Track by Track: Rolling Stones "Goats Head Soup"

It's hard to name a favorite Rolling Stones album, but Goats Head Soup is certainly a contender for me. That's saying a lot when the album preceding it is far and wide considered their best; the powerhouse known as Exile on Main Street. You see, Exile gave fans a little bit of everything both genre wise, and instrumentally. It was a diverse album with an amazing amount of variety, yet each track was still given the attention and detail it needed, to sound authentic to the genre and still be relatable to the masses. Songs like Tumbling Dice, Torn and Frayed, Loving Cup, Sweet Virginia, Ventilator Blues, Shine a Light, and Let it Loose(which Dr. John sang backing vocals on), will all go down as some of the best in Stones history. After all, the album is ranked #7 in Rolling Stone Magazines "500 Greatest Albums of All Time." But Rolling Stone Magazine isn't the be all end all. The people are. And they seem to agree. It's release and subsequent re-releases have all been immensely popular and coveted. And though I may be frowned upon for not agreeing that it's their best, I will absolutely recognize that it is an amazing piece of work.

Coming on the heels of this beast however, is Goats Head Soup. It's a force to be reckoned with in its own right, and I intend to prove it. Just take a look at this lineup:

1. Dancing with Mr. D  - A gritty rock tune with growling vocals. It's badass, funky, and certainly gets your hips moving. Richards repetitive lick sets the mood for the entire song. Mick Taylors slide guitar (prevalent through the album) lays a nice sweet n' sour layer of sauce over it all, making for a groovy meal of an opener.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_S532DjrZk


2. 100 Years Ago - One of my all-time favorite songs, period. Billy Preston on the clavinet simply makes the song. It's funky, upbeat and airy. Nicky Hopkins piano accompanies it perfectly, and there's even room for a little heavier rock guitar riffing, that doesn't seem out of place at all. It's really a three part song. The first part, is light, up beat and reminiscent in mood and lyrics. Then there's a brief break down with some deliberately slow Jagger jawing before it pops into a funk infused minor jam with some heavy guitar soloing. You can't help but love this kind of Stone's tune. The reflective lyrics deal mainly with aging, and keeping a young heart. "Don't you think its sometimes wise not to grow up?" A valuable lesson in itself.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CrciVFFw3iQ

3. Coming Down Again - A ballad to accompany Angie, this song is largely a Keith Richards creation. It's slow but deliberate pace is held together by Watts consistent strokes and simple fills. The vocal melody and harmonies are soothing and repetitive, and it's a great example of Keith Richards lead vocal abilities, and Mick's willingness to be an accompaniment. There's also a great Bobby Keys sax solo.    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lfPgsNN2EbA


4. Doo Doo Doo Doo Doo (Heartbreaker) - This was my favorite Stones song for years. The lyrics tell the tale of two urban tragedies; the true story of an NYC police shooting where a young boy was mistaken for a bank robber and gunned down, and the story of a young ten-year old girl who dies of a heroin overdoes on the streets. The imagery is very well crafted. Musically, Billy Prestons clav takes main stage, with Mick Taylors dirty Wah-Wah infused licks mimicking and/or accompanying it perfectly. There's a ridiculous horn section adding to the funk and urban soul feel that is more than icing on the cake. Altogether, this song might be one of the best pieces of music the stones have ever put together period. It stands alone as great example of their ability to capture the complex sounds of their time in one powerful piece.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sqUiWpGGCmI


5. Angie - The ballad of love lost. Beautiful string arrangement, gut-wrenching piano. Apparently it's an ode to heroin and detoxing from it, as Keith Richards wrote both lyrics and music, but I'm not sure your average person will, or wants to interpret it that way. The string arrangement gives this piece a new kind of depth, and different kind of flavor. But being that this album was riding on the coattails of the enormous Exile on Main St., its appropriate that it has some bigger feeling pieces so as not to be completely outshone by the former. This was the albums true single.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vj7eWPLMQJ8


6. Silver Train - Great piano, great slide guitar. It's kind of a traditional upbeat early rock piece. The Black Crowes have a great live cover of this tune as well. It's one of the lighter pieces in flavor and text, and certainly just a fun song to move to. It's the perfect piece to slip into the middle of the album, especially after two heavy songs. It's certainly not the most memorable Stone's tune, but it works quite well in the "batting order." That's my opinion at least.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3c2WUVZ9NQ


7. Hide Your Love - This is a familiar sounding tune, that I feel is often overlooked. Continuing the trend of a very piano heavy album for the stones, this song trucks along at a nice easy pace, finally giving us a traditional blues progression. The guitar is what you'd expect, and Mick Jaggers voice and cadence give it exactly what it needs. All in all this tune should not be skipped over, and it would seem to me that it could be a great lesser known song for some newer blues artists on the scene today to cover. I could definitely see our friends at GREENS TUESDAY NIGHT JAM covering a tune like this.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xo94dLN_0ZA


8. Winter - Though Mick Taylor apparently contributed the most to this song, it seems he may have been snubbed by Jagger and Richards in credit. This is not an uncommon occurrence in music. Winter is another bigger piece largely due to the string arrangement, just like Angie. But it's subject is seasonal, and where that comes from isn't entirely clear. The album was recorded in Kingston Jamaica, largely because it was one of the only countries that would let all the members in at once (legal troubles were a plague, especially for Richards). Because of that fact alone, maybe this song is more about a reminiscence for the kind of winter they were used to on their home soil? It seems to highlight the negatives of winter in the lyrics, while still capturing a feeling of longing for it. I'm sure there are varying opinions out there.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=frt_f0eP_Hs


9. Can You Hear the Music - This is the oddity of the album to me. A strange chiming and airiness open the track, with a whimsical piano lick eventually sneaking in, before it breaks into a more familiar sound and progression. The piano's again quite prevalent on this track, and the effected guitars seem to hover between wanting to burst at the seams, and play a background role altogether in the piece. Much of it has a youthful, childlike feel to it, heightened by the piper-esque flute parts that open and close the song almost single handedly. Altogether it's a song that doesn't give or take too much.   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RI12bGwmCVQ


10. Star Star - A great way to close this album. Why not write a song about a C-list celebrity slut? Hell why not say "Starfucker" 60 times? Or maybe it was 59, I can't remember. And yes, lets really get some raunchy lyrics in there "I heard about your polaroids, now that's what I call obscene. Your tricks with fruit, is kind of cute, I bet you keep your pussy clean." They even give a shout out to Steve McQueen at one point! Overall its actually a really fun tune. It's got that early rock feel, akin to Route 66. It jolts you out of your seat, making a dance floor out of whatever substance is under your feet. You can feel Chuck Berry in the lead guitar work which is all too appropriate, and when you combine all this with a nicely designed solo, some background vocals, and a great bass line, you get a mighty fine close to an all around remarkable and memorable album.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YD_CSgIkd_k

For any avid Stones fan, this album has to mean a lot. It's got a different feel to it, with different priorities, but is still based in their roots. It's a nicely crafted piece of work, with what I consider to be their best line up (When Mick Taylor was still playing with them). If you don't own it, you need to. I hereby make the promise that you will not regret it.