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

Mick Jagger is a genius.

 

Through The Lonely Nights, yes, a Stones throw away but it fit very nicely into a Country Stones cassette compilation I made myself decades ago (I must bash one off on CD).

 

"Fingerprint File"

My favorite song on the album. I really dig the funk of it, the dark vibe of it, and the way Mick sings it. It's prescient of tunes like "Hot Stuff" "Too Much Blood" and "Undercover of the Night", which are all favorites of mine.

I love the chromatic-descent turnaround--the G (V) to F# chord (bV). (In the "speed-corrected" version that would be an F# to F)

The keyboards and tabla are really subtle, but they do add to the tune.

I prefer the sped-up version. Maybe just because I'm used to it, but I think it grooves better at that tempo.

Live they do the tune in the original key--B, but they up the tempo so that it's closer to the sped-up version on It's Only Rock 'n Roll (which is in C due to being sped-up).

 

So, ranking the songs on the album, I'd probably go:

Fingerprint File
Time Waits for No One
It's Only Rock 'n Roll
If You Can't Rock Me
If You Really Want to Be My Friend
Luxury
Short and Curlies
Dance Little Sister
Ain't Too Proud to Beg
Till the Next Goodbye

. . . keeping in mind that even Till the Next Goodbye is a tune I like a lot.

 

According to Martin Elliott's Complete Recording Sessions book, "Shame Shame Shame" was attempted as an instrumental during Jan/Feb. of '75 in Rotterdam with Billy Preston and Jeff Beck. It clocks in around 3 minutes.

 

As usual, I'm running a song or two behind. No matter, I'll press on regardless...

"Fingerprint File"
As is the case with Side One, the album finishes with an absolute classic. And as much as I like the original LP version, I'm another who prefers the recent speed corrected version on the SHM-CD. It just seems to add a touch more menace and heft to the song. There's not a lot to add to what's already been said about this wonderful song: Mick's vocal is brilliant; Mick T's bass playing on here is almost as good as his guitar playing; the guitars perfectly convey the dark, paranoid mood of the song; it's my favourite funk-flavoured song that the Stones did...just ahead of "100 Years Ago" and "Hey Negrita". Love it, love it, love it.

Star rating: 5/5

Rating The Songs.
1. "Time Waits For No One"
2. "Fingerprint File"
3. "Till The Next Goodbye"
4. "If YouCan't Rock Me"
5. "If YouReally Want To Be My Friend"
6. "Short And Curlies"
7. "Dance Little Sister"
8. "It's Only Rock 'n' Roll
9. "Ain't Too Proud To Beg"
10. "Luxury"

 

I haven't been reading the thread, but I would like to say that Time Waits For No One is in my top 10 Stones songs, along with nine tracks from 1965-67 ...

 

It' not exactly a revelation...

Being a great admirer of Jeff Beck, I was excited when I first heard about those (jam) recordings.
But when I really got to hear them (B- bootleg SQ mostly), I wasn't too impressed. Modest funk workouts like "I Love Ladies" (one of the better sounding recordings that survieved) don't present neither Beck nor the Stones on top form.

 

I agree. Those Beck/Stones boots are a letdown. Let me down real slow, Jeff.

 

I've been a fan of both for years, but I always thought Beck joining the Stones just wasn't an option; especially during this time period as Jeff's career was about to reinvent itself and take off into the splendid fusion territory. The Stones were a done deal and needed someone like Ronnie to maintain a balance between Jagger and Richards, not continue in the same vein as they had with a virtuoso like Taylor, much less a man like Jeff Beck.

Of course, Jeff wound up working with Mick on his second solo album some 12 years later, and while I'm sure the Rotterdam sessions in early '75 were an interesting ad novel idea, it was about as fitting as Jeff replacing Ritchie Blackmore in Deep Purple.

 

if at all... (at least Ritchie Blackmore is a great admirer of Jeff himself, which should've helped with the remaining members of Purple; I'm less sure about Keith ;-) ...but I see what you mean.

 

Rory Gallagher was supposedly considered for both the Stones and Deep Purple.

 

Great player, no doubt, but maybe a bit too modest as a person, I guess, to fill Blackmores shoes; interestingly not that different to Mick Taylor in terms of personality, but hardly committed to "the ancient art of weaving", I suspect.

 

Would have been a pretty decent track on a Mick solo album.

 

My ranking:

If You Can't Rock Me
Dance Little Sister
Fingerprint File (correct speed)
Luxury
Ain't Too Proud to Beg
It's Only Rock 'n Roll
Time Waits for No One
Short and Curlies
Till the Next Goodbye
If You Really Want to Be My Friend

 

Probably rank them:

1. IORR
2. If You Can't Rock Me
3. Dance little Sister
4. Luxury
5. Short and Curlies
6. Ain't Too Proud To Beg
7. Fingerprint File (really respect this track but just can't get into it)
8. Time Waits for No One (great track, just not my cup of tea)

With the following put on a Mick solo album:

• If You Really Want To be My Friend
• 'Till the Next Goodbye
• Through The Lonely Nights
• Drift Away

 

My ranking:

Time Waits For No One
Fingerprint File
Til The Next Goodbye
If You Can't Rock Me
Luxury
If You Really Want To Be My Friend
Short and Curlies
Ain't Too Proud To Beg
It's Only Rock 'n' Roll
Dance Little Sister

 

From what I've read, Keith Harwood had told Jimmy about being booked to engineer the Stones in Jamaica, and Jimmy decided to accompany him (to celebrate the completion of the Houses Of The Holy mixes). Jimmy ended up jamming with the Stones one night, during which the base track of "Through The Lonely Nights" (with Jimmy on rhythm guitar) was recorded.

I tend to believe the part about Jimmy going to Jamaica and jamming with the Stones, but I tend to doubt that his contributions actually ended up on the finished product.

 

For me:

Time Waits For No One
Fingerprint File
It's Only Rock 'n' Roll
Dance Little Sister
Til The Next Goodbye
Luxury
Ain't Too Proud To Beg
If You Can't Rock Me
Short and Curlies
If You Really Want To Be My Friend

 

I don't like 'ranking' songs or albums because it can change the next time you hear the record or listen to the artist. I wouldn't even know where to start with a record like Exile - it has to be heard in its entirety, as is. But here's my best shot on IOR&R:

Dance Little Sister (Keith and Mick T. doing what they do best)
If You Can't Rock Me (one of the all-time killer Keith riffs)
Time Waits for No One (The solo. Period)
Luxury (A cool, rocking tune.)
It's Only Rock 'n Roll
Till the Next Goodbye (not a big fan of Stones ballads for the most part post-'72, except the Keith ones)
Short and Curlies
Fingerprint File (never a big fan of the Stones' funk stuff)
Ain't Too Proud to Beg
If You Really Want to Be My Friend

 

1. Dance Little Sister
2. Luxury
3. Fingerprint File
4. Time Waits For No No One
5. Short And Curlies
6. Ain't Too Proud To Beg
7. IORR
8. If You Can't Rock Me
9. Till The Next Goodbye
10. If You Really Want To Be My Friend

 

I'll do a formal, chronological rating, even though I gave opinions fairly piecemeal within my posts of this thread discussion.

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

 

I assumed my play numbers on Google Play would mirror my ranking pretty well, but IDK now, seeing what they are.

1. It's Only Rock 'N Roll (But I Like It) 61 plays
2. Ain't Too Proud to Beg 26 plays
3. Dance Little Sister 23 plays
4. If You Really Want to Be My Friend 12 plays
5. Till the Next Goodbye 9 plays
6. Luxury 7 plays
7. Time Waits for No One 6 plays
8. If You Can't Rock Me 5 plays
9. Short and Curlies 4 plays
10. Fingerprint File 2 plays

My actual list would probably be closer to:

1. It's Only Rock 'N Roll (But I Like It)
2. Dance Little Sister
3. If You Really Want to Be My Friend
4. Ain't Too Proud to Beg
5. Till the Next Goodbye
6. Luxury
7. Fingerprint File
8. If You Can't Rock Me
9. Short and Curlies
10. Time Waits for No One
Well, OK, I guess the rankings were pretty close. It's the amount of plays that threw me.

 

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