‘Dear Doctor’ is a fun country-blues track from 1968’s Beggars Banquet, The Rolling Stones’ first masterpiece.
By my count, The Stones released four albums on which I would hang that m-word. And they released them all in a row.
First up was Beggars Banquet, followed by Let it Bleed (1969), Sticky Fingers (1961), and Exile on Main St. (1972).
What about the other 21 albums in the band’s catalog? I’m unfamiliar with 10 of them, including the first several and the last several. I’m vaguely familiar with another half dozen or so, but not familiar enough to render a verdict on their quality.
I find a whole lot to like in Out of Our Heads, Aftermath, Between the Buttons, Goats Head Soup, Some Girls and Tattoo You, so those would round out my top ten (in no particular order).
Oh help me, please doctor, I’m damaged
There’s a pain where there once was a heart
It’s sleeping, it’s a beating
Can’t you please tear it out, and preserve it
Right there in that jar?
[Verse 1]
Oh help me, please mama, I’m sickening
It’s today that’s the day of the plunge
Oh the gal I’m to marry
Is a bow-legged sow
I’ve been soaking up drink like a sponge
Don’t you worry, get dressed, cried my mother
As she plied me with bourbon so sour
Pull your socks up, put your suit on
Comb your long hair down
For you will be wed in the hour
[Chorus][x2]
[Verse 2]
I was trembling, as I put on my jacket
It had creases as sharp as a knife
I put the ring in my pocket
But there was a note
And my heart it jumped into my mouth
It read, Darling, I’m sorry to hurt you
But I have no courage to speak to your face
But I’m down in Virginia with your cousin Lou
There be no wedding today
[Chorus]
So help me, please doctor, I’m damaged
You can put back my heart in its hole
Oh mama, I’m crying
Tears of relief
And my pulse is now under control
Well, I guess if I ever want to more deeply explore The Rolling Stones, I now have my essentials.