The Rolling Stones' Best of Filler Thread

Summer Romance
Neighbors
Soul Survivor
Sad Day
Blue Turns To Grey
Suck on the Jugular
Winter
Miss Amanda Jones
Please Go Home
Indian Girl

 

This is one of my favourite album fillers. Best track on the album in fact!

 

I think this is the best track on Steel Wheels. The middle eight is fantastic, as is Ronnie's solo. This track is the most Stones-sounding track on the album: not overproduced, with all five band members (and almost no one else), a steady Charlie-groove and constant guitar-riffing.

 

Let Me Down Slow doesn't exactly scream melody. If that is the shining example of melody on A Bigger Bang, then my initial position stands. I never said the album was "completely devoid" of melody. A Bigger Bang is substandard album that is sleek, stale, and that lacks much melody or memorable hooks. I appreciate your enthusiasm for latter-day Rolling Stones efforts, but some of it is reminiscent of the same attitude we are both familiar with over at FECC when the '70s fans defend Elvis' work from that period. If The Rolling Stones' body of work was mostly associated with what they have produced since the early '80s, the band would not have the legacy that it does, nor would anyone assert that they are one of the greatest rock bands of all time because Undercover, Dirty Work, Steel Wheels, Voodoo Lounge, Bridges To Babylon, and the lame A Bigger Bang doesn't get you there.

 

Well, it would be a pretty extreme position to argue that the Stones' post-70s work would alone qualify them as all-time greats. But who really argues that? And who cares? I think their rich, jaded, semi-dilettante, episodic Mick-and-Keith-don't-really-trust-each-other records are full of great material. There's something intrinsically bluesy about that state of affairs, too: "I have enjoyed things that kings and queens will never have…" They're wily old pros who haven't lost their soul, and all that glorious history is a burden at least as much as it is an asset. They don't have to give us "Gimme Shelter," and it would be silly to be shooting for that. Their uncanny feel for R'nB, blues, country, etc. shows up in ways that really fit well with the facts of their aging, the depth and weight of their history, and their vitality in the face of change. A certain amount of the songwriting ("I Go Wild," and "You Got Me Rocking," for instance) is shaped by the conventions of stadium rock--a very unfortunate by-product of massive success. And they'll never get a fair hearing from any large audience because the old favorites are just too powerful. But to a remarkable and under-appreciated extent, there's excellent work in the period. I certainly think A Bigger Bang is wildly uneven and is padded out with stuff that should've been dropped. But--and I know you disagree--I hear some pretty tough and exciting things on the record as well.

 

Very well-said, Bonus.

 

You're absolutely right it won't get you there but we've already been where we're going. I think the fans' reaction to their later output is the equal to how the band sees it...bonus points. The material isn't earth-shattering but the later output does in fact offer enough variety that often times is completely different than the material from their peak. bonus' post above states this perfectly. The real question is how receptive their fan base is to these excursions. I believe that the fan base varies greatly in this regard because the fan who got into the Stones in 1968 will most definitely have different opinions and expectations of the music than the fan who got into the Stones in 1983. Or in my case: 1998. The Rolling Stones have been around for fifty years so it's hardly surprising that they picked up a wide variety of different fans throughout that huge window.

I see the connection to the seventies Elvis fans but I can't agree that it's the same type of blind worshiping that we see at FECC. Even though the Stones' quality has dipped considerably from their creative pique (much like Elvis' did) I still see a band that is curious. There have been clear attempts over the past decades of them trying new things which is something I cannot say the same about many of Elvis' late seventies work. I really don't hear an artist genuinely curious in taking new directions. I think the variety of songs suggested in this thread prove that the Stones were quite successful in offering other songs besides the ones on all the greatest hits. I don't think people are saying Voodoo Lounge was a masterpiece or that Undercover was the second Exile. We're isolating small moments throughout the albums much like we can say there were flashes of good moments in "From Elvis Presley Boulevard" or "Moody Blue" in Elvis' later catalog. Still though, the reaction to this thread has been very positive. I can't expect a "Best of Elvis Late Seventies Filler" Thread offering this kind of variety.

At the end of the day, my curiosity and appreciation of the band's later out put is solely because I am genuinely still interested in what these guys have to say. I love the Stones as songwriters but being a musician myself--I'm a bigger fan of The Rolling Stones as musicians which is probably why more songs interest me than other fans.

 

Great post. I've always said that there is always something of value on each Stones record. Since Tattoo You, they have been consistently inconsistent. Perhaps a compilation of their best isolated tracks from each post'81 album could collectively create one solid album--maybe 1 double album. The music they made post Tattoo You is still very listenable and even if it was another band all together who put out these albums---I'd still listen to them.

 

I agree, with the exception of A Bigger Bang, which I consider to be the nadir of the band's catalogue. That is why I initially posted the jab about it. I have always found enjoyable and interesting aspects to all post-1981 Stones albums, except for A Bigger Bang.

 

I understand...of all the post-81 albums, my finger hits the skip button more often on "A Bigger Bang" than any of the other of these late albums. With that said, I think there are a few worthwhile moments buried in it.

 

The only time I'm tempted to skip songs on ABB: Back of My Hand, Sweet Neocon(and NOT due to its politics) and Infamy.

 

"Sweet Neocon" definitely gets a skip from me. Every time.

 

And iirc, tattoo you is kind of a "leftovers" album, anyway...

I always though back of my hand to be the best track on abb, yet there are some here who are slamming it. I felt it was a risky, rootsy number, that was solid on the album, and quite good live. I wished they had chased that down the rabbit hole and done more like it, rather than push material like streets of love. Different strokes, I guess...

What do I know..? I would never have left the beast of burden they released today for free off the Hyde Park set, either-with a little xfade, it fits right in between miss you and before they make me run. Ymmv

 

Bastards. I paid for that track yesterday.

Although, now that I look at my account, I haven't been charged for it (so far). So, I take that back. Sorry Mick 'n' Keith, for calling you names.

Wait, it says on another page that I was charged. I take back taking that back. iTunes customer service email coming up.

Maybe I should just wait.

Thanks for listening.

 

They certainly get points for writing a back-to-basics blues tune but for me the particular track sits a little limp. I don't think the track ever actually takes off. But typical with the Stones...the live performances of this tune were a significant improvement over the studio track.

 

I vote for any of the cuts on Black & Blue that anyone might consider to be filler. To me it's their finest hour.

 

Jiving Sister Fanny. A prime filler cut in an album full of filler (Metamorphosis, obviously).

 

We think alike. I mentioned that one earlier as well.

 

Awesome post - couldn't have said it better...

 

So many Stones tracks are pretty played out for me - just from being a huge fan and being hyper-aware of when something shows up on the radio, or is covered by another band, or is in a movie or on TV. Live, I sync my beer consumption with the inevitable 8 minute long "Miss You" and the pee break that comes with it. If I hear "Gimme Shelter" in another movie trailer, I will act out the lyrics of a song. Thus, most of my few remaining Stones thrills (aside from outtakes, concert boots, and the occasional concert or autobiography) lie in the filler tracks that rarely exist outside of the context of the album they're on. Here's a rough sketch of what I'm talking about:

Down The Road Apiece / Cry To Me / Empty Heart / Good Times / Gotta Get Away / Think / I'm Movin' On / Ride On, Baby / Back Street Girl / Complicated / 2000 Man / Jigsaw Puzzle / Ventilator Blues / Turd On The Run / Just Want To See His Face / 100 Years Ago / Silver Train / Fingerprint File / Hey Negrita / Let Me Go / Dance Pts 1 & 2 / Send It To Me / Neighbours / Heaven / All The Way Down / Tie You Up / Everything Is Turning To Gold / Sleep Tonight / Had It With You / Break The Spell / Sparks Will Fly / Suck On The Jugular / Mean Disposition / Low Down / You Don't Have To Mean It / Thief In The Night / How Can I Stop / Look What The Cat Dragged In / She Saw Me Coming / Laugh, I Nearly Died / Under The Radar

 

I think that is an interesting point. I think this explains why we fans connect with a lot of these obscurer tracks...we want something other than what we hear on the radio or used over and over in the mainstream media. The thing is The Stones have so much to offer if fans want to look elsewhere in their catalog. Very few other bands can reward their fans like this. The only band I can think of would probably be The Beach Boys.

 

I am listening to Flowers right now (I'm not even sure if I've ever listened to it it more than a couple of times). Please Go Home is a great "filler" track.

 

I like Out Of Time, Ride On Baby, Take It Or Leave It & Sittin' On A Fence. - The tracks from the U.K version of Aftermath.

 

Interesting post and an interesting list.

The one that jumps out at me, that I hadn't thought about in awhile, and that I think perfectly illustrates JustinSosa's post above ("The Stones have so much to offer if fans want to look elsewhere in their catalogue.") is "Heaven."

What a perfect track to crack open the head of someone who has been listening to "Brown Sugar" and "Satisfaction" forever and just loves (and takes for granted) that good 'ol classic rock version of The Rolling Stones. What a fabulous, tender, completely haunting recording? And how different from the caricature of the Stones that seems to prevail--even in a very serious, very informed area like this forum?

When "Heaven" comes up next to "Turd On The Run" next to "You Better Move On" next to "Sympathy For The Devil" next to "New Faces" next to "All About You" next to "Continental Drift" next to "Parachute Woman" next to "The Last Time" in my shuffle, I'm just flat amazed at how much ground these--what's the term I've heard used in these parts? (not on this thread)--these "derivative and unoriginal" guys have covered. And doubly amazed at how well they've done it.

Beyond the oft-ignored creativity and stylistic diversity in the catalogue, I always come back to the basic journey I've been on with this band: Bought Tattoo You at age 11, and Hot Rocks shortly thereafter. Let It Bleed and insane, near-completist devotion came at 17. And after that, I've spent so much of my life just tracking down whatever it was that Keith said he listened to: Otis Redding, Jerry Lee Lewis, Chuck Berry, The Wailers, Fred McDowell, Bo Diddley, Bukka White, The Everly Brothers, Sam Cooke, Gram Parsons, Merle Haggard, and so on. I washed myself head-to-toe in the Stones' incredible influences--"10,000 roads I went down, down, down." Keith always says that he hopes that he "passed it on." And for me, he did.

And after all that, amazing as it is, the Stones just sound better and better to me. They sound deeper and truer--not like the obvious "white boys singing the blues" knock, but like a loving and joyful distillation of a lot of the best popular music ever made. A brilliant extension of all those influences.

PS: (Somewhat off-topic) Chuck Berry's "Thirty Days" came up in my headphones the other day. Hadn't thought about it in ages. My God, the swing and punch of that band…"floats like a butterfly, stings like a bee."

 

Hand Of Fate is the best Stones filler ever, end of story (for me anyway). It wasn't even released as a single off Black & Blue and it's quintessential Stones:



Definitely one of Keith's open tuning masterpieces.