rock seeping out through the cracks, it's a bottle of cheap white wine and twenty mayfair in an attic flat.

 

[Machiavelli]

I dion't think any of their best songs are on that album, but it's their best album and imo the best rock album ever made. It is for me the accumulated atmosphere of the whole thing that whole decayed drug frazzled grandeur, songs constantly on the verge of falling apart. You can hear the country and blues foundations of rock seeping out through the cracks, it's a bottle of cheap white wine and twenty mayfair in an attic flat.

Nice characterisation

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

Keith Richards agreed to pull the song but said that people don't seem to realise that it is an anti slavery song and pointed out the horror of slavery, but it is easy to see how the lyrics could be totally misconstrued.
I find it hard to believe that Richards or any other stone could be racist at all, most of their heroes are black, like Chuck Berry and a lot of their songs are based on black music like The blues.
Personally I think that Brown Sugar is a Great song, one of my favourites.

I think it's a little too lascivious to be an anti-slavery song, and that Richards is being a little knavish here (a recurrent theme on NSC today).

I read Dick Reich's post above. What a prat.

Personally I'm not bothered about the song but it is Jagger's shout, innit? I would be more uncomfortable about the age gap and the lasciviousness if I were the singer. Singing about 16 year olds when you're 76 is a bit pervy isn't it?

Also, he might like to have a think about the lyrics to this:

Under my thumb
The girl who once had me down
Under my thumb
The girl who once pushed me around
It's down to me
The difference in the clothes she wears
Down to me, the change has come
She's under my thumb
And ain't it the truth babe?
Under my thumb
It's a squirmin' dog who's just had her day
Under my thumb
A girl who has just changed her ways
It's down to me
Yes it is
The way she does just what she's told down to me
The change has come
She's under my thumb
Ah, ah, say it's alright
Under my thumb
Is a Siamese cat of a girl
Under my thumb
She's the sweetest, hm, pet in the world
It's down to me
The way she talks when she's spoken to
Down to me, the change has come
She's under my thumb
Ah, take it easy babe
Yeah
It's down to me, oh yeah
The way she talks when she's spoken to
Down to me, the change has come
She's under my thumb
Yeah, it feels alright
Under my thumb
Her eyes are just kept to herself
Under my thumb, well I
I can still look at someone else
It's down to me, oh, that's what I said
The way she talks when she's spoken to
Down to me, the change has come
She's under my thumb
Say, it's alright
Say it's all
Say it's all
Take it easy babe
Take it easy babe
Feels alright
Take it, take it easy babe

 

[m@goo]

I'd say some of the lyrics are problematic by today's standards.

"Brown Sugar, how come you taste so good
Brown Sugar, just like a young girl should"

Alright, Jimmy Savile!

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

I'm not a great Stones fan, and lyrically, I always found it a bit creepy, but like most of their best songs, its about the riff. I always tolerated the irritation of Jagger because of the uncompromising drive of Richards. As you suggest, its had its time and its good to see Jagger accepting that the world has moved on.

I love Randy Newman, but I wouldn't expect him to play 'Rednecks' if I was lucky enough to see him live. That's a more obviously anti-racist song, but times change and attitudes with them. An audience of middle class white people singing along to the chorus wouldn't be a good look regardless of intent.

To be honest I view all this culture war stuff as just people of my generation, class and gender wanting things to be like they were in their childhoods. I feel like telling them that the Rolling Stones playing 'Brown Sugar' live or the Pogues using a homophobic slur in a Christmas song is not going to whiz them back to a point in life when they had every opportunity in front of them. We're old now. Accept it and let the youngsters have a go. Most of them are not going to own houses, so we can at least let them own pop music.

This. When we start sounding like Victor Meldrew about the yoof it's nature's way of telling us it's time to STFU.

 

[Bry Nylon]

I sang Brown Sugar in Karioki once on holiday and as with most, didn’t realise the lyrics were so explicit. As the words appeared Ona big screen behind me also, the laughing drunken revelry in the bar in Tenerife atmosphere changed straight away ( could have been my singing of course) and I signalled to the DJ to kill it…which she did and I ended up singing a wham song…

Until I read it on here, I had no idea what the lyric to Brown Sugar actually was.

I can just imagine the growing sense of unease in the bar as the words scrolled across the screens as you have to stand there and belt them out. Had it been me, I think I would have got to about the fourth line of the first verse and just gone "WTF?!" The decision to bin off the song and opt for a bit of Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go instead was a masterstroke!

 

[Icy Gull]

I dion't think any of their best songs are on that album, but it's their best album and imo the best rock album ever made. It is for me the accumulated atmosphere of the whole thing that whole decayed drug frazzled grandeur, songs constantly on the verge of falling apart. You can hear the country and blues foundations of rock seeping out through the cracks, it's a bottle of cheap white wine and twenty mayfair in an attic flat.

You may well have read this from your comments! For any Stones fans, especially those who love Exile this is a great read. Debauched doesn't cover it and it was the straw that broke the camel's back for Mick Taylor

https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/68409.Exile_On_Main_Street

I see it has really shit reviews but I bloody loved it

 

[Tom Bombadil]

Until I read it on here, I had no idea what the lyric to Brown Sugar actually was.

I can just imagine the growing sense of unease in the bar as the words scrolled across the screens as you have to stand there and belt them out. Had it been me, I think I would have got to about the fourth line of the first verse and just gone "WTF?!" The decision to bin off the song and opt for a bit of Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go instead was a masterstroke!

Not seen the wire then? From about 50 seconds in

 

[Bry Nylon]

Not seen the wire then? From about 50 seconds in

Ha! Yes - that about sums it up; I must have heard Stones songs thousands of times over the years but still have no idea what Mick Jagger is singing!

 

[Brovion]

I'm not a huge Stones fan, but I did enjoy Keith Richards' autobiography when it was printed in Private Eye. Ghost-written of course but still a great read. I'll reproduce it here, in full:

"Yeah, well back in the Sixties me and Mick formed the Rolling Stones. Then I, er, ..... got on the bus and came here. That's about it, really."

 

[Tom Hark Preston Park]

It's Cancel Culture Gone Mad. Where will it all end? Next thing you know we won't be able to have a midweek curry. So it's goodbye Ruby Tuesday