Tuesday, April 2, 2013
Music Tuesday: "Jumping Jack Flash" by The Rolling Stones
I'm a big Rolling Stones fan. No I can square it with my religious faith. I do not endorse many of the values expressed in the songs. But really it's the music that one should assess musicians and composers; themes and lyrics are of secondary importance. Here's one of my all time favorites. I've said that this song is the perfection of what rock and roll should be: a driving beat, rhythm and blues core, great vocal inflection, and attitude. Plus the Stones at their best just write interesting songs. Supposedly the inspiration for Jack came from Keith Richards' gardener. You can read about it here. I post a YouTube version with showing the lyrics.
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My favorite band is the Pink Floyd, and my son likes them too more than any other band. Finally something we can agree about!
ReplyDeleteThat's great you both agree. Pink Floyde is a great band, and I enjoy their music as well. I'll have to post one their songs one of these days. The only negative I have with them is that just about everything they write is depressing. They have very few up lifting songs.
DeleteWhen I started to appreciate their music I didn't know English. The lyrics are depressing but still good. And my son likes dark staff!
DeleteGood grief Manny, you are making me feel old. I was in high school when the Stones recorded Jumping Jack Flash..LOL.
ReplyDeleteI was surprised when I followed your link to Wikepedia that the guitar technique used in this song was adapted from the George Jones band (my all time favorite country singer).
It is amazing how closely tied all genres of music are in the end run.
Yes, music rooted in American song do intertwine. Country, folk, blues, gospel, even jazz do share an aweful lot. Of all the great British rock bands post the 1960s, the Rolling Stones are the most American based in their roots. All rock is American based, but the Stones are very conscious of it. I didn't notice that part of the quote by Keith Richards where he says he picked that technique from someone in "George Jones's band in San Antonio in 1964." The Stones really did spend persoanl time in the various American locations to learn blues and country. They are known for their blues, but they have lots of country songs too. "Honky Tonk Women" and "Wild Horses" are probably their most famous country songs. But listen to this one called "Dead Flowers:"
Deletehttp://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8YRdxHHFKvQ
Checked out your link, Manny. There is a definite country influence in the arrangement and "Dead Flowers" could easily have been performed by someone with a true county twang.
DeleteThanks for the heads up.
Yeah, I think Jagger over does the twang...lol... but still an outstanding song if you ask me. You can read about it here:
Deletehttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Flowers_(The_Rolling_Stones_song)
That line in wikipedia from Rolling Stone magazine is dead wrong. This is a great song, one that all Stones fans rank very high.