Heck, for what it’s worth, I’ll throw in a third track from Sticky Fingers. Besides drugs (almost all tracks are somehow about drugs), the album’s main theme is world-weariness, best expressed in “Sway”, also rarely played. It has my favorite Mick Taylor guitar solo (he has two solos, the second is almost transcendental).
2 come to mind. 2000 Light Years From Home, the Stones going psychedelic for the first time. And Dandelion brings back memories of a summer romance I had while in high school. Once while DJing a small wedding reception, an older gentlemen asked me if I could play some country music, he was tired of the rock and roll. I played the closest thing I had to country, Far Away Eyes, the Stones foray into country music. He had never heard the song before and thought it was done by one of the greats of country music. Never told him it was done by a rock band from England.
I’ve read somewhere that despite Mick’s and Keith’s deep love for country music, they could never write a country song that wasn’t some kind of parody. It’s true if you think about it, certainly for “Far Away Eyes”, but also for “Dead Flowers”, “Dear Doctor” and “Sweet Virginia”.
2 of my favorites. In fact, once I mention “Little T & A”, all 5 of my favorites have been mentioned in this thread! (Knocking is last one)
i Am Waiting. One from their “Lady Jane” stylebook, sort of like a folk song, but with rough edges. It gets stuck in your brain after a couple of listens.
Did the Stones decide to start playing “Out of Time” recently because it was prominently featured in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood?
Or is that just a coincidence?
Although I think a lot of Gen X would know the song due to its use in all those Apple commercials in the late 1990s.
For a little bit of fun:
I just realized this thread is basically creating the ultimate Martin Scorsese soundtrack.
I never really saw “Sweet Virginia” as a parody; to me, it comes across pretty straightforward. Same thing with “Dead Flowers”; the Townes Van Zandt cover version especially.
Admittedly, there is a lot of humor in classic country music.
Yeah, maybe parody is not the right word, but corporate country songs usually don’t cover themes like “Dead Flowers” and “Sweet Virginia” (hard drugs, that is).
By the way, I was lucky enough to have seen Townes perform “Dead Flowers”. “Sticky Fingers” was his favorite album, just like mine.
I’ve always loved “Factory Girl” from Beggars Banquet, ever since I first heard it in 1968. Interesting factoid: the fiddle solo is by Rick Grech, who played bass for the group Family at the time, and went on to be the bassist for Blind Faith.
The Stones’ 1963 cover of Bo Diddley’s “Road Runner” has been one of my favorite records since I came across it on a French import around 1980.
The Cowboy Junkies also did a terrific cover version of that song. I don’t think it’s on a studio record, maybe a live album or an EP? The first time I saw them in concert, way back on the Trinity Session tour, they performed it.
As for the OT, I really like a couple of their more recent (well…since the 90s) tracks, “Jump on Top of Me” and “Don’t Stop.” The latter was one of the new tracks added to a career-spanning compilation to get folks who already had the other zillion songs on the disc to buy 'em again, but cynicism aside, it’s a gloriously wistful song, with a kickass guitar solo.
Two of my favorites appear back-to-back on their More Hot Rocks compilation: “Child of the Moon” and “No Expectations.” The aforementioned “She’s a Rainbow” is another favorite that appears in that compilation.
I’ll add two that haven’t been mentioned yet.
From the 60s: 2000 Man from Their Satanic Majesties Request
From the 70s: Sister Morphine from Sticky Fingers
(Does any other decade matter?)
My favorite obscure is also from Sticky Fingers (possibly the best classic rock album of all time) – I Got The Blues (with one of the best organ solos ever. As a matter of fact, the album is full of great work by musicians who weren’t technically members of the band – sax, organ, horns…). Can’t You Hear Me Knocking, Sway, Bitch, Moonlight Mile…a masterpiece.
Another vote for Moonlight Mile. I like Dead Flowers best but I consider it not too obscure to count here. Esp. given the number of covers. BTW: Best cover is by The New Riders of the Purple Sage.
“Memory Motel” is another great one. They released a video from the No Security live album featuring Dave Matthews duetting with Jagger on the track, and only later did I hear the version on Black & Blue. What a gorgeous melody.
I thought it was Byron Berline?
My copy of “The Rolling Stones: All The Songs” says it was Ric Grech.