Rolling Stones Single-By-Single Thread

It was cool that they included some rarities, but I was disappointed with it. Many of the songs are edited for one thing and there were tracks that were excluded that probably should have been on there. They also missed the opportunity to finally include Let It Rock and Through The Lonely Nights on an lp. Luckily these were finally officially released on the Rarities disc years later.

There was a promo version if If I Was A Dancer (Dance Part 2) released in the U.S. to promote Sucking In The Seventies.

 

Thank you everyone for sticking around! There are still some gems to be had. I promise! And the discussions are still full of wonderful info.

Next up:

Start Me Up (1981)



Released: 8/6/81
B-Side: No Use in Crying
Charts: #2 (US); #7 (UK)

"Start Me Up" is a song by the Rolling Stones featured on the 1981 album Tattoo You. Released as the album's lead single, it reached number one on Australian Kent Music Report, number two on the Billboard Hot 100 and number seven on the UK Singles Chart.

The basic track "Start Me Up" was recorded during the January and March 1978 sessions for the Rolling Stones' album Some Girls.[1]The song began as a reggae-rock track named "Never Stop", but after dozens of takes it was abandoned. "Start Me Up" was not chosen for the album and was saved for later use. Richards commented:

It was one of those things we cut a lot of times; one of those cuts that you can play forever and ever in the studio. Twenty minutes go by and you're still locked into those two chords ... Sometimes you become conscious of the fact that, 'Oh, it's "Brown Sugar" again,' so you begin to explore other rhythmic possibilities. It's basically trial and error. As I said, that one was pretty locked into a reggae rhythm for quite a few weeks. We were cutting it for Emotional Rescue, but it was nowhere near coming through, and we put it aside and almost forgot about it.[2]

In 1981, with the band looking to tour, engineer Chris Kimsey proposed to lead singer Mick Jagger that archived songs could comprise the set. While searching through the vaults, Kimsey found the two takes of the song with a more rock vibe among some fifty reggae versions. Overdubs were completed on the track in early 1981 in New York City at the recording studios Electric Lady Studios and The Hit Factory.[1] On the band's recording style for this track in particular, Kimsey commented in 2004:

Including run-throughs, 'Start Me Up' took about six hours to record. You see, if they all played the right chords in the right time, went to the chorus at the right time and got to the middle eight together, that was a master. It was like, 'Oh, wow!' Don't forget, they would never sit down and work out a song. They would jam it and the song would evolve out of that. That's their magic.[1]

The infectious "thump" to the song was achieved using mixer Bob Clearmountain's famed "bathroom reverb", a process involving the recording of some of the song's vocal and drum tracks with a miked speaker in the bathroom of the Power Station recording studio in New York City.[1] It was there where final touches were added to the song, including Jagger's switch of the main lyrics from "start it up" to "start me up."

The song opens with what has since become a trademark riff for Richards. It is this, coupled with Charlie Watts' steady backbeat and Bill Wyman's echoing bass, that comprises most of the song. Lead guitarist Ronnie Wood can clearly be heard playing a layered variation of Richards' main riff (often live versions of the song are lengthened by giving Wood a solo near the middle of the song, pieces of which can be heard throughout the original recording). Throughout the song Jagger breaks in with a repeated bridge of "You make a grown man cry", followed by various pronouncements of his and his partner's sexual nature.

Percussion (cowbell and guiro) by Mike Carabello and handclaps by Jagger, Chris Kimsey and Barry Sage were added during overdub sessions in April and June 1981.

A music video was produced for the single, directed by Michael Lindsay-Hogg.[3] According to Linday-Hogg's recollection, Jagger and Watts proposed the collaboration to him over lunch with Jagger particularly keen to emulate the style of video shown on MTV, which he regarded as "the future".[3] The subsequent production became one of the most programmed videos of MTV's early years.[3]

 

Start Me Up is kind of the last great "classic" sounding hit song by the Stones. Could just as easily come from the late 60's/early 70's as from the early 80's.

 

It also was the first U.S. Rolling Stones album to miss the top 10 since 1964 (their debut peaked at #11).

Because you mentioned Sucking in the Seventies, I'll bring up the "non-single single" from the album, "If I Was a Dancer (Dance Pt. 2)." Though not officially released on its own in either the U.S. or the UK, a promo-only 12-inch single was issued as Rolling Stones DMD 253 with a 5:40 version of "If I Was a Dancer" on one side and the previously unreleased "Dance (Instrumental)" on the other (4:40). Copies were pressed by both Specialty and Allied; the arrangement of the credits differs on the two, with the title and composer credits above the center hole on the Allied edition and both lines below the center hole on the Specialty.

"If I Was a Dancer" became the first Stones song to make the new Top Tracks chart, later known as Top Rock Tracks, on which it peaked at #26. Through the end of 2002, the Stones charted 32 times on the Top Rock Tracks (now called Mainstream Rock Tracks) chart. Many of those songs were singles, but some were not.

 

It's funny that in Shannon's "Start Me Up" post Keith mentioned it's "Brown Sugar" again.

When I listened to the song again last night knowing it was coming up , I noticed it's similarity to "Brown Sugar " myself . I never really thought about it before . At points they could have snuck in "I said yeah, yeah, yeah , whoo!" a few times.

It's their last totally classic Keith open G tuning riff single.

When I listed to the song again last night I realized there is a lot more going on in the track to make it happen than I had remembered.

It has a great vocal from Mick and a strong chorus also.

 

When I first heard it, I wasn't expecting an A list single but it was. It was guitar-driven and catchy as hell. It was the current single the first time I saw the Stones because I was in Europe for 1978 and the CNIB benefit 1979. Now it's pretty well played to death but in 1981 it sounded fresh. To think they did the one rock n roll take and shelved it but others in their entourage knew it was a hit.
I love Tattoo You and the ballad side crept up on you. A Ronnie Wood cowrite, Woody can be heard prominently singing on the chorus. Not a true classic but good enough.

 

i agree

 

Shannon posted the "official video " for "Start Me Up" but here is the original video and music before the Stones redid the song.

 

What can I say about "Start Me Up"? It was very much of its time (1981), but it's firmly rooted in the classic Stones era. When I first heard it, I instantly recognized it as the Stones, and I also thought that, if there was any justice in the world, it would be big. And I was right. The only thing it failed to do was to hit #1. It's hard to believe that such an iconic song started as an outtake.

Over the years, "Start Me Up" has only grown in its ubiquity. I remember that Microsoft used it in its TV ads for the Windows 95 operating system, which gave it a new layer of mainstream attention. [And it was Bill Gates' second choice for the ad campaign; the first was "It's the End of the World As We Know It (And I Feel Fine)" by R.E.M., but they wouldn't allow it to be used, turning down millions from Microsoft.]

And now, you hear it in virtually every American football stadium; it's become standard in many venues when a team kicks off. If the Stones would have allowed it to be licensed for compilations, it would no doubt have been on a Jock Jams CD.

"Start Me Up" has been played in its entirety tens of millions of times since 1981, from San Francisco to Muskogee, and segments thereof have been heard almost as often. Thus, it struck me as silly overkill when the song was censored during the Stones' Super Bowl halftime show in 2006. Their set was on a seven-second delay, even though by '06 the Stones were about as edgy as a bowling ball. Someone with the NFL and/or ABC decided, even though the line had been on the radio and elsewhere with little more than a raised eyebrow for 25 years, that the sensitive ears of football fans would be damaged forever if they heard Mick Jagger declare, "You make a dead man come." The word "come" was silenced on the broadcast.

Back to 1981: Amazingly, the #2 peak for "Start Me Up" in Billboard was the highest peak in the U.S. trades; it only got to #4 in Cash Box and #5 in Record World. In the first two magazines, it spent 24 weeks in the top 100, a record for any Stones single. On Billboard's secondary charts, "Start Me Up" peaked at #14 on the Disco Top 80 chart, and it spent an amazing 13 weeks at #1 on the Top (Rock) Tracks chart, a record for longevity not surpassed for 13 years.

"Start Me Up" was the first Stones' promo 45 to be issued as mono/stereo since "Miss You." Stock copies with the number RS 21003 were pressed by Specialty on vinyl and, for the first time, Allied on styrene. Oldies 45s have the number RS 13237. The picture sleeve is common (1 on a scale of 1-10).

The song was also issued as a promo-only 12-inch single (PR 397) with "Start Me Up" in stereo on both sides. It had a picture cover that closely resembled the 45 picture sleeve.

 

Start Me Up as mentioned being the "last" great Keith riff with open G tuning, makes me wonder whether he ran out of inspiration with that approach to making music. The limitations of the approach were always there, imo and in full disclosure as a basically standard tuning guy myself. Perhaps it's merely a convenient and prejudiced take on it, but there does seem to be something to it.

By the time we get to Keith's solo work in the later eighties, we could revisit this if the thread goes there.

 

"Start Me Up" was the predecessor to the Stones' formulaic use of a great riff + daft lyrics, resulting in other throwaway classics like "You Got Me Rockin'." Still - "Start Me Up" is a great tune and cannot be blamed for later duds. I no longer skip the song when playing the album or when it comes on the radio.

 

This is a little off topic, but this is actually the first time I've ever listened to the Emotional Rescue album. I always assumed it was bad due to its less-than-stellar reputation, but I ended up really enjoying it. It felt like an extension of Some Girls in some ways, but also had a bit more variety. I wouldn't say it's as strong as Some Girls, but it's a surprisingly good album and I wanted to say something about it. I'll get to the singles now (I'll do the Tattoo You ones later).

Emotional Rescue
I've always considered this to be my least favorite Rolling Stones song. I don't hate it as much as I used to, but I still find the vocals to be grating and very annoying. I've warmed to the idea of the Stones doing disco (I like "Miss You" and "Dance pt. 1"), but this one still annoys me. It has some good elements: The backing track isn't terrible, and the sax solo and non-falsetto vocals are good, but the majority of the song is repetitive and annoying IMO, and the spoken word section is really stupid.

Down In the Hole
This is a good contemporary take on the blues. "Down in the Hole" is an apt title for the song, because it feels like an inescapably depressing dirge of a blues song. It's very heavy, but not in distorted-guitar-heavy-metal kind of way.

She's So Cold
This is a good Some Girls-Tattoo You era Stones rocker. I like the punky, muted guitar riff and the vocal performance a lot. Both guitarists give understated but satisfying performances on this song.

Send It to Me
I usually hate it when The Stones try reggae, but I actually really like this song. I think they integrate it very well into their sound on this song and don't overdo it. It reminds me of one of the Grateful Dead's reggae-infused songs. I think it has a really nice groove, as well as some very good guitar playing and vocals.

 

I'm so glad to hear it! It is much better than its reputation. Play it at the beach!

Start Me Up
There was a period when I just couldn't listen to this song anymore and I always skipped it on the album. I think this is the most overplayed and overexposed song in the entire catalog...even more than Satisfaction. That said, I finally started listening to it again last year and it is a great single and a deserved hit. The "you make a grown man cry" chorus is a serious ear worm. I'm glad I took a long break on it because I can hear it with fresh ears again.

Funny about their Super Bowl performance. I guessed their entire set list for that show before they played it. Open with Start Me Up, then the current single Rough Justice, then end with Satisfaction. Super predictable, but I did enjoy their show. And they did it live, which most artists did not do.

No Use in Crying
I adore side two of Tattoo You. What beautiful music, and pretty diverse for a set of ballads too (Heaven is practically ambient!) This is a lovely song and I knew the moment I heard that piano that it was Nicky. What a player that man was. True magic in everything he played for the Stones.

 

They stole the idea from Rod Stewart who had a couple of records organized into fast side and slow side (on one of them that's how the sides were labelled) and it really works. It helps if you're into their early seventies sound because you get Mick Taylor and Nicky Hopkins on the second side (plus Wayne Perkins sounding very much like Mick Taylor). "Heaven" is the kind of thing a lot of people might turn their noses up at but it is pretty hypnotic and it has its place on a beautifully constructed LP side.

 

Haven't heard it in awhile, but my memory is the second side of Tattoo You is preferable.

 

This one of the rewards of revisiting music you've heard countless times prior--when the elements reveal themselves in a way you've never noticed before.

 

Start Me Up - Classic track originally called Never Stop. It began like as a reggae influenced. One of their most played tracks, it has been heard countless times at sporting events and on commercials. I am a little tired of it at this point, I has appeared on multiple compilation albums and is played at virtually every show. There is a promo video.

No Use In Crying - Ronnie Wood gets a songwriting credit on this slow ballad. It was started at the Emotional; Rescue sessions. Nicky Hopkins is on keyboards, There at other tracks on side 2 that I prefer more.

 

Never Stop

 

If anyone has been closely following’s Tim’s comments about which plants pressed U.S. copies of the Stones’ 45s, you may have noticed some changes in which plants handled the recent singles. After historically using at least three different plants, Atlantic cut down to two plants for the singles from Emotional Rescue. And for the singles from Tattoo You, one of the remaining plants was replaced by a new one that we hadn’t seen before. There is a backstory to these changes.

Back in the days when vinyl was the dominant format for music, if you had asked people, “What does a record company do?”, most would have responded, “It makes records”. They would have been surprised to learn that only the giants of the industry actually made their own records (companies like Columbia/CBS, Capitol/EMI, MCA, RCA). Most record companies did not have their own manufacturing facilities, but contracted out this function, either to one of the bigger labels who had their own plants, or to any of a number of independent pressing plants that dotted the American landscape. Atlantic, as we’ve seen in Tim’s posts, took the latter approach.

By the late ‘70s, the music division of Warner Communications, of which Atlantic was a part, had grown to become one of the industry giants. But because each of the main companies that made up the Warner Music organization had started out as a small label (Warner Bros. Records, Atlantic Records, and Elektra Records), Warner did not own its own pressing plants. Each of its three divisions was 100% dependent on outside contractors for its pressing work, and each of the three made its own separate arrangements.

Warner decided that it wanted to be like the other big boys, and have its own in-house plants. So it decided to buy some. Most record labels, whether they operated their own facilities or contracted out, used at least two or three different plants to service different parts of the country. Accordingly, Warner decided to buy two plants, one in the west, and one in the east. Around 1978-79, they bought Allied Records, which was located in Los Angeles, and Specialty Records, which was located in Olyphant, PA, just outside of Scranton. Atlantic had been using Specialty to press 45s for years, but I don’t think they had ever used Allied (they certainly hadn’t anytime recently).

At the time of the purchases, the Warner Music labels didn’t immediately move all production to the new in-house plants. I assume they had existing contracts that they needed to let run out first. Around 1978-79, for 45s, Atlantic was using Specialty to serve the eastern part of the county, PRC Richmond to serve the central part of the country, and Monarch to serve the western part of the country. Atlantic’s contract with PRC apparently ran out in 1980, and their contract with Monarch in 1981. As the PRC contract ran down, Atlantic shifted to using only two plants, one in the east and one in the west (Specialty and Monarch), and as the Monarch contract ran down, western production was shifted to Allied.

 

The singles from Tattoo You continued this practice. At the top of the labels, the 45 of "Start Me Up" featured THE ROLLING STONES on one line, then the song title on another line, with quotation marks around it ("START ME UP" on the A-side, "NO USE IN CRYING" on the B-side), both written in the same custom typeface used on the front cover of the album. Because the custom typeface featured the song titles this time, it served to identify both the artist and the song title on each side of the record, and the song titles do not appear separately beneath the center hole. This is what probably should have been done for the "Emotional Rescue" 45 the previous year; again, maybe I wasn't the only one who found the arrangement used on that 45 to be confusing.

Similar to what was done with "She's So Cold", subsequent 45s from Tattoo You had THE ROLLING STONES at the top of the label in the same custom typeface as the album cover, but unlike "Start Me Up", they didn't have the song title in custom typeface beneath it. The song titles on those 45s were handled in a conventional manner (beneath the center hole, in the typeface normally used for song titles on Atlantic 45s).

 

"Start Me Up"

Probably the last definitive Stones tune.

 

"Start Me Up" - a Stones masterpiece. Just fabulous. I love the video also.
"No Use In Cryin" - a beautiful ballad from that awesome Side 2.

 

What makes Mixed Emotions or even Has Anybody Seen My Baby less "definitive"?

Both songs got fair radio play and both sound like the Stones.

 

I'd argue neither has had the lasting impact with the public that Start Me Up has. Heck, I'm a Stones fan and I just had to play Has Anybody Seen My Baby to remember what it sounded like.