Category Archives: deep dive

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Song of the Day #5,554: ‘Jigsaw Puzzle’ – The Rolling Stones

It took five years and 11 albums for The Rolling Stones to truly hit their stride. All of their output prior to late 1968 was very good, and included moments of true greatness, but Beggars Banquet was the band’s first masterpiece.

The Stones responded to the lukewarm reception of their psychedelic rock effort Their Satanic Majesties Request not just by returning to basics, but by churning out their most memorable batch of songs yet. Instant classics ‘Sympathy for the Devil’ and ‘Street Fighting Man’ lead the charge but this is an album full of gems.

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Song of the Day #5,553: ‘She’s a Rainbow’ – The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones’ desire to keep up with the Joneses bit them in the ass with their second release of 1967.

Their Satanic Majesties Request was a foray into psychedelic rock spurred by the ecstatic reaction to The Beatles’ Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. Even the cover art seemed like a nod to, or a knock-off of, their counterpart’s groundbreaking concept album.

But while Sgt. Pepper was a smash hit, this album left both fans and critics scratching their heads.

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Song of the Day #5,550: ‘Who’s Been Sleeping Here?’ – The Rolling Stones

In 1967, The Rolling Stones released their last album to receive different versions in the U.S. and UK. That record, Between the Buttons, continued their move away from R&B infused rock and toward the more experimental sounds of their peers.

That means a little Beatles here, a little Kinks there, a little Dylan on today’s SOTD, and a generally more fussed-over sound than they were known for.

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Song of the Day #5,549: ‘Out of Time’ – The Rolling Stones

April of 1966 saw the release of the first classic Rolling Stones album, Aftermath. Inspired by The Beatles’ Rubber Soul, the band moved away from their R&B staples and recorded a collection of entirely original songs. I love how the hottest bands of that era used the competition to fuel their creativity.

The UK version of this album clocked in at 52 minutes, then the longest running time for a popular release. The American version ran ten minutes shorter, cutting four songs and adding hit single ‘Paint it Black.’ Among the songs left off the tracklist were the great ‘Mother’s Little Helper’ and ‘Out of Time,’ making the American version the lesser of the two (‘Out of Time,’ today’s SOTD, was used beautifully in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.)

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Song of the Day #5,548: ‘Heart of Stone’ – The Rolling Stones

The Rolling Stones’ third UK studio album, Out of Our Heads, was released in the U.S. two months earlier — July vs. September of 1965. It was a major hit on both sides of the pond, reaching #1 in the U.S. and #2 in the UK. Once again, the lineups were significantly different.

Because the tradition was not to include single releases on UK albums, that version of Out of Our Heads didn’t feature the band’s biggest hit to date (and one of their biggest overall), ‘(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.’ That smash did appear on the U.S. edition, as did hit ‘The Last Time’ and its haunting B-side, ‘Play with Fire.’

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