Stones' "It's Only Rock n Roll" Song by Song Thread*

Through the Lonely Nights:

Now that we have finished the main album, we'll now take a look at the b-side to the title track, "Through the Lonely Nights", originally record during the Goat Head Soup sessions and featuring the five members and Nicky on electric piano. It also appears on the Rarities 1971-2003 CD that was released in 2005.
This track starts with a slow and steady wah riff until the drums and vocals kick in at about :05 or :06, and the melody and structure have a nice country timgento them which when mixed with the guitar gives the song a very unique flavor and I love the piano flourishes that start at :18, then sort of intertwine with the guitar throughout, and my oh my do I love the harmony on the chorus, so raw and sweet, and we have to mention Taylor's solo at 1:38, with just the right amount of restraint, just the right amount of taste, with a little distortion to keep that human touch, and Nicky delivering the goods as always as the song wraps up, I love the song and on a scale of one to ten I give it a night with several others jamming out to the Stones

 

I never cared much for Through The Lonely Nights. I think they made the right choice by removing it from the Goats Head Soup original track listing and using it as a b-side.

There is also a rumor that Jimmy Page played on this track.

 

Through The Lonely Nights-I've never been a huge fan of this. One reason is that Mick sounds like he's in a bathroom singing. I keep thinking that I'll like it more after some time has passed, and each time I'm just underwhelmed by it. There is nothing on either IORR or GHS that I would replace with this song.

 

I never bought singles back then so I didn't even know about this song until I joined the US Air Force in the fall of 1974 and the jukebox in the NCO Club on base had this 7" on it. I threw a lot of quarters into that thing to play this track - I was away from my wife <she hadn't joined me yet> and I loved this song a lot.

Now that I study the lyrics, it seems to be about a hooker and maybe a street hustler who have a relationship together....or something..

"Through the lonely nights I think of you
Through the lonely hours I dream of you
I don't no why I do it, but I do
Why do you take it, what's wrong with you?

Through the lonely weekends I'm far from you
Why you're coming on, like you're supposed to do, yes
Oh, but you know me so well,
And your time ain't so hard to sell.

Every time I see ya
Every time I see ya
Every time I see ya
Every time I see you

In your cherry dresses and your shiny shoes
In a doorway on some neon avenue
Making the lonely pay for me
Why don't we set each other free.

When did I mislead ya
When did I misread ya
When did I mistreat ya
When did I deceive ya

Oh, I'm stuck out want to cry, cry, cry
Sleep in the doorway, Lord, making a rendezvous
Lord, I'm stuck out baby, want to cry cry cry cry cry cry cry
Lord, babe, I li, li, li, li, li Lord..."

 

I love this song, it is a very effective mood piece and again far better than the ballads on IORR.

 

I've never like Through the Lonely Nights either. I've only heard it a few times, but the melody of the verses unfortunately gets stuck in my head a lot. Listening now, I will say I really like the guitar soloing. I actually think the song gets better after the beginning, but the beginning turns me off so fast, usually.

 

Ranking the IIRNR tracks:

1. It's Only Rock 'n Roll (But I Like It)
2. Luxury
3. Fingerprint File
4. Time Waits For No One
5. If You Can't Rock Me
6. Dance Little Sister
7. Short and Curlies
8. Til The Next Time
9. If You Really Want To Be My Friend
10. Ain't Too Proud to Beg

 

Does Jimmy Page really play the acoustic guitar on this song? Certainly does sound like aggressive heavily-compressed strumming akin to his early Zeppelin recordings.

 

Interesting. I've never heard the Jimmy Page rumour before, although I can't for the life of me think of why he'd be playing on it. Oh well, I'm sure if he did play on it at one point....Keith scrubbed it and replaced it.

 

Chasing the dragon with Keith perhaps

 

I guess it's possible.....but the recording dates are:
Dynamic Sound Studios, Kingston, Jamaica, November 25 - 30 &
December 6 - 21, 1972 and Island Recording Studios, London, UK,
May 20 - 25, 1973

Led Zeppelin was on tour in the US during that May 20-25, 1973 period, so unless Page went to Jamaica to record with them, I'm not sure how he would have been on it.

 

If it wasn't for Taylor's invigorating lead lines on Hide Your Love, that number would have never made the final cut of the record, imo. Can You Hear the Music is an anomaly within the flow of Goats and I've never cared much for that number, save for Nicky Hopkins' piano playing, which again, sort of keeps the song from being a complete throwaway.

And as for Through the Lonely Nights, great song. It should've made either Goats or Rock and would've fit in nicely during the middle section of either record; be it replacing Till the Next Goodbye or Coming Down Again.

 

It must have cheesed Jagger off that Keith managed to make the most Stones-sounding record in years without him

Same here!

Agreed- like I said, replace "Till The Next Goodbye" with "Lonely Nights". Worst thing about "Through The Lonely Nights" is the murky production IMO.

"Hide Your Love" brings to mind some of the more jam-like songs on Exile. Keith plays bass in his "Casino Boogie" style. Mick doesn't do a bad job on piano, either, but absolutely what makes the song is Taylor's playing. "Hide Your Love" is another one of these tunes that is like a behind the scenes look at the Stones mucking around in the studio. I wonder why they chose to put it on the album over some of the songs they passed over?

And I must be one of the few people who actually likes "Can You Hear The Music". It's like the Stones doing prog-meets-psychedelia...one of my favourite songs on the album, actually.

 

Through the Lonely Nights
Being non-album, this is a track I have hardly played over the years. I find it nothing special though. Good to have it on the Rarities CD now, but hardly essential Stones.

 

Part of reason for the Jimmy Page rumors is that Keith Harwood supposedly engineered part of Through The Lonely Nights and he also engineered for Led Zeppelin as well and Page had recorded at Jagger's Stargroves house with the Rolling Stones Mobile in the past.

The people who believe the rumor think Page overdubbed the lead guitar part on this.

 

There was supposedly overdubbing done on the original track at a later date. This is when Page's part would have been added according to the rumor.

 

I'm a fan of TTLN. Maybe it didn't fit on GHS from the Stones' perspective, because it sounded too "Country", more like a track like "Torn and Frayed" on Exile, but it's still a damn fine song in terms of melody and feeling (maybe more so than even a moving, but kind of underdeveloped track like "Coming Down Again").

 

Page and Richards did record "Scarlet" together in October 1974. From Rolling Stone in March 1975:

What’s this rumor, Jimmy, about a solo album?
PAGE: Chalk that off to Keith Richards’ sense of humor. I did what could possibly be the next Stones B side. It was Rick Grech, Keith and me doing a number called “Scarlet.” I can’t remember the drummer. It sounded very similar in style and mood to those Blonde on Blonde tracks. It was great, really good. We stayed up all night and went down to Island Studios where Keith put some reggae guitars over one section. I just put some solos on it, but it was eight in the morning of the next day before I did that. He took the tapes to Switzerland and someone found out about them. Keith told people that it was a track from my album.

 

Regret missing talking about the rest of the album but the road beckoned over the last three days and no time for SHMF. My two cents -
"If You Really Want To Be Your Friend" - After Exile, Mick Jagger ran the band as Keith's contribution diminished and Mick loves a good ballad. This is a pretty good one in my book but I can see why people think it's more Jagger solo material than legit Stones. It doesn't seem to resonate with people the way a song like "Winter" does.
"Short And Curlies" - ok a pretty silly song. But it does have Stu on it and that's usually a good thing.
"Fingerprint File" - now that's a deep cut worth searching out. Unlike anything else on this record or any other Stones record - this is the best foray into funk by the Stones as far as I'm concerned. Mick Taylor's best bass playing on a Stones record and I love that chorus. I like the 1975 versions where they stretch it out and Keith solos with the wah-wah effect (7/13/75).
"Through The Lonely Nights" used to be one of those 45s you wanted to search out in used record stores because of the B-side. But it's a pretty lightweight ballad.
The other outtakes are ok. "Drift Away" I prefer as done by Dobie Gray (and actually I also like the Nevilles' version on the generally bad Uptown which speaking of rumoured guitarists contains a song called "Midnight Key" and I have heard it said that Keith is on that). Does anyone know if it's true the Stones tried "Shame Shame Shame" at these sessions but discarded it when Shirley & Company had a hit with it around this time? I know they cut it at Pathe Marconi later.

 

When I first got this album I would always skip the last three songs. It took a long while for those last two to grow on me. Friends never has. I still think the short Short should have been at the front of the album. But File is a good way to end the album.

 

Fingerprint File is an enigma to me.

I've always enjoyed the up tempo tracks on IORR and have actively disliked the slower numbers.

Fingerprint File is one of those tracks I respect without particularly appreciating, far prefer Heartbreaker and Hot Stuff.

 

I dig Fingerprint File....rocking funk Stones style. Jagger's vocal is great.

 

I've not heard the Stones version of Drift Away but assume it is based on Dobie Gray arrangement. It would have been interesting to hear a Stones cover of the original Mentor Williams arrangement.