Hitch Hike

Out of Our Heads (USA version)
Side 1, Track 2
"Hitch Hike" (Marvin Gaye/William Stevenson/Clarence Paul) – 2:25




This is the second time the Stones have gone after a Marvin Gaye hit, but unlike their driving "Can I Get a Witness", "Hitch Hike" is something of a pedestrian affair, lacking the energy that made "Mercy, Mercy" so much fun. That probably has something to do with the material: "Hitch Hike", the song, is a perfectly passable slice of early 60s Motown pop, aspiring to nothing more than Top 40 hitdom, whereas "Mercy, Mercy" is a crushing soul song with an agenda.

Still, there's nothing the Stones have to be ashamed of here. After all the tepid blues workouts that littered their previous albums, it would be a relief to have to listen to nothing by bland R&B. However, I have a feeling that this album is really going to start to pick up....