| March 21st, 2005 06:27 PM |
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| Riffhard |
quote:
Back Street Girl wrote:
SWAY.......Needs to be left alone.
I tend to agree. The Stones haven't lived the Demon Life since the late seventies. With the exception of Ronnie smokin' the glass dick in the early eighties. It would come across as hallow if they were to attempt it at this point. I am going to crank Sticky Fingers the second I get home tonight!
Riffhard |
| March 21st, 2005 08:54 PM |
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| Soldatti |
Jagger did the lyrics on Sway and Winter, Taylor did the music. |
| March 21st, 2005 10:29 PM |
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| Zack |
For years I thought it was "evil life" not demon life. Same message I suppose.
I think "destroying your notion of circular time" is about the best cocaine reference in a rock song ever.
That guy on the right in Pierre's avatar looks just like me. Can't be though, I was five years old at the time. Who is that?
I too vote for never attempting Sway, for obvious Ronnie reasons. |
| March 21st, 2005 11:20 PM |
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| sirmoonie |
I've never seen any reference that said Taylor wrote the Sway lyrics. They sure look Jaggeresque, and I doubt he would have sung Taylor's stuff with such passion.
I've read somewhere, and heard from reputable source, that Sway was a derivative of Under My Thumb. I can't quite pick that out, except maybe in the Altamont version of UMT. |
| March 21st, 2005 11:33 PM |
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| corgi37 |
Here is my essay/thoughts on SWAY. It's a bit different to what was in my head driving home from work last night. But, hey, i cant take out my brain and download that, can i?
Here'tis.
Sway is a Stones song. It could never be a Beatles song. Their daddy George Martin would have said “No, no, no – it’s all out of time and tune. Come on lads, buckle up”. He’d have a 25 piece orchestra and a choir.
Written in 70, Sway is the perfect example of the difference between the 2 biggest bands of the 60’s. At this stage, I am only talking about the music. Try as hard as the did, the Beatles were foremost a pop band. They tried to be dirty, only with laughable results (Why don’t we do it on the road) and rough (Revolution), but really, they are just Strawerry fucking Fields and Long and Winding Road. Over produced mush. Can you imagine the Fab 4 singing “It’s just that demon life, that’s got me in it’s sway”. Man, we’d all fall down laughing, just like when you hear “edgy” stuff like Maxwell’s Silver Hammer.
To me, it’s also the perfect example of the difference between Lennon, McCartney and Jagger, Richards. Sway also perfectly sums up the difference between the Stones and any other act. Tom Jones has gone on record saying he just couldn’t understand the attraction of the Stones. Cliff Richard (bless his virgin Christian heart) down right hates the Stones. He cant understand why their records don’t seem recorded correctly. Aussie guitarist Tommy Emmanuel has said the same thing. They are out of tune! Out of time! You can’t hear the lyrics! These people just don’t get it, and never will. It’s probably a major reason why most Beatle fans don’t like the Stones, and why I hate the Beatles.
Think of the times. 1970. 60’s gone. Beatles gone. Altamont. Manson. Brian gone. Kent State. Keith a walking ghost. Times they were indeed a changing. Was there a future for the Stones? Were they just a 60’s band? Moving to France. New label. It must have been almost a terrifying and uncertain time. Yet, exciting. What was to come? More deaths? Failure? Pressure? One can almost feel the pressure of dealing with Brian, and the whole 60’s themselves, being exorcised.
Sway sounds almost tired. Jaded. Exhausted. Like the 60’s, the deaths, the drugs, had taken their toll. Yet, to some, Sticky Fingers is seen as a celebration of the drug life and Exile the results of that life.
To me, the supreme irony in Sway is the uplifting Taylor solos. They just soar. I can cry listening to this song. When I let go, when I really let it take me away, I am helpless to resist and can really sook out. When this happens, I usually play it again, but at a much louder volume. The final verse, I have quoted to some girlfriends, and even my wife. The last line: “some one who broke me up, with corner, of her smile”. It can be used as a very romantic line.
It’s such a subtle line. With so many readings. Is it Maryanne Faithfull? Offering a weak smile when she came out of coma. Is it a her again, lying on a Persian rug, surrounded by cushions, doped out of her gourd, smiling in bliss, as Jagger looks on. But, I can see it also as maybe Keith having helped out, offering some thing totally else. Something innocent. Maybe he was looking at Marlon, googling away in a crib, or in Keith’s bed? Sure, the reference is to ..”of her smile”, but what the hell.
Also, many derogatory comments from Lennon from that era, directed at the Stones, seem now to be sour grapes. His band had gone, due to ego’s and frustrations. They lost their sugar daddy (Epstein) and couldn’t handle life without him. Lennon was bitter. The continuing success of the Stones, nay, their soaring career, must have really stuck in his craw. Life is a race. They came out bursting from the blocks, but bloody hell, the Stones came home with the “BIG 4”. McCartney too, though becoming successful, was derided by almost all people with taste. Redrose Speedway was once voted worst album ever. Replaced I believe by a mid-70’s Ringo album.
But I digress.
Sway has it all. It IS the Stones. Their essence of the times. Of THEIR times. The world-weary troubadours, once again meeting a challenge. Not wimping it out. Not giving in. It’s seeming to say “I’m in the world (the demon life), I chose it, I cant get out”. It’s resigning to the fact. But, it ain’t about complaining. It ain’t about defeat. Sway has Jagger’s “whiny” style of vocal that I adore. Affirmative, but with a hint of fragility. He’s screaming against the music. Battling to make himself heard. Or, he’s fighting against it all, he’s had his illusions shattered “destroyed his notions”, but he (they) ain’t quitting. Defiant. Bring it on.
In one obscure song (to some), the Stones have completely encapsulated their essence. What a powerful song. What a statement of just how amazing rock and roll can be. They’ve come up with equally amazing “unknown” songs. “Soul Survivor”, You cant always get what you want”, “Moonlight Mile”, “Time waits for no one”, “Winter” – all brilliant. All better than anything else just about anyone else could do. “Like a Hurricane” is very, very close and quite similar. Ragged. Loose. Mistakes made. And glorious. I consider that song one of Neil’s greatest love songs. In fact, one of the greatest love songs ever.
But to me, Sway has an incredible power that see all the elements of good rock come together. Tempo, sound, lyrics, delivery, passion, subtlety.
Sway is a lesson. Delivered by the greatest teachers.
Excuse me, i have a song to drum to.
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| March 22nd, 2005 01:01 AM |
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| beer |
From the excellent TIOOS site
http://www.timeisonourside.com/track70-76.html
TrackTalk
(Y)ou... need two guitars (to play that song) , 'cause you need one guitar in open tuning to play the dah-dum-dah-da. In fact it was Mick Jagger that played rhythm guitar on that track.
- Mick Taylor, 1995
On Sway I used the Les Paul; Keith doesn't play on that track. Mick Jagger's playing rhythm guitar... (I played the slide part and the solo) at the same time. I put the slide on my little finger so it would still leave the other 3 fingers free to play like they would regularly, and I switched from one to the other. That was played in regular tuning.
- Mick Taylor, 1979
(On Sway Mick plays electric guitar). Yeah... Well, like I say, acoustically he's got a nice touch. It doesn't translate electrically. It's not his thing. It's not everybody's cup of tea... I'd never let him play electric if I could help it. He's like Bob Dylan, same thing. They thrash away at it. No sense of electric at all. Usually I turn him down.
- Keith Richards, 2002
(W)e didn't always get there at the same time. If we felt like playing, we would. That's why on Sway the backing track was done with just Charlie, Mick, and me.
- Mick Taylor, 1979
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| March 22nd, 2005 02:04 AM |
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| texile |
exellent corgi - however, sway was written in november 70.....2 months after he met bianca - he was fucked at first glance, and marianne was but a drug-hazed memory. |
| March 22nd, 2005 05:41 AM |
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| corgi37 |
Recorded? Or written? |
| March 22nd, 2005 08:01 AM |
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| Gazza |
Sway was recorded in the sessions that took place in the last two weeks of October 1970.
Mick met Bianca in Paris when the Stones played there 22-24 September 1970.
I would imagine the song would have at least been started before that, unless (unusual for the Stones) it was conceived, written, recorded and finished in such a fast time frame |
| March 22nd, 2005 09:58 AM |
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| Doxa |
Corgi, what a great description of the uniqueness of the song and the Stones! After reading that, and some of the others too, I feel like "Sway" is the most essential Stones cut ever, and I'm dying to hear it as soon as possible!
To me that song also has that sort of hangover feeling of the 60's sixties plus the uncertainly feeling of the future; where all this "demon life" that they've seemed to be fated, will lead them but down some day? Casualties everywhere; Marianne, Brian, Jimi, Keith next in line...Yeah, after "Singing All Together" for some years, they were really wittnessing the phase of "See What Happens". All that is so darkly and painfully, but still with a cool charm expressed in Jagger's vocals.. he just sounds so extraordinary passionate and serious. And the amount of times when Jagger really IS serious is quite limited. Considering that he even sounds convincing one can say that this is really an unique performance in the catalog of Stones. Very difficult say how much of the expressiviness is intentional, how much is the case of Jagger's natural instincts and casual feelings at the time that fortunately were happened to be captured on a record.
About the grave reference that seems to be essential to the whole song; I suppose it is mostly to do with Brian, and this is Mick's way to cope with the tragedy that I think affected him much harder than is generally known. I think Keith's 'confession' came later with "Coming Down Again", where he started to reflect the life style and casulties around, and knowing that he is not really innocent.. "Took my tongue into someone else's pie.. tasting better, every time.."
- Doxa |
| March 22nd, 2005 11:08 AM |
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| texile |
i stand corrected gazza - LATE october;
yes, "that demon life" is relentless, the littered path of destruction etc.......but that last verse to me was always an allusion to the redemption and hope of new love AFTER the fallout -"love is the way they say..." - and jagger has said, to tom donohue march 71, that sway and moonlight were written and recorded "very extemporaneously" in the studio, in the moment;
true enough doxa, when jagger is real, he's sublime...... |
| March 22nd, 2005 11:36 AM |
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| stickyturd |
Sway DOES have an orchestra in it.
Russ
"Sway is a Stones song. It could never be a Beatles song. Their daddy George Martin would have said “No, no, no – it’s all out of time and tune. Come on lads, buckle up”. He’d have a 25 piece orchestra and a choir. "
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| March 22nd, 2005 01:23 PM |
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| Saint Sway |
quote:
corgi37 wrote:
Sway sounds almost tired. Jaded. Exhausted. Like the 60’s, the deaths, the drugs, had taken their toll. Yet, to some, Sticky Fingers is seen as a celebration of the drug life and Exile the results of that life.
To me, the supreme irony in Sway is the uplifting Taylor solos. They just soar. I can cry listening to this song. When I let go, when I really let it take me away, I am helpless to resist and can really sook out. When this happens, I usually play it again, but at a much louder volume. The final verse, I have quoted to some girlfriends, and even my wife. The last line: “some one who broke me up, with corner, of her smile”. It can be used as a very romantic line.
It’s such a subtle line. With so many readings.
Sway has it all. It IS the Stones. Their essence of the times. Of THEIR times. The world-weary troubadours, once again meeting a challenge. Not wimping it out. Not giving in. It’s seeming to say “I’m in the world (the demon life), I chose it, I cant get out”. It’s resigning to the fact. But, it ain’t about complaining. It ain’t about defeat. Sway has Jagger’s “whiny” style of vocal that I adore. Affirmative, but with a hint of fragility. He’s screaming against the music. Battling to make himself heard. Or, he’s fighting against it all, he’s had his illusions shattered “destroyed his notions”, but he (they) ain’t quitting. Defiant. Bring it on.
In one obscure song (to some), the Stones have completely encapsulated their essence. What a powerful song. What a statement of just how amazing rock and roll can be.
But to me, Sway has an incredible power that see all the elements of good rock come together. Tempo, sound, lyrics, delivery, passion, subtlety.
Sway is a lesson. Delivered by the greatest teachers.
thank you Corgi. You've summed up what Sway means to me and to so many of us:
"In one obscure song (to some), the Stones have completely encapsulated their essence. What a powerful song. What a statement of just how amazing rock and roll can be."
well said, my Stones brother.
I nominate Corgi's post to be stickied!! |
| March 22nd, 2005 07:53 PM |
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| corgi37 |
Stickyturd - Orchestration, not orchestra. A few strings here and there doth not a orchestra make.
My point was, if it was George Martin, or even Elton, who used Paul Buckmaster on stacks of his work, the song would have been swamped and over blown.
On Sway, it is subtle. |
| March 22nd, 2005 08:14 PM |
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| Gazza |
quote:
texile wrote:
i stand corrected gazza - LATE october;
yes, "that demon life" is relentless, the littered path of destruction etc.......but that last verse to me was always an allusion to the redemption and hope of new love AFTER the fallout -"love is the way they say..." - and jagger has said, to tom donohue march 71, that sway and moonlight were written and recorded "very extemporaneously" in the studio, in the moment;
true enough doxa, when jagger is real, he's sublime......
I'm not actually disagreeing with you about what youre saying about who it was written about. I simply dont know (just putting a timeline on a couple of events). Just saying its unusual for a Stones song to go from conception to being recorded so quickly. Obviously it's not unheard of! The Donahue interview you've quoted above would indicate that it was indeed fully formed and then recorded very soon afterwards.
"Moonlight Mile" (plus "Bitch") comes from that same session. They appear to have been the final songs written and recorded for the album. They really did save some gems for the last moment!
[Edited by Gazza] |
| March 23rd, 2005 12:11 AM |
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| texile |
true enough gazza - it IS unusual for the stones for something so complete to have been completely spontaneous, but moonlight and sway DO have that 3-in-the-morning-alone-in-a-studio-pouring- your-heart-out-with-no-one-else-around (except charlie, jimmy, and mt of course) vibe to it. maybe that's what makes these songs so singularly haunting..........
i mean, maybe that's proof that they WERE purely created in the moment....OF the moment.
they don't sound rehearsed OR predicted......like love.
i'm such a romantic fool....lol |
| March 23rd, 2005 12:26 AM |
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| beer |
i remember reading some Stones book that had an Andy Johns story about being at Stargroves and setting up Taylors amplifier in the fireplace with Microphones placed in the chimney for "Sway".
% |
| March 23rd, 2005 01:02 AM |
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| sirmoonie |
quote:
beer wrote:
i remember reading some Stones book that had an Andy Johns story about being at Stargroves and setting up Taylors amplifier in the fireplace with Microphones placed in the chimney for "Sway".
Steve Appleford - Its Only Rock and Roll: Song by Song. Sway was first song recorded at Stargroves.
I love that book. The author is like us here - he knows The Score. |
| March 23rd, 2005 02:13 AM |
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| beer |
Exactly, Moonie.
A one in a million song. ya know what.,. It's one of the rare songs that works first thing in the morning, or at the tale end of the most evil bender. It works for damn near any drug/alcohol induced state of being.
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| March 23rd, 2005 08:49 AM |
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| souldoggie |
Now THIS is a cool thread. Thanks Corgi, GREAT essay. And thanks to all who have contributed to it. I'm sure I can speak for at least a couple others, when I say that this is the sort of stuff that I look for on these boards. Thanks again.
It's funny, by younger brother was always blaring Dylan in his bedroom during the time this song was released. But when I played Sticky Fingers in my room, it was this song that eventually got him to dig the Stones. He loved Sway, long before I got into it. |
| March 23rd, 2005 10:13 AM |
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| Gazza |
quote:
souldoggie wrote:
Now THIS is a cool thread. Thanks Corgi, GREAT essay. And thanks to all who have contributed to it. I'm sure I can speak for at least a couple others, when I say that this is the sort of stuff that I look for on these boards. Thanks again.
Indeed. Agree 100%. Keep 'em comin'. Whats up next? |
| March 23rd, 2005 01:14 PM |
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| voodoopug |
quote:
Gazza wrote:
Indeed. Agree 100%. Keep 'em comin'. Whats up next?
This is the best thread i have seen on a stones board in quite some time. Great posting guys and gals, i enjoyed reading the entire thread. |
| March 23rd, 2005 01:46 PM |
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| Bloozehound |
great song, great thread
interesting stuff |
| March 23rd, 2005 06:19 PM |
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| corgi37 |
Here's my essay on Losing my touch.
"Shit". |
| March 23rd, 2005 07:33 PM |
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| glencar |
No shit! |
| March 23rd, 2005 08:41 PM |
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| Soldatti |
Shit?
I don't think so, the real word is boring. |
| March 23rd, 2005 09:55 PM |
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| KeithRichardsWife |
I love that song! |
| March 23rd, 2005 10:44 PM |
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| Lethargy |
Thanks for this great contribution to the thread, Sway! I knew you'd have some great thoughts on this particular topic  We certainly have been there before, haven't we?
-Lethargy
quote:
Saint Sway wrote:
well it should come as no surprise to anyone that "Sway" is my favorite Stones song.
Why?
because it captures everything that is cool and glorious about the Stones. Musically. Lyrically. Spiritually. Attitude. Vibe. Filth. Passion. Pain. Sex. Drugs. Rock and Roll. Its all there, in just under 4 minutes of pure, filthy bliss.
musically it has all the qualities that makes the Stones special beyond all bands. I know Keith doesnt play guitar on it but I'll be damned if that opening riff isnt immensly Keef-esque. It fools me everytime.
from that opening double guitars hammering chords and colliding and crashing into dust against Charlies massive drums and beer bottle breaking cymbals you are instantly moved, your entire equilibrium instantly 'swayed'. The fact that that intro follows Jagger's lazy, world-beaten countdown of "wun, two, three, faw..." only emphasizes the power of the Stones. You can tell by Jagger's tired drawl that its 5 in the morning and they are battling their own fatigue and racing against the sun. Its vampire living. Its what the Stones did better than anyone in the 70s.
the musical highlight of this song is Taylors solo. Its a thing of decadent beauty. It swaggers and sings all on its own. Its druggy sounding and hair raising. It warms your soul as it rushes thru your veins like a heavy dose of warm smack. And at its climax, Jagger delivers his most passionate moment ever captured on tape. THAT HOWL!! Its just gutteral. He's on his soap box beckoning from the bowls of hell for us lazy mothers to stand up and listen. "HEY HEY HEEEEEEYYYYYYYYYYY NOWWWWWW!!!!!!!!!!" The man is preaching. Its blue-eyed gospel soul.
And how can you talk about the music of Sway and not mention Charlie. Its one of his finest moments. He puts on a clinic. Very aggressive playing. Pounding the skins and crashing the cymbals like only Charlie can. Its powerful and aggressive while still holding the tempo back in a slow-churning groove. No one else can do that like Watts.
Lyrically its what the Stones represent: demon life. When your hooked by the power and magic of the Stones you are also pulled into their way of life. Face it. Its happened to a lot of us.
the lyrics are bittersweet. Stepping back and looking at a crazed life thru Jagger's hungover view. No regrets. Just acknowledging it is what it is.
the song is at both a great bloozy mellow tune for when your down. And a rauchus and juiced up, sloppy number for when you want to get your kicks and howl at the moon. The key is in the chorus and the way that its delivered with a drug-hazed, world-weary harmony. Its Mick & Keith with their arms draped over each other "swaying" in front of an old mic.
the song can be sad. It can be gregarious. Bitter. Bliss.
the line that absolutely does it for me is "someone just broke me up with a corner of her smile"
if you've ever had demon life get you in your sway or been down, well, sometimes thats all it takes. A little crack of sunshine cutting thru those dark drapes that you've been hiding behind.
thats what this song does for me
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| March 24th, 2005 01:46 AM |
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| VanishByDawn |
Damn... what a thread! SaintSway, I was actually moved by what you wrote... in a good way. |
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