Turd on the Run

Exile on Main St.
Side Three, Track Two
"Turd on the Run" – 2:37




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Grabbed hold of your coat tail but it come off in my hand
I reached for your lapel but it weren't sewn on so grand
Begged, promised anything if only you would stay
Well I lost a lot of love over you

Well, the song sounds like shit. Can we agree on that? This is the type of production/mixing clusterfuck that would keep Mick bitching years later.

Fell down to my knees and I hung on to your pants
But you just kept on running while they ripped off in my hands
Diamond ring, vaseline, you give me disease
Well I lost a lot of love over you

A double-time blues boogie, the kind of thing ZZ Top could milk for an entire album. We expect more from The Stones, though. Some nice harp work from Mick doesn't make up for the unfinished feel of the composition.

I boogied in the ballroom, I boogied in the dark
Tie your hands, tie your feet, throw you to the shark
Make you sweat, make you scream, make you wish you'd never been
I lost a lot of love over you

That verse always reminded me of the version of "Reelin' and Rockin'" that Chuck Berry performed on American Hot Wax:

We boogied in the kitchen
We boogied in the hall
I boogied on my finger
and wiped it on the wall

That's the verse they always censor. Here is that performance, with that risqué part removed.

Talkin' about You

December's Children (And Everybody's)
Side 1, Track 2
"Talkin' About You" (Chuck Berry) – 2:31




The late-period Chuck Berry tune (1961), with the tempo slowed a lot. Keith appears to be the only guitar on the track – I think that's Brian Jones on the organ. Given their facility with other Chuck Berry numbers, "Talkin' About You" is curiously limp, especially the Keith's solo, which seems to end two bars too early. Even more odd is the fact that Keith avoids Berry-style double stops on a Chuck Berry song. Weird.

You Can't Catch Me (again)

The Rolling Stones, Now!
Side 1, Track 3
"You Can't Catch Me" (Chuck Berry) – 3:39





Same as the Rolling Stones No.2 version.

Down The Road Apiece

The Rolling Stones No.2
Side 2, Track 1
"Down The Road Apiece" (Don Raye) – 2:55



Who is Don Raye? Glad you asked. From wikipedia:

Raye started his career as a dancer, going on to win the "Virginia State Dancing Championship." He started work in vaudeville as a "song and dance man" often writing his own songs for his act. In 1935 he started work as a songwriter, collaborating with composers Samuel Cahn and Saul Chaplin, and Saxophonist Jimmie Lunceford.

Okay, that's fine and everything, but this is the good part:

His great success with "Beat Me Daddy, Eight to the Bar" caused Raye to write the follow-up songs, "Scrub Me Mamma, with a Boogie Beat," "Bounce Me Brother, with a Solid Four," and "Fry Me Cookie, with a Can of Lard."

They don't write 'em with titles like that anymore! Anyway, the part we're after:

He also composed the song "(That Place) Down the Road a Piece," one of his boogie woogie songs, which has a medium bright boogie tempo. It was written for the Will Bradley Orchestra, who recorded it in 1940, but the song was destined to become a rock and roll standard, recorded by The Rolling Stones, Chuck Berry, Jerry Lee Lewis, Foghat, Amos Milburn, Harry Gibson, and countless others.

(Much more about Don Raye at the Big Band Database.)

If I had to guess, the Stones picked the song up from Chuck Berry, who was a huge fan of big band music. This may be the only time in the history of Rolling Stones music that the rhythm section actually swings, making a fairly generic tune interesting. Keith throws in his usual ace Chuck Berry solo (the third chorus kicks some ass), and Mick sits out most of the tune, presumably dancing the Charleston around the studio with some flapper.




Image courtesy of www.mirrorprintstore.co.uk. Caption reads

One or two famous names from the world of pop music photographed together after a concert in 1965. They include Mick Jagger and Brian Jones of the Rolling Stones who had just started down the road to international superstardom. A young Dusty Springfield with the DJ Jimmy Saville, Tom Jones, the legendary Welsh crooner and at his side Priscilla White (or Cilla Black as we know her now).

You Can't Catch Me

The Rolling Stones No.2
Side 1, Track 3
"You Can't Catch Me" (Chuck Berry) – 3:38




The obligatory Chuck Berry number, this time one of Chuck's great car songs (make sure you check out the original, which features a great piano track by Johnnie Johnson, along with some snappy duckwalking). The Stones slow the tempo a bit, but that's the only change they made – if you're a fan of the original you won't find much to complain about here, nor will you find anything new.


Image courtesy of serega.icnet.ru

Run Rudolph Run b/w The Harder They Come

I'll be throwing in some non-Rolling Stones, although Stones-related, posts here and there.


Keith Richards
"Run Rudolph Run" (Johnny Marks and Marvin Brodie) – 3:11
b/w "The Harder They Come" (Jimmy Cliff) – 3:41


This single dates to either 1978 or 79 (the internet isn't exactly clear on this).




Keith is obviously working off Chuck Berry's famous version, which was a minor hit in 1958. Interestingly, Keith and the band play the rhythm in swing eighths, whereas Chuck played straight eighths on the original – this is almost the exact opposite of what happens when someone covers a Chuck Berry song. (Chuck, or at least his band, usually played in swing time, creating some nice rhythmic tension. Covers almost always play it straight, removing all the subtlety from Chuck's original. If you are removing the subtlety from a Chuck Berry song, you probably should look for another line of work.)

Keith's vocal is endearingly ragged and the band rises to the occasion by summoning some bar-band level professionalism. This would have knocked them dead at the El Macombo.


And then there's this...



Okay, Keith, I get it. The officers are trying to keep you down. You'd rather be a free man in your grave than living like a puppet or a slave. Got it. But listen, Keith: nobody gives a shit about a millionaire rock star's problems with drug busts, okay? That's almost as obnoxious as George Harrison complaining about having to pay taxes. Shut the fuck up, you whiny bitch.

Around and Around

12 x 5
Side 1, Track 1
"Around and Around" (Chuck Berry) – 3:03



I guess the Stones were contractually obligated to include one Chuck Berry song per album. Like "Carol", from the Stones debut album, 12x5's "Around and Around" doesn't really add anything to Berry's original, but manages to capture the spirit of the song faithfully. Keith once again nails the solo, which sounds great.

It sould be noted that both "Carol" and "Around and Around" are both first-rate pieces of songwriting from a guy who composed dozens of classics. This is probably a good topic for its own post, but I just wanted to say that Chuck Berry is a criminally underrated songwriter, and that the Stones' choices in material shows an uncanny eye.

Carol

England’s Newest Hitmakers

Side 2, Track 2

"Carol" (Chuck Berry) – 2:33



Okay, now we're talking. No more of this blues crap, let's get to the rock and roll, amirite? No, but seriously, this track has some nice touches – the rhythm section drives hard, Mick's vocal doesn't have any of the tentativeness shown on the blues numbers, and Keith could really do a great Chuck Berry solo. But what's up with those handclaps? The Beatles had them too, on their cover of "Roll Over Beethoven". Was that a sixties thing? I don't really remember any other uptempo English tracks of the era having them. Hmm....

And did the Stones not have some kind of road manager in those days, someone who would remember to bring their guitar straps when they had a TV appearance? Was that a joke by the band?

Route 66

England’s Newest Hitmakers

Side 1, Track 2

“Route 66” (Bobby Troup) – 2:20

Everybody knows this song, but I'm not sure why. It's a pretty pedestrian blues workout, the kind of thing Chuck Berry could crank out without trying hard. Speaking of which – Keith tosses out a great Chuck Berry solo in this one. There's a whole lot of nothing going on here – Mick can't seem to get any excitement going, and when the band screws up the ending they don't even care enough to do another take. If it wasn't for the solo, this track would be utterly forgettable.

I've forgotten it already!