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"...Party Like We Used To..."
Recorded
in Paris in October 1977 and March 1978 but rooted in the insanity of a
financially crumbling New York City over 3500 miles away - the Stones embraced
Punk like they were born to the manor - albeit a more grotty manor than the
ones they were used in tax exile. "Some Girls" rocked – two fingers
up to everything – ludicrously un-PC – so Rolling Stones – and I loved it.
But
for me this November 2011 Universal Republic Records 2CD 'Deluxe Edition' is a
mixed bag of great music and truly lacklustre presentation (why is any fan of
The Stones surprised by this). Here are the far away eyes, beasts of burden and
respectable reconstruction details...
USA released 21 November 2011 - "Some Girls: Deluxe Edition 2CD US Version" by THE
ROLLING STONES on Universal Republic Records B0016235-02 (Barcode 602527840550)
is a 2CD Reissue with 12 New Tracks on Disc 2 that plays out as follows:
Disc
1 - "Some Girls" (40:44 minutes):
1.
Miss You [Side 1]
2.
When The Whip Comes Down
3.
Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)
4.
Some Girls
5.
Lies
6.
Far Away Eyes [Side 2]
7.
Respectable
8.
Before They Make Me Run
9.
Beast Of Burden
10.
Shattered
Tracks
1 to 10 are their 14th British (16th American) album "Some Girls" -
released 19 May 1978 in the UK on Rolling Stones Records CUN 39108 and the same
day in the USA on Rolling Stones Records TP 39108. Produced by THE GLIMMER
TWINS - it peaked at No. 2 in the UK and No. 1 in the USA. All songs written by
Mick Jagger & Keith Richards except "Just My Imagination (Running Away
With Me)" which is a cover version of a Temptations song written by Norman
Whitfield and Barrett Strong.
Disc
1 THE ROLLING STONES were:
MICK
JAGGER - Lead and Backing Vocals and Rhythm Guitar
KEITH
RICHARDS - Lead Guitars, Keyboards, Bass and Backing Vocals
RON
WOOD - Lead Guitars, Pedal Steel Guitar (Tracks 2, 6 and 10) and Backing Vocals
BILL
WYMAN - Bass
CHARLIE
WATTS - Drums
Guests:
SUGAR
BLUE (James Whiting) - Harmonica on Tracks 1 and 4
IAN
McLAGAN - Piano on Track 1 and Organ on Track 3
MEL
COLLINS - Saxophone on Track 1
REEBOP
KWAKU BAAH, JIMMY MILLER and SIMON KIRKE – Percussion on Track 10
Disc
2 - Bonus Material (41:30 minutes):
1.
Claudine
2.
So Young
3.
Do You Think I Really Care
4.
When You're Gone
5.
No Spare Parts
6.
Don't Be A Stranger
7.
We Had It All
8.
Tallahassee Lassie
9.
I Love You Too Much
10.
Keep Up Blues
11.
You Win Again
12.
Petrol Blues
Disc
2 Guests:
IAN
STEWART – Piano on Tracks 1, 2, 3, 8 and 11
CHUCK
LEAVALL – Piano Solo on Track 2
SUGAR
BLUE (James Whiting) - Harmonica on Tracks 1, 4 and 7
DON
WAS – Bass on Track 6
MATT
CLIFFORD – Percussion on Track 6
JOHN
FOGERTY and DON WAS – Handclaps on Track 8
All
songs written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards except for "We Had It
All" - written by Troy Seals and Donnie Fritts (a Waylon Jennings cover
from 1973) and "Tallahassee Lassie" and "You Win Again"
which are Freddie Cannon and Hank Williams cover versions.
A
word about the original artwork versus this reissue - I've 14 vinyl copies of
the British "Some Girls" album bought across the decades in a failed
attempt to get all the different colour-coded sleeves in the one place. In fact
I'm certain no one seems to know the truth about how many different sleeves
there is for this 1978 LP (six, seven, eight who knows?). Perpetuated by the
hardback book in the ludicrously overpriced Super Deluxe Edition - the common
consensus is that there are six variants - five of the original Peter Corriston
'Rolling Stones As Drag Queens' die-cut sleeves and a further sixth 'Pardon Our
Appearance – Cover Under Reconstruction' second-pressing variant because the
offending originals had to be withdrawn due to legal pressure.
As
ever our entirely angelic celestial-choir of misogynistic British
ne're-do-wells had deliberately courted controversy with their saucy artwork
and less than subtle songmanship - especially on the truly incendiary lyrics to
the title track that names the sexual peccadillos of women from all sorts of
racial backgrounds (black ladies come out best although Michael may not have
enough Huntley's Jam for them). So why the legal recall - under the lurid
adverts for strapless bras with elasticised inner pockets, perma-styled and
care-free wigs (boy cuts an option) were die-cut holes on the front sleeve
under which could be seen smiling mugshots of very famous ladies. But Raquel
Welch, Lucille Ball, Farah Fawcett-Majors and the estates of Judy Garland and
Marilyn Monroe were all amongst the celebrities who didn't dig the artistic
joke and filed against their images being used on what was then perceived as
being a platter of schoolboy sexism railed loudly against by upstanding society
types like the Reverend Jesse Jackson. American artist Peter Corriston had done
Led Zeppelin's magnificent "Physical Graffiti" double-album die-cut
sleeve in 1975 and would do the next three Stones albums too - "Emotional
Rescue", "Tattoo You" and "Undercover".
I
mention the sleeve's history because this particularly gutless American-based
Deluxe Edition uses the 'Under Reconstruction' reissue artwork instead of the
different coloured originals – a sanitised image that is about as shocking and
appealing as a smelly sock in a University Student’s laundry basket. All four
of the gatefold flaps on the inside of the 2CD set are the same – insanely dull
snippets and close-ups of the reconstructed artwork that show little or no
imagination. So what do you get? There are a couple of new black and white
photos of the band in the studio in the 24-page booklet - the witty assessments
of each band member as if Mick, Keith, Ron, Bill and Charlie were women around
the edges of the back cover and the song titles that were in tiny print beside
the garish Magazine Ads for lady products are blown-up to take a page each. And
finally there are some excellent but short liner notes called "Love And
Hope And Sex And Dreams" by ANTHONY DeCURTIS (the title is a lyric from
"Shattered"). DeCurtis explains about the backdrop to the LP's inspiration – New York City – a town in the grips of
serial killer Son Of Sam, financial ruin with landlords torching slums for the
insurance money (the Big Apple was famously bailed out by President Ford) while
a strange mix of decadent Disco, bare Punk and bloated Rock music filled the
nightclubs, stadiums and bars. But again the liner notes sloppily miss out
guest credits for the album on the final pages like they didn't exist (see my
list above for details) and there's zip discussion of the new recordings. And
why didn't someone print the lyrics for an album that was in part defined by
its radical and no-holes-barred words? It all feels like less instead of more
somehow. The Rolling Stones used to be so Rock 'n' Roll - but now they're so
corporate-safe. Thankfully there's the music that includes some very cool new
entries...
Disc
1 is the STEPHEN MARCUSSEN and STEWART WHITMORE Remaster done in 2009 and
doesn't pretend to be anything new even though some hated it (I think it's
brilliant). The second CD of new tracks (supposedly outtakes) was done in Paris
and New York in 2011 and mastered by the same duo. Both sound storming to me.
The
first Rolling Stones LP to benefit from Ron Wood's official presence in the
five-piece band turned out to be a barnstormer. Side 1 opens with the
irresistible "Miss You" – that fantastically sexy rhythm that's
neither Rock nor Disco but somewhere in-between – Jagger's Puerto Rican girls
lyrics so racy yet so true - Sugar Blue and his slinky Harmonica part and the
Mel Collins Saxophone solo that seals the deal. What a bloody winner. With the
brilliantly funny and knowing "Far Away Eyes" on the B-side – the US
45 of "Miss You" on Rolling Stones 19307 went to No. 1 in June 1978
and deservedly so. "When The Whip Comes Down" is the first sign of
Punk - a fantastic little rocker that took on a life of its own when they did
it live. Quite why they follow Whip with a Temptations cover version is
anyone's guess - but their very Stones take on the 1971 R&B No. 1 of
"Just My Imagination (Running Away With Me)" fits perfectly. You also
hear those duelling guitars on this incredibly muscular remaster with Ian
McLagan's Hammond Organ contribution barely audible.
Even
now I can recall the first time I heard the utterly astonishing title track
"Some Girls" - shock and awe and just a little appalled too. How
could anyone be saying this stuff? You know you're in trouble when it opens
with Sugar Blue's fantastic Harmonica warble. With lyrics like "...some
girls give me children I never asked them for..." and "...some girls
take the shirt off my back and leave me with a lethal dose..." - the song
was never going to get on the Sunday Hymn Sheet for Westminster Abbey. But in
its defence (if that’s the right way to phrase it) the words were true in
Jagger's brain and many didn't like that in-your-face stance. But re-listening
to it now and that stunning Harmonica/Guitar combo makes it a bit of an angry
masterpiece for me. The rip-roaring and equally snarling "Lies" ends
Side 1 with the core five-piece band sounding more vital than they had in
years.
Side
2 opens with the countrified preaching song "Far Away Eyes" – Ron
Wood's Pedal Steel Guitar perfectly complimenting Jagger's hilarious
song-on-the-radio story (send 10$ to the church of bleeding hearts in Los
Angeles). Back to Punk and heroin with the President on the White House lawn
and no problem that can't be bent - "Respectable" became a single too
and another live thriller. Keith's "Before They Make Me Run" is the
forgotten song on the album and while it's a half-decent bopper you can't help
think that Jagger's vocals would have lifted it out of the ordinary. But all is
redeemed with a lethal one-two of "Beast Of Burden" and
"Shattered" - the two aspects of the Stones I love - melody one
moment - snotty rockers the next - and brill at both.
I
genuinely hadn't expected much of Disc 2 - but it's got some corkers amidst the
good and merely ordinary. Ian Stewart gives it some Jerry Lee Lewis on the
piano-pumping bopper "Claudine" where a wee bit of instrument-echo
makes the song feel Fifties. But then we're hit with a total gem and something
you can't help but feel should have been on the album or at least a B-side to
say "Miss You" - the Punky and very un-PC "So Young" where
Mick is clearly tempted by the flesh of girls on the school run rather than the
office pool (it's a federal offence). They Countrify "Do You Think I
Really Care", Blues Boogie "When You're Gone" (with Jagger on
Harp) and Piano Ballad "No Spare Parts". Of the others I like the raw
"Keep Up Blues" about Italian Suits and keeping up with the
fashionistas and their take on the hank Williams classic "You Win
Again" is the best of the covers. Jagger brings it all home with a Piano
and Vocal on "Petrol Blues" - a track that suspiciously sounds like
an actual demo from the period.
The
album "Some Girls" still stands up and in 2018 amazingly will be 40 years
young. But while there are moments on that second disc that evoke the old Stones
magic - I still wish the packaging wasn't so utterly lame.
Time
to get up and get into something new which they and artist Peter Corriston would do
on 1980's "Emotional Rescue". In the meantime don a 100% miracle
fibre wig, slip on those red leatherette stilettos and get whipped by this Rolling
Stones bad boy. In the comfort of your own home of course...
