Keith Richards should have sung "Wild Horses" on Sticky Fingers

I've always been partial to the Rolling Stones song "Wild Horses", however the song in its released form has never felt quite as epic or powerful to me as it perhaps should.

A few years ago I stumbled upon this acoustic-vocal performance of the song as performed by Keith, presumably around the time it was written in the early 70s. IMO the song sounds far superior with Keith singing it than Mick.

I know part of it here is in the natural of the recording, as it's an intimate performance as opposed to a full band arrangement as heard on the Sticky Fingers album, but I never cared for Mick's vocal on the song, even before I found this little gem.



I only wish that there was a Rolling Stones studio version of "Wild Horses" from this era with Keith on lead vocal instead of Mick.

 

Jimmy; Jimmy Miller once told me he thought Wild Horses was perfect for Keith's vocal style. Additionally; he thought the same of Waiting On A Friend.

 

The Burritos version for me is definitive due to Parson’s vocal, which fits the mood of the lyrics much better, same with Keith’s vocal here.

 

Best Stones cover ever as far as I’m concerned.

 

Back to the topic, Keith would have nailed this song and it was odd that between two Stones albums with a Keith vocal you had this one which was all Mick. If I had to pick a song for Keith, this would definitely be the one.

 

I'm going to have to disagree, Mick's vocal is one of the keys to this perfect song and perfect recording.

In this era Mick had mastered a slightly removed vocal approach that gave off a sense of exhaustion and longing that hits just right for me. It would peak on Goats Head Soup which unsurprisingly is my favorite Stones album.

 

I can't refute that; however lately I've become very drawn into Townes Van Zandt's cover of Dead Flowers.

 

Great one as well.

 

sung.

 

Hear, hear!!

 

My guess is they knew it was a very commerical track and didn't want to mess wth the formula. But that doesn't explain why they gave it away.

 

Here's what GP said about it.

 

I can totally picture and hear in my head the studio version of this song with Keith singing it. Oh man, yes.

 

Love Wild Horses as a song, but always felt the Stones released Take was 1) a bit dirge-ier than needed, 2) and could’ve use some weepy steel guitar not dissimilar from what Ben Keith was adding to Neil Young’s tunes of the same period.

 

Well, for starters, Wild Horses was a big hit single, so I don’t think the choice to let Mick sing was exactly disastrous or anything.

And besides, Wild Horses features some of Keef’s greatest, most impassioned backing vocals, which blend perfectly with Mick’s heartfelt singing.

 

I love Mick’s the vocals on this but now I wish there was an alternate take with Keith singin’.

 

that sounds amazing but I think it sounds better because its paired/pared? down (the released version is great but maybe one too many acoustic guitars.)

 

Yeah Mick sounds a little pretentious on this one with the country inflections. He always did in country tunes but that is what gave his vocals character! He brought the country based songs more into pop territory with his vocals.

 

Gram's looser vocal fits the song better IMO. His timing and phrasing bring out more of the pathos imbedded in the song.

 

I think they both sing it great. Mick wrote the words, probably about Marianne, and I think he sings them genuinely. It’s not till 1974-75 that he starts hamming it up on the ballads. But Keith has the soul.

 

While somewhat limited, Keith's vocal style certainly works for certain material, and likely would have been appropriate for "Wild Horses," but Mick's vocals on "Waiting On A Friend" are some of the best of his career.

 

Knowing only Jagger's vocal, I never really liked the song until I heard the FBB's version.

Richards does have more emotion than Jagger, but Gram has that too, plus vocal range.

 

This is from the much bootlegged Honeymoon Tapes, recorded in 1983, where Keith recorded dozens of songs and snippets.

 

I know I am going to be unpopular for saying so, but Gram Parsons’ version makes the song totally middle-of-the-road. It sounds like that slimey corny country music the radio was so filled up with during the seventies. Thank goodness The Stones took it back and made it an outlaw tune.

And by the way, there is nothing wrong with Jagger’s delivery of the song. He wrote the lyrics in the verses, so he should know. I can see the idea of Keith doing it, though.