Rolling Stones Single-By-Single Thread

Some Girls was the first Rolling Stones album I owned when it was at its most popular. I still had a relatively small LP collection in 1978, perhaps a few hundred, most of which I got used. When I got a new album that had only one single as of the time I got it, I tended to listen to see if I "heard" any obvious hits. I think I heard a couple on Some Girls, but at this late date, I can't remember if "Beast of Burden" was one of them. I will say this: It sure sounded good on the radio. Today, I go through phases on the song; when it comes on the radio, sometimes I'll turn it off, and sometimes I'll leave it on.

"Beast of Burden" gave the Stones back-to-back Top 10 singles in Billboard from the same album for the first and only time in the post-ABKCO era. In addition to its #8 peak there, it got to #7 in Cash Box, but fell just short of the top 10 in Record World (#11).

As with "Miss You," the 8-track of Some Girls has a longer version of "Beast of Burden" than on the vinyl LP or 45. It runs for 5:19 and may only have ever been on this cartridge.

Promo 45s were stereo/stereo and had an edited version on one side (3:20) and the 4:24 LP length on the other.

Stock 45s have the album length on them. They came from the same pressing plants as "Miss You" and have similar characteristics. Some later copies have OLDIES at the upper right, but kept the same catalog number as the original, RS 19309. As was noted in an earlier post, there is little rhyme or reason to how Atlantic treated "oldies" reissues of Stones 45s. Sometimes the catalog number was changed, and sometimes it wasn't.

"Beast of Burden" was issued with a picture sleeve, but if you blinked, you missed it. On the 1-10 rarity scale, it's a 10. Only "Street Fighting Man" is more sought after in the Stones' canon. When I was paying attention more closely, legitimate "Beast of Burden" sleeves usually sold in the $1,000-$1,200 range. There are reliable reports that this sleeve did make it to retail, especially in the Chicago area, but after complaints from retailers, it was pulled quickly.

Naturally, this sleeve has been counterfeited. Real ones have a curved top with the "Beast of Burden" side taller than the "When the Whip Comes Down" side, which also has a curved cut. No legitimate copies are straight-cut. Real ones also are constructed with the front glued to the back; inside the sleeve are two flaps folded in from the "When the Whip Comes Down" side, to which the "Beast of Burden" side is attached. If in doubt, see the common "Miss You" sleeve; they are of identical construction.

In 2011, the picture sleeve was reproduced as part of the European Super Deluxe Edition of Some Girls, but it has its record-company credits on the back cover updated from 1978.

 

Beast Of Burden - Not released as a single in the U.K. Allmusic describes is as sort of an Al Green styled ballad. It has some nice guitar weaving and they played the hell out of it on the radio back in the day. It's a good ballad but I am sort of burned out on it. It has been played live often and has appeared on numerous compilations sometimes in edited versions. There is also an acoustic outtake from the Stripped studio sessions.

When The Whip Come Down - Great high energy punk influenced track about a street hustler. Allmusic says it's the most Lou Reed influenced track the Stones cut. There is some unexpected pedal steel guitar from Ronnie Wood in the punk influenced song. A live version of the song recorded in Detroit 1978 was included on the Sucking In The Seventies compilation album. It was played live in 1978 and 1981 and sporadically after that. I am always happy when they trot this one out. It is probably my favorite track on Some Girls.

 

Stripped acoustic outtake version

 

When The Whip Comes Down live 1978 from Sucking In The Seventies.

 

What were the complaints from retailers about the Beast of Burden sleeve? I really like it a lot. A great shot of that lion and I find the purple and the text placement very aesthetically pleasing. It might be my favorite of their picture sleeves.

 

That lion is sitting on what appears to be a naked woman...

 

Ah, didn't notice. It's just sitting there. I was thinking she was brave to be in the cage with the lion. It looks to be a historical photograph. *shrug*

 

Maybe if the lion had been shown lying at a different angle, there really would have been something to complain about.

 

Footnote 45:

(Not a Rolling Stones single, but an interesting -- to me, anyway -- anomaly.)

In 1978, Rolling Stones Records signed reggae legend Peter Tosh to its label, one of its relatively few outside artists. His first single for his new label, "(You've Got to Walk and) Don't Look Back," was released in July 1978, about a month before "Beast of Burden," as RS 19308. Mick Jagger gave Tosh a big assist with his backing vocals on the song, and the single became a minor hit, peaking at #81 in Billboard.

But that's not what makes it interesting, at least not for the purposes of this thread.

Specialty, one of the pressing plants for the single, must have used some previously prepared blanks for the initial run of both promo and stock 45s, because at the top of the label is the name THE ROLLING STONES -- with Peter Tosh's name under the song title at the bottom. When the error was noticed, Specialty corrected it, but those original 45s are cool conversation pieces.

http://images.45cat.com/peter-tosh-you-got-to-walk-and-dont-look-back-1978-3.jpg

 

I love that song! Better than any of the Stones' reggae songs. Just pure joy.

 

It was recorded by the Temptations in 1965 under the title "Don't Look Back." Their version, the flip side of the Top 20 hit "My Baby," also charted, as it got to #83 (#14 R&B) in Billboard and #78 in Cash Box.

 

The most transcendent weaving art of Ron and Keith



Also, if you happen to own/stream the rest of this show (Fort Worth '78) the pile-driving rendition of "Respectable" is worth it alone

 

I thought the live "When The Whip Comes Down" was from Passiac NJ (it's one of the two, that I do know). I've got both the Detroit and Passiac soundboards (haven't listened to them in ages though)...either way, the Sucking In The Seventies version is more than just 'slightly' edited, it's missing a verse, as I recall, plus Ronnie's guitar solos are significantly shortened. When listening to SITS the edits stick out like a sore thumb to me now

My problem with the Stones and the overindulgence in their bad habits during the '78-'81 period, especially where live performance is concerned, is that the more boozed and coked up they were, the sloppier it made them sound, and not in a good way. For a Keith and Ronnie nut like me, you'd think the New Barbarians shows would be a no brainer, right? No...from what I've heard they were so f--ked up on those dates they just sounded awful, sloppy bordering on amateur IMO. Same for the Stones on some of the '78 and '81 shows. In '78 on a good night they were transcendent, on a bad night...if I were in the audience I'd be asking for my money back. And so it goes...

If memory serves Peter Tosh opened for the Stones on some of the '78 gigs and Mick would sit in for "Don't Look Back". Keith and Ron do their reggae guitar bit on a couple of tracks on Tosh's contemporary Bush Doctor LP as well.

 

Beast Of Burden - One of their best ever ballads and a high point of Some Girls.
When The Whip Comes Down - I've never been keen on this one. The Stones trying to bring in some punk energy in order to be relevant. It's just a dirge with Mick yelling like a drunken sailor. Tedious. I always skip it on the live shows.

 

While the States got "Beast of Burden," the UK got:

Respectable (1978)



Released: 9/15/78
B-Side: When the Whip Comes Down
Charts: #23 (UK)

"Respectable" is a song by The Rolling Stones from their 1978 album Some Girls. It was written by Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. In the liner notes to the 1993 compilation album Jump Back: The Best of The Rolling Stones (on which it was included), Jagger said, "It's important to be somewhat influenced by what's going on around you and on the Some Girls album, I think we definitely became more aggressive because of the punk thing..."

Recorded from October through December 1977, "Respectable" was originally written by Mick Jagger to be a slower song, but guitarist Richards saw the advantages of speeding up the tempo and crafting a rocker out of the song. Jagger continued in the liner notes, "On ["Respectable"] I was banging out three chords incredibly loud on the electric guitar, which isn't always a wonderful idea but was fun here. This is a punk meets Chuck Berry number..." This resulted in Jagger and Richards having arguments over the song's tempo.

The biting lyrics talk of a woman rising into high society and Jagger's attempts to remind her of where she came from. Jagger said at the time of its release, "'Respectable' really started off as a song in my head about how respectable we as a band were supposed to have become, 'We're so respectable'. As I went along with the singing, I just made things up and fit things in. Now we're respected in society... I really meant [the band]. My wife's a very honest person, and the songs's not about her... It's very rock & roll. It's not like (Bob Dylan's) 'Sara'. 'Respectable' is very lighthearted when you hear it. That's why I don't like divorcing the lyrics from the music. 'Cause when you actually hear it sung, it's not what it is, it's the way we do it..."[2]

 

Respectable
I really strongly associate Some Girls with the period in my life when I was learning to drive and eventually got my license. I was playing it constantly in the car. "Respectable" is one of the best songs on the record. It's just a great rocker that feels Stonesy and punk-y at the same time. I really like the music video as well. Even Charlie seems to be having a good time! And I love the bit at the end when Mick, Ronnie and Keith go ramming into the other room and end up rolling around on the bed, but Bill and Charlie just stay behind, amused, holding down the backbeat. That's seems symbolic of the band somehow.

 

I was in England when this came out. It was a minor hit with a very brief run in the charts. I was 17 and I loved Some Girls. I played it constantly. "Respectable" is a great song - it's a joke on a record I find quite funny. In fact, Mick came up with loads of funny stuff around this time including the then-unused "Claudine". By this point, the Stones had a right to play around with their public persona and mock it. You can hear the master take which is probably about six minutes long but they edited it down to get the album version but the playing on this song is pretty much live. I love Keith's guitar fills on this song. The most striking thing about Some Girls was the energy. They had absorbed two major forces out there - disco (or at least the four on the floor beat) and punk. "Respectable" isn't punk but it's rock n roll played with an awareness of what was going on in the English music scene. I doubt Elvis Costello would have been as revved up as he was in 1977 if the punk movement hadn't come to the forefront in England and the same goes for the Stones. Mick always was aware of music trends and channeled them into the Stones.

 

"Respectable"- presumably its UK single release was why it was included on the UK version of Rewind.

 

"Respectable"

I always saw this song as Mick making fun of his jet-set lifestyle ("taking heroin with the Duke of Kent"; Fleet Street and the Murdoch brigade would have had a field day if that was genuine) but then changing gears and making it about a woman (Bianca?).

Still, a strong point on an album that's full of them.

 

He was "invisiBill" on the Rarities compilation.

 

A minor point, but it's not a *similar* picture, it's the exact same photo, just squeezed, desaturated, and debilled.

 

Mick definitely has a sense of humor (even about himself), sometimes overlooked.

But I hated how they erased Bill on that cover. Why? He's on some of the recordings on the album and he was a part of the band for many years. It seemed totally unnecessary and kind of mean. But I hate that comp, anyway. A real missed opportunity.