#just need to add the backup vocals and tune them and add the last couple of lines in

[canadianlucifer]

I love trying to use a program i know nothing about and refusing to look up tutorials and then getting mad when i find a cool feature because "why did no one tell me that was a thing??"

[jswdmb1]

Mannish Boy

“I’m a rollin’ stone”

- Muddy Waters

I admit that I am jealous as hell of anyone who was at the Stones concerts this past week. I have a list of acts that I have never seen and they are at the top (Tom Petty was at #1 until I saw him a couple of summers ago right before he passed).  I know that I probably missed my last chance to see them, but that doesn’t mean I didn’t enjoy their stay here. I’ve been spinning through their catalog the past few days and came up with a seven song set list that I would put up against anyone’s. So let’s pretend I get my wish and get my own personal show. Here’s the seven songs I want to see:

Miss You - Let’s get things started with the funkiest grove of the 70’s. This song gets labeled the Stones disco record, but that is nonsense. This is a killer bass line with some smokin’ lyrics by Mick. I never fail to listen to this song when it comes on the radio, and you are lying if you say you don’t either. So stop calling it a guilty pleasure and crank it the next time it comes on because there is no better way to open things up than with this one.

Tumbling Dice - A lot of folks think Exile On Main Street is their best album and this is my favorite track from that record. There is something very steady about this song that comforts me. It also has a bit of a country twang, but it still rocks. My favorite part is the fade out with Mick and the backup singers singing “You’ve got to roll me” over jangling guitars. At times I think this song gets overlooked (as much as a Stones song can be), but I think it belongs at the top of any list and it will make my personal set list every time.

Midnight Rambler - There is zero chance that I would not include a song with Rambler in the title.  But that is not the only reason to include this one in the set.  Of all of the blues-influenced Stones’ songs, this one is my favorite.  Mick doesn’t get enough credit for his harmonica playing, and this is one of his best efforts.  This is also a great song to pick because the band will often stretch it out in concert for double-digit minutes complete with solos and tempo changes.  

Gimme Shelter - While it is an obvious choice, I am not passing on the chance to hear what may be the greatest rock-and-roll song in history.  I know that is a bold statement, but listen to the song and think about the context of the time it was released as the opening track on Let It Bleed.  1969 was an insane year and yet music was still catching up to the intensity of the social situation that was turning the world upside down.  The Stones boldly wrapped all that was going on in Vietnam and at home into a roaring and violent burst of energy for just under five minutes.  The real star of the song are the impassioned backing vocals of Merry Clayton.  I would go as far to call this a duet given how much power she adds to the arrangement.  The real trick would be to find someone to come on stage today and replicate that performance.  After thinking about it, why not have Merry come on and do it herself?  That would be something.

 Almost Hear You Sigh - Concerts typically slow it down a bit at some point, and we’ll need a little bit of a break after Gimme Shelter.  The Stones have some good ballads, but I’m reaching for this deep track from the 1989 Steel Wheels album.  I doubt many people remember this song, but go back and give it another spin.  Keith wrote this for a solo project, but it ended up going on the full band’s album, and I’m glad it did.  Unlike the Beatles, the solo work of the Rolling Stones is always suspect and this song would have been lost on any mid-80′s record Keith released on his own.  Mick’s vocals always have a depth that get lost on some of the harder rocking songs, so I love hearing some of that come through on a song like this.  It may not be the highlight for many people, but for me I would love to hear the band and their musicianship work on this one live (which to my knowledge has not been played in concert for decades).

Bittersweet Symphony - You are probably thinking I’m off my meds again because this was a song in the 90’s by The Verve.  While I understand that fact, you may be surprised to hear that the song is actually a Jagger/Richards tune. At least that’s how it turned out after a lawsuit by the Stones former manager who owned all of the rights to their pre-1970 catalog. The song’s iconic riff was sampled from an orchestral cover of the Stones 1965 hit “The Last Time”. Legal maneuvers ended up giving full credit to Jagger/Richard with the royalties going to the former manager that conned them out of their rights back in 1970. Richard Ashcroft of the Verve ended up with $1,000 and a hit that he could never really own. This past April, Mick & Keith graciously signed over their rights to Ashcroft. As a final favor for his trouble, how about the Stones play this one live so we can see what they do with it and to make Richard a bit more dough.

You Can’t Always Get What You Want - Nothing could be more true and you may be saying this to yourself after reading this post. If so, please send me your favorite selections and we’ll see how they stack up. There’s no wrong answer here, so give it a try. Because when you are picking from a catalog of the greatest Rock group of all time, the choices are endless.

Keep rockin’ boys,

Jim