The Rolling Stones are well known for their dogged endurance. Very little deters them.
It’s an unwavering attitude that applies as much to their touring schedule as it does to their willingness to think outside the box. “The more you do it the better because you get more variety,” Mick Jagger said in a 2007 interview.
The Stones are often described as the quintessential rock ‘n’ roll band, but that hasn’t stopped them from experimenting with different sounds – from blues and country to psychedelia and disco. Some of these experiments have paid off; others proved more confusing. The most notable find their way into our list of the 10 Weirdest Rolling Stones Songs.
10. “Goin’ Home” (from 1966 Consequences)
In the mid-60s, hit songs hovered around the three-minute mark. Anything beyond that was generally considered too long for Top 40 radio. Even when it came to selecting recordings for albums, longer songs were often overlooked for shorter, friendlier options on the business plan. Some artists began to challenge this notion over the decade, recording tracks lasting 10 minutes or more. The Rolling Stones’ first foray into this territory, “Goin’ Home”, originally consisted of only the first two and a half minutes. “We tried to do singles for as long as we could because we just like to let things happen,” said Keith Richards. rolling stone in 1971. “Nobody sat down to do an 11-minute track. … We just got the tape rolling.”
9. “Something Happened to Me Yesterday” (from 1967 between the buttons)
“Something Happened to Me Yesterday” begins with an unexpected trumpet intro before settling into a playful Music Hall-like groove. The trumpet reappears a little later, accompanied by trombone and tuba, all apparently played by Brian Jones. This is best known, however, as the first Stones song to feature a lead vocal sung by Keith Richards, who takes over from Jagger for a few lines. A strange farewell message is spoken by Jagger at the end of the song: “Well, thank you very much, and now I think it’s time for all of us to go. So, from all of us to all of you, not forgetting the boys in the band and our producer, Reg Thorpe, we would like to say, God bless you. So if you’re going out tonight, remember if you’re on a bike, wear white. evening, all.” Andrew Loog Oldham was the actual producer.
8. “Sing This All Together” (from 1967 Request from Their Satanic Majesties)
Several cataclysmic changes have occurred throughout the history of recorded music. One of them is definitely the release of the Beatles sergeant. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band, which combined heavy psychedelic imagery with experimental instrumentation. The Rolling Stones, like many groups at the time, attempted their own version. Request from Their Satanic Majesties was not as well received as sergeant. Pepper, with Richards later describing the LP as a “load of bullshit”. The opening song, “Sing This All Together,” is a wildly disorganized cut that might be better suited to a carnival than an album by one of the biggest bands in the world.
7. “Cherry Oh Baby” (from 1976 black and blue)
The Rolling Stones have released a handful of reggae-inspired tracks throughout their career, but perhaps the strangest is “Cherry Oh Baby,” their cover of a 1971 song by Eric Donaldson. The Stones were heavily influenced by reggae in the mid-70s, as evidenced by several tracks from 1976 black and blue. “I had all these [reggae] recorded in France with me when we moved there and when we were recording songs for Exile on Main St. at Keith,” Charlie Watts said in According to the Rolling Stones. “Mick had it too. I would play him ‘Cherry Oh Baby’ or he would play me one.” There’s a slightly rambling quality to the Rolling Stones version, with Jagger occasionally slipping into a subtle Jamaican accent.
6. “Might as Well Get Juiced” (from 1997 Bridges to Babylon)
To be fair, there was a lot going on in 1997 Bridges to Babylon, the Stones’ attempt to maintain some relevance in the increasingly changing music industry. Jagger and Richards were rarely in the studio at the same time while making the album. “There’s a big danger when you’ve made all these albums…that you think you know how to make a record,” Jagger said. rolling stone at the time. “I don’t want to do the first thing that comes to mind.” So they didn’t. Unfortunately, the pretty bluesy “Might as Well Get Juiced” is layered with electronic additions that haven’t aged well.
5. “Continental Drift” (from 1989 Steel wheels)
“Continental Drift” stands out on Steel wheels for its typically Middle Eastern flavor. The track features the Master Musicians of Joujouka, a Moroccan band the Stones traveled to Tangier to record with. It was a turning point for the band: Brian Jones had recorded the Master Musicians in 1968, even releasing an acclaimed live album, Brian Jones introduces Pan’s pipes to Joujouka.
4. “2000 light years from home” (from 1967 Request from Their Satanic Majesties)
As Richards explained in 1971, the Rolling Stones hadn’t exactly planned Request from Their Satanic Majesties turn as he did. “It wasn’t supposed to be this ambitious, it just became that way,” he said. For all its psychedelic undertones, “2000 Light Years From Home” was one of the few tracks on the album to be translated on stage. The Stones regularly performed the song on their 1989–90 Steel wheels/Urban Jungle Tours and performed it when they appeared at Glastonbury in 2013.
3. “I just want to see his face” (from 1972 Exile on Main St.)
Like most of Exile on Main St., there is general confusion in the slight “I just want to see his face”. The classic album was recorded in a makeshift basement studio in France, so much of that tone came naturally. (The huge amount of drugs used at the time also contributed to the LP’s sound.) “I Just Wanna See His Face” is mostly a loose jam that leans in a slightly gospel direction but doesn’t build towards anything in particular. particular. Somehow it still fits perfectly with ExileAnarchic complexity.
2. “Too Much Blood” (from 1983 Sheltered)
“Too Much Blood” is deceptively cheerful for a song about a brutal murder scene that turns cannibalistic. “Cut off his head / Put the rest of his body in the fridge, eat it piece by piece / Put it in the fridge, put it in the freezer“, sings Jagger. He wrote the song about a 1981 criminal case involving a Japanese man named Issei Sagawa, who was arrested in Paris for the murder (and more) of a classmate. Jagger also discusses the rise of the violence in pop culture, name drop The Texas Chainsaw Massacre at one point. It offers little consolation, only a warning: “Reality is stranger than fiction.”
1. “Far Away Eyes” (from 1978 Certain girls)
If the Rolling Stones came from England, their interpretations of American blues and R&B are among the best of the time. They’ve also dabbled in country music occasionally, such as in “Far Away Eyes” where Jagger half-sings and half-talks in an exaggerated Southern accent as he recounts memories of touring the United States “You know, when you walk through Bakersfield [Calif.] Sunday morning or Sunday evening? I did it about six months ago,” he said. rolling stone in 1978. “All the country music radio stations start playing black gospel services live from Los Angeles, and that’s what the song is referring to – but the song is really about driving alone, listening the radio.”
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